The Founder of the Feast...

Garden Center Newsletter
May 2010
By Pat Dumas

It's not easy catching up with Robert Sickles Sr. Up at dawn, keeping farmer’s hours, he's on the move all day. You may find him either in his Raspberry field across from the parking lot at Sickles market, or on his tractor surveying the farm that has been in his family for over 300+ years. If he's not on premise in the summer, he's most likely at one of his tracts of land in Middletown plowing and planting the land that provides the farm with fresh eggplant, zucchini, peppers, beets and a host of other veggies that go from field directly to the bins in the produce section of the market.

When taking a break on a hot summer's day, I often cross paths with him in the backyard of the produce market. Quiet and unassuming, the 82 year-old is a wealth of knowledge and experience-- and one of the few full time farmers in Monmouth County.

He's an icon to me and many others-- but, to himself, he's just doing the job he has been doing for over 60 years- and doing what he loves. He’s still enthusiastic, still amazed at the weather, and always ready with a greeting. When I see him in the market in the early morning buying his bread and eggs for breakfast, he waits in line just like everyone else. He likes to watch what wonders have become of the small garden stand his father started back in 1908 and which he continued with his wife Adelaide until handing the reins over to his son Bob Jr. Quietly, he sees all with that twinkle in his eye. But never underestimate-- he knows everyone's name from the cashiers in the front, to the produce preparers in the back room. A watchful, yet gentle eye takes it all in.

We talk about many things. The subject of those pesky deer comes up often. He says that deer have multiplied tremendously since colonial times-- and are incredibly destructive to farmer’s crops. But, on the other hand, he's soft-hearted-- once bringing a box of farm kittens out of the barn and into our protective hands for care one summer morning. He knows the name of every bird and critter on the farm, and told me he once saw a 6-pointed buck deer on the property. As for the Groundhogs-- well-- there's a little trap that he uses to humanely lure them and take them to the pastures of some one else's plenty. Practical in many ways, he tells me the world’s food supply would be totally non-existent if we all went organic in the fight against crop-eating insects. I like these stories. It brings me into another world where storytelling and wise ways meant something.

One of the most anticipated crops of the summer season are Mr. Sickles’ raspberries. Grown on 3 acres of land, they are hand-picked, plump and juicy. Every pint of fruit is a labor of love coming from stained hands and good cultivation. A traditional crop from Sickles Farm, the sweet berries have been grown on site since the 1930’s. The cultivars, which include Canby, Reveille, and Willamette, are full of white blossoms which will quickly change to red, fleshy fruit.

Raspberry plants, like the ones Mr. Sickles plants in our raspberry fields are lush and full of fruit in 3 gallon containers out in the perennial yard. Although we love when you buy our hand-packaged raspberries in the little green cartons, we have no problem sharing our knowledge of raspberries and offering you success of your own with potted plants. Robust, and long-lived, the Canby raspberries provide pints of fruit every summer, and need only a cutting out of the old wood in the spring. If you’re not into eating them, leave them for the birds. You’ll get mockingbirds, catbirds, orioles and many other berry -eating visitors. Sharing with the critters is a whole new take on things. Think of it this way: they’re not stealing your fruit, you’re just sharing it. It’s complicated, yet quite simple. We have supermarkets, they don’t.

When I see my co- workers Ysidro and Francisco carefully pruning the raspberry bushes for this year’s crop, I am in awe that a farm is so close to where I live. The fruit from field to hand and then to your shopping cart is just moments away. I only play farmer at my job on the farm, but, the surrounding smell of new mown hay and Mr. Sickles Sr. waving from his tractor, sure make me feel like one.
There’s a saying that goes “don’t complain about farmers while eating at the dinner table”. With that in mind, I say, “thanks, Mr. Sickles!”

Not just any Strawberry!

Gourmet Newsletter

May 25, 2010

By Tori Sickles

Sweet and succulent, with a touch of tartness; New Jersey Strawberries let you know that summer is on its way! A handful of bright red Jersey Strawberries and a new pair of flip flops are all you need to give you the feeling of rest and relaxation that the summer season has to offer.  At Sickles Market, we wait all year for the lip smacking summer berries to arrive, especially the Raspberries and Blackberries farmed by my grandpa, Robert Sickles Sr., but there is something about the appearance and sweet fragrance of a freshly picked NJ strawberry from your local farm market or specialty store that really lets you know summer is on its way.

My first memories of NJ Strawberries come from the strawberry bushes planted around the Sickles Market fields in Little Silver, where I would play in the dirt and pick a strawberry or two before running off again with friends or family.  Most New Jerseyans have classic memories of their first taste of strawberries and all but a few agree that these are one of the best things that New Jersey has to offer (don’t forget about our corn, tomatoes, and peaches), we are definitely meant to be the Garden State.

The next few weeks are prime picking for strawberries; don’t miss your chance to purchase them in their traditional cardboard green container –bring them to your first summer party of the year, BBQ on your deck, or as a healthy beach snack to Sandy Hook.  I suggest making a morning strawberry milkshake, tossing a few strawberries into a luscious fruit salad for lunch, or topping off your angel food cake with drizzles of strawberry sauce and sliced strawberries. Yes, this may seem like an excessive amount of strawberries in one day, but taking full advantage of this delicious and health filled fruit will do your body good (as the saying goes) – this strawberry season is SHORT! 

Strawberries are an excellent source of Vitamin C, Flavonoids (Vitamin P and Citrin) and antioxidants; one cup of strawberries contains only 145 calories.  Strawberries are extremely nutritious and by adding them to your diet, in either a smoothie, salad, or on its own is a great way to get the servings of fruit you need to maintain a well-balanced diet and healthy immune system.

I hope I have encouraged you to go out and buy a pint of fresh Jersey Strawberries.  If not, read below for some scrumptious New Jersey strawberry recipes and I guarantee you will walk away with a craving for this juicy berry. 

**Handle strawberries with care and store them well after they have been purchased. Like all fruit, strawberries should be washed thoroughly prior to eating or storage. Fresh strawberries will keep in the fridge for a few days.

Recipes:

Fresh Strawberry Bellini

Spinach Salad with Strawberry Vinaigrette

Strawberry Shortcakes

Strawberry Mascarpone Tart

From May 24 to June 6, 2010, there will be a 15% off special for Gourmet Club Members on New Jersey Strawberries.

Monks Matter

I was lucky to be a part of the inaugural Manhattan Cocktail Classic last weekend. This was New York City’s first ever multi-day event celebrating the history, contemporary culture, and artful craft of the cocktail—the real kind made with fresh ingredients, measured pours, and a geek’s attention to perfection and authenticity.

The Manhattan Cocktail Classic started grandly with a gala for 2,500 people at the New York Public Library, an elegant Beaux-Arts art building on 5th Avenue and 42nd Street. In place of books and card catalogs were flashy booths set up by 150 high-end spirits companies, who offered limitless cocktails, shaken and stirred by some of the world’s best bartenders.

How did I, a cheesemonger, get included in such a sybaritic event? In a word, monks.

On the second day of the Manhattan Cocktail Classic, I co-presented a seminar, “The Spirited Whey: Monk-Inspired Cocktails and Cheeses,” with my friend and fellow culinary historian, Kara Newman. As the author of Spice and Ice (http://karanewman.wordpress.com/about/), Kara was the drinks person, and I, of course, covered the cheese component of our talk at the Astor Center, an educational event space in the East Village.

The luxury, pleasure, and decadence of the Manhattan Cocktail Classic seem at odds with the ascetic life of a monk and his vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience, but some of our favorite tipples and dairy delights would not exist or be as good as they are today without monks of yore. Liqueurs, wine, beer, and cider were all part of a monk’s diet, consumed in moderation, of course. Liqueurs came from the long tradition of herb-based elixirs to heal ailments; wine was an integral part of Mass; and cider and beer were what people of the day, including holy men, drank. Cheese was a standard protein in the refectory because the Rule of Saint Benedict, the code of conduct which established Western monasticism in the fifth century, required a vegetarian diet.

Since medieval monasteries were self-sufficient institutions, monks not only made these products for the table but also owned and tended vineyards, orchards, and fields for the raw ingredients. By their toil, monks preserved and perfected culinary crafts that would have been otherwise lost to the Dark Ages in Europe. Raise a toast of Dom Pérignon (a Benedictine monk, by the way) for that!

In the words of Francis Schott, a mixologist and host of The Restaurant Guys Radio Program, who also did a presentation at the MCC, monks matter. And so, it seems, monks weren’t totally out of place at the Manhattan Cocktail Classic.

Cheers!

Diana the cheesemonger

*Trappist Monk making beer, photo by http://belgianshaws.wordpress.com/ 

Foxfire...

Garden Center Newsletter

May 2010

By Pat Dumas

Whether you use them for cooking, ornament or just love the subtle scents in the garden, herbs are as old as time, and many a healing potion, brew, and concoction has been made from their leaves, roots, and seeds.
There are “herbs” and there are “spices”. Some devotees say there is no difference between the two, and others say it depends on what part of the plant the flavor comes from. Herbalists find more uses for herbs in medicinal recipes and there is a rich heritage in this country of down-home remedies to soothe the body and the soul.

One of the most utilized garden herbs for healing is the mint plant. There are hundreds of varieties, and our arthritis rubs and soaks always have the ingredient of menthol on the label. Menthol is from the Latin “menthe” and is an oil extracted from the peppermint and spearmint plants. It has fabulous properties that tingle the hot and cold nerves on our skin, and are used for countless ointments, creams and lotions that soothe the muscles. We all remember the greasy, thick feel of Vicks Vapo Rub on our chests when we were little— inhaling the vapors of spearmint and peppermint soothed our coughs and stuffy noses.

Digitalis, also known as our beautiful Foxglove flower, has strong properties used in heart medications to this day. In folk remedies, Angelica root tonic was used to lower blood pressure, and Rosemary was used for the properties of camphor in it---keeping insects and disease away . Even the scented geranium has crept it’s way into our modern life. The leaves contain a property found in our summertime citronella products and keeping the insects away is big business. Our modern medicines have taken much from the folk cures of the past, and to this day, you will find camphor, menthol, citrosa, and pepper’s pain-treating capsaicin as an ingredient listed on many items in your local drug store.

There is always a use for herbs in the garden. Whether you’re a “good witch” or an experimental, potion-making one, there is more to do with herbs than cooking. Many of the folk remedies find their basis in reality. Smelling a sweet, soothing brew just soothes our sensibilities and relaxes us- and we all know how mental relaxation helps the body. Good witches indeed—the herbalists and practitioners of the past had great insight into the connection of mind and body.

If your herbal interest wanders into the healing arts, you’ll find some of the most incredible recipes for poultices, teas, and old-time rubs from a classic book on the folk arts called “Foxfire”. Some 40 years ago, when the Foxfire books came out, they were a compilation of articles on organic gardening, herbal cures, homesteading, cutting and dressing hogs, and other wonderful traditions from the folks living in the Appalachian mountains of Georgia. They were written by students of a young teacher in Appalachia back in the 1960’s to document the old ways of a dying mountain culture. The term "foxfire" comes from the name of a bioluminescent fungus that grows on rotting wood in damp forests in the Southern Appalachians during the summer. The fungi typically produces a dim blue-green glow that can be seen only in dark, starlit areas, away from moonlight and street lights..These glowing fungi are also referred to as "faerie fire" and "will o' the wisp." Drawn you in yet? Pure poetry.

The Foxfire books are a wonderful world of many things, but the herbal remedies in them are touching, humorous and a joy to read. Tinctures of goldenseal, and salves of plantain weed may not be the medical help we settle for, but it’s truly amazing to find that many of our tried and true drugs have come from common plants. Our most famous over the counter drug, Aspirin, was originally derived from the bark of a willow tree. The words “faerie fire” may be alluring, but take heed. Listen to your doctor before you down that willow bark tea- even if you’re hiking in the mountains and run across the colorful local midwife or herbalist with a great story to tell.
You can check out the antique world of Appalachia at the Foxfire educational web site ( www.foxfire.org/).  You’ll also be supporting ongoing cultural education in Appalachia when you purchase the books and products from the Foxfire Museum. It’s good fun and a privileged look into a culture that is virtually gone.

I can’t say we’ll all be enthused about getting down and dirty with a brew of arthritis-soothing spearmint balm for treating our sore muscles. I’d rather plop the mint into an ice cold Mojito and call it a day. Now, that’s what I call healing!

Take It with a Grain of Salt.

Salt and people have always been intertwined. Our bodies actually contain about a cup of salt, and we can’t survive without it. Salt is sprinkled throughout history, from funeral offerings in ancient Egyptian tombs to Roman soldiers’ wages (paid sometimes in salt or ‘salarium’ in Latin). It is an integral part of our society: We eat it, bathe with it, and throw it over our shoulder when we spill it. There are more than 14,000 manufacturing uses for salt alone! Salt has sparked revolts, inspired religions, fueled discovery and industry, and is even an important part of the production of many cheeses, such as cheddars and camembert.

Salt adds interest to any meal, but there are so many types to choose from! There is table salt, of course, which has a very fine grain and is mined from salt deposits in the earth. It is processed and contains calcium silicate, an anti-caking agent added to prevent clumping. Table salt is commonly used for baking. Kosher salt contains no preservatives and can originate from the earth or sea. It has larger crystals than table salt which makes it handy to pinch with your fingers when cooking at the stove. It is also the preferred salt for preserving; its larger crystals drawing moisture out of the preserved foods more efficiently than table salt.

The most versatile salt by far is sea salt. It is harvested from evaporated sea water with special rakes and is left with the sea minerals intact. The minerals add color and flavor variations to the salt. Some of the minerals found in small amounts in sea salt are potassium, calcium, magnesium, copper, and iodine. Flavored sea salts are fun to experiment with but are best enjoyed sprinkled onto foods as a finishing salt since they tend to lose some of their properties when cooked into foods.

The country of France produces a light, flaky sea salt called fleur de sel. This salt floats on the surface of the salt pans and is harvested before it can sink or be blown away by winds. Fleur de sel dissolves fairly quickly on foods, has a lovely, delicate flavor yet retains the minerals of the sea. There has been fleur de sel harvested along the Island of Re, off the Atlantic Coast since the 7th century where the artisans still skim the salt by hand. Le Saunier de Camargue Fleur de Sel in the south of France, near Provence makes a fine product as well. I often use flor de sal from Portugal, packaged in 500 gram bags by Mitica. It’s a good value and very tasty! Malden Crystal Salt Company from Malden, England has been busy on the other side of the Channel, producing a unique, pyramid shaped flaky sea salt since 1882. It is equally light and some contend that Malden is one of the best sea salts in the world.

The flavored sea salts are where the real fun is at, if you enjoy experimenting. There are so many to choose from and all manner of culinary combinations! Eatwell Farm is an organic farm in Northern California that produces lavender and rosemary salts that are fragrant, intense and delicious on fresh mozzarella and summer tomatoes. Or try the lavender salt on fresh ricotta or Fromage Blanc from New England for breakfast. Italian truffle sea salt is a decadent finishing salt on pasta dishes, or, in the Spanish tradition, you can top off your crusty bread and sweet butter with a few sprinkles. Bob Sickles likes to toss his popcorn with truffle sea salt – yum! The Artisan Salt Company has a line of designer sea salts, including smoked salts, which work well on roasted vegetables. Some of the more unusual salts include Hiwa Kai black lava sea salt from the Pacific waters of Hawaii, which attributes its dramatic color to the added activated charcoal, and the rare Flower of Bali salt which is only harvested once a year from hollowed out trunks of palm trees.

There are hundreds of culinary products on the market that feature sea salt, and I have been sampling several of them lately. The Blue Crab Bay Company Sea Salt Nuts are meaty, gourmet Virginia Peanuts with just the right amount of salt. I love cooking with capers and found the organic Wild Mountain Capers packed in sea salt by Les Moulins Mahjoub (the Tunisian company that I love) to be bursting with flavor. And since I think that every day should end with a bit of chocolate, Fran’s Gray Salt Caramels in Dark Chocolate do the trick nicely.

So, the next time someone tells you to take it with a grain of salt, make sure that its sea salt!

Enjoy!

Cheri the Cheesemonger

A Rose by any other name...

Garden Center Newsletter

May 2010

By Pat Dumas

...would smell as sweet.  Haven’t we all heard that a thousand times? Fortunately, it still rings true some 400 years past Shakespeare’s time. The sweetest, most luscious and sensuous flower of all is still the rose, and having them in our garden is an absolute must.

The timeless flower of love, grief, and celebration; peace, poetry and folklore, the rose has taken on meaning for all—winding it’s way around us, symbolizing anything that has to do with matters of the heart.  In the old ballad “Barbara Allen",  it takes on unrequited love, posing as love with a thorny bite, and in the childhood chant of “ring around the rosy” we all fall down in the ashes and rose petals strewn about to protect us from the smell of burning during the black plague of the 14th century.  There is no symbol like it --it’s a poet’s dream and a gardener’s joy—and sometimes a complete and utter frustration.

A lot has come about in the life of roses in the last 100 years.  New cultivars that resist mildew and fungus such as the fabulous “Knockout” rose have made the gardener’s life simpler.  With the all -summer bloom of the Knockout, a whole slew of landscaping roses have come along to keep even the most difficult of locations alive with constant color.  Low Carpet roses spread out along banks and hillsides with a watercolor effect, and repeat blooming climbers keep the pergolas and arbors alive. Although some of my favorite roses of all time are the one -time blooming old roses I knew from my grandfather’s garden, I have to admit the newer roses make my life a heck of a lot simpler.  The shiny, small leaves of some of the newer varieties are tremendously disease- free, and ramble about freely with new growth all summer.

Getting back to the “old days”—my favorite subject—the beauty of the old rose has not been lost on the rose growers of our time. David Austin, a grower from England, has brought back the glory of the antique, many-petaled, sinfully fragrant cabbage rose in his famous line of extremely hardy plants.  I just bought his  “William Shakespeare 2000”, and it’s ridiculously out of this world!  It’s a decadent shade of dark, blood-red fuchsia that is stuffed with more than 80 petals, and resembles a sliced cabbage.  Drops of beaded water enhance the look of this gorgeous rose, and on a warm humid day, the smell is intoxicating and fruity.  “Mary Rose”, one of Austin’s most famous creations, is a fat-petaled, cupped pink beauty on graceful slender stems. Bushy, and full of warm fragrance, the blooms appear all summer long and when trimmed back after bloom, perform even better.

If you say having roses in your garden is difficult, think again. Roses are not hard, they just like the cooler side of the weather. In our hot, humid, Jersey summers, roses take a little hit. Humidity is just not their thing.  This is where modern science rears its head. Growers are working towards more humidity tolerant roses every year. In the meantime, a little spray of that “not so dirty word” may be in order-- chemicals. Now, before you rear up your good “green” side, know this—most of the food at our table wouldn’t be there without a little bit of help. Insects are out to gorge, and disease just comes along with the party.  A once-monthly spray of systemic Bayer spray will help your roses tackle these party crashers. It’s waterproof, and stays in the plants’ system for about 4 weeks until you have to repeat. Frustration, black spot, yellow leaves are kept to a minimum.  Good air circulation, and annual trimming of rose canes help keep disease down as well.  It’s a blending of mother nature with a little help from our chemical geniuses at the other side of the spectrum.  No harm done, and a lot of disappointment averted.

Wandering through Sickles’ rose yard is enchanting.  Leo, our rose expert, has lined them up in a way that invites you into a world of meandering, petal-strewn paths and winding alleys. Think of it as wearing rose-colored glasses for a while.  You’ll never want to leave- without a rose, of course.

Herbs: Treats from the Garden (or Kitchen Cabinet)

There's nothing like late spring. The perfect temperature, sunshine and a light breeze are almost as refreshing as the smell of fresh herbs in your garden. Just as we wait for the summer to arrive, we wait for the end of the cooking process to add in the necessary accompaniments, in this case dried or fresh herbs to enhance our meal. Herbs are unique and varied and can be added to almost any foodstuff including desserts. Herbs are valued for the scent first and flavor second. At Sickles Market, we sell dried and fresh herbs (now that the sun is out!) for you to choose what works best for your cooking style.

Cooking with Herbs: it’s best for some cuisines to add the herbs last to enhance the flavor such as a spicy basil and arugula salad with Jersey Fresh tomatoes or to add chopped chives to your chip dip for a Saturday night party. When cooking with fresh herbs, it’s always best to purchase them close to the time you plan on cooking. This will ensure a strong flavor and of course freshness! Other items such as breads, poultry, meat and desserts require herbs (dried) to be added at the beginning of the cooking process. The herb flavors will enhance as the foods are heated up. Some examples would be Rosemary Bread, Herb Encrusted Rack of Lamb, or a Lavender Panna Cotta. Wash the herbs under running water and then shake off or pat the excess moisture, mince your herbs and you are ready to create a divine dish that deserves a round of applause from your taste buds!

A few of the top selling herbs at Sickles Market include Basil, Thyme, Rosemary, Sage, and Parsley. Each one with its own distinctive style lends its flavors to each dish it latches on too. Basil is quite the mingler in the vegetable garden. It complements tomatoes, onions, strawberries and so much more. Basil is used in classic Italian dishes such as Caprese Salad (Mozzarella, Tomatoes, and Basil) as well as in many South Asian dishes. A unique yet simple salad of mozzarella, basil, and watermelon will really impress your dinner guests or an elegant Thai Green Curry Basil can take your cooking to the next level.

Thyme is another fun herb used in many types of cuisines such as French, Spanish, and Portuguese. It is often used to flavor meats (lamb), stews, and soups. It also perfectly complements tomatoes and eggs (Deviled Eggs, Radish, and Thyme). Life is short for fresh cut thyme. It lasts less than a week, but is excellent to use in dishes with many ingredients as it stand out on its own, but does not overpower the other ingredients.

Rosemary is mentioned in the classic Simon and Garfunkel song, Scarborough Fair, and in Shakespeare’s Hamlet, “there’s rosemary for remembrance.” While they are both excellent pieces of written work, Rosemary doesn’t need the compliments. It charms the eater all on its own. Rosemary is a perennial herb with an evergreen fragrance. It is native to the Mediterranean and is often used in Italian and Greek dishes like Greek Salad with Feta and Olives or Grilled Vegetables scattered with Rosemary leaves.

Sage is a silvery-green plant with a memorable fragrance. It is can be an overpowering herb so a little bit goes a long way. Sage goes well with meats, risottos, stuffing and cheeses. It will stand up to long cooking times making it a natural for stewed or braised dishes. For a delicious snack or garnish, sauté whole sage leaves in butter until golden, a decadent snack that melts on your tongue.

Two of the most popular forms of Parsley are curly leaf and flat leaf (Italian). Parsley is bright green with a light scent as well as light taste. The famous German Green Sauce is a great example of parsley used in a dish. Chopped parsley and garlic in olive oil make for a wonderful Mediterranean sauce, to be served on broiled fish. The famous French recipe sauce béarnaise also makes use of fresh parsley leaves. We also place parsley on pasta, chicken, and vegetables (grilled or steamed) to give these sometime boring entrées an extra punch of flavor.

Other noted herbs that we sell fresh and dry are Dill, Oregano, Marjoram, Cilantro, Chive, and Lavender. We also sell a wonderful Herbal Salt from Seasonello with Rosemary, Garlic, Sage, and Pepper. If you are ever looking for a specific herb please let our Gourmet Grocery department know and we can special order it for you.

Side Note:
Herbs are also known to be the best pest control for your garden. When planted along the house, specifically the foundation, they help to keep bugs and small rodents away. It is an easy harm free away of keeping the critters out of your yard. Peppermint, Spearmint, and Mint are a few of these herbs.(Bonus: They smell delicious too!)

From May 10 to May 23, 2010, there will be a 15% off special for Gourmet Club Members on the following items:
Produce Fresh Herbs
Arugula bunches, Basil, Cilantro, Dill, Mint, Oregano, Rosemary, Thyme, Watercress
Gourmet Dried Herbs and Herb Salts Herbal Salts
Seasonello
Fleur de Sel – Le Saunier de Camargue
The Spice Hunter Basil*
The Spice Hunter Parsley*
The Spice Hunter Rosemary*
The Spice Hunter Sage*
The Spice Hunter Thyme*
* Includes both conventional and certified organic herbs.

Garden Center Herbs
3 inch herb pots, Regular ($3.99)

A Mother’s Day less Traveled.

Long lines, crowded tables, harried waiters; that’s what comes to mind when I contemplate dining out on Mother’s Day. No surprise there: The National Restaurant Association pegs Mother’s Day as the busiest restaurant day of the year, with about 38% of the country dining out, so Mom won’t have to cook or do the dishes. So, what other options do we have besides dining out on Mother’s Day?

Cooking a meal is a thoughtful, well-meaning idea, but when there are younger children involved (or any kitchen novices for that matter,) the task can be quite daunting. My family has made Make Your Own Pizza Night a fun way to celebrate Mother’s Day, and we all get quite creative with our pizzas. Sickles carries pizza dough that you just have to roll out and cover with toppings, or you can use the Armenian lavash flat breads, if you prefer. Here are some tasty combinations borrowed from the menu at Mario Batali’s popular Pizzeria Mozza in Hollywood: Gorgonzola dolce, fingerling potatoes, radicchio, and rosemary; mixed mushrooms, fontina, taleggio and thyme; Coach Farm goat cheese, bacon, leeks, scallions and garlic. Or you can just go with traditional pepperoni! It’s a great way for the whole family to participate, including the clean up, except Mom, of course!

Another great interactive dining experience at home is a crepe brunch. You can whip up a batch of crepes or simply use Melissa’s Ready to Use Crepes and make it really easy. Lay out an assortment of fillings and start rolling up delicious crepes! A few of my favorites: Fresh bananas, caramelized pecans and Stonewall Kitchen bittersweet chocolate sauce; Greek yogurt, walnuts and orange blossom honey; Cowgirl Creamery clabbered cottage cheese or Tuscany fresh ricotta with Les Moulins Mahjoub wild mulberry jam from Tunisia. For a savory filling, scramble up some eggs with shredded gruyere, aspargus and mushrooms, or fresh chevre and fine herbs. The possibilities are really endless!

If you’d rather avoid the kitchen altogether, an old fashioned picnic is a lovely way to spend Mother’s Day. You can load up a soft fabric cooler with delectable treats or the gourmet department can create a custom picnic for you in a traditional wicker basket. Some of my Mother’s Day picnic selections would be (in case my family is reading this!): locally produced Alexian pheasant and rosemary pate, Criminelli tartufo salami (a handcrafted black truffle salami that is a real showstopper!), Muscat grapes, Balthazar breads, and of course, cheese! And, being a chocoholic, I would have to toss in a couple Venchi chocolate bars from Italy; their flavor is intense yet silky smooth, and chocolate is always the perfect ending to any picnic.

I love the beach, Hartshorne Woods or Holmdel Park for a meal en plein air. But sometimes it’s fun to try something completely different. For a Mother’s Day that’s really memorable and interesting, if you don’t mind a drive, why not take your picnic up to Morris County, NJ to the Valley Shepherd Creamery, where you can tour the farm and taste the delicious artisanal cheeses, which Sickles carries when available. The farm offers tours at 1:00pm and 4:00pm on Saturdays and Sundays. And, if you would like to celebrate Mother’s Day a little early, you can attend the Annual Shearing Festival on Saturday, May 8th. They have almost 550 sheep that are waiting to be sheared, along with crafts, musicians, artisans and cheeses. For more information, check out the website at valleyshepherd.com.

So, with all of these alternatives to busy restaurant dining, you won’t see me in the buffet line on Mother’s Day this year. With any luck, I’ll be enjoying some delicious crepes or a gourmet picnic lunch, and most definitely not doing dishes!
Enjoy!

Cheri the Cheesemonger

Yes…. It’s Time to Plant the Tomatoes!

                         Garden Center Newsletter

May 2010

By Pat Dumas

The most frequent question I get asked out in the plant yard is “is it too early to plant the tomatoes?” Most of us go by the tried and true wisdom that Mother’s Day is the reference point—planting after this time ensures that we’re pretty well past a frost. But, frost can happen freakishly late, so you never know. The only thing to do is to protect your vegetables if you see a cold snap coming at night.

Tomatoes, eggplant, cucumbers, zucchini and other summer veggies love the heat. They will grow inches a day in it, and in our short growing season, need all the heat they can get. Planting seedlings very early will just see them stall in growth with possible rot. Tomatoes and other veggies usually set fruit at night after being pollinated and if it’s too cold, tomatoes may come out with bottom rot. So, it’s a tough decision for the home gardener to make— to plant or not to plant.

Personally, I plant a week before Mother’s Day, and I like planting small plants. This way, the plants come into blossom and germinate when it’s warm. If the weather gets too cool, or there’s a frost predicted, I will throw a plastic shopping bag over the plants and secure it to the ground with a couple of sticks. Remember to take it off in the morning, or you’ll have fried green tomato leaves! You just have to play it by ear. If it’s too early, pick out the selection you want, then bring them inside or into the garage during the night if the temperature goes below 45 degrees.

If the number of tomato varieties seems baffling, understand that most are hybrids- plant “matings” created by horticulturists looking to create a better plant. The big, juicy tomatoes take on names like “Beefmaster”, “Beefsteak”, “Big Boy”, and “Better Boy”. The delicious sauce-making plum tomatoes have names like “Viva Italia” and “San Marzano” to distinguish them. To the growers and culinary devotees, there are differences in taste and growth, but, to us, they are just different varieties, and we try new ones every year to see what we like. Most modern varieties are also resistant to disease through cross-breeding. When you see tomato labels with VF1 on them, you know they were bred resistant to diseases such as verticillium and fusarium wilt. Too lengthy to go into here, believe me when I tell you that these diseases are tomato killers. On the other hand, the old-fashioned Heirloom tomatoes like “Cherokee Purple”, “Mortgage Lifter” (which really did “lift” someone’s mortgage back in the depression of the 1930’s) and “Mr. Stripey” don’t have the tough disease tolerance that the hybrids have... They have been around for years—and are some of the sweetest, juiciest fruits around. Both types of tomatoes are equally delicious, and some folks actually prefer the old-fashioned types. The famous “Rutgers” tomato has made a sensational comeback, and goes to show that the older varieties still have a place in our memory and taste buds. Whatever type you pick, just think of it as experimenting every year. There is no one tomato that’s the best all around. If you experiment with the newer hybrids as well as heirlooms, you’ll be sure to get a tasty, eclectic balance.

Last year, we were hit by a late tomato blight. Different sources list different locations where the disease came from and there is a lot of blame going around. It happens, and that’s why growers work tirelessly every year to “build” a better tomato. The blight hit in August and September, (not uncommon) but, last year it hit hard. Bad weather in June was blamed, as were plants from a large, well-known plant vendor. Whatever it was, hopefully it won’t happen on as large a scale this year. The blight has been around for centuries (this disease being the same that hit Ireland in the famed potato famine of the 1850’s) and it can jump from the tomato to other plants. It happens to the best of us home gardeners, and the only thing you can do is pull the plant and toss it in the garbage if you see white powdery spots or dark brown spots on leaves. No simmering mulch piles for these guys—just get rid of the diseased plants altogether.

Such are the ups and downs of the backyard gardener. If you have the luxury of rotating your crops as farmers do, plant your tomatoes in a different area this year.  Keep the tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, and similar plants together on one side of the garden and the squash, cucumbers and pumpkins on the other side. This will help keep the disease from spreading.  If you have a small garden plot, just switch the location of the tomatoes to another area. Everything helps. So far, sources don’t foresee blight this year as the weather really has been spectacular and the wet cold of last year is just a memory. So, don’t worry. Just plant and enjoy your garden. If a problem occurs, it usually touches one or two plants. Some things just can’t be controlled, and we have many different types of plants to choose from that are bred to ward off the bad guys.

Last year, a few of my big tomatoes took a dive. I was disappointed until I saw the fresh bushel baskets of tomatoes come off the pickup trucks at the farm. I brought home some of Mr. Sickles’ field-grown beauties, sliced them up, and enjoyed a gorgeous sandwich just the same! Jersey-grown tomatoes—the best in the world!

Happy Mother's Day!

Ashes to Ashes, Milk to Cheese.

A menacing cloud of ash from a volcano in Iceland, whose tongue-twisting name we can’t pronounce, turned a week-long trip to England for my grandmother’s funeral (the same one who enjoyed sherry at her nursing home on the Welsh border) into a two-week stay with no end in sight. There are certainly worse fates than being stuck in London, but I was keen to return home and get back to work. My wallet was taking a beating.

Ash doesn’t have the most positive of connotations. It’s the dirt that fire leaves behind, and no one likes dirt, when it’s not in a garden. Not helping its image was the comprehensive flight ban over most of Europe, which cost airlines billions of Euro and greatly inconvenienced passengers, like me, for a solid week.

Ash, however, is not all bad. A visit to Sickles’ cheese department can show its positive, more gustatory side. At least six of our cheeses incorporate ash into its recipe, for form or function.

The classic is Morbier, a French semi-soft, unpasteurized cow’s milk cheese, which has a thin line of bluish vegetable ash, like smudged ink, running through its squidgy middle. Traditionally the ash was sprinkled atop the evening’s curd, left over from the day’s production of the region’s large wheels of Comté, to prevent it from forming a rind overnight. In the morning, fresh curd was added on top. Nowadays the thin blue line only serves as a decorative nod to its origins.

Two unique American cheeses, neither one, it’s interesting to note, are made from cow’s milk, find visual inspiration in Morbier. From Carr Valley in Wisconsin, Mobay, a play on the name Morbier, consists of two layers of firm cheese, one goat, and the other sheep, which are separated by a thin layer of grape vine ash. A similar linear streak of ash in Humboldt Fog, a fluffy, aged goat’s milk cheese from Cyprus Grove in California, breaks the visual monotony of a white rind and a bone-white interior.

Just as ash explodes externally from a volcano, it also finds its way onto the exterior of cheese. It’s a dramatic look––the white interior paste contrasted with a smudgy black rind––but it’s more than just for show. Ash increases the pH level on the surface of a young cheese and attracts the growth of molds that thrive in this low-acid environment. These molds in turn contribute to the complexity of the overall flavor. Examples of ash-ripened cheeses are zippy Bonne Bouche from Vermont Butter & Cheese, luscious Montbriac from France, and tangy Veigadarte from Spain.

For the full-on ash experience, ask for a wedge of Italian Sottocenere, which literally means “under the ash” (that pretty much describes Britain last week!). A delicate crust of dark gray ash covers this truffled cow’s milk cheese.

Lest you think that all I think about is cheese, I give you another practical benefit to ash. It’s good in the garden. Fellow Sickles blogger, Pat Dumas informed me that wood ashes from fireplaces carry traces of magnesium, potassium, and calcium and can raise the pH in soil. Volcanic ash, which is melted rock, is gritty and scratchy and keeps the slugs away.

I’m relieved that the volcanic ash didn’t keep me away for too long (like a slug!) and that I am back safe and sound, and behind the Sickles cheese counter.

Diana the Cheesemonger