What's Fresh Now — February, 2012

2012 Puget Sound Farm Guide

We're knee-deep in production mode for the 2012Farm Guide which is scheduled for release in early April. This year's cover features farmer Anne Bailey of Bailey Vegetables, a fifth generation family farm on 350 acres located in the Snohomish Valley. Photo credit for this natural and evocative image goes to Seattle photographer and former photojournalist Tom Marks of Tom Marks Photography.

Interested in having guides to distribute or volunteer with distribution efforts? Drop us a line at pugetsoundfresh@cascadeharvest.org

This is a banner year for the Guide, marking 40 years of publication beginning in 1972 under the auspices of the Puget Sound Farm Direct Marketing Association. In 2003 Cascade Harvest Coalition assumed publication as part of our Puget Sound Fresh program. Over the past 10 years, the Guide continues to be the only publication in Washington state that promotes farmers, farmers markets, businesses and organizations that grow, raise, sell and support locally grown food and other products on a regional level, mainly the 12 counties that make up what's known as the Puget Sound region.

SAVE THE DATE! Food Lust is Saturday, June 2

Hands down, Food Lust is the best "down on-the-farm" celebration of the year. Modesty aside, it's also a gala benefit for Cascade Harvest Coalition and helps us keep doing what we do best — sustain and build successful farms, keep farmland accessible, build a healthy, secure regional food supply and connect consumers with all the resources they need to find the freshest, most local and seasonal products grown, raised and made throughout the region.

Once again we'll gather at The Fields at Willie Green's Organic Farm in Monroe. Join us for a sumptuous multi-course dinner in the Greenhouse with the freshest and tastiest local foods from our farmer friends all lovingly prepared by talented local chefs. Tickets go on sale April 1 — stay tuned for more details and get your tickets early; every year the event sells out sooner than ever!

FEATURED RECIPE — Sunchoke, Potato & Apple Soup with Fresh Thyme and Truffle Oil

By Chef Greg Johnson

It's starting to look (and smell) like spring but we're not fooled. Mother Nature has more than a few days in store for us that are sure to call for a hearty bowl of soup. Feel free to omit the truffle oil if it's not your style but that drizzle goes a long way to kicking things up a notch or two.

Sunchoke 101— They may look like knobby, pinked skin ginger, but Sunchokes (aka Jerusalem artichoke) have a sweet, nutty flavor, they are an inexpensive and versatile food that can be used both raw and cooked and make a delicious soup.

Roots should be free from soft spots, wrinkles or sprouting. Knobbles and unevenness are unavoidable (and not indicative of quality), but smoother, rounder artichokes are easier to prepare. Like potatoes, sunchokes can be served with or without the skin — scrub clean and leave it on for maximum nutritional benefit.

Now is a great time to pick some up from one of our year-round farmers markets like the Ballard or University District Farmers Market .

3 tablespoons olive oil or butter

1 cup onions - diced

3 garlic cloves - minced

½ 1b.sunchokes - peeled and diced small

½ lb. russet potato - peeled and diced

1 apple - peeled and diced

1 teaspoon dried Italian herb blend

salt and pepper

7 cups chicken stock or water

2 tablespoons fresh thyme - chopped fine

Drizzle white truffle oil (optional)

In a soup pot heat the olive oil or butter on medium heat. Add onions and garlic and stir. Peel and dice the sunchokes, potato and apple, working quickly to avoid browning. Add sunchokes, potato and apple to onion mix and stir. Cook stirring, for 3-5 minutes. Add dried herbs, salt and fresh ground pepper. Cook for 30 seconds then add stock and 1tablespoon of the fresh thyme.

Turn heat to high and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 40-50 minutes or until sun chokes are soft. Strain but be sure to reserve liquid. Add sunchoke mix to a blender and add liquid to cover. Blend until smooth, adding more liquid if necessary. Place back in pot, taste it, and adjust consistency with more stock or water and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper as needed. Keep warm or cool down quickly for later use. Top with fresh thyme and a drizzle of truffle oil after ladling into individual bowls.

Serves 6-8

Greg Johnson has been cooking professionally for 16 years. He is a graduate of The California Culinary Academy in San Francisco and has worked in top restaurants in San Francisco, Hawaii, Mexico, and Seattle. For the past 7 years he has worked as a private chef for some of Seattle's most high profile families. Chef Greg lives in Seattle with his wife Dawnelle, his two daughters and their two puppies, Thrill & Moxie.