The Strawberry festival is for “kids” of all ages whether you enjoy the amusement rides and strawberry shortcake with the family or a few margaritas and people watching with friends. There is a great selection for those who just want to pass through and pick up a few pints of strawberry for a fruit salad or to make strawberry butter. However you enjoy the Strawberry Festival, you will experience a slice of Americana on the North Fork.

Afterwards join us in for dinner at The Greenporter Hotel for our Father’s Day prix fixe “Beef and Beer” dinner which includes three courses plus three different craft beers from the Greenport Harbor Brewing Company to accompany your dinner for $40 per person. For the vegetarians in the group there are garden-inspired options like the Strawberry-Arugula Salad with fresh basil and lemon dressing and a signature cocktail in honor of the Strawberry Festival, the strawberry-jalapeno margarita.

Strawberry butter
1/2 cup of fresh North Fork strawberries
2 sticks of softened butter
1 teaspoon of local honey

Pulse soften butter in the food processor with ripe strawberries and honey. Taste for sweetness and add more honey if you desire. Spread on whole grain toast, pancakes or waffles. Wrap and keep chilled for up to 2 weeks in the refrigerator.

You can observe many gardens on your bike route but one of my favorites is heading east on route 48, past Sep’s, The Coffey House, Garden Fusion as you cross the causeway with the bay on one side and the sound on the other, then past the lavender gardens of Lavender by the Bay and into the village of Orient where you can also buy wild flowers from a community garden.

While visiting these gardens and farmstands you never know who you will run into, whether fellow cyclers or gardeners as well as any of the talented chefs of the North Fork like the lovely Chef Lia Fallon of Jedadiah Hawkins who I ran into on this trip.

I was on a special visit because Chris Giapa of the Garden Fusion family was kind enough to donate a medley of herbs for a dish. We served herb-cured Gravlax on buckwheat blini for the Greenport Farmers’ Market cocktail fundraiser. At Garden Fusion, they have an amazing selection of exotic organic herbs from Pineapple sage to cinnamon thyme and spicy oregano. This place is a chef’s dream and will inspire any home cook or gardener. Even if you don’t cook, a mixture of these herbs in a salad with some fresh dressing is all you’ll need to accompany what ever you’re grilling tonight!

I hope you will enjoy this combination as much as I do.  I love the taste of buttery, thinly sliced gravlax with blinis. The nuttiness of the buckwheat flour lends the perfect backdrop to the briny, buttery flavor of the cured salmon. I also like to add fresh chopped chives from the garden to the batter for another layer of flavor.

Served with thinly sliced gravlax or smoked salmon and garden herbs, these are an elegant addition to brunch, lunch, or as a first course for a dinner party.

Prep Time: 20 minutes Cook Time: 10 minutes Total Time: 30 minutes Ingredients: 2/3 cup all-purpose flour 1/2 cup buckwheat flour 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon instant or rapid-rise yeast 1 cup warm milk 2 tablespoons butter, melted 1 egg, separated 1/2 teaspoon of sugar

Preparation: In a large bowl mix flours, salt, sugar, and instant yeast.  Make a well in the center and drizzle in milk, mixing until creamy. Cover for an hour until it rises, creating bubbles and almost double in size.  Stir cooled melted butter and egg yolk into batter. In a separate bowl, whisk egg white until stiff but not dry. Fold into batter. Cover and allow this mixture to rest for 20 minutes. Use a flat nonstick skillet and heat to medium heat. Use a small ladle to drop silver dollar dollops of batter into pan without crowding.  Cook for about 1 minute or until bubbles form and break. Turn and cook for about 30 seconds. Cover blini and keep warm to avoid reheating. These are perfectly delicious served at room temperature. Top with thinly slice gravlax (we cure our own in the restaurant) or smoked salmon. Chop fresh herbs like wild fennel or dill to sprinkle on top of the salmon just before serving. Serve with creme fraiche or Drizzle Swedish-style Dijon vinaigrette or creme fraiche and fresh green salad.

Serve this with a bottle of Chenin Blanc from Paumanok Vineyards in Aquebogue. This is one of the founding vineyards of the North Fork in one of the first towns you’ll hit when coming from New York City. The saltiness of the gravlax is dazzled by the citrus and minerality of this wine. Get it while you can because it always sells out!

One of the dishes the bride wanted to learn to make was rice so I included a recipe for perfect rice in a rice cooker. A rice cooker is a wonderful gift (wedding or otherwise) for anyone who enjoys cooking – experienced or not. It takes away the stress of watching the rice pot and the risk of burning it, overcooking or undercooking it. I use it often and also find I can make rice with very little oil or none at all.

Steamed Jasmine-Coconut rice
Makes up to eight cups of cooked rice (which serve 4 people in my household)
Ingredients
3 cups of organic Jasmine rice
1 tablespoon of Canola oil
6 cups of water or garden stock
1/4 teaspoon of kosher salt
1/4 cup of coconut milk (not sweetened coconut cream which is for desserts and Piña Coladas)
1 tablespoon of sugar or honey

Mix all ingredients in rice cooker and press the “on” button and go about the other items on your to-do list. The light will turn on in about 30 minutes signaling that the rice is ready.

This recipe makes a perfect sticky rice that is a great accompaniment to chicken skewers with peanut or sesame sauce, grilled, sashimi-style tuna or sautéed vegetables. It’s also delicious in a stir-fried rice the next day. Another tip is that children seem to love this rice — whether they like coconut or not.

I love the floral notes in Riesling with most Asian-influenced dishes and you can’t go wrong with the 2010 Semi-dry Riesling from Paumanok Vineyards which the Wall Street Journal named one of the nation’s top 12 “luxury dozen.”

My Bostonian sister-in law-gave me a recipe for Italian wedding soup just after my wedding almost 14 years ago and I often make it for my husband. Mini meatballs suspended in soup with spinach or kale or any leafy green steeping in a savory broth. I have made it many different times using any number of meatball variations from beef to lamb to chicken and turkey. One of my best friends is a vegetarian and I was thinking about how to make this for her and low and behold I thought about using matzoh balls. Everyone loves Matzoh balls and children go crazy from them.

Whole-Wheat Matzo Balls

3 large eggs, separated
½ cup North Fork garden stock
2 Tablespoons EVOO
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Salt for boiling and for matzo balls
3 or more Tablespoons of fresh minced parsley and minced green onion
1 cup whole-wheat matzo meal
2 to 3 quarts garden stock.

1. In a medium bowl, combine egg yolks, stock, oil, pepper and 2 teaspoons salt; mix well. Gradually add herbs and 1 cup of matzo meal, stirring with a fork.
2. Wisk egg whites until stiff, but not dry. Gently fold into matzo batter. Cover and refrigerate until better is well chilled, at least 1 hour.
3. Bring a pot of lightly salted water to a gentle boil. Wet hands with cold water and shape some of the batter into walnut-size balls. Drop it into pot. If it starts to fall apart, add a little more matzo meal to remaining batter. If it holds its shape, roll remaining batter into balls and add to pot.
4. Simmer matzoh balls, covered, for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, heat the soup until simmering. When matzoh balls are ready, use a slotted spoon to transfer them from water to soup. Serve hot.

Yield: about 12 matzo balls

Make one quart of North Fork garden stock and add a tablespoon of more fresh hberbs along with two cups of baby spinach.  The spinach will cooks immediately in the hot stock.  When using kale, cook the kale for about 5 minutes or until tender.  I like it best with baby kale.

If you read Martin Garell’s piece in the Suffolk Times this week on fishing for Cod during the winter months you might be inspired to go.  I have always wanted to go Cod fishing and knew it was tough but he confirmed it!  So even if I don’t make it on that Cod fishing charter this winter, I will still enjoy that plump white flesh from my local fish monger.   Pick up a bottle of Coalescence from Shinn Estate Vineyards and call it dinner for a captain — whether you are a fisherman or not.

Ingredients:  One pound of fresh cod
1/2 pound of Peconic Bay Scallops
1 teaspoon of capers
1 teaspoon of minced shallot
half a lemon thinly sliced
1/4 cup of white wine like a Pinot Grigio
2 tablespoons of butter
salt and pepper to taste
Fresh chopped parsley

In a large saute pan add a tablespoon of EVOO and add salted filets to hot pan.  Cook for 3 minutes on one side and flip.  Then add the shallots and scallops until slightly browned and add the capers and lemon, and lastly the white wine.  When the wine begins to bubble, add the butter and parsley and stir briskly until it turns a cloudy white color.  At that point it is ready to serve.  It is best accompanied with your favorite rice pilaf dish or steamed quinoa.

Every day in Long Island wine country I am excited by a new ingredient from my neighborhood to add to my recipes. Whether it’s wine from the numerous surrounding vineyards, oysters from Southold, bushels of corn, potatoes or potato chips or hand harvested sea salt, I can basically walk down the street and pick it up because someone here grows it or makes it.

So just to put our North Fork region over the top, we have a new addition to the neighborhood, Mushrooms. Long Island Mushroom Co. is owned by John Quigley and Jane Maguire who are growing Shitake Mushrooms and will soon be growing oyster mushrooms. I was so excited to get my 3 lb. box of super fresh Shitake mushrooms that I couldn’t wait to make a velvety mushroom bisque with this North Fork funghi. And if you don’t feel like cooking, you can try it this week at Cuvée.

Makes 4 servings

2 cups of diced mushrooms, sautéed in 1/4 cup of EVOO
3 cups of garden stock or roast chicken stock
1/4 cup of sautéed shallots
1/4 teaspoon of North Fork sea salt
1/4 teaspoon of fresh ground pepper, coarse

Blend 1/2 cups of sliced sautéed mushrooms (reserve some in case too thin or use for garnish) with the shallots and 2 cups of stock (save some stock) until completely smooth. If too thick, add more stock, if too thin, add more sautéed mushroom.

Once smooth, add salt and pepper and taste. Heat when ready to serve with 4 tablespoons of cream or half and half (optional).

Serve with crusty bread and a salad for a light dinner and pair with an earthy, fruit forward Cabernet Franc by Lieb Cellars, currently being poured at Cuvée.

For the duck you can buy Long Island Crescent Farms at any number of retail stores including Fresh Direct who will deliver it right to your house! I like to buy a whole duck and quarter and debone it to use in different dishes and meals but you can buy just the breast for this dish if you like. After slicing the rendered duck breast and then broiling or grilling to medium rare, you brush the duck with the reduced jelly and some duck drippings and serve immediately with steamed japanese sushi rice or sesame noodles.

A starter of Miso soup made with organic miso paste which you can find in specialty grocery stores like The Market  in Greenport. Slice some fresh scallions which are currently plentiful on farm stands along with silky tofu or sliced Shitake mushrooms. Serve with a bottle of chilled sparking Rose from Peconic Bay Winery that will complement the sweetness of the glaze and the Asian flavors of the accompaniments and will carry you through to dessert.

Don’t want to make dessert? Who needs to. Order a special cake or homemade truffles from Michel Bacher at Mali B Sweets in Greenport.  It will be the icing on your weekend in Greenport.

It is the beginning of the year and I have many of the same resolutions as others — lose weight, reduce stress and see more of my loved ones. I have been thinking about fun family meals to make with children so that you can get more fun time with them and also get them involved in their own nutrition. Last night I had “build your own” taco night with my best friend’s children. I find that interactive cooking is exciting for children because they can make their own decisions and be creative. Austin wanted cheese and carrots in his taco, Aly wanted tomatoes and Kelly wanted rice. Since a lot of the prep (and time) is in chopping and all these kids are under eight years old we used butter knives so that they could help. Austin cut cheddar cheese into tiny bits (in lieu of grater which I do not recommend for children-ever) and wanted to add a bag of mini carrots he had left over from lunch which he cut up himself. Aly cut the tomatoes and other veggies and Kelly stirred the tumeric and olive oil and salt in the rice. With supervision, it should be ok for children to learn to use a knife without hurting themselves. With clear guidelines they will follow safety instructions or risk not participating. If they don’t follow instructions I don’t let them cook and they want to cook!

So give taco night a try, cooking together, eating together, loving together. Yum.

Recipe and instructions
If you are having rice, start your rice and simmer on low flame or in a rice cooker. In the meantime you can start your ground turkey meat and the chopping extravaganza.

The meat
1 lb. ground meat (we use turkey)
1/2 lb of mixed veggies of choice (this is a great way to incorporate veggies in the meal–we used broccoli, zucchini, cauliflower and red pepper and the kids ate it)
1 teaspoon of your favorite seasoning mix or your own mix (we used a combination of garlic and onion along with some cumin)
pinch of salt and pepper
1 tablespoon of EVOO for sauteeing all ingredients together

The fixins’ aka “Taco builders”
Taco shells of choice, I like soft corn but you will find many opinions. Buy a variety and make it a party. Flour tortillas, soft corn, crunchy corn and let everyone choose what they want.
Chopped tomatoes
Cheese (I don’t allow the kids to use a grater but they can cut the cheese into tiny bits)
Guacamole (use your favorite recipe)
Lettuce (chopped or torn)
Sour cream
Rice (use your favorite yellow rice recipe or brown rice). My favorite is the the recipe on Natalia de Cuba’s blog, Hot, Cheap and Easy. She is a single mom, writer (author of Eating Your Way through Puerto Rico, travel and food articles and blogger) and educator who is quite handy in the kitchen and her five year old son is her sous chef.

Place all ingredients in small bowls and a plate with the taco shells. Let everyone fill their own taco and enjoy.

Pumpkin and spice cake, apple cider and snowy nights were on the mind of my contributing editor of SeasonedFork’s “baking corner”, as she dreams of her childhood home in New Suffolk from her current home on the sunny beaches of California during this holiday.

Recipe by Andrea Kevajian

These cupcakes are the perfect end to a cold winter night when served with a cup of hot spiced cider. They’re also wonderful as a breakfast treat when served with coffee (just call them muffins instead of cupcakes to ease the guilt).

Recipe
½ cup vegetable oil
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp ground ginger
½ tsp ground nutmeg
½ tsp salt
2 eggs, at room temperature
1 cup organic pumpkin purée (canned ok)
½ cup sugar
½ cup brown sugar
Maple Frosting (recipe follows)

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Place 12 muffin liners in a muffin tin.
In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and salt. In a larger bowl, whisk together the eggs, pumpkin, sugars, and oil. Add the dry ingredients and stir to combine.
Scoop the batter into the prepared tins. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely before frosting.

Maple Frosting
6 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
3 tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 tbsp pure maple syrup
½ tsp pure vanilla extract
2 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar
pinch salt
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the cream cheese, butter, maple syrup, and vanilla until smooth. With the mixer on low, add confectioners’ sugar and mix until smooth.