Marge Kilkelly lives on Dragonfly Cove Farm in Dresden where she and her husband grow a variety of goats for everything from dairy to cashmere. They also have a few other farm animals including turkeys, pigs and chickens. They also produce a YouTube series Nourishing Maine to show people how to stretch what is in their larders.
The holidays are long in the rear view mirror and Valentine’s Day was all-you-could-eat-chocolate for one day. February is the longest month of the year, when you are trying to plan meals.
It’s the month I get stuck in a meal-planning rut, which is amplified by seed catalogs. Bright pictures of perfect tomatoes, summer squash, lettuce, eggplant, cucumbers all seem designed to taunt my rather droll, less colorful meal offerings.
Buying all of those lovely summer products is an option. But in the interest of supporting more local growers and keeping my food budget in control, I have embarked on a project of looking at what is mostly local, affordable, accessible and how many ways I can make food interesting and varied.
Winter farmers markets have substantially extended the season for local produce. With more than 30 markets around the state, and some grocers showcasing locally grown products, there are many more options to buy from local producers year-round than there were even 10 or 15 years ago.
To assist customers in planning, the Orono Farmers market has a really helpful seasonal crop calendar.
If you have space to store produce, knowing how to do it properly is critical to your success. To wash or not to wash? Store cold or at room temperature? Plastic bag or naked? The answer is different for each kind of produce and the best resource for storage is Maine Cooperative Extension.
Apples, carrots, onions, kale, potatoes, squash, cabbage, celery and oranges are my basics. Winter salads don’t need to be expensive or travel halfway across the country to be yummy.
Here are some to try:
Winter Confetti Salad
Wash and cut three unpeeled apples into small cubes and toss with lemon juice to prevent browning. Slice two ribs of celery and chop 1 cup of red or green cabbage. Peel and cut two large carrots lengthwise, then cut each into sticks and cut those into small pieces. Add a ½ cup of raisins or dried cranberries and a ½ cup of chopped walnuts (optional). Toss all the veggies with a ½ cup of mayonnaise and a drizzle of honey to taste. Finish with salt and ground pepper.
Kale Salad with Maple Balsamic Dressing
Remove stems and tear one bunch of kale into bite-sized pieces, then rinse it in a colander. Slice a medium onion very thin. Red onion is the best in this salad but white is fine to use. Salt the onions and let them sweat. Section two oranges and cut them into bite-sized pieces. Combine a ¼ cup of balsamic vinegar, a ½ cup of olive oil, and up to a ¼ cup of maple syrup in a salad bowl and whisk well. Add dried cranberries and orange sections with the juice to soak. After 10 minutes or so, add onions and kale, then toss to coat them. This salad holds up very well as a leftover, so I often make a large portion to have for lunch the following day. This is also the only way my husband eats kale.
Carrots and Dried Cranberries/raisins
Shred two large carrots. Add ¾ cup dried cranberries and one medium thinly sliced onion. In a salad bowl, whisk together 2 tablespoons of honey, 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar, 1 tablespoon of Dijon mustard and 6 tablespoons of olive oil. Add the veggies and enjoy.
Asian Stir Fried Cabbage
Combine two cups of shredded cabbage, one large onion cut into bite-sized chunks, four ribs of sliced celery and one cup of frozen peas (optional). Combine 1 tablespoon of soy sauce or aminos, 1 teaspoon of fish sauce, 1 teaspoon of rice wine vinegar, 1/2 teaspoon white pepper and set it aside. Heat oil in a cast iron pan or wok until just smoking. Add onions to caramelize, then remove them. Add garlic, cabbage and celery and stir in the hot pan until wilted. Return the onions to the pan, add frozen peas and the sauce mixture and toss for another 3 or 4 minutes.
Stew Fries
My mother made this for a change from mashed or baked potatoes. Chop a medium onion and two large cloves of garlic. Wash three medium, unpeeled, potatoes and slice them thin. Sauté the onions and garlic in butter until translucent, then add sliced potatoes and enough water just to cover them. Cook until the potatoes are fork tender and most of the water is absorbed, stirring occasionally. Turn off heat, sprinkle with parmesan cheese or add cheese slices of your choice on top. Serve from the fry pan. Works well with burgers, sausage, ham or steak.
Squash
Using a knife or apple corer, cut a hole in a small winter squash, add maple syrup and butter, and return the plug to the squash. Place the squash on a baking pan and bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit until a knife easily goes through the thickest part of the squash. Remove it from the oven and carefully take out the plug. Cut the squash in half. Scoop out the seeds and add the squash to a serving bowl. Add more butter, salt, pepper and either maple syrup or brown sugar to taste.
So now I will sit with a cup of tea, a seed catalog and winter salad lunch and dream of all those summer lovelies.
