A Midsummer Menu

Jul 24, 2024

I’m surrounded by rows and rows of raspberries. Their branches heavy with fruit that practically slips from their tender grip, heavy with juice. The low guttural moo of a nearby cow shakes my attention away from the berries. Lifting my head to take in the evening light I now find myself staring at the other side of the farm where rows of corn are bathed in the buttery light of a summer sunset. Surrounded by cows and taking note of the quality of light my mind turns to recipes and then quickly to a corn and anchovy butter to accompany the wagyu steak I’m planning on taking home with me for after my stay. I wonder if this is a normal thought process for anyone other than myself? There are some, I suppose, who might be inspired to paint such a scene, or to pen a poem, or snap a photo. And while those are tempting and I do grab a few photos with my phone it’s in the recipe I’m writing in my head that I want to use to capture this moment.

Oostema Farmstead is a Wagyu farm that also offers a few farm stay options. It’s located in Lynden, Washington, about two hours north of Seattle and within shouting distance from the Canadian border. It’s part of the new Farm to Table Trails itineraries created by Sustainable Connections which is what brought me to the farm. Lynden also happens to be about 20 minutes from where I grew up, it’s where I spent many years going to school and where many of my family members continue to live. Driving around this town I’m flooded with memories. That’s where I fell off the monkey bars and landed in a big puddle on my first day at my new school. There’s grandma’s house where I used to eat cherries off the trees in the backyard and slowly stumble sleepily down the stairs listening to her warbling whistle while she made me breakfast.. And just down the road from the raspberry bushes that surround me now was my aunt and uncle’s raspberry farm. Sometimes we were called in to help pick when the branches were loaded with fruit. The most I ever made from picking was $5 as most went straight into my mouth or I would get distracted from my job and would run off to play with my cousins.

It’s always strange, I find, to be back in the place you spent so much time as a kid. I sit in this place seeing two versions of myself; my younger self and the me I am today, marveling at the sunset, dreaming of butter dripping off corn cobs and still delighting in gorging on raspberries. I never felt like quite fit in here growing up. Of course, most kids feel that they don’t fit in but I dressed differently (which was pointed out to me often), I had different dreams and I was eager to see the world beyond the one that was right in front of me. Now that feels even more true. But the difference with not fitting in as a kid and not fitting in as an adult is that I’ve grown to find a home within myself. I’m not wasting any energy trying to fit in but rather trying to make sure that I am being the truest version of myself. That I’m not making decisions based on outside influences or forcing myself into a role that has always been expected of me. I strive to be wholly me. And that means sometimes I write recipes while watching the sun set over corn fields, listening to the cows settle in for the night, and a belly full of berries.

Pulling away from the farm I’m grateful for this feeling of settling into my skin, of confidence and bravery and the life I’ve lived thus far to get me here. Along my path home I continue on the farm trail and gather more summer bounty to add to the menu I’m writing in my head. At the farmstead down the road I grab green beans because they remind me of grandma, cucumbers for pickling and apricots for making my favorite pie. My last stop on the journey is a winery where I sit in the sun and read a favorite book of mine from childhood. In the book, Mandy, after scaling the walls of the orphanage, finds and creates a home out of an abandoned cabin in the woods. She delights in the garden and the wildness of the creek, trees and creatures around her. I remember connecting to Mandy and this part of her story as a young girl. In many ways I’ve changed so much, and in others I have always been so very me.

A Menu for a Summery Feast

Summer Wedge Salad

Buttermilk Dill Dressing, Smoked corn, tomatoes, blue cheese and flowers

Green Beans

Olive oil, flake salt

Smoked Wagyu Beef Ribs

Anchovy & Honey Glaze

Apricot Pie

Summer Wedge Salad

This salad is very much inspired by Erin French from The Lost Kitchen. I have been so inspired watching her show, Getting Lost. She feels like a kindred soul friend as we share a passion for evoking feelings in those we feed, with simple food prepared well. Her story is unlike many other restaurant chefs but she owns her path and it is very clear it is what led her to where she is today.

For the dressing:

1 tablespoon chopped onion

1 small garlic clove

Salt and pepper

1 1/2 cups sour cream

2 tablespoons buttermilk

Zest and juice of 1 medium lemon

1/2 cup roughly chopped dill

For the salad:

1 head napa cabbage

2 corn cobs

1 pint cherry tomatoes

1/4 pound blue cheese

Herbs and flowers

Extra virgin olive oil

Flake salt

For the dressing:

In a mortar and pestle process the onion and garlic with some salt and pepper until a paste is formed. You can also make this in a food processor. Stir in the sour cream, buttermilk, zest and lemon juice, and the dill. Taste and add more salt and pepper if needed.

For the salad:

While my ribs were smoking on the grill I added the corn in there as well and let them smoke until the kernels were tender and they took on a deep smoky flavor. This is a worthwhile but unnecessary step.

Remove the kernels from the corn cobs. Slice the tomatoes in half and cut the cabbage into 1-inch thick rounds.

Add the dressing to the bottom of a serving platter then arrange the cabbage rounds on top. Scatter the corn and tomatoes over the cabbage. Slice the blue cheese into 1/4 inch thick wedges then tuck them into the salad. Garnish with herbs and flowers. Finish with a light drizzle of olive oil and finish with flake salt and more cracked pepper if you’d like.

Smoked Wagyu Beef Ribs

Learn from my mistakes on this one; make sure that all of the thick layer on the back side of the ribs is removed. I thought I had got it all but turns out I hadn’t so there was some toughness around the meat that we sort of had to eat around. If you are buying these from the butcher just ask them to remove it for you. I really wanted the flavor of the beef to shine here so while smoking they are simply seasoned with salt and pepper. I didn’t want to drown the flavor in a tomato-based BBQ sauce so I went with a thin lacquered layer of anchovy, garlic, honey and rice wine vinegar. It added a bit of a caramelized sweetness, salt and a good hit of umami along with some brightness that cut the richness of the meat quite nicely.

2 pounds Wagyu Beef Ribs

Salt and pepper

For the Anchovy Honey Sauce:

4 anchovy filets

2 teaspoons anchovy oil

2 garlic cloves

1 tablespoon honey

2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar

Black pepper

Season the ribs with salt and pepper and let sit out at room temperature for one hour. It’s even better if you can season the meat the night before.

In a grill or a smoker, slowly cook the meat until the bones are exposed and the meat is tender to the touch. I did this in my weber with a few pieces of lit charcoal at a time. I would occasionally add some wood chips or wood smoking pellets to the grill. I kept the grill at around 250*F (roughly) throughout the cooking time, which was about 3 hours.

For the anchovy honey sauce:

In a mortar and pestle add the anchovies, anchovy oil and garlic cloves. Pound until a fine paste forms. Stir in the honey, rice wine vinegar and black pepper.

When the meat is just starting to come away from the bone, paint on the anchovy honey sauce using a brush. Continue to cook the ribs until blackened and a crust forms on top.

Finish with any remaining sauce and serve while warm.

Green Beans

For the green beans I boil in salted water until tender then cool in an ice water bath. Just before serving, toss with extra virgin olive oil and flake salt.

Apricot Pie

There are no bells and whistles with this pie. It’s just classic and it is my favorite pie. I guess the one thing I do that might be different is that I add a generous amount of freshly grated nutmeg.

This pie dough takes a little bit of Grandma’s recipe (the oil) and combines it with quite a bit of my love for butter. The oil is an unusual addition but dramatically helps with the tenderness of this dough. Streaks of butter fan out as the dough is rolled and in this I find immense joy. The dough is easier to work with if you don’t use the oil. Sometimes I will leave out the oil and heavy cream and just use ice water. There is still enough butter to keep the dough flakey and tender.

I’m not going to lie - this dough is rich but it pairs beautifully with the tartness and simplicity of the filling inside. Also, this pie tends to run. I love that about it but thought you should be warned. If you, like my husband, prefer a bit more sweetness you can up the sugar or, and this is my favorite idea, add a few nectarines to mingle with the apricots and lend them a bit of natural sweetness.

Apricot Filling

makes enough for 1 pie

2 1/2 pounds pitted and halved apricots

1 1/2 cups sugar

3 tablespoons flour

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1 vanilla bean, seeds removed (optional)

1 tablespoon butter

I make the fill while the dough chills.

Combine everything, except the butter, in a bowl and mix well to combine.

Pie Dough

2 ⅓ cup (11.75 oz) all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon kosher salt

2 tablespoons sugar

2 sticks (8 oz) cold butter, cut in small cubes

2 tablespoon oil (I use a neutral, flavorless oil)

2 tablespoons heavy cream

1-3 tablespoons cold water

In the large bowl add dry ingredients and whisk until light and no clumps remain. Add the cold butter to the dry ingredients then use your hands to break up the butter. With your fingers smear the little butter cubes with the flour so that flat pieces of pea size butter remain. In the mixing some butter will get incorporated into the flour making it look like cornmeal. You want a mix of this and large pieces of butter in the flour.

Add the oil, cream and 1 tablespoon cold water. Again, use your hands to mix the ingredients. Evenly distribute the parts that have more liquid until the whole mix feels evenly damp. Squeeze a bit of the dough in your hands. If it comes together and holds its shape it is ready. If it still crumbles once squeezed add a bit more water until the dough just holds.

Divide the dough in two with one having a bit more dough than the other - this will be the top crust.

Cover with plastic wrap then refrigerate for one hour so that the butter can get good and chilled and the liquid will absorb into the flour.

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

Rolling out the dough

Roll out the smaller of the two doughs first on a evenly floured surface. I like to roll out my dough on a silpat so my counters stay bit cleaner and I find that I have to use less flour.

Gently roll this dough around your rolling pin then unroll over the pie pan.

Fill the pie with your prepared fruit (recipe above) and dot with 1 tablespoon butter. Then repeat with the next disc of dough.

Roll out the top crust to 1/4” thick then roll it up on the pin and place on the pie. Tuck in the edges to create a thick crust.

Place the pie on a sheet tray to catch any juices that fall from the pie. Sprinkle the top of the crust with sugar and cut small slits in the dough to allow steam to escape then bake in a 400 degree oven for 1 - 1 hour and 15 minutes.

It’s possible that my pie takes longer than yours as I am notorious for opening the oven frequently at the end to sneak a glimpse of the golden crust and the bubbles the slowly rise and pop on the crusts surface. It’s best to look for the signs that the pie is done rather than trust the time.

You’ll know the pie is done when the edges are deep golden and the juices bubble in a graceful and methodical way.

Let the pie cool for several hours before serving and ALWAYS save a slice for breakfast.

Tips

* Don’t be afraid to use flour when rolling out the dough. Dust the surface with flour in a swift motion with your hand at an angle coming from the side to get an even layer of flour. You don’t want large clumps of flour worked into the dough.

* Work quickly and with cold ingredients. Large flecks of cold butter mean flakes are in your future.

* Use a bench scraper to gently lift up the dough.

* Keep the dough moving. Give the dough a few rolls with the pin then give it a gentle wiggle to make sure it’s not stuck. If it feels tacky add a bit more flour. If the butter is getting too soft just put it back in the fridge for 10 minutes.

* Bottom crusts are notorious for being a bit soggy. I do my best to offset this by rolling out the bottom crust quite thin. The top crust then has more of a chance to shine in all its thick, sugar crusted glory.

* Glass pie pans are my favorite.

* If you see Gravensteins (the best apple for pie) at the store buy them and make a pie. Even if the sight of them causes you to wince at the ending of summer. Do it. Throw a couple apricots in the mix if it makes you feel better.

*If you live in the Pacific Northwest and want to follow the farm trails be sure to check out the amazing itineraries put together by Farm to Table Trails.

I visited: