Fresh black trumpet mushrooms - the season is now!

From the chanterelle family, black trumpets result in the silkiest texture when cooked.  Wash the stems under a stream of running water, then saute in a bit of olive oil over medium-high heat.  A hint of salt is nice, followed by a splash of a good, deep red wine such as a zinfandel.  Finish with a pat of butter stirred in off the heat.

A trip north this past weekend resulted in a great visit to the Tamworth farmers' market, and an awesome score of freshly foraged wild mushrooms, deep green bunches of celery, and succulent red bell peppers as big as Italian eggplants -- perfect timing for turning a recent purchase of New Roots Farm grass-fed ground beef and Barker's Farm heirloom potatoes into a luscious, comforting Sunday night dinner!  Tonight's dish: Pan seared grass-fed beef burgers with a luscious black trumpet mushroom-zinfandel sauce, garnished with Sun Gold cherry tomatoes and accompanied by buttermilk mashed potatoes with leeks, red bell pepper, celery leaf and aged sheep's milk cheese.  Phew, I'm out of breath.

Savory Baked Stuffed Apples

A family friend forwarded a Vegetarian Times recipe for apples stuffed with wild rice and quinoa. With three half pecks of various apples on the porch, and plenty of rice and quinoa hanging out in the pantry (blacks, reds, whites...), I figured I'd give it a run-through....

Summer Stir-Fry

I picked up a small amount of "Wine cap mushrooms" at the Rye farmers' market last week. Interesting shroomz! Thought a simple stir fry would be in order... along with some yellow squash and japanese eggplant from my garden, and some zucchini, broccoli, red bell pepper, and onion from local farmers. A drizzle of sesame oil and a sprinkle of toasted sesame seeds made it just right. What a joy!