Valentine’s Day is a time to celebrate love.  Romantic love, of course.  As a still-newlywed, I’m a believer.

But there are so many things about life to love, and so today I wanted to write about a few things dearest to me.

So, things I love:

Lauro enjoying pie (here at Hoosier Mama Pie Company), my family (including cute nephews below), roasted carrots, caramelized onions.  A perfectly ripe pear.  Movies made before I was born. Dexter and Fiona, and Howard and Jake before them.  Pinecone Meadow Farm in lovely Fennville, Michigan.  Yoga.  My Nikon D80.  Captivating books that make me want to stay up all night reading.  Old-fashioned doughnuts.  This Old House.  Northport, Michigan.  The sixth arrondissement in Paris (actually, most of Paris).  Park rangers.  Too many friends to mention. Girl Scout thin mints.  Baker & Spice in London (may it rest in peace).  Zestful enthusiasm.  Goat cheese.  Pasture butter. A brisk walk.  Farmers markets (but you knew that).

I could go on. And I also thought this “what I love” list is the perfect post for my final thank-yous in honor of my Kickstarter funders.

Because of course I love these dear folks who support my creative endeavors, and because they’ve decided to do so in honor of equally dear folks who create wonderful things.

• Thanks to Ellen (of marriage marmalade fame), whose encounter with Iowa pork farmers Paul and Phyllis Willis started her on the road toward sustainably-produced food.  Ellen has become so devoted to local food that she now blogs about her own back yard chickens.  My photo above is not of their pigs, but Elise of Simply Recipes had the good fortune to visit the Willis farm and posted some gorgeous photos.
• To Adaire, who pledged in honor of the Saugatuck Center for the Arts.  It’s practically next door to Pinecone Meadow Farm in lovely Fennville, and the Saugatuck Farmers Market is right out front on Fridays.
• To Tera, in honor of Hooey Batiks, her sister Jill’s gorgeous batik art, which you can buy at the Urbana’s Market at the Square.
• And to Carol, who suggested a shout-out to Nancie King Mertz, a Chicago artist who paints beautiful scenes, including a piece called Picnics Past that reminds me of my own country back yard.

Other things I love:

Jamie Oliver (well worth the 20 minutes to watch this vid)

Artisan bakeries, chocolate shortbread, hydrangeas.

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Or tweet with me!  Photo compliments of Janine MacLachlan, www. RusticKitchen.com.  All rights reserved.

Photo compliments of Janine MacLachlan, www.RusticKitchen.com.  All rights reserved.

There’s a website called EatAtTheFarmhouse.com.

I couldn’t agree more.

It’s rare that one comes across a gem of a restaurant, where the menu makes you want to come back every day for a week, where stellar farms are listed on the blackboard, and where lunch will set you back about twelve dollars.

Yup.  Twelve dollars for a delicious, farm-to-table lunch.  Like the website says, eat at The Farmhouse.

About a year ago, chef/owner Michael Foust was surfing and cheffing in Hawaii.  A family matter called him home to KC, where he thought he’d be competing with every restaurant in town for foods from area growers and producers.

Not so.  Even though he’s a relative newcomer to the Kansas City restaurant scene,  he’s at the forefront of the farm-to-table philosophy in Kansas City where he’s built relationships with a number of producers.  He’s even gone so far as to buy a pig from a farm whose genetics he appreciates, then transfer the the piglet (in a cat carrier) to a farm whose no-grain feeding philosophy matches his own.  I can’t wait to hear what he makes.

One of those serendipitous discoveries

In my book research I’ve been visiting farmers markets (at least until the outdoor season officially ended last week.  But I also want to find out what else is happening in local food, so I reached out to Jasper Mirabelle of Jasper’s and Slow Food Kansas City who told me I should eat at The Farmhouse.

I made my way to Kansas City, navigated the twists and turns to an old part of downtown not too far from its City Market.  I found rock star parking (always unexpected when one lives in Chicago), sat down at the bar, spotted the pulled pork sliders at the place beside me, and said “I’ll have what he’s having.”  With rosemary aioIi, cabbage apple slaw and pickled red onion.  I was not disappointed.

Chef Michael came out to talk to me and even gave me a tour of the kitchen and sent me off with an apple. Like I said, we should all eat at The Farmhouse.

If you enjoy this post, please consider subscribing to my newsletter, or my feed.  Photos compliments of Janine MacLachlan, www.RusticKitchen.com.  All rights reserved.

And if you enjoy reading about local food and small farms, consider pledging a few dollars to my Kickstarter project to offset travel expenses for my upcoming book Seasonal Markets of the Heartland.

And so we come to the third edition of my notecard sets.

If you’re just stopping by, I’m thanking supporters of my Kickstarter book project with sets of photo notecards.  Today, barns.

I’ve had a thing for barns ever since I can remember. I found out not too long ago that my love of barns in is my DNA.

It turns out my great grandfather Peter McInnis built barns in Hemlock, Michigan about a hundred years ago.

We’re losing barns at an alarming rate, just like farm land, but we have a number of intrepid souls have banded together to preserve these buildings that are so important to our culture.  I found programs in Michigan, Iowa, Minnesota, Indiana, Ohio, Wisconsin, Illinois, Nebraska, Kansas and Missouri.  Many more I’m sure.

So here are the shots of the white barn set.  Red barns to follow . . .

And here are the earlier sets of notecards:  tomatoes and fruit.

Photos compliments of Janine MacLachlan, www.RusticKitchen.com.  All rights reserved.

As I continue to think about the photo notecards I’m offering as thanks for a $35 donation to my farmers market research road trip, I feel like this is a whole new world of creative expression for me.

I so enjoyed photographing the farmers and their food, and it’s a delight to share it in advance of the book publication, which is a far away spring of 2010.

And so today, with luscious pleasure and gratitude, I offer fruit

For more details about the specs of the cards, scroll down on this post.  Upcoming editions will be white and red barns, vegetables (the non-tomato kind) breakfast and dessert.

Stay tuned for more delicious shots!

Photos compliments of Janine MacLachlan, www.RusticKitchen.com.  All rights reserved.

One of the few drawbacks of a massive Midwest road trip is that I don’t have a lot of time to cook these days.  It’s strange to be surrounded by all these gorgeous ingredients and know that I’m not in my kitchen long enough to make a meal.

But I was so inspired by the Fantome goat cheese in olive oil that I scored at the Dane County Farmers Market in Madison that I cranked up the oven.

I baked a half batch of these biscuits, but without the onions or cheddar.  Classic baking powder biscuits, really, cut into two-inch rounds.  I topped each biscuit half with some roasted red peppers I had in the fridge, then a dollop of the goat cheese.  At first bite I thanked the universe that my husband doesn’t care for goat cheese and I wouldn’t have to share.

Now, about the goat cheese.  I have a particular affection for goats, particularly those nurtured by Leslie Cooperband (who learned something about cheesemaking at Fantome) and Judy Schad.  I see Leslie and Judy a few times a season at Chicago’s Green City Market, but I hadn’t had Fantome in a long time since they only sell at the Madison farmers market.  The two little chevre buttons steeped in olive oil made my heart sing.

I love goats, and I also have deep affection for the women who care for these cheeky, spirited animals and bring us such delicious cheese.

Help fight the good fight

If you agree, I urge you to sign a petition against a road that’s slated to be built through Leslie’s Prairie Fruits Farm in Champaign, Illinois.  Every time I believe we’ve learned that our farmland and landscape need to be protected, I see ill-advised development making it harder to, well, to make goat cheese.  And all the other artisan foods we love.

If you enjoy this post, please consider subscribing to my newsletter, or my feed.  ”Recipe” and photo compliments of Janine MacLachlan, www.RusticKitchen.com.  All rights reserved.

Photos compliments of Janine MacLachlan, www.RusticKitchen.com.  All rights reserved.

Photo compliments of Janine MacLachlan, www.RusticKitchencom.  All rights reserved.  If you liked this post, feel free to friend me on Facebook or follow me on Twitter.

Photo compliments Janine MacLachlan, all rights reserved.

I’m a huge fan of innovative solutions to the eat local challenge, especially when they are right on my route.  So many times my cooking students have told me “Janine, I don’t have time to go to the farmers market, I can’t add one more thing to my schedule.”  So I understand that while I think of the farmers market as social hour and an important part of my week, others may not.

Thus I was delighted to see a sign SUMMERTIME MARKET go up on a former gas station along Blue Star Highway on the little stretch in between Saugatuck and Douglas, Michigan.  It’s also between Satya Yoga Center and the Douglas Library, making it a place I drive by several times each weekend.

The lovely Kara offers cucumber water in paper cone cups, and is on hand to answer questions.

The meat and chicken are from my friend Mike at Providence Farms, and the blackboard signs tell you how far the vegetables traveled to get to the store.

There’s just about anything you might want, from maple syrup and honey to milk and eggs.  But to get the famous Seedy Salt Bread, from the bakers who made it at the dearly departed Journeyman Cafe, you need to get there around 9 a.m.

Summertime Market also sells books, and I spotted a favorite, From the Earth To the Table by John Ash.  I first because a fan Chef John Ash fan when he was my instructor at the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone in the Napa Valley.  He was an inspiration about local ingredients more than a decade ago, and I’m still grateful for his leadership.  And he’s so effervescent you can’t help but have a crush on him.  This is one of my favorite simple soups from that book, now revised and out in paperback.

John Ash’s Beet Soup with Mint

adapted from From the Earth to the Table

2 pounds scrubbed beets

2 tablespoons olive oil

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

4 - 5 cups chicken stock

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1 tablespoon honey (or to taste)

1/2 teaspoon toasted and crushed caraway seed

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

2 tablespoons fresh mint

Garnish:  Plain yogurt and fresh mint sprigs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, In a roasting pan, lightly coat the beets with the olive oil and season with salt and pepper.  Roast for 30 to 40 minutes or until the flesh is soft and skins are loose.  While the beets are still warm, peel of the skins by rubbing gently with a paper towel.

In a blender or food processor, puree the beets with four cups stock, the lemon juice, honey, caraway seed, cloves and mint.  You’ll need to do this in batches.  Strain the puree and season to taste.  Add additional honey if you prefer, and addition stock if a thinner consistency is desired.

Serve hot or cold.  Garnish each serving with a dollop of plain yogurt and sprig of fresh mint.

Photos compliments of Janine MacLachlan, www.RusticKitchencom.  All rights reserved.  If you liked this post, feel free to friend me on Facebook or follow me on Twitter.