QUAIL HILL FARM E-NEWS - Peconic Land Trust

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THE APPRENTICE: Meet ANNA When I was asked to include the scone recipe I baked for the Opening Day Farm Breakfast in the July newsletter, a fitting theme came to mind for my newsletter introduction to you. When Brett and I came to work at the farm, something happened for me that resulted in a new focus on food: we always liked eating well, but now we think about food all the time. The change could be something as simple as the transition from sitting in a chair all day to doing farm work increasing our appetites. But more than that, I think what happened really was that at some point I realized that when we farm, we are making food all day long. Pruning raspberry canes is making jam, seeding lettuce becomes making salad, cutting seed potatoes isn’t that far from mashing potatoes. I don't know why the connection between daily farm work (and not just the end point of harvesting) and meals was elusive to me for so long, but it was exciting to realize the connection in full force, to grasp what a special thing it is to be able to feed people. At work our conversation frequently turns from crops to the subject of food – what to do with various vegetables, what to eat for lunch, and what was eaten for dinner the night before. I have discovered how many serious food people have been attracted to the farm. Foodies, a group I never would have thought to associate myself with in my pre-farm life now doesn’t seem so far-fetched a way of describing what I am involved. Lately, Brett and I have been reading aloud recipes from magazines or cookbooks, questioning one another on the techniques and ingredients as a sort of guessing game. I find myself wondering how and why I have made do for so long without such things as a food processor or a bundt pan. If farming vitalizes one’s relationship with food, then cooking seems equally to encourage recipes. The scone recipe I used for the opening day breakfast is from The Foster's Market Cookbook, but with my own tweaks in the version printed here. Aside from a few trial batches before the breakfast, I had never made scones before. I'm not sure that I did things exactly the way scones are "supposed" to be made, but this is what I ended up with as my favorite. I will warn you though: scones are a pain to make. But following these directions should get you a decent scone. Don’t give up at the point when you have a sticky buttery blob: they will bake just fine. Scones 4 ½ cups flour ½ cup sugar 2 tsp baking powder ½ tsp baking soda ½ tsp salt 3 sticks cold unsalted butter cut into ¼ inch pieces 1 ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons buttermilk Optional: ½ cup dried fruit, set in lukewarm water for a few minutes. For fresh fruit like raspberries add 2 cups and use 2-3 tablespoons less buttermilk. For adding rhubarb toss it first in sugar and sprinkle the top of the scone with cinnamon sugar. Egg wash: 1 egg beaten with 2 tablespoons milk. 1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. 2. LIGHTLY grease 2 baking sheets and set aside. 3. Combing flour, heaping ¼ cup sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. 4. Add the cold butter to flour mixture and cut in using pastry cutter until the mixture resembles a coarse meal (sort of likr rolled oats) or pulse in a food processor 10-12 times. Do not overwork dough or allow the butter to get soft, return to fridge if it’s too warm. 5. Add 1 ¼ cup buttermilk (some recipes call for half-and-half, but buttermilk which is lower in fat makes the scones lighter and flakier) and mix until just combined and the dough begins to stick together. Add the remaining buttermilk one tablespoon at a time if the dough is too dry. Note: if adding fruit fold in now. 6. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Note: the dough will probably look like a mess at this point, shaggy and not very cohesive, but as you pat it into two 6 inch circles about 1 ½ inch thick it should come together. The dough will probably be sticky because of the butter, try not to have too much contact because that will make the butter melt into the batter. Cut each round into six pie wedges. Use a spatula to lift the wedges to the lightly greased baking sheet. 7. Brush tops with egg wash and sprinkle top with scant ¼ cup sugar. 8. Bake 30-35 minutes, until golden brown and firm to tough. Cool on a baking rack. NEXT ISSUE: Meet Joe & Annie
CROSSWORD PUZZLE: by John de Cuevas Wrap-around Crossword Puzzle - by John de Cuevas Instructions: So lve this puzzle the way you would any normal crossword puzzle but notice its unusual features. Words wrap around. That is, across words that don't end at the right continue on the next row, and down words that don't end at the bottom continue in t he next column. What's more, four across words and four down words (their clues are marked by an asterisk) won't fit in the grid unless one of the ir letters is removed. Those eight letters, taken in the ord er they occur in across and down words, spell a two-word phrase that defines the mystery entries. (If you like this puzzle and want to see others like it, visit my website, www.puzzlecrypt.com, but be warned, the puzzles on the site are much more difficult than this one.) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 Across 1. Mystery entry 3. Song 4. Flower 6. Cultured milk 9. Aggregate 11. Tradesman 13. *Treat with partiality 14. Cries 15. Potato, for instance 16. Do again 17. What farmers do to soil 18. Post 20. Milk curd 23. *Dog 24. Revolve 25. Shirker 27. Italian poet of the 16th century 30. Pleasantry 31. Lake or tarn (uncommon word) 32. Nobleman of low rank 33. *Fruits 34. Coffin carrier 35. *Obstruct 37. Mystery entry Down 1. Good Samaritan 2. Having distinction 3. Swine 4. Mystery entry 5. *Farmer's tool 7. Festive occasion 8. Northern Ireland 10. Bleaching agent 11. Use up 12. Choose 16. What farmers need now and then 18. *Aquatic mammal 19. *In a fervent manner 21. Manage with economy 22. *Support 23. Pointed end 26. Enzyme produced by the kidney 28. Theater 29. Hindu garment 30. Mystery entry 31. Lady in charge 34. Nimbus 36. Minister Copyright 2007. John de Cuevas. All rights reserved.
Page 1 and 2: July 18, 2007 Vol. 2, July News Pec
Page 3: EVENTS and ANNOUNCEMENTS POT LUCK S
Page 7 and 8: OF OTHER INTEREST EDIBLE FLOWERS by

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