Farm of the Month
Upland Cheese Company
 Mike
Gingrich gave up the straight and narrow path with Xerox
to return to the familiar farmland on which he grew up. He
and his wife, Carol, bought a small 30-cow farm in southwestern
Wisconsin and began making a Beaufort-style cheese the
old-fashioned way, by rotationally grazing their milking
herd.
Today, they live on a 10-acre parcel attached to their
larger 300-acre farm, but they happily haven't changed
a thing in how they make their remarkable Pleasant
Ridge Reserve, still entirely on-site.
This exceptional raw milk cheese is made only when
the cows are on full pasture, giving it a characteristic
depth of flavor that naturally showcases the unique
quality of their milk. We're proud to have been working
with Mike ever since he first sampled his cheese out
of crumbly brown paper bags at the winter farm market
back in 2000! Today, we like to incorporate the
Pleasant Ridge anywhere we can.
Uplands
Cheese Company
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Charity of the Month
Oliver's Kitchen
773-252-3663
Oliver's Kitchen is one of the many programs organized
by The Chicago Anti-Hunger Federation. Participants
are trained for lifetime careers in the food service
industry. The course teaches the students how to
prepare and present complete meals, from appetizer
to dessert. In addition, the main kitchen instructor
lectures on subjects including nutrition, weights
and measures, and buying provisions for restaurants.
The ultimate goal of the program is to secure employment
for the underemployed and unemployed, so a Community
Liaison assists graduates in finding full-time jobs and
is a support line for two years after graduation. The
program also links employment skills and placement with
supportive services and housing. Oliver's Kitchen partners
with the food service industry, government, and social
service providers to accomplish goals through education
and training.
Oliver's
Kitchen
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| Watch Our Garden Grow!
Here at North Pond, we take great care with our kitchen
garden. Each month, we'll update you here with the progress.
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| Tips from the Green Market
Signs of Spring
Prior and Wood are injured again and the Cubs
open at Wrigley April 9. It must finally be
Spring!
Although we're still six+ weeks' away from the home
opener of the Green City Market
(May 16), we're clearly thinking green here
at the restaurant. And I'm not talking about our
recycling program, but about early spring vegetables. The
end of this month should bring us the first domestic
green asparagus as well as field-grown Northwest rhubarb. While
we'll look forward to procuring these products regionally
in mid to late May, it's important to remember here in
the Midwest, it's sometimes necessary to think seasonally
first and locally second. We can't all live and farm
in California (Can you say "earthquake"?).
Our ground in still thawing this month, but we may still
see some early pea vines, radishes and sweet white baby
hakurai (or Japanese) turnips. These first spring items
are typically tender and sweet enough to consume raw
--but please wash them first!
For more on asparagus, including the wonderfully
earthy and sweet white variety that we love to
incorporate into our spring menu, click on this
link:
All
About Asparagus
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Tips from the Fish & Meat Market 
Typically here at the restaurant, our spring meat offerings
include lamb and rabbit, two animals closely associated
with the foraging and (let's say) frolicking to be done
in the fresh new growth of the meadows and pastures.
Pastured lamb has such a sweet and grassy complexity to
the flavor, it quite nicely complements other spring products,
such as the traditional accompaniments of freshly-dug new
potatoes or mint. The assertive gamy flavor of the
(cheap) imported Australian or New Zealand lamb does a
horrible disservice to the real thing.
Rabbit -once people overcome their guilty associations
with Bugs, kindergarten, or the iconic Easter bunny-is
a wonderfully mild and moist (when cooked properly) meat,
that pairs quite well with other spring harvests. It's
terrific with the aforementioned asparagus, or with practically
any new tender herb. I particularly like to pair
it with the floral palate of the over-wintered lovage which
sprouts before anything else here in the restaurant's kitchen
garden.
For a brief piece on choosing to pay more for your (meats),
click here:
http://www.sustainabletable.org/features/stories/avaluablelesson.html
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Seasonal Drink
Spring Breeze
 This
twist on a Mojito uses vodka infused with Kaffir lime, an
ingredient most associated with Thai cooking. The aroma and
unique flavor of the vodka, combined with the fresh mint,
make this drink perfect on a warm spring day.
- dash dry vermouth
- 2 1/2 oz. Hangar One Kaffir Lime vodka
- 1 oz. mint simple syrup (instructions below)
- 1/2 oz. Cointreau
- 1/4 lime, juiced
- dash Angostura bitters
- 1 bunch mint, unbound
- 3 stems fresh mint, leaves picked
PREPARATION
Mint Simple Syrup:
- Combine one cup sugar with one cup water and bring
to boil
- Reduce to simmer.
- In separate pot, bring quart of water to boil and add
tablespoon of salt
- Prepare ice water bath: combine 3 cups ice with 3 cups
cold water in bowl.
- Submerge mint bunch in boiling water for 30 seconds,
then strain and place immediately in ice.
- Cool 3 minutes then strain, dry well, coarsely chop
and place in simmering syrup.
- Turn off heat and let steep until cool.
- Strain. Discard solids. Reserve syrup in fridge. For
best flavor prepare day before.
Cocktail:
- Combine Kaffir vodka, syrup, Cointreau, lime juice,
and bitters in a cocktail shaker.
- Stir or shake, then serve over ice, garnished with
3 stems-worth of fresh mint leaves.
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Recipe of the Month
Green Asparagus Soup, Orange
Crème Fraîche
makes four one-cup servings
1.5 lb asparagus (large, 1-2 bunches),
scales trimmed, bottom 1-1.5" removed and
reserved
1 (green) shallot, finely
minced
1/2 stalk celery, diced small
1 orange, zested, halved
and juiced
1 T unsalted butter, cubed
1 T canola or other cooking oil
4 sprigs fresh
mint, leaves picked, stems discarded
4 asparagus spears,
tips reserved for other use
1 organic carrot, peeled
½ c crème fraîche
3 T sliced almonds, lightly toasted
1 T almond Oil (opt.)
salt
and white pepper
- Bring full 10" pot of water to rapid boil. Prepare
ice water bath -plenty of ice.
- Whisk crème fraîche stiff with
orange zest, salt and pepper to taste. Reserve.
- Add 3 tablespoons salt to boiling water, then
drop in asparagus spears.
- Count 20 seconds, then quickly remove asparagus
to ice bath.
- Add reserved bottom stem pieces to water and
simmer 5 minutes.
- When cool, dry asparagus, cut off and reserve
12 tips. Chop balance into ¼" pieces.
- In 8" pot, heat oil. Add celery and shallot.
Cook 2 minutes, until vegetables soften.
- Add reserved orange juice, and cook together
for additional minute.
- Add chopped asparagus and stir to heat through
1 minute.
- Add 2 cups strained asparagus water. Bring
to boil and remove to ice bath to cool.
- When cool, blend in small batches to smooth
puree, adding finely chopped mint leaves. (Note:
you may also use immersion or "stick" blender).
- For silkier soup, at this stage pass puree
through fine-meshed strainer.
- Place soup back in clean pot, bring to boil,
and whisk in butter. Season to taste.
- Serve soup hot, in bowl garnished with crème
fraîche, shaved raw asparagus and carrot,
and toasted almonds and almond oil.
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