Robin and I don’t always agree on recipes for our farm outings.
“I’ve found a recipe that’s super simple and delicious,” she said this past weekend.
“Me, too,” I said. “But it couldn’t be as easy as mine,” I smiled confidently.
When we each revealed our recipes, we laughed out loud. Both were the same! They came from Sam Sifton of The NYT and entitled Roasted Salmon Glazed with Brown Sugar and Mustard. It’s one of those “no-recipe recipes” with just three ingredients that cooks in 12 minutes.
Best of all, the salmon entrée had a five-star rating from nearly 14,000 readers. Now that makes you take notice.
Note: We didn’t eat all this at one meal; it was spread out over two.
Don’t Neglect the Side Dish
A side dish of Roasted Brussels Sprouts Salad (also from The NYT) was superb, as well as an attractive dish. You’ll feel healthier after one helping.
Peggy’s Savory Zucchini Bread
Nephew, Bob, assembles a Caprese from some of the last of his homegrown tomatoes.
Sourdough Bread from local farmer’s market.
The Wild Things
We nibbled on a few wild offerings of the season: mushrooms and persimmons. If you’ve ever had an unripe persimmon, you have puckered up and declared to never put one near your lips again. But when ripened (usually after the first frost), they’re sweet with a taste much like apricots and honey.
Hen of the Woods Mushrooms plucked from our farm trails.
The astringent taste of unripen Wild Persimmons can pucker your lips enough to vow you’ll never try them again. But when ripe, (usually after the first frost), they take on the flavor of apricots and honey. Ours were perfect!
Leave Room for Dessert
Martha’s Slab Apple Pie, that her mother used to make. Martha’s version gave it a seasonal décor with pumpkin and turkey cutouts.
Multiflavored croissants. A grand discovery from CrepeEscape, a fabulous French bakery in Rolla.
One bite of their flaky, buttery croissants and I was whisked back to the sidewalks of the Champs Elysees, where I’ve enjoyed many a sweet moment. If you’re toddling along I-44 on the way to Springfield, give your sweet tooth a treat by pulling off the highway for CrepeEscape. Sadly, the little Rolla café is only open Friday through Sunday. Plan accordingly.
Ken, I always learn things from you.