The Rally to Support Farmers Post-Irene

The outpouring of support for farmers and farms flooded by Irene has been inspiring. Last week I wrote a post about my friend Ray Bradley and neighboring farmers in New Paltz who lost nearly everything in the storm. Many people shared the story – thank you all for spreading the word – and many asked me “how can I help?”

Bradley Farm after the storm (photo by Paul Friberg)

A week and half after the storms, the damage reports aren’t any better. In fact, maybe they’re worse. Some crops weren’t washed away that farmers hoped to salvage for harvest, but the FDA and NYS department of agriculture and markets have ruled that any produce that came in contact with flood waters could not be used for human or animal consumption. It will be Spring before food grown in those flooded fields will be harvested and sold to us at market.

I overheard some people at the Greenmarket last Saturday commenting that one of the farmers must not have been hit that hard, because she had plenty for sale at her market stand. In fact, that particular farmer did indeed lose nearly everything in the flood. The food for sale was what she managed to harvest and store before the storm. In the weeks and months to come we’ll see tables at the market growing empty. We have only begun to realize the true devastation that these farmers will feel when they have little to nothing to bring to market.

Fall is what we work for and look forward to all year; it’s the season that our work and preparation pays off. – Deborah Kavakos of Stoneledge Farm (via Mark Bittman, NYT)

People are rallying and fund-raising efforts and events are starting to come together to support farmers in need. Here’s a list of ways you can contribute to hurricane relief (I’ll continue to update this list, so check back again):

GrowNYC is accepting donations to “Help Greenmarket Farmers Weather Hurricane Irene”. 100% of all donations will directly support Greenmarket farmers impacted by Hurricane Irene. Check it out and give what you can.
Dine Out Irene was an event on September 25, 2011 where participating New York City restaurants will give up to 10% of their sales to Just Food and GrowNYC to benefit NY area farmers hard hit by the hurricane. Check out the Dine out Irene website for the list of amazing participating restaurants and to see the fundraising tally.
Bradley Farm hosted a t-shirt design contest to show support for (my friend and farmer) Ray. The t-shirts are for sale and you can also make a direct donation through the Bradley Farm website.
Evolutionary Organics farmer Kira Kinney has set up a myregistry.com page where you can donate needed items like chicken feed, seeds, greenhouse fuel, or make a cash donation to help keep the farm afloat.
The town of New Paltz is organizing 2 events to support local farmers: A Kick-Off Pot Luck with local bands, chefs and raffles contributed by local businesses on October 2nd and an All Day Benefit Concert on October 16th. You can get more info and RSVP for these events here.
JustFood is also accepting donations on behalf of regional farmers affected by Irene. Select “Hurricane Relief” under ‘Program Designation’ in order to allocate your donation to helping farms recover.
The Regional Farm and Food Project is a member supported, farmer focused, non-profit serving the greater Hudson-Mohawk Valley food shed of New York State. They are collecting donations to be dispersed to farmers via causes.com
Denison Farm and Kilpatrick Family Farm are two big certified naturally grown farms, with CSA Programs in Upstate NY. You can support them through a fundraiser via the From Scratch Club website. Make a donation of any size by October 15th and you’ll be entered in a raffle to win one of a number of amazing gift baskets stuffed with local foods and other treats.
NYC Greenmarkets are now accepting in-kind donations for upstate communities impacted by tropical storms Irene and Lee. With damaged roads and bridges, lack of access to supermarkets, inadequate transportation and high gas prices, many residents are going to face critical food and supply shortages in the upcoming months. Donations will be distributed to communities most in need by the New York State Regional Food Bank. Check for market locations and times.

*Email me at if you are organizing, or know of, additional campaigns or events to be added to this list.

Ray Bradley post-flood — Ray Bradley, wading in the flood waters (New Paltz, NY)

GrowNYC has a growing list of Greenmarket farmers affected by the storm.

Opening the Floodgates posts “Help for our farmer friends after Hurricane Irene”

If you’re wanting to lend an actual hand (or 2) check out volunteer opportunities from Crop Mob NYC.

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A Late Summer Market Brunch: Skakshuka!

Greenmarket Saturdays are a ritual in our house. Every week, rain or shine, Brad, Francine and I always make our way to Grand Army Plaza to load up on some seasonal goodness. So when I read the NY Locavore challenge email on Saturday morning, suggesting a visit to a local greenmarket or farm stand, I was already on my way.

If you’re wanting to shop and cook with local produce from your neighborhood greenmarket, it’s often best to forgo your shopping list and let go of your expectations. I typically buy what looks good (remember, foods that grow together go together) and enjoy a good recipe hunt when I return. But every now and then I will make a point of noting a recipe that seems seasonally appropriate before I head out so I can keep an eye out for those ingredients.

This past weekend that recipe was Yotam Ottolenghi’s Shakshuka – a traditional North African dish that is a perfect way to enjoy the local tomatoes and peppers that are in abundance at this time of year, not to mention some delicious eggs, straight from the farm.

A while back my friend Allan sent me a link to Yotam Ottolenghi’s New Vegetarian column for the Guardian. Drawing on his Middle Eastern and Medditeranean influences, this London chef makes some mean vegetarian dishes (he also confirms my belief that a dollup of yogurt goes on just about anything). I’ve had a copy of his book, Plenty – with the original padded, gold embossed cover that seems far too precious for the kitchen, but is destined to become spattered and worn – on my nightstand since Winter, eagerly awaiting the arrival of seasons that would bring the produce featured in its recipes.

Saturday afternoon I broke out the cookbook and Brad and I finally enjoyed the sweet, spicy Shashuka for a post-market brunch. Served with some toasty, market-fresh bread for scooping and sopping, it was everything I dreamed it would be. Here’s the link to the Shakshuka recipe, where you can also watch a video of Ottolenghi cooking the dish.

Plenty: Vibrant Recipes from London’s Ottolenghi

A few notes from my kitchen: The recipe serves four big appetites, very generously. I prepared the pepper mixture and transferred half to a smaller pan, where I made nests for 4 eggs. The other half kept well in the refrigerator to be reheated and repeated for another meal later in the weekend. Instead of letting the eggs poach in a covered pan, I transfered my oven-proof skillet to a 375 degree oven for 10 minutes until the eggs were “wobbly” set.

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Locavorism and The Flooding of Local Farms

Yesterday kicked off the first day of the New York Locavore Challenge hosted by NOFA NY (The Northeast Organic Farming Association of New York). When I told Brad I thought we should sign up and was talking about the 250 mile diet, he said to me, “but don’t we already eat like that?” It’s true, we’re pretty much locavores by habit. We buy our food from the farmers at the Greenmarket and the Park Slope Food Coop. Save for some of the non-local things we can’t live without, like coffee, olive oil, lemons, and those tasty Marcona almonds, I know where (and how far) most of our food comes from, and in many cases I even know the people who grow it.

It’s those people who I’ve been thinking about all week.

Bradley Farm sign flooded — All photos in this post courtesy Paul Friberg

Hurricane Irene caused devestating floods to upstate New York, including the Hudson River Valley and the Catskills where many of the farms we buy from at Grand Army Plaza are located. And if you’ve been reading this blog, you’ll know that includes my friend Ray. When I learned that the storm danced around Brooklyn and settled in north of us causing rivers to overflow, there was cause for alarm. The report at the beginning of the week was that Ray lost everything. I hoped this was an exaggeration, that when the waters receded and the damage was assessed, that the loss would not be that bad. Sadly this was not the case.

Over the course of this past week, my friend Etienne and I have been swapping articles, like this one in the New York Times, and this one in the Daily Freeman that talks about the flooding of Springtown road, where Ray and several other farmers who come to the NYC greenmarkets are located. Several of us in Brooklyn, feeling helpless and worried, waited for more word.

The Wallkill River had turned a cornfield on the southerly side into a lake and the corn stalks covered with mud, and put Springtown Road under water as far as the eye could see. -The Daily Freeman

On Wednesday and Thursday I started getting more detailed damage reports. The weekly newsletter from Bradley Farm tried to highlight the positive – Ray’s pigs and most of his chickens survived the flood, and 300 lbs. of tomatoes were actively being turned into sauce. But then Ray’s friend Paul sent me photos and I read an email from his neighboring farmer, Kira, known as Evolutionary Organics at our local market, and the reality is that the level of loss is severe. The flood caused fields to sit under as much as 6 feet of water (Ray was canoing over the land), many farmers have lost 90-100% of the season’s crops, and nobody knows just yet how they’ll get through the next few months.

You will no longer see a lot of other products at the market this season… I will till under a season’s worth of hard work and hope. -Kira Kinney of Evolutionary Organics

So, I don’t know what you know about farming. I know as much as I’ve garnered over the years from talking to the people that grow our food and paying attention to the turnover of seasons. But I’ll do my best to explain what this loss means:

It’s the end of Summer – the middle of what should be the most bountiful harvest of the the season – the zucchini, tomatoes, corn and other crops we’ve been feasting on lately are just reaching their peak. The peppers and eggplants and all the late Summer produce that would normally be plentiful through the warmer days of Fall are finally hitting their stride. The fall crops like broccoli and tons of beautiful greens that were planted earlier this Summer are nearly ready. Soon the Fall and winter storage crops like winter squash and potatoes, which require a season’s worth of planning, should start making an appearance – these are especially important crops, because storage allows them to sustain us throughout our long, cold Northeast Winters.

Now, here’s what you need to understand – all these crops are gone. Flooded out and in some cases washed away. Those that still stand are covered in silt and quickly becoming diseased from all the water and soggy soil. It’s too late in the season to start again, there just aren’t enough warm days left in the growing season. So the farmers will come to market and sell us what they harvested or stored before the storm, and maybe a few crops will make it and a few may be re-planted for Fall harvest, but it’s only a matter of time before they’re looking at empty fields, and down a long road to the next season wondering how they’re going to survive.

Words can’t really express the concern I feel for these farmers. I am so grateful to have them in our lives and to be able to eat the food they grow. I wish it was as simple as encouraging you all to go out to the market tomorrow to support your local farmers (and yes, PLEASE do this!), but unfortunately there will come a point when they have little to nothing to sell to us until next season (that means the remainder of Summer, Fall and Winter). How can we support them so they can support themselves after that? I wish I had the answer to that question, a lot of people do. Right now we can only wait and see, and rise to the occasion when it presents itself.

And so I return to the Locavore Challenge. For me this is not so much a month of challenge as it is a month of awareness. A month to pay closer than usual attention to the food we eat and where it’s coming from. Can we replace some of our non-local ingredients with local ones? Can we support more people in our community who are working to bring us good food? Can we do it in new ways? It will be an interesting month to ramp up our locavorism when many of our local food sources has been devastated, and I worry for the loss that we will all continue to feel in the months ahead. But for now, I’m lifting my chin and looking out. I’ll keep you posted.

*update*
For a list of ways to help farmers recover from the storm, check out The Rally to Support Farmers Post-Irene

NOFA NY is a great organization that works to band together consumers, gardeners, and farmers working together to create a sustainable regional food system and make good food available to all people. Part of my pledge to the Locavore challenge is to spread the word. So I am encouraging you to like them on Facebook, follow them on Twitter, read their blog, and consider joining or simply making a donation to support their efforts.

While you’re at it, check out Hudson Valley Harvest, another great organization supporting Hudson Valley farmers.

Oh, and it’s not too late to join the challenge.

Please tweet, like, and share this post with as many people as possible.

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Poachin’ Peaches

I’ve had this desire to poach some fruit all summer. It started when we had our first pile of apricots back in July, but we ate all those delicious little suckers before I ever got around to it. So when a half bottle of Muscat (from Oregon) was left untouched the other night, and I had 3 big, beautiful peaches sitting on my counter, I decided it was time.

Here’s the thing about poached peaches, they are my kind of dessert. This is a dish that is nice and easy – not requiring any sort of careful measurements of the baking variety, it can be made in advance and my goodness is it delicious. These peaches are plenty classy for your next dinner party, or you can just make them for yourself to enjoy, because really they’re that simple and because you totally deserve a treat.

Peaches halved for poaching — Peaches, halved, pitted and ready for poaching

I did some recipe searching in the interest of quantities and cooking times and after reviewing serveral recipes I came across this one on Food 52. All of the recipes I had previously considered called for the peaches to be scored and blanched in order to remove the skins before poaching. Turns out that step is totally unnecessary – if you poach the peaches with the skin on, they’ll slip right off when they’re finished, and the bonus is that the peach skins turn the poaching liquid a beautiful pink color.

So basically it goes like this: get some nice peaches, cut them in half, simmer them in some wine until they’re tender, remove them and slip of the skins. Then cook that liquid until it thickens to a syrup, allow everything to cool (or chill until later) and serve.

Pink syrup — Peach skins result in a pink syrup

I doctored up my recipe a bit, adding tarragon and honey to the syrup. I thought the herbal note and contrasting sweetness would be interesting (turns out I was right). And I served it with a scoop of fresh ricotta. It was, as we say, bangin’.

Syrup drizzle — Poached peaches and ricotta drizzled with honey tarragon syrup

Poached Peaches with Ricotta and Honey Tarragon Syrup

4 large, ripe peaches (or in my case, 3 very large peaches)
2 cups sweet white wine (I used a Muscat)
1 sprig of tarragon
1 tablespoon honey
fresh ricotta for serving (a generous 1/2 cup)

Halve and pit the peaches. Heat the wine to a steady simmer in a saucepan, slide the peaches into the liquid cut side down, and cover (if they don’t fit you can do them in 2 batches). Cook for 4 minutes then, using 2 spoons, gently turn them over, and cook for another 3-4 minutes. Test for doneness by seeing if a butter knife will easily pierce – cooking time may vary with the ripeness of peaches.

Remove the peaches to a shallow bowl and allow to cool. When cool enough to handle, slip the skins off. Meanwhile, bruise the tarragon (smash it a few times with the flat side of a knife or back of a spoon) and add, along with honey, to the remaining wine in saucepan. Increase the heat to a gentle boil and cook until reduced by half. Add in any juices that have collected from the peaches and transfer to a dish to cool.

You can allow everything to cool at room temperature and serve, or you can cover the peaches tightly in plastic wrap, and refrigerate (store the syrup in a separate container) overnight. When ready, spoon a bit of syrup into a shallow bowl, place 2 peach halves and a heaping spoonful of fresh ricotta on top, then drizzle with a bit of additional syrup. Enjoy!

A Proper Pranzo

Every now and then, a proper lunch should be had. Take a break, slow down, and enjoy a summer afternoon and a good meal with friends.

A salad with balsamic figs and pecorino romano

Heirloom Caprese — Heirloom tomatoes and mozzarella di bufala (don't ya just love summer?)

Serving — Everything tastes better when shared

Prosciutto di Parma — It wouldn't be a feast without a bit of prosciutto di parma

Then comes the hard part – back to work.

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Hurricanes, Hoarding and Tomatoes

Here we are in Brooklyn waiting for the storm to come (that would be Hurricane Irene). She has freaked this city out and we’ve battered down and stocked up in anticipation. I read advisories about having shelf-stable food on hand, and made sure we had plenty of bread, cheese, olives and wine. I also made a potato and egg tortilla this morning, because it’s good to be prepared.

I hope we’re over-prepared (in all seriousness we’ve got water and candles and have secured everything we can), but only time will tell how this storm plays out. One of my worst fears is what will happen to all the pork products and other food I have hoarded in my freezer if the power goes out, including the 5 quarts of tomato sauce we just made last week.

When Brad and I left Bradley Farm the other Sunday night after the Farm to Table dinner, Ray was all too happy to help carry 30 plus pounds of tomatoes to our car. Ray Bradley is know for his amazing heirloom tomatoes and I made a point of using some of them in their purest form. I made some tomato juice, an angel hair pasta with a fresh tomato “sauce” (kind of like this one), and of course we ate plenty of them simply sliced with a bit of salt. But even after that we still had well over 20 pounds of tomatoes on our hands.

Fresh heirloom tomato juice is a great way to start the day

Now I would like to take a moment and mention two things. 1. I love to make sauces and soups in the summer to enjoy during the winter, but it is a time-consuming process and I came into these tomatoes during what turned out to be one of the busiest work weeks of what has been a very busy summer. 2. From the second we drove away with those tomatoes Brad started saying, “we should make a ton of sauce!” and “we should can!”, and this we, really means me.

By the third night of coming down from the studio at 8 or 9pm, feeling hungry and tired from a long day of work, those crates of tomatoes in my living room were starting to feel like a ticking time bomb. I decided to call in the proverbial we, and thankfully Brad had no idea what he was getting himself into when I asked him to blanch and peel all of those tomatoes while I cooked dinner.

Blanched and peeled! — All blanched and peeled!

I finished the job and now we have the beginnings of our annual stockpile of sauce. But if the power goes out tomorrow, I might just be throwing a hurricane pasta party, with a lot of peas and pork chops.

Tomato mess — You should have seen the other guy

Tomatoes, sauced. — 20 lbs. tomatoes, sauced.

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My Grandma’s Zucchini Bread

I recently read A Tiger in the Kitchen: A Memoir of Food and Family. I am a total sucker for memoirs and I took this one down while flying to and from Denver a few weeks back. It’s the story of a busy, thirtysomething New York City woman who spends a year traveling to her native country of Singapore to learn the traditional recipes and cooking secrets of her grandmothers and aunties.

It may not come as a surprise that the book had me fantasizing about a break from our Brooklyn life in which I would travel the world in search of food memories. It also had me craving the Singaporean dishes described in the book. But most of all it had me thinking about the the passing of traditional family recipes.

The summer of my first CSA share, when Brad and I were living in a little Williamsburg apartment that we were starting to feel was too small for all the zucchini we were getting, I called my mom and asked her for my Grandma’s zucchini recipe. I remember this being something that was always freshly made whenever we arrived at her house in Pennsylvania for a visit, and I would eat slice after slice, lightly toasted and buttered. My mom called my grandmother, who read her the recipe over the phone, and then my mom called back and relayed it to me.

This was one successful game of telephone and I’ve been making the zucchini bread ever since. Over the years I’ve tried variations – less sugar, different nuts, a bit of spice – but ultimately it always comes out the best when I make it just like my Grandma told me (via my mom) to. It’s the reason why I own 3 loaf pans, is pretty much foolproof and freezes wonderfully. I recommend the eat 1 now, freeze 2 for later rule so you can enjoy it when the zucchini is long gone.

My Grandma’s Zucchini Bread

(makes 3 loaves)

3 eggs
2 cups sugar
3 cups flour
1 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon cloves
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoon vanilla
3 cups grated zucchini
1 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 325º. Grease loaf pans (I use butter). Mix all ingredients in a large bowl. Fill each pan ½ full with batter (just distribute the batter evenly between the pans) and bake 1 hour until golden brown. Tooth pick inserted in center should come out clean. Serve warm with butter and enjoy!

Recipe by Dorothy Yurkovich

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Sweet, Cool, Watermelon Gazpacho

We’ve been eating good melon all summer, including tons of sweet, silky cantaloupe. But now, there are watermelons up the wazzoo. I worked a shift at the Park Slope Food Coop this morning and I watched a whole lot of people snatching up Sugar Babies and other tasty varieties. I myself scooped up a seedless fellow from Maxwell Farm at the Saturday greenmarket, and later patted myself on the back when I found that I had written down one of my favorite recipes from last summer: Watermelon gazpacho.

What could be better when there are melons popping up and heirloom tomatoes galore? And right about now the mint in my untamed potted garden is going wild!

Watermelon Gazpacho

10 lb. seedless watermelon
3 large tomatoes
1 large cucumber, peeled
1 fennel bulb
1 jalepeño, seeds and ribs removed
1 handful mint
juice of 2 limes
3 tablespoons good olive oil
salt and pepper

Cut the rind off the watermelon and coarsely chop – reserving 1/4 of the melon, dice into 1/4″ pieces and set aside. Using a blender or food processor, puree the remaining watermelon and transfer into a large mixing bowl. Coarsely chop tomatoes, cucumber, fennel and jalepeño and puree with mint. Transfer to the mixing bowl with the watermelon puree. Add lime juice, diced watermelon, olive oil, salt and pepper to taste. Chill and serve.

*The taste will improve after 1 day as the flavors meld. Gazpacho keeps for 2-3 days. This recipe makes about 4 quarts – great for a party or for sharing with neighbors.

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Dinner at Bradley Farm – From the Other Side of the Kitchen Door

This past Sunday Brad and I drove up to New Paltz again for the 3rd and final of Ray Bradley’s inaugural farm-to-table dinner series. You can read about our experience last month as guests at the table, however this time around we took a turn and lent some hands in the back of the house.

As I’ve mentioned before, Ray’s cooking is simple and straightforward, but it’s the layering of flavors and composition of the dishes that makes his food so special. I was excited to be welcome in a kitchen full of pros to see the magic for myself.

Brad managed to join me in serving, clearing, and occasionally assisting in bits of plating and garnishing, with a camera slung around his neck. So I think I’ll let the photos tell the rest of the story. But first, here’s the menu:

Bradley Farm Sunday Dinner, August 14, 2011

Passed Hors d’œuvres and Homemade Brew
 Tomatoes Stuffed with Lobster Salad
Tomato Gazpacho
Seared Tuna Belly on Braised Dandelion and Radicchio  with Lobster Sauce and Husk Tomatoes
Wood-charcoal Grilled Pork Butt, thin sliced, with Cheddar Cheese Pierogies made with Carola potatoes,  and Stuffed Patty Pans
Three-variety Heirloom Tomato Salad
Peach Pecan Crisp with Vanilla Ice Cream and Hyssop

The beers were made by our good Brooklyn friends Kurt and Sandra, and the wines were paired by Kevin Zraly (recent recipient of a James Beard Lifetime Achievement Award), so hard work was rewarded by both eating and and drinking well.

Roasted tomato and garlic scape pesto — That would be roasted tomato and garlic scape pesto

gazpacho — Gazpacho! with creme fraiche and chives

Husk tomatoes — Scattering husk tomatoes - I was told odd numbers are best

A meeting of the chefs on plating — The plate debate

I want some of those pierogies right now

That would be the Wood-charcoal Grilled Pork Butt, sliced

Make room in your belly for course number 4

Ray, and so many of his heirloom tomatoes

Brad, working the grinder – 'only 1 turn'

Heirloom salad — The best show of tomatoes

Peach crisp — A whole lotta Peach Pecan Crisp

Server — I carried a lot of dishes in and out of the kitchen

A few of us stuck around when the work was done, enjoying beer, conversation, and eventually some seriously delicious seconds until well after the sun went down. Ray, thanks for a great day.

After dinner drinks — Ray advised me to wear my rubber boots

Some Like it Hotter Than Others: Corn Chowder with Roasted Jalapeno and Parsley Puree

We all know that fresh, sweet corn is awesome in the summer. You know what else is awesome? Peppers. August brings them to the market and I love every one of them. I’ll throw some hot cherries or jalepeños into just about anything for some kick. I’m tossing shishitos on the grill and roasting sweet red bell peppers for salads, pastas and even pestos. But more than anything, I love the heat, especially in the form of a habanero or scotch bonnet.

A few years ago, with a surplus of corn from our CSA, I set out to find a chowder recipe and came across this one. I’ve been riffing on the chowder part ever since, but the accompanying roasted jalepeño and parsley puree is perfect as is, not to mention genious. You can spike your soup according to your own liking, be it mild or crazy spicy.

Corn Chowder with Roasted Jalapeño and Parsley Puree

(makes about 8 cups, serving 4 to 6)

For the puree:

5 fresh jalapeño chilies
1/4 cup olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon water (continued)
1 garlic clove, minced
1 cup packed fresh parsley leaves (and or cilantro)

For the chowder:

1 onion, chopped fine
2 carrots, chopped fine
1 small red bell pepper, chopped
2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves, minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups chicken (or vegetable) broth
2 1/2 cups water
1 1/2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 3/8-inch cubes
4 cups fresh corn kernels (cut from about 6 ears of corn)
salt and fresh cracked pepper
1/4 cup sour cream *optional

Make the puree

Broil the jalapeños on the rack of a broiler pan under a preheated broiler about 2 inches from the heat, turning them every 5 minutes, for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the skins are blistered and charred. Transfer the jalapeños to a bowl and let them stand, covered tightly, until they are cool enough to handle. Wearing rubber gloves, peel the jalapeños, cut off the tops, and discard all but 1 teaspoon of the seeds. In a blender puree the jalapeños with the seeds, the oil, the lime juice, the water, the garlic, the parsley, and salt to taste. The puree may be made 3 days in advance and kept covered and chilled.

Make the chowder

In a heavy stock pot, cook the onion, carrots, bell pepper and thyme in the oil over moderate heat, stirring, until the carrots and peppers are softened. Add the broth, water, potatoes, and simmer the mixture for 10 minutes. Stir in the corn and simmer the chowder for 5 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender. In a blender or food processor puree 2 cups of the chowder and stir the puree into the remaining chowder. Season with a generous grinding of fresh black pepper and salt to taste. Remove from heat and stir in the sour cream. Serve the chowder with a dollop of the jalapeño and parsley puree swirled into it.

Adapted from a recipe on Epicurious.com, July 1992

This is a great make-ahead-meal in advance of a busy week (like the one I’m currently drowning in). I also served this once as a soup course for at a dinner party much to my guests’ delight.

Bonus: Since it’s made without dairy, this soup freezes well. I stir in some of the puree before freezing it, then add some sour cream to the soup when I reheat and serve.

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