It’s cold and dreary and dank – so it must be time for goulash! This lovely, lovely soup can be made with bacon and beef from Lindenhof Farms or Bison from Backyard Bison. I just made it from bison, and heavens it was YUMMY! Serve with a nice crusty loaf of bread and a crisp salad, and a nice glass (or two) of Cotes du Rhone, and you have a meal fit for a Winter Goddess.

Hearty Goulash Soup
In Austria, warming bowls of goulash soup are served in all kinds of establishments – from quick-service restaurants along the Autobahn to Vienna’s elegant Hotel Bristol. This hearty beef and vegetable soup can be found in many areas of central and eastern Europe, especially in regions that were once part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Our satisfying rendition has chunks of beef and potato plus red peppers, bacon, onions, and garlic, all fragrant with paprika.

Ingredients:
5 slices bacon, chopped
3 pounds boneless chuck, trimmed and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
4 medium onions (about 1 1/2 pounds), chopped fine
3 garlic cloves, minced
3 tablespoons paprika (preferably Hungarian sweet*)
1 1/2 teaspoons caraway seeds (note: this may be too much caraway for your taste, it was for mine; try 1/2 teaspoon only and see what you think.)
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup red-wine vinegar
1/4 cup tomato paste
5 cups beef broth
5 cups water
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 red bell peppers, chopped fine
4 large russet (baking) potatoes (about 2 1/2 pounds)

Preparation:
In an 8-quart heavy kettle cook bacon over moderate heat, stirring, until crisp and transfer with a slotted spoon to a large bowl. In fat remaining in kettle brown chuck in small batches over high heat, transferring it as browned with slotted spoon to bowl.
Reduce heat to moderate and add oil. Add onions and garlic and cook, stirring, until golden. Stir in paprika, caraway seeds, and flour and cook, stirring, 2 minutes. Whisk in vinegar and tomato paste and cook, whisking, 1 minute. (Mixture will be very thick.) Stir in broth, water, salt, bell peppers, bacon, and chuck and bring to a boil, stirring. Simmer soup, covered, stirring occasionally, 45 minutes.
Peel potatoes and cut into 1/2-inch pieces. Add potatoes to soup and simmer, covered, occasionally until tender, about 30 minutes. Season soup with salt and pepper. Soup may be made 3 days ahead and cooled, uncovered, before chilling, covered. Reheat soup, thinning with water if desired.

From: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Hearty-Goulash-Soup-11021

Sugar Snap Peas
These are an important early season vegetable that you’ll find readily available from sources like farmers markets, food co-ops, and home gardens. Fresh or lightly cooked, sugar snap peas can be enjoyed pods and all.

Storage
Store whole, unwashed sugar snap peas in a perforated plastic bag in the crisper drawer of your refrigerator for up to five days.

Handling
Rinse sugar snap peas in their pods and pat them dry. To string both sides at once, hold the top stem-end and pull down toward the flat side of the pea. Alternatively, string peas after cooking to retain sweetness.

Sugar Snap Pea and Cucumber Salad with Walnut-Dill Dressing
Delicate cucumber slices and refreshing dill are wonderful companions for crispy-sweet sugar snap peas. The robust flavor of a walnut dressing adds depth to the bright flavors in this summery salad. Friend of the Farm.
Serves 4

1 pound sugar snap peas
1 cucumber, peeled if thick-skinned, halved lengthwise, seeded, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon walnut oil or peanut oil
2 tablespoons chopped walnuts
1 1/2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 1/2 lemon)
1 tablespoon water
1 tablespoon fresh dill or 1 teaspoon dried dill
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
salt
freshly ground black pepper

1. Remove the strings from both edges of the pea pods.

2. Place the peas in a steamer basket set over 1 1/2 inches boiling water, cover, and steam until they are just crisp-tender, 3 to 5 minutes.

3. Drain the peas in the sink and immediately run cold water over them. Transfer the peas to a clean, dry dish towel and pat them dry. Place them in a large bowl and add the cucumber.

4. Put the oil, walnuts, lemon juice, water, dill, and cayenne pepper into a blender. Blend until smooth.

5. Pour the walnut dressing over the cucumbers and peas. Toss until well combined. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Sautéed Sugar Snap Peas with Carrots and Honey Glaze
The fresh, summery flavor of sugar snap peas is set off by the sweetness of lightly cooked carrots and a honey glaze. Sweet simplicity. Friend of the Farm.
Serves 3 to 4

1/2–1 pound sugar snap peas
2 medium carrots, peeled
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon honey
freshly ground black pepper

1. Remove the strings from both edges of the pea pods (start by gently pulling from the stem).

2. Cut each carrot into thirds. Slice each third, lengthwise, into quarters so that the slices are about the size and shape of the sugar snap peas.

3. Place the carrots in a steamer basket set over 11/2 inches boiling water, cover, and steam until they are just crisp-tender, 3 to 5 minutes. Drain the carrots in a colander.

4. Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the sugar snap peas; cook, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes. Add the carrots. Continue to cook and stir until the peas are bright green and crisp-tender, about 3 minutes. Add the honey and cook for 1 more minute, stirring constantly, until the peas and carrots are thoroughly glazed with the honey.

5. Remove the skillet from heat. Season generously with pepper.

The Crop
Peas, like all legumes, are great soil enhancers. Their leaves gather nitrogen from the air, and their roots thread that nitrogen into the soil, right where we want it. Another way to put nitrogen in soil is to inject fields with anhydrous ammonia. We prefer to let our plants do it in their organic, silent, and splendid way.

Excerpted from Farmer John’s Cookbook: The Real Dirt On Vegetables: Seasonal Recipes and Stories from a Community Supported Farm by Farmer John Peterson & Angelic Organics (Gibbs Smith Publisher). Check with your local farm or bookstore for availability. Additional recipes, charts, signed copies of this book, and quantity discounts available at www.AngelicOrganics.com/cookbook.

Yesterday was opening day of the third season of our beloved Farmers Market. The weather was perfect and we walked to the market with good friends…what more could we ask for? As I reflected on the day, I wanted to share some things with you.

Random Thought #1: “Thank You For This Food”
As we walked around the market, I couldn’t help but be so happy to be able to spend my money on the best fruits and veggies around…the sweetest and juiciest strawberries, fresh asparagus and crisp lettuce, pastured eggs, local honey and organic herbs. It might seem strange to hear me say I was happy to spend my money, when we are all so careful about how much money we spend these days, but there’s no one I would rather give my money to than these hard working people who grow such nutrient rich, delicious food. These are farmers who I have become friends with over the years, people who I want to see succeed in their businesses – not just because they feed me, but because they are doing mankind good by growing crops and raising animals in a healthy way. Thank you!

Random Thought #2: “A Girl and Her Peas”
As much as my face twists when my three year old tells me she wants to eat mac n cheese, PB&J, or chicken fingers, she does like some veggies (peas and corn, if corn counts), but she is not that child who cannot get enough of green beans and broccoli. However, there is something magical about the Farmers Market and the veggies we buy there. She gets to meet the farmers who are growing the lettuce, peas, asparagus. We returned home from our trek yesterday, started to prepare for dinner and as my husband got home, she shouted “we got sugar snap peas at the farmers market”! Then, she demanded she have some with dinner. As this is not a normal request, I quickly said “of course, here they are!” and she ate several in a row nearly without a breath in between each. After dinner had ended, she pranced around the house yelling, “we love sugar snap peas!”

Thank you, Miss Peg, for your sugar snap peas. And, parents and grandparents who are out there reading this…there is hope for the kid who doesn’t want to eat his veggies! Take him to the Farmers Market!

Random Thought #3: “Go Home and Make This Now”
I’d like to share with you a recipe for tarragon chicken salad I’ve been making for years. Luckily, Lime Valley Mill Farm had the tarragon I desperately needed and I added some crisp green lettuce from Blueberry Hill Farm. Yes, there is a bite taken out of the second half of the sandwich. I couldn’t help myself and almost finished the delicious sandwich before I took the picture! Please forgive me. Better yet, make the chicken salad yourself and post a thank you in the comment section. (OK, that is a little presumptuous, but if you like tarragon, I think you will enjoy this.)

Lemon-Tarragon Chicken Salad Sandwiches

• 1 1/4 pounds skinless boneless chicken breast halves (about 3)

• 3/4 cup finely chopped celery
• 1/2 cup plus 3 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
• 12 slices rye bread with seeds
• 2 cups thinly sliced romaine lettuce
• (JEN’S NOTE: I added apple chunks)

Bring large saucepan of salted water to boil. Add chicken breasts; reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer until chicken is just cooked through, about 12 minutes. Transfer chicken to plate; cool. (JEN’S NOTE: You can cook chicken however you want. I put split breasts in the crock pot and left it on high for three hours.)

Mix celery, 1/2 cup mayonnaise, onion, tarragon, lemon juice, and lemon peel in large bowl to blend. Cut chicken into 1/2-inch cubes; stir into mayonnaise mixture. Season with salt and pepper. Can be made 4 hours ahead. Cover; chill. (JEN’S NOTE: This chicken salad is better the next day as the flavors have had time to get to know each other.)

Arrange 6 bread slices on work surface. Spread with 3 tablespoons mayonnaise. Divide salad among bread slices. Top each with lettuce and second bread slice. Cut sandwiches in half and serve.

See you next Wednesday!

Jennifer Sanders, HTFMA

There’s this soup I have been making for years that I would love to share with you. I’ve made it mostly for myself (I can be selfish with my food at times), but I also made it for my daughter’s second birthday party last year and there wasn’t a drop left.

I have an addiction to soup – mostly the pureed kind – and this one is at the top of my list. It’s a twist on the traditionally-spiced pumpkin soup. I found it while paging through Bon Appetit all the way back in 2000 and lucky for you, the recipe is below or online at Epicurious.com.

It’s Southwestern Pumpkin Soup: slightly sweetened with brown sugar and spiced with chili powder and cumin. The added touch of cilantro and sharp cheddar sprinkled on the top makes it quite special. It does call for canned pumpkin, but if you have a pumpkin from the Farmers Market all the better!

Southwestern Pumpkin Soup
Serves 4 (first course)

• 3 cups chicken stock or canned low-salt chicken broth
• 1 cup whipping cream

• 1 15-ounce can pure pumpkin
• 3 tablespoons (packed) dark brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 3/4 cup (packed) grated sharp cheddar cheese
• Chopped fresh cilantro

Bring chicken stock and whipping cream to boil in heavy medium pot. Whisk in canned pumpkin, brown sugar, cumin, chili powder, coriander and nutmeg. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until soup thickens slightly and flavors blend, about 15 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. (Soup can be prepared up to 1 day ahead. Cool. Cover and refrigerate. Rewarm over medium-low heat, whisking occasionally.) Ladle soup into bowls. Garnish each serving with cheddar cheese and cilantro and serve.