Around the Table with the Burkes: It’s the little victories

…I have three small tornadoes
destroying every room immediately
after I’ve cleaned it.

My parents came for a visit last week (a “visit” where I use them for free labor and my dad’s construction expertise). I’m frantically trying to prepare my house for sale, no small task when my other half is away from home four days a week, and I have three small tornadoes destroying every room immediately after I’ve cleaned it. Mom and dad cleared more than a few things off of my list, though it still seems like there is stuff EVERYWHERE. All of the house projects made mealtime difficult, as we reached the end of each day too tired to think, so shortcuts were key to filling empty bellies this week.

On Saturday I had a rare evening out with my friends to celebrate a birthday and see Captain Marvel. I ate what I wanted and no one stole my French fries. Travis made pork chops, spaetzle, and green beans for the kids, which my parents were also thrilled to have when they arrived Saturday night. On Sunday Grillmaster Burke made steaks.

Lightly Sweetened Mashed
Sweet Potatoes:
Cube the sweet potatoes and boil until they’re soft. Add ¼ cup of butter, a splash of milk, and a few tablespoons of real maple syrup. Mix until uniformly mashed.

After Monday’s projects – which included deck repair, door replacement, and so much cleaning – I ordered takeout. Tuesday’s exhausting to-do list was followed by a rotisserie chicken with corn and noodles.

Wednesday I succumbed to guilt over feeding my parents shortcut food, so I roasted a pork loin and squash and made mashed sweet potatoes. The secret to my sweet potatoes, beloved the family over: after boiling the potatoes until they’re soft I add ¼ cup of butter, a splash of milk, and a few tablespoons of real maple syrup. We pretend it’s still healthy – maple syrup is practically a vegetable, right?

Travis arrived home on Thursday to chicken chili (thank you McCormick packet) and cornbread. On Friday we had pasta night, with the addition of sweet Italian sausage (baked from frozen for an hour at 350 degrees, then added to the sauce).

It was a week of quick dinners, but I’m happy we managed to avoid fast food. We also managed to sit down at the table together each night (sans Travis for three of them). It’s the little victories.

Around the Table with the Burkes: 2019, A Year for the Burkes

As always, my husband and I do our best in the name of elusive family togetherness.

Thus far, 2019 has been a rough year in the Burke house (and it’s only February!). Sometimes the hits just keep on coming and it can be difficult to find your feet again. This is where I find myself at present. It’s hard, then, to do things like plan a week of healthy meals and get everyone to the table. As always, though, my husband and I do our best in the name of elusive family togetherness. I have also been unable to make it to the Farmer’s Market for a few Saturdays now, but I maintain the hope that tomorrow will be the day. So on to the week!

We had a full house on Saturday as we offered to feed our neighbors’ kids while they worked on an important home project. With six kids around the table, Travis grilled hamburgers (he is a hamburger master), served with broccoli and noodles. I would share his special hamburger spice blend, but he won’t even share it with me, alas.

Sunday was another big group dinner. In cleaning out our freezer we discovered a giant pack of steak that was an all or nothing defrosting endeavor. We invited our friends to join us for sweet potato fries, green beans, and grilled steak. Travis put on his chef hat once more and handled it all. We went the easy route with fries we also discovered in the freezer, but when I’m feeling ambitious I slice up sweet potatoes into eight sections each, coat with olive oil, and sprinkle with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and chipotle chili powder if we’re feeling spicy. Roast at 425 for 20-30 minutes, until the outsides are crisp and the insides are soft.

I returned to an old staple on Monday with a chicken stir fry and rice. Tuesday I threw together pork chops, egg noodles, and corn as it was just me and the kids. My older children eat dinner at church on Wednesday nights before choir, so Travis, the toddler, and I took out leftovers that night.

Thursday night was pasta night, and tonight I’m thinking I’ll change my plans to something hearty and warm to stave off this ridiculous weather. Chili or a stew of some kind.

This weekend I’m going to try my hand at making a supply of freezer meals. My husband is headed off to Winston Salem for work, leaving me to manage our circus alone for awhile. I’m hoping an ounce of preparation (and the help of the world’s best friends) will help me maintain just a tiny bit of sanity. Tune in next week to find out!

Around the Table with the Burkes: Survival is the Main Ingredient

Meal planning is a really useful tool for making sure we don’t have McDonald’s every day, but sometimes my ambition on Saturday doesn’t match up with my energy level on a Monday evening. Flexibility and a Plan B helps.

Crib rails and baby gates are merely training devices for the youngest’s future Ninja Warrior career.

Greetings Beacon readers! After a short hiatus Around the Table has returned with more tales of survival and food from the Burke household, survival being the key ingredient these days. I have been suffering from an overdose of tired lately. A death in my family, whirlwind travel, and major changes coming to my household have caused my brain to short circuit. Additionally, my youngest child (2) has decided that a.) he’s never going to sleep again, and b.) crib rails and baby gates are merely training devices for his future Ninja Warrior career. Meal planning is a really useful tool for making sure we don’t have McDonald’s every day, but sometimes my ambition on Saturday doesn’t match up with my energy level on a Monday evening. Flexibility and a Plan B helps.

Last Saturday I had a meeting all afternoon and was out later than I planned, so we ended up ordering pizza. Highlight of the evening was my food allergy kid getting his first slice after months of trialing different pizza components. He was so excited! Can I just serve pizza every day and still maintain “Okay Mom” status?

Sunday I planned on Beef Stew for “Hearty Superb Owl Man Food.” I was going to go with my quick and easy McCormick packet cheat, but that only works if you actually have a packet on hand. So I took to googling recipes and made a bit of a FrankenStew using my Instant Pot. Positives: delicious stew beef from the Farmer’s Market made ultra tender by the Instant Pot. Negatives: waaaaaaay too much tomato paste, and not enough beef broth. Not my finest dish, but not entirely inedible.

My good friend got chickens last weekend. The live, future-egg-laying variety. They’re pretty cute, and I am a bit of an animal nut, so hanging out with chicks instead of working was how I spent most of my days this week. Monday evening rolled around and I threw together some baked pork chops, noodles, and corn. Some days the most basic home cooked foods are a win. Tuesday’s dinner was leftovers. Thank goodness we had some.

Wednesday I shocked my husband by making “real” food – chicken chili and biscuits.

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White Chicken Chili:

• A pound and a half of chicken cut into bite size chunks (I use breasts, thighs also work)

• 3 cans of white beans, drained and rinsed

• Seasoning mix (per pound of chicken, I double this for 1.5 pounds):

  • ½ tsp sugar

  • ½ tsp corn starch

  • 1 tsp garlic powder

  • ½ tsp cayenne pepper

  • 1 tsp cumin

  • ½ tsp oregano

  • ½ tsp cilantro

• 1 cup frozen or canned corn

• 2-3 cups water

Brown the chicken on all sides, then add water, seasoning mix, and beans. Bring to a boil and cook for 10 minutes. Add the corn and cook another 6-10 minutes. Serve with something you can use to mop sauce!

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Thursday I shocked Travis again with meatloaf, squash, and spaetzle. I also did dishes. Travis thinks I might be very sick.

As for tonight, I’m at a loss. I see turkey burgers on my plan, but that seems like a lot of effort. In all likelihood we’re going to end up having pancakes and French toast for dinner. Plan Brinner.

One of these days I’ll head back to the Farmer’s Market and one of these weeks I’ll have myself back on track with my goals for the year.

Creating a Wildlife Habitat, Part II: Food for Thought

In the last article we looked at sites for wildlife habitats (homes, businesses, places of worship, and public sites such as parks). We also looked at the requirements: food, water, cover, places to raise young, and sustainable gardening practices.

In the next few installments we’ll examine each requirement separately to see how easy they are to provide.

Let’s kick off with food. This can be natural (like acorns, seeds, nuts) or something that you provide (like bird seed, suet or corn).

If you’re feeding birds, natural sources of food include plants that provide berries (like blueberries), seeds (echinacea or Black-eyed Susan), nuts (pecan or hazelnut), or nectar (for hummingbirds). Notice that these can all feed people, too!

To provide food in a fast and efficient manner think about using bird feeders. It’s important to do your research and know what foods your favorite birds prefer, what type of feeder to use, and where to hang it for the best result. Keeping feeders filled and cleaned is important. And make sure to buy quality seed instead of a giant bag of mostly millet, which most of our birds don't eat!

If squirrels eat a lot of your seed, add a baffle to prevent them from shimmying up a pole to help themselves to the bird food.  Remember that squirrels can jump quite a long ways from any direction, so take that into account when hanging feeders.

Winter months and cold weather can be hard on our birds.  I like to provide suet for a high energy food for birds.  It's easy to make your own and a great project for kids.  

Who doesn't love seeing hummingbirds?  Put out feeders in more than one location (out of the line-of-sight) and keep them clean by a weekly scrubbing.  The nectar will ferment quickly in very hot weather, so you'll need to change it regularly.

If you’re trying to attract pollinators, focus on providing a variety of native plants of different colors and shapes.  Use native plants to get the biggest environmental bang for your buck.

So there you have it - a quick and easy way to provide food for critters in your yard.  And the best thing is that you get the joy of seeing nature up close!

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Around the Table with the Burkes: Super Spouse Dinner Takeover

“Tonight we’ll be roasting hot dogs over a campfire with friends. The side will likely be s’mores and chances are good there will not be a vegetable in sight.”

Photo by Norah Burke

Photo by Norah Burke

This week seemed to fly by, didn’t it? I didn’t get to the Farmer’s Market last Saturday thanks to a migraine, fortunately winter vegetables have a delightfully long shelf life so I still had cauliflower from the week before as well as some meat in our freezer to create our meals this week.

On Saturday I helped throw a last minute birthday party for a good friend (hi Kelly!). My contribution was homemade baked mac n’ cheese and a chocolate cream pie. I know you want those recipes, the mac n’ cheese can be found here (note: I replace the onion with a tablespoon of onion powder for kid friendliness). The chocolate cream pie recipe is here, for this one I have made the crust in the past and it’s phenomenal, but when I’m feeling lazy I pick up an Oreo crumb crust from the grocery store.

My husband Travis racked up some super spouse points this week by taking the lead on dinners. On Sunday he made hamburgers, sweet potato fries, and corn.

Photo by Norah Burke

Monday he grilled pork chops (from the Market), and I roasted cauliflower. I coat the cauliflower in 2 tbsp soy sauce, 2 tbsp olive oil, black pepper, and garlic and then roast it on a sheet pan in a 425 degree oven for 20-30 minutes.

Tuesday and Wednesday I was out of the house, so Travis served up leftovers to the kids. Supposedly they ate them all. I never look a gift break from parenting in the mouth.

Thursday I assuaged my mom and wife guilt with roasted butternut squash, rice pilaf, and soy-ginger-garlic-brown sugar chicken. Lest you think I’m some culinary professional, the chicken was… not great. I didn’t cut my pieces uniformly so some were overcooked to rubber, blech. The rice pilaf isn’t authentic, per se, it’s more of a 1950s midwestern version (my source lived in Ohio for a long time…), but it’s a favorite of the husband and yummy.

Photo by Norah Burke

Oma’s Rice Pilaf

• 1 ¼ cups Parboiled (converted) Rice

• 1 10.5 ounce can Beef Consommé

• 1 10.5 ounce can French Onion Soup

• 6 Tbsp Butter (I always cut this to 4-ish)

Combine the ingredients in an oven safe covered dish. Cook in 350 degree oven for 45 minutes, remove lid and cook uncovered for an additional 15 minutes.

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Tonight we’ll be roasting hot dogs over a campfire with friends. The side will likely be s’mores and chances are good there will not be a vegetable in sight. I’ll be back at the market tomorrow on the hunt for spinach, broccoli, and carrots. And let’s be honest, coffee from Good Cup and some kind of pastry. Bundle up and join me!

Photo by Norah Burke

Around the Table with the Burkes: A Week Without Takeout

“[One] resolution for the new year is to eat out less, I’m going to call this week a success and enjoy this sense of pride before life happens and we get derailed. ”

Happy New Year, readers! There’s nothing like being home after travel, is there? I took my time at the Farmer’s Market on Saturday, it was slow and smaller than usual thanks to the holidays, but it’s the season for some of my favorite vegetables. Broccoli and Cauliflower! Mustard greens, some beautiful lettuce, and sweet potatoes rounded out my purchases for the week.

On Saturday I made chicken stir fry. To me, stir-frying is one of those magical cooking techniques where you put in things you like and the result is always delicious. Vegetable stir-fry, beef stir-fry, pork stir-fry, fish stir-fry, all good. Chicken stir-fry is one of the dishes my mom made when I was little to stretch a package of chicken to feed six people. I change my recipe pretty much every time I make it, but my starting point is usually the following:

Chicken Stir Fry

• 1-2 pounds boneless chicken breasts (or thighs if you like dark meat), cut into 1-2 inch chunks

• 2 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil (here’s another place to change up the flavor by using sesame oil, or a blend of the two)

• Marinade:

• ½ Tbsp Garlic Powder, or 4-5 minced cloves (or more, you can never skimp on garlic IMO)

• 1 tsp Ginger

• 1 Tbsp Honey

• ¼ - 1/3 cup Soy Sauce

• 2 Tbsp Corn Starch

Additional Spice Options (I play around to see what we like): Chinese Five Spice, Chili Powder, Cayenne Pepper, Paprika, Cinnamon, Wasabi. A shake here, a pinch there, sometimes nothing extra at all

Vegetables (pick and choose any or all): Baby Corn, Broccoli, Green Beans, Carrots, Snap Peas, Bell Peppers, Water Chestnuts, Onions, Mushrooms (I guess? If you like that kind of thing)

Put the chicken chunks into a bowl, pour in the marinade, and stir to coat. Prepare your vegetable selections, making sure everything is cut into uniform sizes. Vegetables that take longer to cook (corn, water chestnuts, carrots) should be cut smaller than faster cooking vegetables. In a wok (I used a cheap wok from IKEA for 10 years, and recently replaced it with this one since I stir fry a lot it’s worth the investment to me) heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil to shimmering hot. HOT is the key to stir fry (but don’t light your kitchen on fire, keep both eyes on it!). Drop the chicken and marinade into the wok and cook, stirring constantly, until the chicken is browned on the outside. Add your vegetables and continue cooking until the chicken is cooked through and the vegetables are tender, but still brightly colored. Watch your heat, you want it to be hot, but not burn. If you like to have a little sauce, toward the end of cooking pour a few tablespoons of water into the pan, dribbling it along the side of the wok so it heats up before it hits the rest of the ingredients. Serve over the rice variety of your choice (my fave is Basmati, but any variety will do).

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My plan for Sunday was to rest in preparation for a big New Year’s Eve dinner, so my husband threw together some pasta and crusty bread. Quick, simple, and I didn’t have to make it!

“ I love making biscuits from scratch when I have a chance (isn’t it a requirement for Southern residency?).”

Monday I baked a spiral ham with sweet potatoes, spaetzle, and biscuits. I love making biscuits from scratch when I have a chance (isn’t it a requirement for Southern residency?). I start with Betty Crocker’s Baking Powder Biscuit recipe, which I found in my oldest, most beaten up cookbook, but is now online thanks to the magic of the internet. I replace the shortening with butter and the milk with buttermilk.

Tuesday we had leftover ham, much to my children’s delight. My son opted for rolled up deli turkey. Insert eye roll.

I got experimental on Wednesday, making a dish that was both new to us and vegetarian. I made a resolution to start incorporating more meatless meals into our dinner menu, to both save money and reduce our environmental impact. So I made quinoa and black bean tacos from my new vegetarian cookbook “Love Real Food.” I was pleasantly surprised, they were quite good. I’ll tweak the spices next time because the flavor wasn’t as in your face as we like, probably with more garlic (have you noticed yet how much I like garlic? Because I really like garlic. Fortunately, there is lots of garlic to be found at the Market), more chili powder, and possibly the addition of a homemade taco sauce because we were missing some moisture. But overall the tacos were really good, I think we’ll make them a regular addition. I topped mine with lettuce from the Market, cheddar cheese, corn, and some crumbled tortilla chips for crunch. If you’re wondering how they went over with the kids, well… it’s good to keep chicken nuggets in the freezer.

I threw together a quick chicken chili on Thursday with boxed cornbread.

Today we’ll clean out all of the leftovers from this week; there are lots of options. I’m sure my kids will complain about all of them and ask for McDonald’s, but I’m not going to give in because we made it through a week without takeout! Another resolution for the new year is to eat out less, I’m going to call this week a success and enjoy this sense of pride before life happens and we get derailed.

Enjoy your weekend!

Around the Table with the Burkes: Feeding the Frenzy

The holiday season is excellent for messing up a routine. Parties, outings, travel, family visits… the joyful events that leave us exhausted and not quite sure what day it is (Friday? Right. Friday).

This week began in Pennsylvania for the Burke clan, where meals were less planned than they were thrown together based on the easiest way to feed a crowd of 12 in a hurry.

Saturday we baked a spiral ham, roasted some squash, and mashed potatoes. Easy, quick, large quantities. Though according to my children, ham is “disgusting.” My husband, ham lover, was heartbroken by their declaration.

Sunday was a day for roasted turkey, cranberry sauce, egg noodles, and corn. My cranberry sauce is made fresh from berries, with fresh orange juice, cinnamon, and sugar. I talked briefly with Thea of Lil Rebel Bakery at the last Farmer’s Market I hit up, and we agreed that the key to baking and cooking with cranberries is to keep adding sugar until it tastes good. Fair warning – this sauce is not a health food.

“The key to baking and cooking with cranberries is to keep adding sugar until it tastes good. ”

Cranberry Sauce

• 1 Pound Cranberries

• 1 Cup Fresh Squeezed Orange Juice

• 1 Cup Water

• 1 Cup White Sugar

• 1 Cup Brown Sugar

• 1 tsp Cinnamon

Rinse the cranberries and then mix the ingredients together in a medium saucepan. Place on the stovetop over medium heat, stirring occasionally until the liquid starts to boil. Keep stirring until the cranberries start to pop open. Turn the heat down to medium-low and let the sauce simmer for 30-45 minutes.

You can also make this in a crockpot, add all the ingredients to the crockpot and cook on high for 3 hours, then remove the lid and cook another 45 minutes.

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Growing up, my family Christmas Eve tradition was joining our close family friends at their home, helping to decorate their tree, and sharing an assortment of weird food (oyster stew and lasagna this year, I admit I missed the pigs in a blanket we made when I was a kid), gifts, and cookies. I have missed out on the tradition for years because of my holiday travel rule, much to the dismay of Kathryn, the matriarch of our friends’ family. She sends me a card every year asking when we’re going to show up, so this year I told my mom to keep our travel plans a secret. I don’t often succeed in surprising people, it was super fun, highly recommend.

On Tuesday, Christmas day, we opened gifts and then traveled back to Matthews. A whirlwind day ended with ham, mashed potatoes, and green beans delivered to our door by a dear friend.

Wednesday was a good day for recovering from travel and ordering takeout.

Thursday my husband took our older kids to Carowinds for Winterfest, and left me and our toddler to patch together dinner on our own: an assortment of chicken nuggets, French fries, and various fruit.

Today I’m going to get back to making my family real food. We’ll have roast beef (sirloin tip roast coated with garlic, onion, salt & pepper, roasted on a rack at 325 for 1.5 hours) for dinner with sweet potatoes from the farmers market and sautéed broccoli. After the last few weeks, I’m really looking forward to a large pile of vegetables for dinner tonight, and getting back to the Market tomorrow!

Around the Table with The Burkes: On Comfort

“Comfort Food: The foods we eat to soothe our souls: homemade chicken soup, freshly baked bread with jam, an apple right off the tree, a bowl of hearty stew. ”

Photo by Norah Burke

I have held on to a fairly steadfast rule in my six years as a parent: we don’t travel for winter holidays. The rule came about in part because I was terrified about flying with one, two, and then three small children, and in part, because I wanted to establish our own holiday traditions as a new family. I made a somewhat last minute decision to throw my rule out the window this year, my dear grandmother is in hospice and seeing her seemed like an excellent reason to throw travel worries away and take on the challenge.

Needless to say, the week has been a whirlwind of pasta, fast food, and cold sandwiches – it’s not much of a meal plan. It did get me thinking, however, about comfort food. I’m not talking about the mindless stress eating we sometimes fall into or the occasional overindulgence, but about the foods we eat to soothe our souls: homemade chicken soup, freshly baked bread with jam, an apple right off the tree, a bowl of hearty stew.

Photo by Norah Burke

Most of my farmer’s market purchases last week went into the freezer and pantry, but I bought some fresh bread and incredible jam, and as I worked through the stress over travel and worried about my family I kept returning to a piece of toasted bread with jam (at least until my husband polished off the loaf). It was just what I needed to get through the planning and packing.

As for the travel, we survived our flight, and Newark airport, and the Garden State Parkway. I got to hold my grandma’s hand and talk and laugh with her for a while. Now we’ll bake cookies with my mom, and I’ll show my kids how we celebrate Christmas in my childhood home.

I’ll leave you with the recipe for my favorite cookie of all time, perfect for sharing with friends and family during the holiday season. Comfort and joy to you all, Beacon readers.

Great Pumpkin Cookies

• 2 cups Flour

• 1 cup Oatmeal

• 4 Tbsp Wheat Germ (optional)

• 1 cup Shredded Coconut

• 1 tsp Cinnamon

• Dash Salt

• 1 tsp Baking Soda

• 1 cup Butter

• 1 cup Brown Sugar

• 1 cup White Sugar

• 2 Eggs

• 1 tsp Vanilla

• 1 1/2 - 2 cups Pumpkin (I find a 16 ounce can of pumpkin is perfect)

• 1 cup Chocolate Chips (or Raisins if you're feeling healthy)

• 1 cup Chopped Nuts (if desired)

Preheat oven to 350. Mix dry ingredients and set them aside. In a large bowl mix butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla. Add dry ingredients and pumpkin, mix well. Add chocolate chips and combine. Bake 15-20 minutes (for a small cookie scoop. I use a medium scoop which usually takes 22-25 minutes). They should be just browned on the edges and cakey in the middle.

It's a very forgiving recipe. My mom often cuts the sugar by 3/4 or 1/2; I also substitute wheat flour occasionally.

Photo by Norah Burke

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Time to plant!!!

Most of us tend to think of Spring as the best time to plant. For some things, that is true, but our hot (and often dry) Summers tend to put a lot of stress on Spring planted specimens. So why not plant all kinds of trees, shrubs, vines, and perennial flowers? When you plant in the fall, you give plants a 7 or 8-month head start on the hot, dry weather. Roots are growing during that time, even if other parts of the plant are dormant. This allows the plants to be well on their way to being established in the landscape before they have to face the stresses of Summer weather. So, now’s the time to plant!

Last week I posted a list of great plants to use to create an edible landscape; a yard/garden/orchard hybrid, if you will. Nearly every single one of them is a perennial plant of some sort, which means they continue to grow over the years. Some, in fact, live quite a long time. In fact, the oldest known cultivated muscadine grapevine was planted in the 1500’s on the Outer Banks Of NC!

Native grapes such as muscadines are hardy and easy to grow here in Matthews.

One of the best things to plant in the fall is a tree, preferably a fruit tree. My preferred method of tree planting is fairly simple. Dig a hole as deep as the root ball of your plant is thick, and twice as wide. For example, if you buy an apple tree in a “3 gallon” container, the root ball will be approximately 10” wide and 14” tall. So you’ll need to dig a hole 20” wide and 14” deep. Remove the plant from the container, and loosen the roots from the tight ball they grew in while in the container. This allows the plant’s roots to spread out faster. Fill the planting hole with 3-4” of native soil, and firm it a bit. This will raise the top of the root ball above the surrounding grade, and lessen the settling of the soil. In our clay soils, you want to plant most things a little high to prevent root and crown rots caused by rainwater puddling around tree trunks. Set the plant into the hole, and backfill with native soil. You might irrigate the soil and root ball when about half the planting hole is filled. Continue backfilling, and fill the planting hole up to the top of the root ball. Make sure the root flare (the area of a tree trunk that widens into the root system) is visible just above the soil. You can water a bit more, then add your preferred organic mulch. This simple method should get your tree off to a fine start, and a long life.

Fruit trees blend seamlessly into yards.

If you want to learn more about fall planting, join me at Renfrow Farm next week for my class on “Edible Landscaping”. The cost is $20 per person.

Edible Landscapes, Tuesday, October 9, 6:30-8:30 PM * Renfrow Farm, 409 W Charles Street, Matthews, NC * Details and registration here.

Remember to enjoy your garden, because THAT’S what makes you a Successful Gardener!!

From Sassafras to Filé: Make your own soup seasoning

Amy Peterson’s Matthews-famous (maybe world?) gumbo.

Despite the feeling that the temperatures will never drop below the 80s, fall is on the way. This means it’s your last chance to harvest sassafras leaves before they change color and start to drop.

The leaves on the sassafras tree vary in lobed shape.

Grab a pair of loppers and go find a sassafras tree, usually in the understory of wooded areas, perhaps near a dogwood or another low growing tree. They grow in colonies, so you’ll usually find several of the small trees together. Even if you don’t know it, you’re probably familiar with sassafras, it’s fairly common around Matthews. The leaves can be several different shapes on the same tree: three-lobed, left-hand mitten, right-hand mitten, and sometimes (when young) an oblong pointed leaf. Rarely you might even find a four-lobed leaf, but it’s pretty unusual.

Harvest a small branch of healthy green leaves and find a sheltered spot to hang it. The leaves need air flow around them so they stay green and don’t mildew as they dry. In about 2 days those green leaves will be crispy and ready to turn into filé powder, a magical green, earthy-flavored seasoning commonly use as a thickener in gumbo.

Once you have fully dry, crispy sassafras leaves just trim off the brown stem (don’t worry about the veins) and stuff your leaves in a food processor. Grind and grind until you have a fine powder. It’s that simple: filé is dried leaves pulverized into powder.

Cooking, though, is where the magic happens. As much as I love to cook a big batch of stew when it comes to gumbo you have to turn to a New Orleans native for a tried and true recipe. Enter Amy Peterson, my Louisiana go-to gal. Amy makes a gumbo that’ll make you want to marry her. Sorry, she’s happily taken (hi, Lyell).

Amy bases her gumbo on a recipe from Cooking Up a Storm, a compilation of recipes lost during Katrina. After the storm, the community shared their family recipes in The Times-Picayune of New Orleans as a way to help others rebuild.

Chicken and Sausage Gumbo 

Makes about 8 servings

1 (4- to 5-pound) hen (stewing chicken), cut into serving pieces

Salt and cayenne

1 cup vegetable oil

1 cup flour

2 cups chopped yellow onions

1 cup chopped green bell pepper

1/2 cup chopped celery

About 2-1/2 quarts chicken broth

2 bay leaves

1/2 teaspoon dried powdered or leaf thyme

1 pound andouille sausage, sliced 1/4-inch thick

1/4 cup chopped green onions (white and green parts)

2 tablespoons chopped parsley

Season the hen generously with salt and cayenne, and set aside. 

In a large Dutch oven, make a roux by combining the oil and flour over medium heat. Stirring constantly, cook for about 30 minutes, or until the roux is dark brown. Add the onions, bell pepper and celery to the roux and cook for 5 to 10 minutes, or until the vegetables are very soft.

Add the broth and stir to blend well. Add the chicken, bay leaves and thyme. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer, partially covered, 2 to 3 hours, or until chicken is fork-tender. Add the andouille and cook for another 30 minutes. Adjust seasonings and add the green onions and parsley. 

As a departure from the traditional rice base, Amy suggested potato salad. Trust me, the lady knows. When you serve up the gumbo, sprinkle 1/2 to 1 tsp. of filé powder on top of each serving.  Enjoy!

The Exchange Pizza Depot

The unassuming Exchange Pizza Depot is set back on Trade St. in Matthews, nestled between Seaboard and the Cigar shop.

Around the turn of the century, two sisters lived at 213 N. Trade Street, manning the switchboards for the local phone company.  By 1954, the phone company needed a place for their dial-up equipment and that same piece of real estate found new life. But, after falling into disrepair for many subsequent years, that life was resurrected this year in the form of The Exchange Pizza Depot.

“There’s plenty of room in town for (all of us). If my pizza is (good), they won’t be going elsewhere.

Enter Brendan Ciganek, former pizza shop franchisee owner and chef and a “friend of a friend of the owner.”

Hired to run the new pizza place (as adjunct to the owners’ next-door wine room, Seaboard), Brendan has found his “slice of the woods” in this business housed in the 14’x22’ foot building he can nearly call his own.

In addition to a staple of mostly Neapolitan-style pizzas (two of which are named after the owner’s daughters), Brendan has been free to not only write the menu, design the space and hire the staff, but to experiment with ideas and foods from around the world.

Pollo Con Crema (chicken, onion, bell pepper, tangy creamy sauce), Heatza (Cajun chicken, spicy red sauce, jalapeños, Sriracha drizzle), Tomato Pesto (with roasted brussels sprouts, red onion, sun-dried tomatoes), and Mashed Potato (with mixed cheese, bacon and garlic butter), Tikka Masala (tomato, cream, curry) are just a few of his many personal creations.

Photo credit: Cyma Shapiro

“I asked friends what they were eating,” he said,” got ideas from vendors at the Farmer’s Market and from international cuisines. He asked the employees who work there, patrons and his online friends, as well.

“My regular menu is a crowd pleaser,” he says, adding that the weekly (or so) special pizzas “may not be for everyone but are (a chance) to have fun with and appeal to some people.”

Among his special touches are tomatoes and flour from Italy, buffalo milk cheese and some regular produce from the Farmer’s Market. In addition, he grows basil and a few other things around the two restaurants.

And, as Matthews continues to grow and pizza competition gets even more heated, he said he’ll stick to what he believes:“There’s plenty of room in town for (all of us). If my pizza is (good), they won’t be going elsewhere.”

Photo credit: Cyma Shapiro

Photo credit: Cyma Shapiro

Photo credit: Cyma Shapiro

Exchange Pizza Depot

213 N. Trade Street, Matthews

Monday thru Wednesday: 5 PM - 9 PM

Thursday thru Sunday: 12 PM  - 10 PM