Savory tarts cookery class in Kansas City

Nothing finer for dinner than a savory tart made with seasonal vegetables. Featured here are three recipes from The Complete Kitchen Garden book: Roasted Vegetable, Carrot Tarragon and Caramelized Leek. Thank you to the Garden Center Association of Greater Kansas City and Powell Gardens for inviting me to Kansas City to teach a cookery class. And to the volunteers who baked tarts to share. Nice work!

ellen teaching savory tarts class in Kansas City

Cobblestone Streets in the Farmers Market

The best way to truly appreciate winter vegetables is to visit the source, which is what I did during the month of December. In Germany’s open air farmers markets I found two of my favorite hard to find greens: mache and claytonia, along with pointed cabbage,  leeks, salsify and daikon radish, fingerling potatoes and root crops that I could not even identify.

One of the best finds, however,  was a bundle of fresh winter herbs known as Grüne Sosse. The Grüne Sosse in the market places usually comes assorted, wrapped in paper, and with various recipes printed on it and typically contains seven herbs:

Petersilie ( Parsley)
Pimpinelle (Salad Burnet)
Schnittlauch (chives)
Borretsch(borage)
Kerbel ( chervil)
Kresse (garden Cress)
Sauerampfer (Sorrel)

Grune Sosse

My daughter lives in Germany and her neighbor, Helge, shared his expertise on the subject traditional Grüne Sosse along with his recipe.

He writes: ” I am not sure about this being a traditional recipe from the region. Well, depends on what you consider traditional : the recipe is indeed reported for a very long time here, but as you may guess from such things as ‘joghurt”, it has been modified, and most probably stems from the orient. First reason for this Sosse being so famous right in this region, is the fact that it brings to you the first (not-imported) vitamins of the year, and second reason is that our great poet Herr Goethe ate it with lust when he was a child, as he was born in Frankfurt. Well, at least rumours have it – he never mentioned it in his abundant works (though hundreds of farmers and professors dedicate a good deal of their efforts to find out more, as this would promote herb-growing and Sosse-selling to tourists in amounts beyond imagination), but he must have stumbled on it for sure.”

Helge’s Frankfurter Grüne Sosse

( Ellen’s note: This makes a large batch, so be prepared to eat a lot, have friends over or cut back the proportions to suit your appetite.)

6 eggs, hard boiled
4 cups of crème fraîche
4 cups of sour cream
1 cup of yoghurt (optional)
1 large bunch of Grüne Sosse herbs containing the following:

parsley, Petersilie
salad burnet, Pimpinelle
chives, Schnittlauch
borage, Borretsch
chervil, Kerbel
garden cress or land cress, Kresse
sorrel, Sauerampfer
pepper (white, freshly ground)
salt
mustard
about a tablespoon of white vinegar
a tablespoon of pumpkin seed oil
1.    Mix sour cream, crème fraîche, pepper, a pinch of salt, vinegar and oil
2.    Remove leaves and chop all herbs finely, (by hand vs blender otherwise it gets bitter and too ‘juicy’ and mix in with above.
3.    Peel eggs. Remove egg yolk from two (boiled) eggs, mashing it up with fork, together with some oil, an eggspoon of mustard, some pepper and salt
5.    Mix this with the creamy mixture
6.    Slice up all eggs, decorate them on a dish, adding tomatoes etc. for the nice look
7.    Now, you can increase the amounts depending on how many people there are – just do not forget to add more herbs, too!

The result is a creamy pesto type of spread that is served with hard boiled eggs, or slathered onto red skinned spring potatoes, various meats or even just a slice of crusty bread. As Helge notes, besides the delicious flavor, herbs and other spring greens provide natural health benefits.

Since fresh herbs are fragile, by the time we were home from the market and had gathered all the ingredients to make this recipe, the herbs had wilted. They were delicious in soup, however, and I am inspired to plant a collection of Grune Sosse herbs in my kitchen garden to connect to the history and traditions of Germany. Guten Appetit!

The Cook's Garden seed catalog

When we first launched The Cook’s Garden seed catalog back in1984, choosing the right mailing date was an obsession. We consulted professionals and coordinated with other small seed catalogs so that when you, the garden customer, opened your mailbox a whole colorful stack of seed catalogs would tumble out at the same time. This moment signaled the end of winter, the beginning of spring and triggered that pleasure hormone that comes from planning the garden after a long winter.

Now that catalogs are staggering in, you may be tempted to get your order in fast, but I say take it slow and stretch out that good feeling. It pays to be on the look out for the more unusual varieties, the open pollinated heirlooms, the fruits, vegetables and herbs that offer exceptional culinary qualities. When the seed catalogs start to arrive in your mailbox, stack them all up in a nice basket until you are ready to take time to read. Don’t get swept away by the photos, but compare and plan your garden. Read the descriptions carefully to see if it is easy to start from seed, if it fits your garden zone, and if you price shop, compare the quantity of seeds in the packets. To read more about how to read seed catalogs, sign up for my new on-line garden class or join me at one of my upcoming workshops.

Ready, Set, Cook.

Ready, Set, Garden.

Mise en place is a French phase defined the Culinary Institute of America as “everything in place,” used in professional kitchens to organize and arrange the ingredients. Herbs and spices, freshly chopped fresh and par boiled vegetables, sauces and stocks. Setting up a lot of little bowls with ingredients makes cooking look easy, and helps to follow a recipe. However nice it sounds, this is not how most of us actually cook, and not how we garden either. But the theory is sound.

It’s nice to think that I am creating Mise en place instead of simply puttering, while I take inventory of seed packets, organize the garden shed, stack plastic pots and ready the seedling trays.  Contemplating next years garden in my mind is like reading the recipe: everything I do in advance will help to make it all that much better in the spring.

This month, I will be writing every week about how to set up Mise en Place and garden like a cook. After all, the two go hand in hand. Follow me and we will explore designs, recipes and fresh ideas for making the most of your kitchen garden. To sign up for my on-line garden design and cooking classes, please follow this link.

Garden sheds may seem like an extra perk, but they are an essential element for any gardener and should be part of the planning process of any landscape. Gardeners need a place to protect tools from the weather, a place to store seedling trays and potting soil, clippers, stakes, watering cans and hoses. Like a good pantry, a garden shed contains everything you need, easily accessible, and organized enough so you won’t have to interrupt your routine.

Small is beautiful, especially when you are organized. Hooks and nails for hanging tools, buckets with lids for open bags, and enough room for a potting table under a south facing window to start seedlings. A convenient location near the garden, surrounded by a garden can easily integrate the building into the rest of your landscape. Here are some garden sheds with style. Post your pictures of great garden sheds to give other gardeners great ideas,too!

Learn to grow food

The Salad Garden

For the past month, I find that I have been silently going through my changing season routine and working internally to get into a new groove. I go dormant like a plant and put my focus on survival, rather than growth. This often involves not being very social, and just kind of shutting down a bit. When I was running the other day on the trails, a fox came dashing by me. I went home to look up the fox totem that is all about observing, staying low, and not acting without thinking strategically. That describes me pretty well right now.

But I am also planning something exciting for the spring, and have been writing curriculum to develop new on-line kitchen garden design classes, that would also involve cooking. Adapted from the workshops I have been teaching for the past year and following the format from my book, The Complete Kitchen Garden, these new classes would include video and podcasts, pdf materials and an open blog discussion, plus individual evaluation of your garden design and site. If you are interested in learning more, email me or sign up here.

If you have attended one of my classes or workshops, I would love to hear what you learned and how the class improved your knowledge of kitchen garden designs.  Thank you!

The joys of food preservation are most appreciated in the middle of winter, yet I take pride year round in simply admiring the jars that adorn my pantry shelf. A flavorful chutney or pickle heightens a winter menu with a sweet and sour burst, while a zesty salsa from a late summer explosion of tomatoes and chiles transports me back into the garden.

If you aren’t already a dedicated canner, it is well worth learning. Find beautiful jars and design a unique label. But don’t get too attached…they make wonderful gifts from the  garden.

Recipes for ginger peach chutney, pepper jelly, maple tomato salsa and other spicy and savory condiments can be found in my book, The Complete Kitchen Garden.

Ellen Ogden's Kitchen Garden

Our local, family owned independent Northshire Bookstore is the heart and soul of our small town. Besides hosting fabulous author events and community gatherings, it also just a great place to hangout. When my book, The Complete Kitchen Garden debuted last March, they hosted a book signing and continue to sell my book both in the store and on-line.

The Complete Kitchen Garden is a two-for-one deal; you will find garden designs plus recipes. If you like to start your garden with a plan, The Complete Kitchen Garden is the book for you. Fifteen full color vegetable garden designs, black and white diagrams with detailed plant lists, how-to instructions on soil, compost and garden design, plus 100 recipes. This book will inspire you to elevate your garden from ordinary to extraordinary.

Order a copy for yourself and a friend, at your local bookstore, or on my website. If you post a link to your favorite local book store on my website or face book page, you will be eligible for a drawing (on December 10^th).   The winner will receive a free autographed copy of my book.

The Complete Kitchen Garden

• Extra virgin olive oil
  Assorted vinegars (for salad dressings and deglazing)
  Real lemons
  Garlic, onions, shallots
  Dried fresh herbs and spices
  Vanilla bean
  Crystallized ginger
  Tomato paste
  Grains: rice, barley, quinoa, bulgur
  Vermont maple syrup
  Dijon mustard
  Walnuts, pignoli
  Dried lentils and other legumes
  Dried wild mushrooms
  Onions, potatoes, winter squash
  Soy or tamari sauce, fish sauce
  Capers, olives, anchovies
  Miso paste
  Vegetable bouillon concentrate
  Coarse sea salt
  Black peppercorns and pepper grinder
  Whole Wheat & White Flour Bread
  Parmigiano-Reggiano Cheese ( Refrigerated)