Category Archives: vegetarian

breakfast tostadas with tomato avocado salsa

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breakfast tostadas with tomato avocado salsa

november 7, 2012

breakfast tostadas with tomato avocado salsa 

 
 

          Daybreak Farm sits on 90 acres outside Richmond, Virginia in Chesterfield County.  Fully operational since 2008, the farm is owned by the DiSavino Family and managed well by powerhouse Dawn DiSavino, who gave a recent tour with daughter Annmarie and son Howie.  This family lives off the land – they eat what is grown and raised – and most of the power used to keep the farm running is solar.  Large freestanding solar panels resembling sports bleachers are visible just beyond the main house.  Currently there are goats for soapmaking , beehives which should produce honey by spring, a fledgling fruit orchard, a well stocked  fish pond and over one hundred laying hens, guarded by three roosters.
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butternut squash soup with apple cider and chipotle spice

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butternut squash soup with apple cider and chipotle spice
october 31, 2012
butternut squash soup with apple cider and chipotle spice 
 
     Butternut squash is one of those foods with an intoxicating aroma and a flavor that is another thing entirely.  This is not to say  the taste disappoints, but one is deceived by the clean, clear scent of a freshly cut butternut into believing it will deliver the same punch to the palate.  Other pleasantly deceptive foods are popcorn, fresh coffee grounds, cucumber and steak charred just right on the grill.  The scent of these fills me with longing, nostalgia….

fall harvest salad

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fall harvest salad

october 24, 2012
    There are two friends with whom I dine weekly.  At dinner we announce “we are salad people”, meaning that most of our meals together include a nice salad.  We like chopped salads, eaten with a big spoon, and fluffy salads eaten with a proper fork.  Generally served alongside the main course, our salads include myriad ingredients: bitter, sweet, salty, tangy, chewy and creamy.  My friends live close to what is undoubtedly the best of Richmond’s many farmer’s markets, the South of the James Market at Forest Hill Park. A recent stroll through this Saturday morning market yielded inspiration for a fall harvest salad.

field pea salad with spicy mustard vinaigrette

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october 3, 2012

field pea salad with spicy mustard vinaigrette

   End of summer means that field peas are in season.  Sure, you could purchase frozen field peas, but nothing compares to the earthy taste and toothsome bite of those that are freshly shelled.  You will pay a little more, but these are not mechanically separated from their shells; a labor intensive act of love has delivered these beauties to the market. Field peas are technically beans, not peas. They are cousins to the Asian Mung bean, traveling to the new world in colonial times with African slaves who recognized their value as drought resistant, nutrient rich, portable foods.

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