in the south, food is not taken lightly. there are great organizations like southern foodways & georgia organics that focus on preserving new and old southern food traditions. there recenly was an episode on one of my favorite radio programs, the splendid table about david shields and glenn roberts who are working hard to bring back some nearly extinct varieties of southern heirloom plants. Worth a listen!
Garden to Table
apple country
photos and words by kristen bach
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tomato & potato frittata
my go to meal when i need a quick dinner is a frittata. it is one of those meals that you can throw in almost any veggie, and it will taste great. it has become a comfort meal around our house.
last night i threw together a frittata with tomatoes, red pepper, and potatoes that we had on hand. i served it up alongside some sautéd kale. a perfect meal for family movie night!
ingredients
8 farm fresh eggs
1/2 milk
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, chopped
4 small red potatoes, cooked and sliced
2 fresh tomatoes, sliced
a handful of fresh basil leaves
1/2 diced red pepper
salt and pepper to taste
directions
-pre-heat oven to 375 degrees
-beat eggs and milk and set aside
-heat up olive oil on med/high heat
-layer the sliced potatoes let cook for 3-4 minutes
-sprinkle garlic, basil, red peppers, and salt and pepper
-pour over egg mixture
-carefully lay tomatoes on top
-cook for 5-7 minutes undisturbed
-cook in oven until the center of frittata is cooked
food beauty
rebecca and i recently spent the afternoon photographing some food, flowers, ingredients, and r.wood pottery. one of our friends has a catering company and lunch place in athens called home.made. we love collaborating with her and photographing her lovely food! thanks mimi for making such pretty food, i could photograph it all day long!
photos and words by kristen bach
roasting coffee beans in a cast iron
a familiy friend from ethiopia gave me some green coffee beans and shared how her family roasts their coffee back home. still to this day she roasts a batch each week.
the directions are easy for this one....
-put your coffee beans in your cast iron skillet -turn on your stove to medium high
-keep moving the pan...don't stop!
-roast the beans until they are the darkness that you prefer.
-and there you go, coffee for the week!
photos and words by kristen bach
summer ratatouille
this is a staple around our house throughout the summer. i love it over pasta, rice, quinoa, or just alone. my recipe really changes with what i have fresh from the garden.
ingredients
olive oil
1 onion
fresh tomatoes
summer squash
3 cloves of chopped garlic
salt and pepper
a handful of fresh basil
directions
-chop up all of the vegetables
-put them in a pan on medium heat and stir often
-i let these cook down for about 30 minutes
-at the very end throw in the fresh basil
other great additons are okra, peppers, and eggplant
photos and recipe by kristen bach
chanterelles
with all of the rain, we have had a great mushroom hunting season. from may to now we have been able to feast on chanterelles daily. we love to keep it simple. saute them in olive oil, salt & pepper, and spring onions....serve them on some crackers or fresh bread.
photos by kristen bach
goat cheese stuffed peppers
with all of this rain that we have had our gardens our bursting with bounty...and weeds! I harvested a dozen or so sweet peppers and decided to try something new for a dinner party.
ingredients
sweet peppers (larger ones work best)
a large log of goat cheese
two cloves of chopped garlic
1 handful of chopped fresh basil
salt and pepper to taste
directions
-pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
-at the base of the pepper carefully slice a T shape as pictured in the photo below.
-carefully gut the peppers
-combine the goat cheese, garlic, chopped basil, and salt and pepper
-carefully stuff each pepper so that they close back up as close as they can
-lightly coat your pan with some olive oil
-arrange each pepper so that they do not touch one another
-place in oven for 20-30 minutes or until the peppers begin to get a little color
-enjoy!
photos and recipe by
kristen
bach
kinfolk community gathering #2: honey harvest
in late july, rinne hosted the second in a series of gatherings on behalf of kinfolk magazine. intended to bring people together to learn and enjoy each other (as well as good food & drink), the gatherings have been a great way to introduce folks to new things; this time around we were out at 3 porch farm where mandy and steve led everyone on a tour of their farm. they also guided us in a honey tasting; the honey we tasted came from all over the world! the group also learned to make infused honey...using dried herbs and flower petals. we tasted some mead, made by booger hill bee, as well as honey lemonade and a honey wheat beer. the spread of edible treats included different cow's milk cheeses from sweetgrass dairy in south georgia, as well as bread from the bakery down the road, the comerian. thank you to everyone who came! and, for those who are really inspired, the state botanical garden in athens has beekeeping classes coming up in late fall.
photogrpahs by rinne allen & michelle norris
a summer herb snack
this is my go to garden snack for the summer months. i can whip it up in a couple of minutes and it always is enjoyed by all.
all you need is some fresh garden tomatoes, diced herbs (I used basil, parsley, mint, and thyme), sea salt and pepper, a good balsalmic vinegar, goat cheese, and some artisianal crackers or fresh bread.
directions
-dice the herbs
-sprinkle over the tomatoes
-salt and pepper to taste
-lightly sprinkle some balsalmic
for the goat cheese...mix in some herbs to dress it up
photo by kristen bach
kinfolk community gathering #2: honey harvest
in the spring, i hosted a flower potluck party on behalf of kinfolk magazine...for the summer community gathering, we will be going to 3 porch farm to celebrate the honey harvest. our farming friends, mandy & steve, will lead a tour of their beautiful farm and talk about beekeeping and honey harvesting. the group will also taste different local honey, make their own herbal-infused honey, and enjoy food & drink made with honey: mead, cookies, and the famous honeypops that 3 porch farm makes themselves.
if you would like to come along to the gathering, you may purchase tickets here.
words & honey photograph by rinne allen
central grocery
central grocery is in the french quarter of new orleans. it is an old italian grocery and it's the creator of the muffuletta sandwhich.
we ordered up some muffuletta sammies......crossed the street....and sat along the pier and watched the barges go by.
photos and words by kristen bach
poor boys at parkway bakery
there are several foods that you must have on a trip to new orleans. poor boys are one of those foods. a new oleans native told us if we wanted to have a good one....go to the parkway bakery.
parkway was full of charm and old paraphernalia from it's decade of existence.
the food? a good ole po' boy if you ask me.photos and words by kristen bach
elizabeth's real food done real good
the signage of this place caught my eye. located in the bywater neighborhood in new orleans. real food done real good was a great litte breakfast spot.
photos and words by kristen bach
sno-balls
in new orleans, sno balls are about just as important to the city as beignets and po' boys. while visiting we had our fair share of these yummy treats. our favorite stand was piety street sno balls. they had a big menu of house made- natural flavors like vietnamese coffee, lemon basil, hibiscus pomegranate. my mouth waters just thinking about these!
photos and words by kristen bach
cafe du monde
we just got back from a dreamy (and steamy) visit to new orleans. i am not sure if there is a better way to start off our recap than with a story on cafe du monde .
we stopped here to get a cup of their chicory coffee and an order or two of some beignets. you can't leave new orleans without a visit to cafe du monde.
http://www.cafedumonde.com/
photos and words by kristen bach
mint and honey spritzer
our herb garden is overflowing with mint right now. they other night we had some friends over and i wanted to make a refreshing little drink. i whipped up this simple mojito inspired spritzer for our guests.
ingredients
a bunch of mint (leaves only)
3 limes
honey
sparkling water
directions
-in a food processor, process mint & honey until finely diced
-in a pitcher, mix in sparkling water and honey to taste
-pour thorough cheese cloth or a colander to remove mint pieces
-enjoy over ice
****you can add a light rum if desired
photo and recipe by kristen bach
strawberry buttermilk ice cream
i am afraid that the warm of summer has moved in for good. we have been having lots of perfect days....those perfect ones that make you want to be outside all day long. warm days go hand in hand with strawberry season. check out this perfect warm day treat.
ingredients
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
2 cups buttermilk
1 dollop of local honey
1 tsp vanilla
a pinch of salt
1 large handful (or more) of fresh strawberries, finely diced
directions
-remove from heat and cool over an ice bath
-mix in buttermilk, honey, vanilla, salt
-put mixture in an ice cream maker and follow directions that come with your machine
-enjoy solo or with a slice of warm pound cake
photos and recipe by kristen bach
spring berry cake
our spring has had a late start this year...lots of rain & cool days... it has gotten us behind schedule. spring berries are just getting started. today we made a spring berry cake. we enjoyed it with some vanilla ice cream and a big sunday dinner.
ingredients
2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
6 Tbsp unsalted butter, room temp
1 egg
3/4 cup local honey
1/3 cup whole milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla&
1 pound fresh berries
directions
-pre-heat oven to 325 degrees
-mix dry ingredients
-mix wet ingredients
-add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until combined
-spread the mixture in a small casserole pan (roughly 8 x 10 inches)
-arrange berries on top
-put in the oven for about 50 minutes or until browned on top
-serve warm with ice cream or whipped cream
hemlock sauce
the kinfolk flower potluck dinner was very special. the flowers, the fellowship, and the food. friend nathan brand outdid himself with his dessert: pink peppercorn ice cream topped with edible cornflower petals and fresh hemlock tassels.
nathan and his fiancé diana picked the tassels from our garden the night before, as the sun set.
words and photographs by rinne allen.