Great Falls native’s cantata a big hit in the Big Apple
By POLLY KOLSTAD For the Tribune
During a recent trip to New York City, my husband and I sank our teeth into the tasty musical talents of Great Falls native Richard Pearson Thomas.
We were invited to his ninth premiere, “Know Thy Farmer,” a cantata celebrating music and food.
As part of this visit, Thomas later escorted us to Blue Hill at Stone Barns Restaurant in Pocantico Hills to enjoy the food of Dan Barber, a two-time James Beard award recipient, with whom Thomas collaborated for his cantata.
Seated next to us in the full audience of “Know Thy Farmer” at Merkin Concert Hall, Thomas’ mother, Marillyn, recalled her son’s youthful days when she and his sister, Marlie, would sing songs to his piano accompaniment. To him the results didn’t always turn out quite right.
“He had his own rendition; he was already composing in grade school and just kind of rolled his eyes,” Marillyn said.
As a teenager growing up in Great Falls, Thomas was the organist for Our Savior’s Lutheran Church and played for the Virginia City Players in Virginia City.
He’s had works performed by the Boston Pops, Houston Grand Opera, Manhattan Chamber Orchestra and Riverside Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir. His songs have been sung in Carnegie Hall, the Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center, Merkin Concert Hall and before the U.S. Congress.
He’s currently on the faculty of the Teachers College/Columbia University and is a composer- in-residence at the Gold Opera Project, Young Audiences in New York. In that capacity, he has composed nearly 90 operas with students in New York City public schools
See CANTATA, 4L
Cantata: Food and music mix successfully
FROM 1L
and was awarded the National Medal of Arts by President Clinton for this work.
Two years ago Tobe Malaw-ista, president and artistic director of Mirror Visions, presented Thomas with the opportunity to pair music with food. She sent him menus from Blue Hill at Stone Barns restaurant, challenging him to write about sustainable food.
“I looked at the menu and put stories in my mind, picturing all these things blooming,” said Thomas, a graduate of the Eastman School of Music and University of Southern California.
The concert a la carte played out with the help of three singers, violin, violoncello and piano.
“If you love food, if you love music, you’re in the right seat,” tenor Scott Murphree said.
Malawista called it an “extraordinary experience, to see a mere thought transformed into thrilling music.”
Thomas’ work only made us more hungry for the tasty ingredients that were his inspiration.
A fortnight later, we took the train from Grand Central Station to Tarrytown, a lovely half-hour ride along the Hudson River. Taxis then carried us through the rolling hills to Blue Hill at Stone Barns on land once owned by the Rockefeller family.
At Blue Hill, more than 200 varieties of crops are grown yearround, many of which are served in the restaurant’s elegant dining room. We strolled through the fields and barns of the farm before being treated to an amazing evening of creatively prepared food. Chiogga beets, romano beans, purple cauliflower, honey, Berkshire pork, eggs from their resident hens, and handcrafted breads made from exotic wheat varieties are just a handful of the foods produced on this farm.
Back in the city, we had tickets to two Broadway plays and the opera, “Carmen,” at the Metropolitan Opera House.
But no performance was more emotionally rendering than Thomas’ presentation of his original composition, “Race for the Sky,” at the Philoctetes Center in Manhattan.
After 9/11, the local historical society commissioned Thomas to put to music memorials left by people in the streets near Ground Zero. He chose a poem by Hilary North, which expresses how her life would never be the same. Thomas was joined by violinist Stephanie Chase and vocalist Hope Hudson.
After the last note was played, Chase reflected on the evening.
“I’m unable to think about the words, because Richard’s music is so powerful,” she said.
“In a way, it is so healing for me,” Hudson said. “Long after I’m gone, I hope people sing the American song tradition. Richard has written 16 songs for me, some not premiered yet.”
Since 9/11, Thomas’ “Race for the Sky” has been sung in many places, including Carnegie Hall and the Lincoln Center.
His busy schedule keeps him hopping.
We had barely packed to leave New York when he was off to Boston for another performance of “Know thy Farmer.”
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Christmas pudding: A plum delightful tradition
By POLLY KOLSTAD For the Tribune
Of the many Christmas traditions, few are as endearing as getting together and preparing a family recipe.
For Chris Wulf and daughter, Nancy Pannell, the smells of nana’s plum pudding fill Pannell’s kitchen during the holiday season. The treat has been a Christmas staple for generations. “My mother helped Grandma, I helped Mother, now I help Nancy,” Wulf said.
“It’s the partnership,” she said. “We’ve done it for 40 years and never missed a year.”
With a dash of this and a pinch of that, the recipe came with Wulf’s maternal family when they moved from England and settled in Salt Lake City.
In England, plum pudding was an important part of the Christmas celebration. It contained dried fruit and spices, mostly dried plums, or prunes — which have been replaced by raisins — nuts, and raw beef or mutton fat (suet).
It was made five weeks before Christmas on “Stir up Sunday,” when each member of the family stirred the pudding and made a wish. Traditionally, small silver charms were baked in the plum pudding, signifying good luck, safe harbor, wealth, etc.
Today, these tiny charms may still be bought and baked in the steamed pudding. Covered with a wonderfully rich sauce, decorated with a sprig of holly, doused in brandy, and set aflame, the plum pudding is ceremoniously brought to the table. Many Americans are familiar with the plum pudding traditions as told in many carols and Christmas stories.
From Charles Dickens’ “Christmas Carol,” Mrs. Cratchit brought the pudding to the table, “blazing in half of half a quartern of brandy, and bedight with Christmas holly stuck on top.”
When it came to ordering pudding ingredients, Wulf said her grandmother was a “feisty little thing.” She would tell the grocer exactly what she wanted.
“That meant that the suet was not to come from anywhere but the beef kidneys,” Wulf said.
These days it’s difficult to acquire suet, so Wulf and Pannell have adapted the recipe to include butter, which is mixed in with the bread crumbs. They also add dates, pecans, candied cherries and a bit of brandy, all of which is meticulously hand stirred.
It’s carefully ladled into wellgreased tin cans, covered with foil and securely tied with string
See PLUM PUDDING, 2L Plum pudding: A family tradition
FROM 1L
before being submerged into a long, hot steam bath. Wulf said that the pudding also may be made in a mold and put in a water bath in the oven.
Every year, mother and daughter meet in Pannell’s kitchen as part of the holiday tradition to make pudding and to remember the family and friends who have come and gone through the years. “We’ve lost a lot of pudding eaters over the years,” Wulf said.
NANA’S PLUM PUDDING
1 cup dark molasses (if very thick, soften for a few seconds in the microwave)
½ tsp. baking soda Fruit mixture:
2 cups bread crumbs processed in Cuisinart with ¾ cup cold butter
2 cups golden raisins
1½ cups chopped dates
1½ cups candied fruit
8 ounces candied red cherries
8 ounces candied green cherries
1 cup broken pecans or walnuts
½ cup flour Dry ingredients:
1½ cups flour
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. baking powder Moist ingredients:
¼ to ½ cup brandy, rum or whiskey
¾ cup whole milk
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
Mix molasses and baking soda and set aside until fluffy and light colored.
Measure bread crumbs, candied fruit, dates, nuts and ½ cup flour into a large bowl. Toss to combine. Measure and mix together 1½ cups flour, sugar, spices and baking powder. Add to bread crumb mixture and mix well by hand. Add brandy, rum or whiskey, along with molasses mixture to dry ingredients. Mix well. Set aside.
In small bowl, beat together whole milk, eggs and vanilla.
Add to ingredients in large bowl. Mix well, by hand. The dough should be the consistency of muffin dough. If necessary, add more flour.
Ladle mixture into wellgreased aluminum cans. Fill cans two-thirds to three-quarters full. Leave room for pudding to puff up when steamed.
Top cans with heavy duty foil tied with double string so the cans are airtight. Trim foil evenly so as not to touch water bath.
Steam in oven in water bath or use an electric roaster. Water should be one-third to one-half of the way up on the can.
To steam: Set temperature at 350° and steam for three hours. Lower temperature to 250° and steam for 1½ hours. Add more water if necessary during steaming time to avoid scorching the bottoms of the puddings. Re-move. Cool. Store in refrigerator or freeze. It will keep for up to one year.
To serve: Steam pudding in a covered saucepan in about 1 inch of water for 45 minutes. Remove foil from can. Run a sharp knife around the edges of the can and carefully unmold pudding onto plate. Slice and top with sauce.
Makes about 10 soup cans of pudding
WHIPPED CREAM SAUCE
Whip 1 cup cream almost to butter; fold carefully, the following ingredients one at a time to keep cream as stiff as possible.
1 beaten egg
1 tbsp. melted butter
Powdered sugar to taste
½ tsp. vanilla.
Refrigerate until serving time.
BRANDY OR RUM SAUCE
½ cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
½ cup water
½ tsp. lemon juice
By POLLY KOLSTAD For the Tribune
Of the many Christmas traditions, few are as endearing as getting together and preparing a family recipe.
For Chris Wulf and daughter, Nancy Pannell, the smells of nana’s plum pudding fill Pannell’s kitchen during the holiday season. The treat has been a Christmas staple for generations. “My mother helped Grandma, I helped Mother, now I help Nancy,” Wulf said.
“It’s the partnership,” she said. “We’ve done it for 40 years and never missed a year.”
With a dash of this and a pinch of that, the recipe came with Wulf’s maternal family when they moved from England and settled in Salt Lake City.
In England, plum pudding was an important part of the Christmas celebration. It contained dried fruit and spices, mostly dried plums, or prunes — which have been replaced by raisins — nuts, and raw beef or mutton fat (suet).
It was made five weeks before Christmas on “Stir up Sunday,” when each member of the family stirred the pudding and made a wish. Traditionally, small silver charms were baked in the plum pudding, signifying good luck, safe harbor, wealth, etc.
Today, these tiny charms may still be bought and baked in the steamed pudding. Covered with a wonderfully rich sauce, decorated with a sprig of holly, doused in brandy, and set aflame, the plum pudding is ceremoniously brought to the table. Many Americans are familiar with the plum pudding traditions as told in many carols and Christmas stories.
From Charles Dickens’ “Christmas Carol,” Mrs. Cratchit brought the pudding to the table, “blazing in half of half a quartern of brandy, and bedight with Christmas holly stuck on top.”
When it came to ordering pudding ingredients, Wulf said her grandmother was a “feisty little thing.” She would tell the grocer exactly what she wanted.
“That meant that the suet was not to come from anywhere but the beef kidneys,” Wulf said.
These days it’s difficult to acquire suet, so Wulf and Pannell have adapted the recipe to include butter, which is mixed in with the bread crumbs. They also add dates, pecans, candied cherries and a bit of brandy, all of which is meticulously hand stirred.
It’s carefully ladled into wellgreased tin cans, covered with foil and securely tied with string
See PLUM PUDDING, 2L Plum pudding: A family tradition
FROM 1L
before being submerged into a long, hot steam bath. Wulf said that the pudding also may be made in a mold and put in a water bath in the oven.
Every year, mother and daughter meet in Pannell’s kitchen as part of the holiday tradition to make pudding and to remember the family and friends who have come and gone through the years. “We’ve lost a lot of pudding eaters over the years,” Wulf said.
NANA’S PLUM PUDDING
1 cup dark molasses (if very thick, soften for a few seconds in the microwave)
½ tsp. baking soda Fruit mixture:
2 cups bread crumbs processed in Cuisinart with ¾ cup cold butter
2 cups golden raisins
1½ cups chopped dates
1½ cups candied fruit
8 ounces candied red cherries
8 ounces candied green cherries
1 cup broken pecans or walnuts
½ cup flour Dry ingredients:
1½ cups flour
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. baking powder Moist ingredients:
¼ to ½ cup brandy, rum or whiskey
¾ cup whole milk
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
Mix molasses and baking soda and set aside until fluffy and light colored.
Measure bread crumbs, candied fruit, dates, nuts and ½ cup flour into a large bowl. Toss to combine. Measure and mix together 1½ cups flour, sugar, spices and baking powder. Add to bread crumb mixture and mix well by hand. Add brandy, rum or whiskey, along with molasses mixture to dry ingredients. Mix well. Set aside.
In small bowl, beat together whole milk, eggs and vanilla.
Add to ingredients in large bowl. Mix well, by hand. The dough should be the consistency of muffin dough. If necessary, add more flour.
Ladle mixture into wellgreased aluminum cans. Fill cans two-thirds to three-quarters full. Leave room for pudding to puff up when steamed.
Top cans with heavy duty foil tied with double string so the cans are airtight. Trim foil evenly so as not to touch water bath.
Steam in oven in water bath or use an electric roaster. Water should be one-third to one-half of the way up on the can.
To steam: Set temperature at 350° and steam for three hours. Lower temperature to 250° and steam for 1½ hours. Add more water if necessary during steaming time to avoid scorching the bottoms of the puddings. Re-move. Cool. Store in refrigerator or freeze. It will keep for up to one year.
To serve: Steam pudding in a covered saucepan in about 1 inch of water for 45 minutes. Remove foil from can. Run a sharp knife around the edges of the can and carefully unmold pudding onto plate. Slice and top with sauce.
Makes about 10 soup cans of pudding
WHIPPED CREAM SAUCE
Whip 1 cup cream almost to butter; fold carefully, the following ingredients one at a time to keep cream as stiff as possible.
1 beaten egg
1 tbsp. melted butter
Powdered sugar to taste
½ tsp. vanilla.
Refrigerate until serving time.
BRANDY OR RUM SAUCE
½ cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
½ cup water
½ tsp. lemon juice
Monday, December 6, 2010
Cataldo Mission story
Historic mission is worth a visit
High on a grassy knoll above Interstate 90, 24 miles east of Coeur d’Alene, the Cataldo Mission church is situated elegantly above a leafy forest. For years, as I traveled to and from Seattle, I passed by the Cataldo Mission with little more than a glance. But finally, “The House of the Great Spirit,” as the Coeur d’Alene Indians called it, lured me in.
After you take Exit 39 and wind through the woodsy landscape, you can almost feel the pull of the past along the trails in Old Mission State Park. The visitors center offers an orientation video.
Connecting Fort Benton on the Missouri River with Fort Walla Walla on the Columbia, the Mullan Road passed in front of the mission, which became an important stop for traders, settlers and miners. It was a port for boats heading up the Coeur d’Alene River.
What stands today dates back to the 1850s, when the tribe put a call out to St. Louis and the “blackrobes,” the Jesuits, to establish a mission in the rugged wilderness.
The beloved Father Antonio Ravalli, who built St. Mary’s Mission near Stevensville, answered the call to work with the Coeur d’Alenes.
Safe from flooding, the hill above the Coeur d’Alene River, long a holy place to the Coeur d’alene Indians, was chosen as the site for the church.
David Leeds, park interpreter and history buff, shared information about the Old Mission.
“Many generations of Indians came here to offer prayers for successful journeys,” he said.
Father Ravalli and the Native Americans worked for nearly six years to construct a magnificent church 90 feet long and 40 feet wide. Built in the Roman Doric style, it mirrors architecture Ravalli studied in his native Italy. The facade remains a testament to his skill.
Inside the church looms a carved ceiling colored with huckleberry juice, the stain being the closest they could get to the heavenly blue they were aiming for. The workers had only meager tools, using an ax but no saw. Even so, they were able to craft wooden statues and furniture, and painted pictures. Ravalli carved with his pocket knife and plucked tail hairs from his cat which he used for his paint brushes.
Visitors can see into the building’s walls in side rooms and see the original wattle and daub, using river grass and clay. Timber beams are held by hand-carved pegs.
There is a credence table, hand-hewn urns and exquisite small chandeliers cut from used tin cans. When newspapers became available, they were glued to the walls and painted to resemble wallpaper.
Just over the doorway hangs a framed painting of the Sacred Heart done by Ravalli.
In 1877, the mission was left outside reservation boundaries and the Coeur d’Alene Indians were relocated. Another priest, Father Cataldo, took over the mission which eventually became Cataldo Mission.
In 1961, the mission was designated a National Historic Landmark.
PHOTO COURTESY POLLY KOLSTAD
The Cataldo Mission in Idaho.
On the Road
— Polly Kolstad
High on a grassy knoll above Interstate 90, 24 miles east of Coeur d’Alene, the Cataldo Mission church is situated elegantly above a leafy forest. For years, as I traveled to and from Seattle, I passed by the Cataldo Mission with little more than a glance. But finally, “The House of the Great Spirit,” as the Coeur d’Alene Indians called it, lured me in.
After you take Exit 39 and wind through the woodsy landscape, you can almost feel the pull of the past along the trails in Old Mission State Park. The visitors center offers an orientation video.
Connecting Fort Benton on the Missouri River with Fort Walla Walla on the Columbia, the Mullan Road passed in front of the mission, which became an important stop for traders, settlers and miners. It was a port for boats heading up the Coeur d’Alene River.
What stands today dates back to the 1850s, when the tribe put a call out to St. Louis and the “blackrobes,” the Jesuits, to establish a mission in the rugged wilderness.
The beloved Father Antonio Ravalli, who built St. Mary’s Mission near Stevensville, answered the call to work with the Coeur d’Alenes.
Safe from flooding, the hill above the Coeur d’Alene River, long a holy place to the Coeur d’alene Indians, was chosen as the site for the church.
David Leeds, park interpreter and history buff, shared information about the Old Mission.
“Many generations of Indians came here to offer prayers for successful journeys,” he said.
Father Ravalli and the Native Americans worked for nearly six years to construct a magnificent church 90 feet long and 40 feet wide. Built in the Roman Doric style, it mirrors architecture Ravalli studied in his native Italy. The facade remains a testament to his skill.
Inside the church looms a carved ceiling colored with huckleberry juice, the stain being the closest they could get to the heavenly blue they were aiming for. The workers had only meager tools, using an ax but no saw. Even so, they were able to craft wooden statues and furniture, and painted pictures. Ravalli carved with his pocket knife and plucked tail hairs from his cat which he used for his paint brushes.
Visitors can see into the building’s walls in side rooms and see the original wattle and daub, using river grass and clay. Timber beams are held by hand-carved pegs.
There is a credence table, hand-hewn urns and exquisite small chandeliers cut from used tin cans. When newspapers became available, they were glued to the walls and painted to resemble wallpaper.
Just over the doorway hangs a framed painting of the Sacred Heart done by Ravalli.
In 1877, the mission was left outside reservation boundaries and the Coeur d’Alene Indians were relocated. Another priest, Father Cataldo, took over the mission which eventually became Cataldo Mission.
In 1961, the mission was designated a National Historic Landmark.
PHOTO COURTESY POLLY KOLSTAD
The Cataldo Mission in Idaho.
On the Road
— Polly Kolstad
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
A taste of India offered to Great Falls residents
By POLLY KOLSTAD For the Tribune
Wearing spotless saris and distinct long dresses, Rupa Mehta, Mina Parikh, Rekha Shah and Malti Sheth recently taught a class in Great Falls on the cooking of India.
Delighted to be sharing their food and culture, they prepared recipes from their native country including Channa Masala, Bataka ni suki Bhaji, Poori and Masala tea.
Mehta pulled back her long braided hair as she talked about these typical Indian dishes, all vegetarian and served for lunch and dinner.
“We have our morning tea (chai), not too much food, then we eat lunch, our big meal, and we eat a light meal around 8 o’clock, maybe one curry and some bread,” she said.
The women, who with their families are in the hotel business in Great Falls, are continents away from their native city of Ahmedabad, located in the western part of India. “In our country, the women mainly cook,” Mehta said. “My mother taught me. I teach my daughter. She knows how to do it.”
The recipes are passed down through generations and rarely are transcribed into books. The women say they love their traditional cuisine and admit that only after one or two days of western food, they can hardly wait to get back to their traditional roots. They were brought up on the same food mentioned in Hindu scripture, with vegetables and fruit serving as the mainstays of their diet.
Preparing to demonstrate Channa Masala, a popular vegetable dish usually made with chickpeas, onion, chopped tomatoes, turmeric, coriander and garlic, Mehta pulled out a large drawer filled with shiny jars of dried peas and beans.
“We need protein which we get from 10 different kinds of beans,” she explained.
India: Food from afar
It took only minutes to prepare the intensely spiced bright orange entree, eaten separately or served over rice.
In India, most people have gardens filled with eggplant, watermelon, okra, pumpkin and potatoes, they said.
“People love potato,” Shah said as she demonstrated how to make Bataka ni Suki Bhaji, or steamed potato with cilantro.
Bataka doesn’t require many ingredients and is easy to prepare. The delicious yellow curried dish often is served to guests who come to lunch or dinner.
Making bread from scratch is an everyday task for these women. In much of India, wheat is a staple and a key component of many main dishes. Among these are poori (puri), a traditional fried Indian bread served piping hot and puffed.
Parikh taught the class how to make the simple whole wheat dough. After rolling out thin small rounds and plunging them into hot oil, puffy, light and crispy pooris emerged, served with fresh cucumber raita, an Indian condiment made with yogurt.
The afternoon was topped off with Masala tea.
It’s made by brewing tea with a mixture of aromatic Indian spices and herbs. Tea is important to Indian life, taken at all times of the day. Though recipes and styles vary from family to family, making a good, strong Indian masala tea isn’t difficult. The predominant note of an Indian masala tea is cardamom, a staple throughout India.
Some ingredients might not be readily available. For more information, call Rupa Mehta at 788-2224. She is also available to teach Indian cooking classes.
CHANNA MASALA
1 cup (dried) or 1 can garbanzo beans
1 tsp. garam masala (an Indian spice available at 2Js)
2 bay leaves
1 tbsp. vegetable oil
1 tbsp. lemon juice
¾ cup chopped onions
2 finely chopped tomatoes
1-inch piece fresh ginger, chopped
1 garlic clove, chopped
1 tbsp. cumin
½ tsp. chopped jalapeno pepper
1 tbsp. paprika
Chili powder to taste
1 tbsp. cream or plain yogurt
1 tbsp. tamarind powder
Garnish: 1 small tomato cut into wedges; one small onion, cut in wedges; fresh cilantro
If using fresh beans, soak overnight or for five to six hours. Pressure cook with a tea bag. Discard the tea bag and set the beans aside.
Using a food processor, make a paste of onions, tomatoes, ginger, garlic, cumin, paprika, jalapeno and chili powder.
Heat oil in pan and add bay leaf and paste. Allow to cook for a few minutes. Add cream or yogurt and tamarind powder. Add the beans, and ½ cup water; bring to a boil and cook until thick. Add cream or yogurt and tamarind powder. Sprinkle garnish and serve with rice, if desired. Serves four to six.
BATAKA NI SUKI BHAJI STEAMED POTATO WITH CILANTRO
2 large potatoes
1 tsp. cumin seeds
½ tsp. mustard seeds
2 chilies, cut into rings
Juice of half of a lime
2 tsp. sugar
1 tbsp. chopped cilantro
2 tsp. raw coconut
¼ cup golden raisins
¼ cup raw cashews
6-7 curry leaves
2 tbsp. vegetable oil
Salt to taste
Put potatoes in a glass bowl with ½ cup water and pinch of salt. Cover and cook in the microwave until done. Peel potatoes and cut into mediumsize cubes.
Heat oil in medium saute pan. Add mustard seeds and let them splutter. Add cumin seeds, curry leaves and chilies. As they start to pop, turn heat to low and add potatoes, lime juice, salt and sugar, coconut, raisins and cashews. Stir. Add cilantro and cover pan. Cook on low heat for about five minutes until heated through. Serves six.
POORI
2½ cups whole wheat flour
½ tsp. salt
ª cup water (room temperature)
Vegetable oil for deep frying
Put flour and salt in a large bowl. Make a well in the middle and pour in water. Mix together with hands until dough may be gathered into a rough mass. Wet hands and knead the dough until it becomes smooth and elastic. Cover with a wet towel and let rest for ½ hour. Knead dough again and separate into small balls of dough. Cover with a damp cloth. Take one ball of dough and dip in vegetable oil, then roll again into thin rounds. Repeat process to roll out all pooris. Heat plenty of oil in a kadhai or small deep pan until very hot. Put in a poori and immediately start flickering hot oil over the top of it with a spatula so that it will swell up like a ball. This should take a few seconds. Flip over and cook the other side until golden brown. Remove from oil and rest on paper towel. Serve warm.
CUCUMBER RAITA
Peel a medium-size English cucumber. Grate into a small bowl. Add 1 tsp. salt and 1 tsp. sugar.
With the back of a spoon, squeeze out moisture and drain. Add 2 cups plain yogurt, 1 tsp. grated green chili, 1 tsp. chopped cilantro and 1 tsp. ground mustard seed. Mix together.
See INDIA, 2L
POLLY KOLSTAD PHOTO
The cooks from India show off dishes prepared in a recent cooking class. The women are, left to right, Rupa Mehta, Rekha Shah, Mina Parikh and Malti Sheth.
By POLLY KOLSTAD For the Tribune
Wearing spotless saris and distinct long dresses, Rupa Mehta, Mina Parikh, Rekha Shah and Malti Sheth recently taught a class in Great Falls on the cooking of India.
Delighted to be sharing their food and culture, they prepared recipes from their native country including Channa Masala, Bataka ni suki Bhaji, Poori and Masala tea.
Mehta pulled back her long braided hair as she talked about these typical Indian dishes, all vegetarian and served for lunch and dinner.
“We have our morning tea (chai), not too much food, then we eat lunch, our big meal, and we eat a light meal around 8 o’clock, maybe one curry and some bread,” she said.
The women, who with their families are in the hotel business in Great Falls, are continents away from their native city of Ahmedabad, located in the western part of India. “In our country, the women mainly cook,” Mehta said. “My mother taught me. I teach my daughter. She knows how to do it.”
The recipes are passed down through generations and rarely are transcribed into books. The women say they love their traditional cuisine and admit that only after one or two days of western food, they can hardly wait to get back to their traditional roots. They were brought up on the same food mentioned in Hindu scripture, with vegetables and fruit serving as the mainstays of their diet.
Preparing to demonstrate Channa Masala, a popular vegetable dish usually made with chickpeas, onion, chopped tomatoes, turmeric, coriander and garlic, Mehta pulled out a large drawer filled with shiny jars of dried peas and beans.
“We need protein which we get from 10 different kinds of beans,” she explained.
India: Food from afar
It took only minutes to prepare the intensely spiced bright orange entree, eaten separately or served over rice.
In India, most people have gardens filled with eggplant, watermelon, okra, pumpkin and potatoes, they said.
“People love potato,” Shah said as she demonstrated how to make Bataka ni Suki Bhaji, or steamed potato with cilantro.
Bataka doesn’t require many ingredients and is easy to prepare. The delicious yellow curried dish often is served to guests who come to lunch or dinner.
Making bread from scratch is an everyday task for these women. In much of India, wheat is a staple and a key component of many main dishes. Among these are poori (puri), a traditional fried Indian bread served piping hot and puffed.
Parikh taught the class how to make the simple whole wheat dough. After rolling out thin small rounds and plunging them into hot oil, puffy, light and crispy pooris emerged, served with fresh cucumber raita, an Indian condiment made with yogurt.
The afternoon was topped off with Masala tea.
It’s made by brewing tea with a mixture of aromatic Indian spices and herbs. Tea is important to Indian life, taken at all times of the day. Though recipes and styles vary from family to family, making a good, strong Indian masala tea isn’t difficult. The predominant note of an Indian masala tea is cardamom, a staple throughout India.
Some ingredients might not be readily available. For more information, call Rupa Mehta at 788-2224. She is also available to teach Indian cooking classes.
CHANNA MASALA
1 cup (dried) or 1 can garbanzo beans
1 tsp. garam masala (an Indian spice available at 2Js)
2 bay leaves
1 tbsp. vegetable oil
1 tbsp. lemon juice
¾ cup chopped onions
2 finely chopped tomatoes
1-inch piece fresh ginger, chopped
1 garlic clove, chopped
1 tbsp. cumin
½ tsp. chopped jalapeno pepper
1 tbsp. paprika
Chili powder to taste
1 tbsp. cream or plain yogurt
1 tbsp. tamarind powder
Garnish: 1 small tomato cut into wedges; one small onion, cut in wedges; fresh cilantro
If using fresh beans, soak overnight or for five to six hours. Pressure cook with a tea bag. Discard the tea bag and set the beans aside.
Using a food processor, make a paste of onions, tomatoes, ginger, garlic, cumin, paprika, jalapeno and chili powder.
Heat oil in pan and add bay leaf and paste. Allow to cook for a few minutes. Add cream or yogurt and tamarind powder. Add the beans, and ½ cup water; bring to a boil and cook until thick. Add cream or yogurt and tamarind powder. Sprinkle garnish and serve with rice, if desired. Serves four to six.
BATAKA NI SUKI BHAJI STEAMED POTATO WITH CILANTRO
2 large potatoes
1 tsp. cumin seeds
½ tsp. mustard seeds
2 chilies, cut into rings
Juice of half of a lime
2 tsp. sugar
1 tbsp. chopped cilantro
2 tsp. raw coconut
¼ cup golden raisins
¼ cup raw cashews
6-7 curry leaves
2 tbsp. vegetable oil
Salt to taste
Put potatoes in a glass bowl with ½ cup water and pinch of salt. Cover and cook in the microwave until done. Peel potatoes and cut into mediumsize cubes.
Heat oil in medium saute pan. Add mustard seeds and let them splutter. Add cumin seeds, curry leaves and chilies. As they start to pop, turn heat to low and add potatoes, lime juice, salt and sugar, coconut, raisins and cashews. Stir. Add cilantro and cover pan. Cook on low heat for about five minutes until heated through. Serves six.
POORI
2½ cups whole wheat flour
½ tsp. salt
ª cup water (room temperature)
Vegetable oil for deep frying
Put flour and salt in a large bowl. Make a well in the middle and pour in water. Mix together with hands until dough may be gathered into a rough mass. Wet hands and knead the dough until it becomes smooth and elastic. Cover with a wet towel and let rest for ½ hour. Knead dough again and separate into small balls of dough. Cover with a damp cloth. Take one ball of dough and dip in vegetable oil, then roll again into thin rounds. Repeat process to roll out all pooris. Heat plenty of oil in a kadhai or small deep pan until very hot. Put in a poori and immediately start flickering hot oil over the top of it with a spatula so that it will swell up like a ball. This should take a few seconds. Flip over and cook the other side until golden brown. Remove from oil and rest on paper towel. Serve warm.
CUCUMBER RAITA
Peel a medium-size English cucumber. Grate into a small bowl. Add 1 tsp. salt and 1 tsp. sugar.
With the back of a spoon, squeeze out moisture and drain. Add 2 cups plain yogurt, 1 tsp. grated green chili, 1 tsp. chopped cilantro and 1 tsp. ground mustard seed. Mix together.
See INDIA, 2L
POLLY KOLSTAD PHOTO
The cooks from India show off dishes prepared in a recent cooking class. The women are, left to right, Rupa Mehta, Rekha Shah, Mina Parikh and Malti Sheth.
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Guru of Garlic
Retired track coach turns attention to gardening
The guru of garlic
Story and photo by POLLY KOLSTAD For the Tribune
In Branch Brady’s plentiful hillside gardens, live 300 garlic plants. Recently harvested after flourishing in richly composted soil for a year, fat cloves will soon go back in the ground for another season.
The retired C.M. Russell High track coach has grown garlic for 15 years after Bob Miller, a CMR shop teacher, gave him a few seed heads to plant. He also purchased five bulbs from Jim Bundi at the Great Falls Farmers Market.
Each year, he replants five of the largest bulbs.
He has two varieties — Bundi’s white, a hardneck or corkscrew version that turns as it grows and a red heirloom he got from another garlic hobbyist, Ray Heffern.
“I just have fun with it; I’m not a garlic expert,” Brady said. “I like to grow it and give it away.”
Garlic needs sun and well-drained soil. Planted in the fall, it comes up in the spring. As it grows, it sprouts green stalks that appear like iris leaves. From these stalks, a green bloom emerges that must be plucked to promote the growth back in the underground bulb. The green bloom has a mild garlic flavor and can be used in salads and soups. In these climes, garlic is ready to be dug up in July and August.
Garlic is usually milder soon after it is pulled from the ground because the chemistry within the garlic evolves during the year. September is the best time to buy garlic because it recently has been harvested.
Once it’s pulled, garlic slowly dehydrates in a natural drying-down process that takes months. As it loses its moisture, it slowly shrinks, and the flavor begins to condense and continues to intensify as long as it is stored at room temperature.
You know you have fresh garlic when the skin clings desperately to the clove when you try to peel it. If at any point during this process you slice and dry it, it will retain whatever flavor it had at that point.
Its shelf life at room temperature at about 50 percent humidity runs from four to 10 months or longer, depending on the variety and the health and condition of the garlic.
Garlic keepers, covered ceramic pots with holes for circulation, provide the cool, dark conditions in which garlic bulbs keep best. Never store garlic in oil, even while refrigerated as is sometimes recommended, because botulism can result. Commercial preparations of garlic in oil have been treated to prevent botulism.
Bundi Gardens plants 6,000 garlic bulbs each year, which were harvested recently. They have 12 varieties, available at 4410 10th Ave. N. and at the Farmers Market. Their garlic is priced by weight, both by the braid and by the bulb.
SHERRY’S ROASTED GARLIC
Garlic becomes rather sweet when roasted and may be squeezed out of the cloves and added to olive oil and balsamic vinegar to spread on French or Italian bread. It’s sometimes referred to as Italian butter.
To roast garlic, preheat oven to 350°. Take one (or more) garlic head and snip the top to level. Place in tin foil and drizzle with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Make a tent by bringing sides of foil over garlic and twist to close. Roast until tender, 45 minutes. Remove from the oven and squeeze out the garlic paste from each clove.
GARLIC CHEESE BREAD
½ pound grated cheddar
1 ounce grated Parmesan
1 cube butter, softened
1 clove garlic chopped
½ tsp. paprika
Dash of Tabasco sauce
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 loaf French bread, sliced ½ inch thick
Preheat broiler. Line jellyroll pans with foil.
Mix together first seven ingredients. Spread cheese mixture on bread slices and sprinkle with a little paprika. Place on prepared pan. Broil until very browned and bubbly.
GARLIC SMASHED POTATOES
2 pounds unpeeled new baby red potatoes, halved if large
6 cloves garlic, halved
2 tbsp. butter
2 tbsp. heavy cream
¼ cup chicken stock
Salt and pepper to taste
Þ cup chopped chives
2 tbsp. bacon bits
Gently boil potatoes and garlic in salted water until tender. Drain. Using the back of a large spoon, smash each potato once so the pieces are large and chunky. Add butter, cream, chicken stock, salt and pepper. Stir gently to combine. Fold in chives and bacon bits. Serve hot. Four servings.
ROSEMARY–SCENTED PORK LOIN STUFFED WITH ROASTED GARLIC AND APPLES WITH PORT WINE PAN SAUCE
3 tbsp. olive oil
16 to 18 whole peeled garlic cloves, plus 2 tbsp. minced cloves (about 1½ heads)
1 whole boneless pork loin, 4 pounds, patted dry, at room temperature
Salt and freshly ground pepper
3 tbsp. minced fresh rosemary, divided
2 cups peeled, chopped, apples
Heavy kitchen string or twine
¼ cup plus 2 tbsp. apple jelly
¼ cup port wine
½ cup chicken broth
2 tsp. cornstarch
Adjust oven rack to uppermiddle position and heat oven to 250°. Heat oil in a small skillet over medium-low heat. Add whole garlic cloves and cook, stirring occasionally until soft and golden, about five minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon; reserve oil.
Turn pork loin fat-side down. Slit lengthwise, almost but not quite all the way through to form a long pocket, leaving a ½-inch border of unslit meat at each end. Brush cavity with some of the reserved garlic cooking oil, and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper and 1 tbsp. of the rosemary. Line cavity with sauteed garlic and apples. Tie loin together with twine or string at 1½ inch intervals.
Brush with remaining oil, and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Set roast, fat side up, on a large, jellyroll pan. Warm ¼ cup apple jelly along with the minced garlic and remaining rosemary and brush mixture onto meat.
Roast until a meat thermometer stuck into the center registers 125° to 130°, about 1½ hours. Remove from oven; raise oven temperature to 400°. Brush loin with pan drippings, return to oven and continue to roast until the loin is golden brown and a meat thermometer stuck into the center registers 155° to 160°, about 20 minutes longer. For more attractive coloring, broil until spotty brown, three to five minutes.
Let roast rest 15 to 20 minutes; transfer to a carving board. Stir juices around pan to loosen brown bits.
Pour through a strainer into a small pan. Stir in port, chicken broth and remaining 2 tbsp. jelly. Bring to a simmer. Mix cornstarch with a couple of tablespoons of cold water; whisk into sauce. Simmer until lightly thickened. Slice pork and spoon sauce over.
Serves six to eight.
I just have fun with it. I’m not a garlic expert.
I like to grow it and give it away.
— Branch Brady, gardener
Branch Brady grows two types of garlic each season and gives most of it away.
The guru of garlic
Story and photo by POLLY KOLSTAD For the Tribune
In Branch Brady’s plentiful hillside gardens, live 300 garlic plants. Recently harvested after flourishing in richly composted soil for a year, fat cloves will soon go back in the ground for another season.
The retired C.M. Russell High track coach has grown garlic for 15 years after Bob Miller, a CMR shop teacher, gave him a few seed heads to plant. He also purchased five bulbs from Jim Bundi at the Great Falls Farmers Market.
Each year, he replants five of the largest bulbs.
He has two varieties — Bundi’s white, a hardneck or corkscrew version that turns as it grows and a red heirloom he got from another garlic hobbyist, Ray Heffern.
“I just have fun with it; I’m not a garlic expert,” Brady said. “I like to grow it and give it away.”
Garlic needs sun and well-drained soil. Planted in the fall, it comes up in the spring. As it grows, it sprouts green stalks that appear like iris leaves. From these stalks, a green bloom emerges that must be plucked to promote the growth back in the underground bulb. The green bloom has a mild garlic flavor and can be used in salads and soups. In these climes, garlic is ready to be dug up in July and August.
Garlic is usually milder soon after it is pulled from the ground because the chemistry within the garlic evolves during the year. September is the best time to buy garlic because it recently has been harvested.
Once it’s pulled, garlic slowly dehydrates in a natural drying-down process that takes months. As it loses its moisture, it slowly shrinks, and the flavor begins to condense and continues to intensify as long as it is stored at room temperature.
You know you have fresh garlic when the skin clings desperately to the clove when you try to peel it. If at any point during this process you slice and dry it, it will retain whatever flavor it had at that point.
Its shelf life at room temperature at about 50 percent humidity runs from four to 10 months or longer, depending on the variety and the health and condition of the garlic.
Garlic keepers, covered ceramic pots with holes for circulation, provide the cool, dark conditions in which garlic bulbs keep best. Never store garlic in oil, even while refrigerated as is sometimes recommended, because botulism can result. Commercial preparations of garlic in oil have been treated to prevent botulism.
Bundi Gardens plants 6,000 garlic bulbs each year, which were harvested recently. They have 12 varieties, available at 4410 10th Ave. N. and at the Farmers Market. Their garlic is priced by weight, both by the braid and by the bulb.
SHERRY’S ROASTED GARLIC
Garlic becomes rather sweet when roasted and may be squeezed out of the cloves and added to olive oil and balsamic vinegar to spread on French or Italian bread. It’s sometimes referred to as Italian butter.
To roast garlic, preheat oven to 350°. Take one (or more) garlic head and snip the top to level. Place in tin foil and drizzle with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Make a tent by bringing sides of foil over garlic and twist to close. Roast until tender, 45 minutes. Remove from the oven and squeeze out the garlic paste from each clove.
GARLIC CHEESE BREAD
½ pound grated cheddar
1 ounce grated Parmesan
1 cube butter, softened
1 clove garlic chopped
½ tsp. paprika
Dash of Tabasco sauce
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 loaf French bread, sliced ½ inch thick
Preheat broiler. Line jellyroll pans with foil.
Mix together first seven ingredients. Spread cheese mixture on bread slices and sprinkle with a little paprika. Place on prepared pan. Broil until very browned and bubbly.
GARLIC SMASHED POTATOES
2 pounds unpeeled new baby red potatoes, halved if large
6 cloves garlic, halved
2 tbsp. butter
2 tbsp. heavy cream
¼ cup chicken stock
Salt and pepper to taste
Þ cup chopped chives
2 tbsp. bacon bits
Gently boil potatoes and garlic in salted water until tender. Drain. Using the back of a large spoon, smash each potato once so the pieces are large and chunky. Add butter, cream, chicken stock, salt and pepper. Stir gently to combine. Fold in chives and bacon bits. Serve hot. Four servings.
ROSEMARY–SCENTED PORK LOIN STUFFED WITH ROASTED GARLIC AND APPLES WITH PORT WINE PAN SAUCE
3 tbsp. olive oil
16 to 18 whole peeled garlic cloves, plus 2 tbsp. minced cloves (about 1½ heads)
1 whole boneless pork loin, 4 pounds, patted dry, at room temperature
Salt and freshly ground pepper
3 tbsp. minced fresh rosemary, divided
2 cups peeled, chopped, apples
Heavy kitchen string or twine
¼ cup plus 2 tbsp. apple jelly
¼ cup port wine
½ cup chicken broth
2 tsp. cornstarch
Adjust oven rack to uppermiddle position and heat oven to 250°. Heat oil in a small skillet over medium-low heat. Add whole garlic cloves and cook, stirring occasionally until soft and golden, about five minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon; reserve oil.
Turn pork loin fat-side down. Slit lengthwise, almost but not quite all the way through to form a long pocket, leaving a ½-inch border of unslit meat at each end. Brush cavity with some of the reserved garlic cooking oil, and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper and 1 tbsp. of the rosemary. Line cavity with sauteed garlic and apples. Tie loin together with twine or string at 1½ inch intervals.
Brush with remaining oil, and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Set roast, fat side up, on a large, jellyroll pan. Warm ¼ cup apple jelly along with the minced garlic and remaining rosemary and brush mixture onto meat.
Roast until a meat thermometer stuck into the center registers 125° to 130°, about 1½ hours. Remove from oven; raise oven temperature to 400°. Brush loin with pan drippings, return to oven and continue to roast until the loin is golden brown and a meat thermometer stuck into the center registers 155° to 160°, about 20 minutes longer. For more attractive coloring, broil until spotty brown, three to five minutes.
Let roast rest 15 to 20 minutes; transfer to a carving board. Stir juices around pan to loosen brown bits.
Pour through a strainer into a small pan. Stir in port, chicken broth and remaining 2 tbsp. jelly. Bring to a simmer. Mix cornstarch with a couple of tablespoons of cold water; whisk into sauce. Simmer until lightly thickened. Slice pork and spoon sauce over.
Serves six to eight.
I just have fun with it. I’m not a garlic expert.
I like to grow it and give it away.
— Branch Brady, gardener
Branch Brady grows two types of garlic each season and gives most of it away.
The guru of garlic
Story and photo by POLLY KOLSTAD For the Tribune
In Branch Brady’s plentiful hillside gardens, live 300 garlic plants. Recently harvested after flourishing in richly composted soil for a year, fat cloves will soon go back in the ground for another season.
The retired C.M. Russell High track coach has grown garlic for 15 years after Bob Miller, a CMR shop teacher, gave him a few seed heads to plant. He also purchased five bulbs from Jim Bundi at the Great Falls Farmers Market.
Each year, he replants five of the largest bulbs.
He has two varieties — Bundi’s white, a hardneck or corkscrew version that turns as it grows and a red heirloom he got from another garlic hobbyist, Ray Heffern.
“I just have fun with it; I’m not a garlic expert,” Brady said. “I like to grow it and give it away.”
Garlic needs sun and well-drained soil. Planted in the fall, it comes up in the spring. As it grows, it sprouts green stalks that appear like iris leaves. From these stalks, a green bloom emerges that must be plucked to promote the growth back in the underground bulb. The green bloom has a mild garlic flavor and can be used in salads and soups. In these climes, garlic is ready to be dug up in July and August.
Garlic is usually milder soon after it is pulled from the ground because the chemistry within the garlic evolves during the year. September is the best time to buy garlic because it recently has been harvested.
Once it’s pulled, garlic slowly dehydrates in a natural drying-down process that takes months. As it loses its moisture, it slowly shrinks, and the flavor begins to condense and continues to intensify as long as it is stored at room temperature.
You know you have fresh garlic when the skin clings desperately to the clove when you try to peel it. If at any point during this process you slice and dry it, it will retain whatever flavor it had at that point.
Its shelf life at room temperature at about 50 percent humidity runs from four to 10 months or longer, depending on the variety and the health and condition of the garlic.
Garlic keepers, covered ceramic pots with holes for circulation, provide the cool, dark conditions in which garlic bulbs keep best. Never store garlic in oil, even while refrigerated as is sometimes recommended, because botulism can result. Commercial preparations of garlic in oil have been treated to prevent botulism.
Bundi Gardens plants 6,000 garlic bulbs each year, which were harvested recently. They have 12 varieties, available at 4410 10th Ave. N. and at the Farmers Market. Their garlic is priced by weight, both by the braid and by the bulb.
SHERRY’S ROASTED GARLIC
Garlic becomes rather sweet when roasted and may be squeezed out of the cloves and added to olive oil and balsamic vinegar to spread on French or Italian bread. It’s sometimes referred to as Italian butter.
To roast garlic, preheat oven to 350°. Take one (or more) garlic head and snip the top to level. Place in tin foil and drizzle with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Make a tent by bringing sides of foil over garlic and twist to close. Roast until tender, 45 minutes. Remove from the oven and squeeze out the garlic paste from each clove.
GARLIC CHEESE BREAD
½ pound grated cheddar
1 ounce grated Parmesan
1 cube butter, softened
1 clove garlic chopped
½ tsp. paprika
Dash of Tabasco sauce
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 loaf French bread, sliced ½ inch thick
Preheat broiler. Line jellyroll pans with foil.
Mix together first seven ingredients. Spread cheese mixture on bread slices and sprinkle with a little paprika. Place on prepared pan. Broil until very browned and bubbly.
GARLIC SMASHED POTATOES
2 pounds unpeeled new baby red potatoes, halved if large
6 cloves garlic, halved
2 tbsp. butter
2 tbsp. heavy cream
¼ cup chicken stock
Salt and pepper to taste
Þ cup chopped chives
2 tbsp. bacon bits
Gently boil potatoes and garlic in salted water until tender. Drain. Using the back of a large spoon, smash each potato once so the pieces are large and chunky. Add butter, cream, chicken stock, salt and pepper. Stir gently to combine. Fold in chives and bacon bits. Serve hot. Four servings.
ROSEMARY–SCENTED PORK LOIN STUFFED WITH ROASTED GARLIC AND APPLES WITH PORT WINE PAN SAUCE
3 tbsp. olive oil
16 to 18 whole peeled garlic cloves, plus 2 tbsp. minced cloves (about 1½ heads)
1 whole boneless pork loin, 4 pounds, patted dry, at room temperature
Salt and freshly ground pepper
3 tbsp. minced fresh rosemary, divided
2 cups peeled, chopped, apples
Heavy kitchen string or twine
¼ cup plus 2 tbsp. apple jelly
¼ cup port wine
½ cup chicken broth
2 tsp. cornstarch
Adjust oven rack to uppermiddle position and heat oven to 250°. Heat oil in a small skillet over medium-low heat. Add whole garlic cloves and cook, stirring occasionally until soft and golden, about five minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon; reserve oil.
Turn pork loin fat-side down. Slit lengthwise, almost but not quite all the way through to form a long pocket, leaving a ½-inch border of unslit meat at each end. Brush cavity with some of the reserved garlic cooking oil, and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper and 1 tbsp. of the rosemary. Line cavity with sauteed garlic and apples. Tie loin together with twine or string at 1½ inch intervals.
Brush with remaining oil, and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Set roast, fat side up, on a large, jellyroll pan. Warm ¼ cup apple jelly along with the minced garlic and remaining rosemary and brush mixture onto meat.
Roast until a meat thermometer stuck into the center registers 125° to 130°, about 1½ hours. Remove from oven; raise oven temperature to 400°. Brush loin with pan drippings, return to oven and continue to roast until the loin is golden brown and a meat thermometer stuck into the center registers 155° to 160°, about 20 minutes longer. For more attractive coloring, broil until spotty brown, three to five minutes.
Let roast rest 15 to 20 minutes; transfer to a carving board. Stir juices around pan to loosen brown bits.
Pour through a strainer into a small pan. Stir in port, chicken broth and remaining 2 tbsp. jelly. Bring to a simmer. Mix cornstarch with a couple of tablespoons of cold water; whisk into sauce. Simmer until lightly thickened. Slice pork and spoon sauce over.
Serves six to eight.
I just have fun with it. I’m not a garlic expert.
I like to grow it and give it away.
— Branch Brady, gardener
Branch Brady grows two types of garlic each season and gives most of it away.
The guru of garlic
Story and photo by POLLY KOLSTAD For the Tribune
In Branch Brady’s plentiful hillside gardens, live 300 garlic plants. Recently harvested after flourishing in richly composted soil for a year, fat cloves will soon go back in the ground for another season.
The retired C.M. Russell High track coach has grown garlic for 15 years after Bob Miller, a CMR shop teacher, gave him a few seed heads to plant. He also purchased five bulbs from Jim Bundi at the Great Falls Farmers Market.
Each year, he replants five of the largest bulbs.
He has two varieties — Bundi’s white, a hardneck or corkscrew version that turns as it grows and a red heirloom he got from another garlic hobbyist, Ray Heffern.
“I just have fun with it; I’m not a garlic expert,” Brady said. “I like to grow it and give it away.”
Garlic needs sun and well-drained soil. Planted in the fall, it comes up in the spring. As it grows, it sprouts green stalks that appear like iris leaves. From these stalks, a green bloom emerges that must be plucked to promote the growth back in the underground bulb. The green bloom has a mild garlic flavor and can be used in salads and soups. In these climes, garlic is ready to be dug up in July and August.
Garlic is usually milder soon after it is pulled from the ground because the chemistry within the garlic evolves during the year. September is the best time to buy garlic because it recently has been harvested.
Once it’s pulled, garlic slowly dehydrates in a natural drying-down process that takes months. As it loses its moisture, it slowly shrinks, and the flavor begins to condense and continues to intensify as long as it is stored at room temperature.
You know you have fresh garlic when the skin clings desperately to the clove when you try to peel it. If at any point during this process you slice and dry it, it will retain whatever flavor it had at that point.
Its shelf life at room temperature at about 50 percent humidity runs from four to 10 months or longer, depending on the variety and the health and condition of the garlic.
Garlic keepers, covered ceramic pots with holes for circulation, provide the cool, dark conditions in which garlic bulbs keep best. Never store garlic in oil, even while refrigerated as is sometimes recommended, because botulism can result. Commercial preparations of garlic in oil have been treated to prevent botulism.
Bundi Gardens plants 6,000 garlic bulbs each year, which were harvested recently. They have 12 varieties, available at 4410 10th Ave. N. and at the Farmers Market. Their garlic is priced by weight, both by the braid and by the bulb.
SHERRY’S ROASTED GARLIC
Garlic becomes rather sweet when roasted and may be squeezed out of the cloves and added to olive oil and balsamic vinegar to spread on French or Italian bread. It’s sometimes referred to as Italian butter.
To roast garlic, preheat oven to 350°. Take one (or more) garlic head and snip the top to level. Place in tin foil and drizzle with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Make a tent by bringing sides of foil over garlic and twist to close. Roast until tender, 45 minutes. Remove from the oven and squeeze out the garlic paste from each clove.
GARLIC CHEESE BREAD
½ pound grated cheddar
1 ounce grated Parmesan
1 cube butter, softened
1 clove garlic chopped
½ tsp. paprika
Dash of Tabasco sauce
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 loaf French bread, sliced ½ inch thick
Preheat broiler. Line jellyroll pans with foil.
Mix together first seven ingredients. Spread cheese mixture on bread slices and sprinkle with a little paprika. Place on prepared pan. Broil until very browned and bubbly.
GARLIC SMASHED POTATOES
2 pounds unpeeled new baby red potatoes, halved if large
6 cloves garlic, halved
2 tbsp. butter
2 tbsp. heavy cream
¼ cup chicken stock
Salt and pepper to taste
Þ cup chopped chives
2 tbsp. bacon bits
Gently boil potatoes and garlic in salted water until tender. Drain. Using the back of a large spoon, smash each potato once so the pieces are large and chunky. Add butter, cream, chicken stock, salt and pepper. Stir gently to combine. Fold in chives and bacon bits. Serve hot. Four servings.
ROSEMARY–SCENTED PORK LOIN STUFFED WITH ROASTED GARLIC AND APPLES WITH PORT WINE PAN SAUCE
3 tbsp. olive oil
16 to 18 whole peeled garlic cloves, plus 2 tbsp. minced cloves (about 1½ heads)
1 whole boneless pork loin, 4 pounds, patted dry, at room temperature
Salt and freshly ground pepper
3 tbsp. minced fresh rosemary, divided
2 cups peeled, chopped, apples
Heavy kitchen string or twine
¼ cup plus 2 tbsp. apple jelly
¼ cup port wine
½ cup chicken broth
2 tsp. cornstarch
Adjust oven rack to uppermiddle position and heat oven to 250°. Heat oil in a small skillet over medium-low heat. Add whole garlic cloves and cook, stirring occasionally until soft and golden, about five minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon; reserve oil.
Turn pork loin fat-side down. Slit lengthwise, almost but not quite all the way through to form a long pocket, leaving a ½-inch border of unslit meat at each end. Brush cavity with some of the reserved garlic cooking oil, and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper and 1 tbsp. of the rosemary. Line cavity with sauteed garlic and apples. Tie loin together with twine or string at 1½ inch intervals.
Brush with remaining oil, and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Set roast, fat side up, on a large, jellyroll pan. Warm ¼ cup apple jelly along with the minced garlic and remaining rosemary and brush mixture onto meat.
Roast until a meat thermometer stuck into the center registers 125° to 130°, about 1½ hours. Remove from oven; raise oven temperature to 400°. Brush loin with pan drippings, return to oven and continue to roast until the loin is golden brown and a meat thermometer stuck into the center registers 155° to 160°, about 20 minutes longer. For more attractive coloring, broil until spotty brown, three to five minutes.
Let roast rest 15 to 20 minutes; transfer to a carving board. Stir juices around pan to loosen brown bits.
Pour through a strainer into a small pan. Stir in port, chicken broth and remaining 2 tbsp. jelly. Bring to a simmer. Mix cornstarch with a couple of tablespoons of cold water; whisk into sauce. Simmer until lightly thickened. Slice pork and spoon sauce over.
Serves six to eight.
I just have fun with it. I’m not a garlic expert.
I like to grow it and give it away.
— Branch Brady, gardener
Branch Brady grows two types of garlic each season and gives most of it away.
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Bacon Park story
Beauty and peace befall upon Bigfork’s tranquil Bacon Park
By POLLY KOLSTAD For the Tribune Quiet discovery awaits visitors to Bacon Park on Eagle Bend Drive in Bigfork.A haven of tranquil beauty, the park treats guests to a peaceful descent into a landscape where stones, shrubs, trees and flowers emphasize the subtle symmetry of nature.Laura and Jerry Bacon love the little oasis they have created in Harbor Village across the street from their townhouse.“Nothing makes me more happy than to get up with a cup of coffee in the morning and head over to our park,” Laura Bacon said. “It is our fairy garden.”The Bacons call the park their “peace on Earth.” It offers the solace they’ve sought since 2004 when they began planning their horticultural dream with landscaper, Jim Doepker.Doepker graduated with a degree in forestry from the University of Montana, but found his niche in landscaping. He enjoys working with clients like the Bacons, who immerse themselves in a project.“We built the park, all three of us,” Doepker said. “The Bacons have very much been the inspiration.”The Bacons wanted a Montana Japanese garden, and along with Doepker, made trips to the Portland Japanese Garden, bought books and studied them in the winter.The original plan was simply drawn on onion skin paper. There never was a blueprint or sketch.“That’s part of the Japanese philosophy,” Doepker said.A typical Japanese garden features several elements including rocks, water, islands, ponds, bridges, lanterns, plants and a teahouse. Japanese gardens present impressive vistas in a small place.Displaying these design traditions on two-thirds of an acre was not an easy go.They started construction in 2004, designating where they wanted the pond and doing the excavation. The next spring they brought in soil from Creston and 330 tons of boulders from McGregor Peak, west of Kalispell.“It was one year before we planted anything, and even at that, after three years, we redid one area as we discovered it was a dead zone,” Doepker said.The Bacons’ garden is understated when it comes to color. They have lilacs, azalea and roses, but more for the color and texture of the foliage rather than the flowers.It also features a waterfall that rushes into the pond.Botanical lovers enjoy the pond’s koi and goldfish. From under the dainty wooden bridge, they swim, darting in and out of blooming lily pads.Doepker said they will come to you and eat out of your hand. An older white one he calls “Hot Lips Houlihan” is his favorite. Occasionally, an osprey swoops down and takes a fish. They have even seen blue herons perched and ready for the take. And, a neighborhood duck has been known to waddle in with See BACON PARK, 4L
COURTESY PHOTO Bacon Park is located on Eagle Bend Drive in Bigfork. Jerry and Laura Bacon created the park in Harbor Village.Bacon Park: Park attracts birds and dragonflies
FROM 1L her brood.A key to an authentic Japanese garden are the maple trees. The Bacons first planted five, and now there are 30. Many of these plants come from the Iseli Nursery in Oregon, which grows dwarf conifers and Japanese maples and prunes them using a Japanese garden technique.Along the garden’s sylvan paths are many unusual trees, in particular, the Hindu Pan, an evergreen which is actually a type of shore pine tree related to the lodge pole pine.The park attracts hummingbirds, cedar waxwings and robins. Laura Bacon enjoys watching the grosbeaks.“Their babies come right next to you,” she said.There are dragonflies of many colors, as well.Most of the trees and plants in Bacon Park were purchased at local nurseries and tree farms. Brenda Guild, of Montana Gardener Inc., maintains the plants and has been with the Bacons since the park’s inception.Jan and Bob Livesay of Great Falls said the park is one of the most tranquil places they have seen and are impressed with the ever-changing landscaping.“Each visit offers new plantings and seasonal varieties,” they said. “We are fortunate to have the opportunity to enjoy the garden.”The Bacons welcome the public to visit their garden, though they don’t allow large tours.This past winter was hard on Bacon Park, devastating Zone 5 plants as well as others. They brought a crane in to take out the dead trees and plant new ones. The loss really bothered the Bacons, but they are recharged and re-energized.“Now, I think the garden is about where they envisioned,” Doepker said.“Yet, they get more ambitious all the time.”
By POLLY KOLSTAD For the Tribune Quiet discovery awaits visitors to Bacon Park on Eagle Bend Drive in Bigfork.A haven of tranquil beauty, the park treats guests to a peaceful descent into a landscape where stones, shrubs, trees and flowers emphasize the subtle symmetry of nature.Laura and Jerry Bacon love the little oasis they have created in Harbor Village across the street from their townhouse.“Nothing makes me more happy than to get up with a cup of coffee in the morning and head over to our park,” Laura Bacon said. “It is our fairy garden.”The Bacons call the park their “peace on Earth.” It offers the solace they’ve sought since 2004 when they began planning their horticultural dream with landscaper, Jim Doepker.Doepker graduated with a degree in forestry from the University of Montana, but found his niche in landscaping. He enjoys working with clients like the Bacons, who immerse themselves in a project.“We built the park, all three of us,” Doepker said. “The Bacons have very much been the inspiration.”The Bacons wanted a Montana Japanese garden, and along with Doepker, made trips to the Portland Japanese Garden, bought books and studied them in the winter.The original plan was simply drawn on onion skin paper. There never was a blueprint or sketch.“That’s part of the Japanese philosophy,” Doepker said.A typical Japanese garden features several elements including rocks, water, islands, ponds, bridges, lanterns, plants and a teahouse. Japanese gardens present impressive vistas in a small place.Displaying these design traditions on two-thirds of an acre was not an easy go.They started construction in 2004, designating where they wanted the pond and doing the excavation. The next spring they brought in soil from Creston and 330 tons of boulders from McGregor Peak, west of Kalispell.“It was one year before we planted anything, and even at that, after three years, we redid one area as we discovered it was a dead zone,” Doepker said.The Bacons’ garden is understated when it comes to color. They have lilacs, azalea and roses, but more for the color and texture of the foliage rather than the flowers.It also features a waterfall that rushes into the pond.Botanical lovers enjoy the pond’s koi and goldfish. From under the dainty wooden bridge, they swim, darting in and out of blooming lily pads.Doepker said they will come to you and eat out of your hand. An older white one he calls “Hot Lips Houlihan” is his favorite. Occasionally, an osprey swoops down and takes a fish. They have even seen blue herons perched and ready for the take. And, a neighborhood duck has been known to waddle in with See BACON PARK, 4L
COURTESY PHOTO Bacon Park is located on Eagle Bend Drive in Bigfork. Jerry and Laura Bacon created the park in Harbor Village.Bacon Park: Park attracts birds and dragonflies
FROM 1L her brood.A key to an authentic Japanese garden are the maple trees. The Bacons first planted five, and now there are 30. Many of these plants come from the Iseli Nursery in Oregon, which grows dwarf conifers and Japanese maples and prunes them using a Japanese garden technique.Along the garden’s sylvan paths are many unusual trees, in particular, the Hindu Pan, an evergreen which is actually a type of shore pine tree related to the lodge pole pine.The park attracts hummingbirds, cedar waxwings and robins. Laura Bacon enjoys watching the grosbeaks.“Their babies come right next to you,” she said.There are dragonflies of many colors, as well.Most of the trees and plants in Bacon Park were purchased at local nurseries and tree farms. Brenda Guild, of Montana Gardener Inc., maintains the plants and has been with the Bacons since the park’s inception.Jan and Bob Livesay of Great Falls said the park is one of the most tranquil places they have seen and are impressed with the ever-changing landscaping.“Each visit offers new plantings and seasonal varieties,” they said. “We are fortunate to have the opportunity to enjoy the garden.”The Bacons welcome the public to visit their garden, though they don’t allow large tours.This past winter was hard on Bacon Park, devastating Zone 5 plants as well as others. They brought a crane in to take out the dead trees and plant new ones. The loss really bothered the Bacons, but they are recharged and re-energized.“Now, I think the garden is about where they envisioned,” Doepker said.“Yet, they get more ambitious all the time.”
Flathead Cherry Story
Great Falls 08/11/2010, Page L01
Savor sweet cherry season
Flathead gems are ripe
Enjoy them now, preserve some for the winter
By POLLY KOLSTAD For the Tribune
I knew I liked Toby Phillips the moment I saw him.
Wearing sturdy boots, he came through my door lugging two boxes of fresh Flathead cherries.
He had come to help us with our wheat harvest, bringing a tasty surprise.
He had spent the previous day picking and culling 40 pounds of cherries with his father-in-law, Hugh Hockaday, at the family orchard on Angel Point near Lakeside.
Flathead cherries are abundant around Flathead Lake, and the season is at its peak. Orchard growers in this area are famous for their high-quality bounty.
Though the harvest is a little late, it’s a good year for Flathead cherries. Picking began around the first of August and will continue for another week to 10 days.
The Hockadays’ cherries are Chinooks, pollinizers that resemble a Bing cherry .
“The cherries are of good size,” said Hockaday, who has been running the operation for more than 50 years.
Other big sweet cherries that do well in the area are Bing, Lambert and Queen Anne varieties. These cherries ripen after the Washington and Oregon cherries are off the market.
With a little help, cherry trees live a long time. It takes three to four years before they produce. They peak at 12 years and might produce another 12 years.
The Hockadays cultivate their trees repeatedly over the summer to keep the weeds out and to make sure all the moisture is going to the trees. Any split, cracked or bruised cherries go on the ground, left for the deer.
His grandfather had bought the land in 1910. Hockaday moved onto the property with his dad in 1946 when his granddad had a stroke. There were some trees there then, and he planted a lot more for commercial sales. Even then, cherries were big business.
“Granddad hired girls t o pick in the morning and pack in the afternoon,” Hockaday explained. “Then the cherries were loaded on steamers (boats) and taken to rail at Somers,” Today, the Hockaday orchard is a Upick operation charging $1 a pound.
Many people return year after year for the tree-ripened fruit which, according to Hockaday, is a lot sweeter because they don’t irrigate and pump them full of water.
My hands are beautifully stained from handling and pitting the plump red fruit.
Not letting one go to waste, I have prepared many recipes. Still, I have a windfall of Montana’s sweetest picking.
“Just throw them in bags and freeze them,” Phillips suggested, “that’s what we do.
“Then, in the cool of winter take out a bowl of cherries and relish the delicious memory of summer.”
SWEET CHERRY PIE
Prepare pastry for two-crust pie. Measure 2 cups flou r into large bowl, and with your hands, make a well in the center. Pour in ¾ cup vegetable oil, and ¼ cup water. Mix together. Divide into two balls of dough. Roll out one ball between waxed paper and fit into a 9-inch pie plate. Roll out second ball between waxed paper, and set aside.
PIE FILLING
1 cup sugar ¤ cup flour Þ tsp. salt 1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice 4 cups pitted sweet cherries 2 tbsp. butter
Combine sugar, flour and salt. Add lemon juice to cherries and toss with sugar-flour mixture to mix thoroughly. Turn into pastry-lined pie pan. Dot with butter. Add top crust and crimp edges so juice doesn’t escape. With a knife, make three slashes on the top. Bake in hot oven at 425 degrees about 40 minutes.
SWEET CHERRY JAM or TOPPING 4 cups pitted sweet cherries 2½ cups sugar ½ cup lemon juice
Put ingredients in a heavy bottomed pan and mash together lightly. Cook, stirring while mixture boils, for five minutes. Cook five more minutes until thick and syrupy. Ladle into hot jelly jars. Seal with paraffin wax. Will fill two pints, or four small jelly jars.
CHERRIES JUBILEE
4 cups pitted cherries ½ cup water 1 tbsp. sugar mixed with 1 tbsp. cornstarch ¼ cup Kirsch (cherry liqueur) Vanilla ice cream
See CHERRIES, 2L
PHOTO COURTESY POLLY KOLSTAD
It’s easy to present cherries elegantly so your dessert looks as good as it tastes. Cherries Jubilee are pictured.
Powered by TECNAVIACopyright (c)2010 Great Falls Tribune 08/11/2010
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Savor sweet cherry season
Flathead gems are ripe
Enjoy them now, preserve some for the winter
By POLLY KOLSTAD For the Tribune
I knew I liked Toby Phillips the moment I saw him.
Wearing sturdy boots, he came through my door lugging two boxes of fresh Flathead cherries.
He had come to help us with our wheat harvest, bringing a tasty surprise.
He had spent the previous day picking and culling 40 pounds of cherries with his father-in-law, Hugh Hockaday, at the family orchard on Angel Point near Lakeside.
Flathead cherries are abundant around Flathead Lake, and the season is at its peak. Orchard growers in this area are famous for their high-quality bounty.
Though the harvest is a little late, it’s a good year for Flathead cherries. Picking began around the first of August and will continue for another week to 10 days.
The Hockadays’ cherries are Chinooks, pollinizers that resemble a Bing cherry .
“The cherries are of good size,” said Hockaday, who has been running the operation for more than 50 years.
Other big sweet cherries that do well in the area are Bing, Lambert and Queen Anne varieties. These cherries ripen after the Washington and Oregon cherries are off the market.
With a little help, cherry trees live a long time. It takes three to four years before they produce. They peak at 12 years and might produce another 12 years.
The Hockadays cultivate their trees repeatedly over the summer to keep the weeds out and to make sure all the moisture is going to the trees. Any split, cracked or bruised cherries go on the ground, left for the deer.
His grandfather had bought the land in 1910. Hockaday moved onto the property with his dad in 1946 when his granddad had a stroke. There were some trees there then, and he planted a lot more for commercial sales. Even then, cherries were big business.
“Granddad hired girls t o pick in the morning and pack in the afternoon,” Hockaday explained. “Then the cherries were loaded on steamers (boats) and taken to rail at Somers,” Today, the Hockaday orchard is a Upick operation charging $1 a pound.
Many people return year after year for the tree-ripened fruit which, according to Hockaday, is a lot sweeter because they don’t irrigate and pump them full of water.
My hands are beautifully stained from handling and pitting the plump red fruit.
Not letting one go to waste, I have prepared many recipes. Still, I have a windfall of Montana’s sweetest picking.
“Just throw them in bags and freeze them,” Phillips suggested, “that’s what we do.
“Then, in the cool of winter take out a bowl of cherries and relish the delicious memory of summer.”
SWEET CHERRY PIE
Prepare pastry for two-crust pie. Measure 2 cups flou r into large bowl, and with your hands, make a well in the center. Pour in ¾ cup vegetable oil, and ¼ cup water. Mix together. Divide into two balls of dough. Roll out one ball between waxed paper and fit into a 9-inch pie plate. Roll out second ball between waxed paper, and set aside.
PIE FILLING
1 cup sugar ¤ cup flour Þ tsp. salt 1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice 4 cups pitted sweet cherries 2 tbsp. butter
Combine sugar, flour and salt. Add lemon juice to cherries and toss with sugar-flour mixture to mix thoroughly. Turn into pastry-lined pie pan. Dot with butter. Add top crust and crimp edges so juice doesn’t escape. With a knife, make three slashes on the top. Bake in hot oven at 425 degrees about 40 minutes.
SWEET CHERRY JAM or TOPPING 4 cups pitted sweet cherries 2½ cups sugar ½ cup lemon juice
Put ingredients in a heavy bottomed pan and mash together lightly. Cook, stirring while mixture boils, for five minutes. Cook five more minutes until thick and syrupy. Ladle into hot jelly jars. Seal with paraffin wax. Will fill two pints, or four small jelly jars.
CHERRIES JUBILEE
4 cups pitted cherries ½ cup water 1 tbsp. sugar mixed with 1 tbsp. cornstarch ¼ cup Kirsch (cherry liqueur) Vanilla ice cream
See CHERRIES, 2L
PHOTO COURTESY POLLY KOLSTAD
It’s easy to present cherries elegantly so your dessert looks as good as it tastes. Cherries Jubilee are pictured.
Powered by TECNAVIACopyright (c)2010 Great Falls Tribune 08/11/2010
Reply Forward
New window Print all Expand all Collapse all Forward allSponsored LinksSuperior Dried CherriesTart, Bing, Ranier, and More! Super-Fast Delivery. Try Some Now.NutsOnline.com/Dried-CherriesDessert RecipesMake desserts to remember. Free recipes from Safeway. Get them now!Safeway.comCherry JuiceTop selling concentrate on sale. Supports healthy joint function.BrownwoodAcres.comDelicious RecipesFind Thousands of Recipes and Menu Ideas - Visit KitchenDaily Now!KitchenDaily.comMaraschino CherriesBulk maraschino cherries for restaurants and bars. Best Pricewww.reliablepaper.comMore about...Cherry »
Growing Cherries »
Vegetable Recipe »
Rainier Cherries »About these links« Back to Inbox Archive Report spam Delete Move to Labels More actions ‹ Newer 12 of 48 Older ›Send messages from your other email addresses using your Gmail account. Learn moreYou are currently using 401 MB (5%) of your 7488 MB.Last account activity: 4 hours ago on this computer. DetailsGmail view: standard turn off chat turn off buzz older contact manager older version basic HTML Learn more©2010 Google - Terms - Privacy Policy - Buzz Privacy Policy - Gmail Blog - Join the Gmail team - Google
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