A Moment of Spring

Last week we had a brief Spring. The weather was warm, almost 70 degrees but even before the weather turned warm, the broccoli bolted and the buds became masses of yellow flowers. Even though the broccoli was finished, I did find a number of side shoots that were as tender as butter. A real gift. The kale and bok choy began to bolt as soon as we got into the warm week. I guess this means the winter garden is finishing. And now, here in zone 8b the spring planting is underway. Under lights I have tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, leeks and marjoram which were planted from seed. There will be more soon. Some of the tomatoes and peppers have already been transplanted from tray to tiny pots. (See photo; the most exuberant are the Ox Heart and Tumbling Tom tomatoes.) In the garden the new spinach is up.

Early this week I made a quick trip to my favorite shopping place, Harmony, in Sebastopol, for some tiny cabbage, cauliflower (I got purple), and broccoli. Also, picked up some cilantro. All were in six packs and have now been planted in the garden.

As I approached the turn into Harmony's parking lot there was a large sign facing the highway .... "Potatoes are here". That means spring will be here very soon, now. I picked up two kinds of potatoes that I thought would be fun. At home I already had the Yukon Golds sitting at the kitchen window while their eyes developed (called "chiting"). Here I picked up the German Butterball which, you have to admit, sounds luscious. And then I found Rose Fir Apple. That had to be serendipity. Just the evening before I had been re-reading South Wind Through the Kitchen, a compilation of a portion of the late Elizabeth David's work. Specifically, I had been going over her words on Gratin dauphinois where she mentioned this potato saying she preferred it for a gratin because "they make a gratin lighter and also more authentic than that made with routine commercial" potatoes which were available in the UK in the '40s when she wrote that. The potato is kind of ugly. It looks like a fingerling but fatter than most and has many lumps and bumps. It was also about twice the price of the others, but since I only needed a few, realistically that was a matter of pennies.

This, of course, is the main reason I have had a garden over the years... to have access to products not sold at the supermarket. When I decide on what to grow each year, it is always with an eye to what I want to serve at my table. This year I found what I thought had been lost, the Gypsy pepper. It is a colorful, orange, yellow pepper shaped a little like the Bell but smaller and more delicate. It is the perfect foil for butternut squash. Expect that recipe when we get closer to Thanksgiving.

Recipe

Elizabeth David was and may still be considered the greatest food writer in the UK. Personally, I prefer her writing to MFK Fisher's work. Knowing she did a lot of her writing in the '40s, you will appreciate how ahead of her time she was. Summer Cooking and French Country Cooking are just two of her many books and should be in your collection.

Gratin dauphinois

I paraphrase, but this is how she described making the Potato Gratin:

Three pounds of potatoes are scrubbed, peeled and cut into extremely thin slices. They are then rinsed in cold water "...this is most important..", she insists. They are then piled into a dry cloth where they are shaken to remove most of the water Arrange the potato slices in a tian,or an earthenware dish, which you have rubbed with garlic and buttered well. Season with salt and pepper. Over all this pour 1 1/4 pints cream and then drop small pieces of butter over. The potatoes and cream should fill the dish to within 3/4 inch from the top. Now, into the oven where it is baked for 1 1/2 hours at 300 degrees. About ten minutes before they should be ready, raise the heat to 400 degrees to get a "fine golden crust on the potatoes".