--Photo by Bill Lubing 

 This time of the year we tend to spend a lot of time in the kitchen. For one thing, it's the warmest place in the house. For another, we're more 'summer' than 'winter' when it comes to outdoor activities.

We enjoy preparing recipes that may be a little more involved, a little outside our comfort zone, or more from the top of our head than out of a cookbook or from a web site.

While the market is much smaller than in the summer, we're finding plenty of "raw material" to keep us futzing in the kitchen. Well, not futzing, exactly. This week we made some wonderful hot and sour soup, adding a little ginger to zip it up and far more garlic than the recipe calls for.

We ate it for dinner and saved the rest of this "culinary triumph" for lunch the next day. It was a departure from our usual type of soup, serving as a "learning moment" when it came to using the napa cabbage, which we haven't used that much.

The Dane County Farmers' Market offers a great place to spend a Saturday morning. Plus, you can take home the raw materials for some quality time in the kitchen preparing great "out of the box" meals.

We find this season's culinary adventures a satisfying way to speed up these winter days. Our time in front of the stove keeps those great (and not so great) dishes coming and the kitchen toasty warm.  

See you at market!  

Bill Lubing

bill@dcfm.org 

1. Rinse the smoked trout and remove any skin or bones. (If your smoked trout isn't "ready to eat," you'll need to poach it before you do any of this. The trout from Artesian Trout Farm is ready to go.) Flake the trout and set aside.
2. In a small saucepan, heat 1 tablespoon of the butter and the 1/4 cup milk over medium heat. When the milk starts to steam, add the fish, stirring occasionally. When the mixture comes up to a boil, remove the saucepan from the heat, cover and set aside for 20 minutes.
3. Preheat broiler. Beat the egg whites to stiff peaks and set aside. Beat the heavy cream into the egg yolks and season with pepper. Add the fish/milk mixture and stir together. Fold in the egg whites.
4. In an omelette pan over medium heat, melt the remaining tablespoon of butter. When the butter is bubbly, pour in the omelette mixture and cook (without stirring or flipping) until underside is golden brown. Remove pan from the heat, sprinkle cheddar over the top of the omelette and place pan under the broiler. Broil until cheese is browned. 

 ______________________________________

Smoked Trout with
Goat Cheese on Crackers

by Jenny Anderson, Artesian Trout Farm  

If you're looking for a delectable and festive appetizer, try this easy recipe!

Ingredients

10 to 20 of your favorite crackers or toasted bread rounds

6 ounces of spreadable goat cheese, various flavors

4 to six ounces of smoked rainbow trout

chopped fresh chives for garnish

Lemon peel for garnish

Directions

1. Spread cheese on each cracker.
2. Top with flaked pieces of smoked trout.
3. Garnish with chives and lemon peel.

Return to 'In This Issue' Contents

We strive to keep this list as accurate as possible. We probably  missed an item or two that is at the market or listed an item as available when it is not. Chances are that not all items mentioned or listed below will be at each market.  

Return to 'In This Issue' Contents