Jessica Robinson - A Farmgirls Table

A Farmgirl's Table

Jessica Robinson

Photographs by Jessica Robinson

A Farmgirl's Table

Digital Edition 1.0

Text 2017 Jessica Robinson

Photographs 2017 photographer

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced by any means whatsoever without written permission from the publisher, except brief portions quoted for purpose of review.

Gibbs Smith

P.O. Box 667

Layton, Utah 84041

Orders: 1.800.835.4993

www.gibbs-smith.com

ISBN: 9781423642190

To my parents. If it were not for the rural upbringing they provided, I would not be where I am today.

N ot everyone is fortunate enough to grow up on a farm, but everyone can cook as if they did. My cookbook was forged for anyone who has the spirit of farm-fresh cooking inside them. Its for moms and dads who incorporate heirloom tomatoes into the flower garden, and its for the home bakers who are always looking for the perfect baking pan to complete their collection. Its for the suburban farmer with an oversized plot of land she cultivates and the urbanite who simply grows a few tomatoes and a bit of basil on his back patio. Even if youre not blessed with a green thumb, these recipes will inspire you to seek out the freshest ingredients at farmers markets and vegetable stands. Entice your family and friends with the savory aromas of homemade .

This book will help you cook your way through each season and celebration with confidence. Ill share some of my tips with you, including ones for planning an outdoor summer barbeque thats easy and fun (see . I learned through running a floral design company for over seventeen years that its all in the details. Just a few touches can add to the enjoyment of a meal by offering a beautiful environment. Gathering loose blooms, herbs, and berries from your garden or utilizing seasonal fruits and vegetables adds texture to your backyard soires while preserving a feeling of simplicity.

Im an old-fashioned farm-taught home cook who learned how to make almost everything from scratch. My talented parents taught me how to make fruit roll-ups, sauces, jams, pastries, cakes, candies, and confections. On an average day, youll find me with my strawberry-blonde hair pulled through a pink camouflage ball cap and work boots laced up, working in the garden, canning up a batch of jam, or riding my horse, Lola.

This life is the life I was born to and adore. I grew up on a small Connecticut farm where my parents raised hogs and produced pure maple syrup and other confections. I still remember the sweet, sugary-smelling steam that escaped from the sugarhouse cupola doors as we processed sap. The beautiful end result was bottle after bottle of amber syrup that lined the windowsill. When my parents added a commercial kitchen, my mother crafted custom wedding cakes along with other maple confections. That kitchen became my farmgirl playground, where I developed many of the recipes in this book. I have fond memories of meals my parents and I shared around a worn butcher-block table in the sugarhouse during sugaring season, when my dad would work late into the night boiling sap. I hope my book will help you build warm family memories too.

My family had a whirlwind arrival in North Carolina after my husband got a new job. To tell you the truth, we jumped first and thought about it later. After three years, Ive never had a moments regret. Ive made incredible friends who have become family. People take care of one another in the rural farming community where I live, much in the same way that my husband and I were raised. When my husband is out of town, my neighbor Mr. Slaughter checks up on me and my boys. In return, I plant tomatoes near the front of the house, so as he walks home, he can pick and enjoy. I also keep him well fed with homemade desserts, and lend a helping hand when he needs it.

Fortunately, my children carry the farming gene. They help plant lettuce, cucumbers, beans, squash, and tomatoes in early spring, weed as the summer goes on, and harvest when ready. My husband revived a secondhand rototiller that I use to cultivate the soil. As I walk the rows, I visualize my dad rototilling our garden back on the family farm. Nothing is more rewarding to me than planting tiny seeds, watching them emerge from the warm, rich soil, and seeing them grow into a vegetable or fruit. My children are discovering that same satisfaction.

My husband and I are rearing our children in very much the same way our parents did us. Teaching them that hard work, long days, and much effort go into every successful task. They help muck out horse stalls, mend fences, and haul hay in from the fields before it rains. Weekly trips to sell goods at the farmers market are a beloved ritual, a social gathering of friends and family. I rise before the sun comes up, packing homemade goodies such as for sale. Each week, I offer a different selection that I hope will keep customers coming back. Our eldest son, Camden, helps. Hes learning how to count money backwards, provide pleasant customer service, and about food safety and marketing. I learned many of the same things working with my parents in my early farm life. It gives me great joy to see the cycle continuing, and to share the flavor and love of my farm life through this book.

Just as the cycle of farm life continues in our family, whats old is new and trending again in the wider worldsimpler ways of living, hanging laundry on a clothesline outside, limiting technology, and making meals together as a family. I hope this cookbook will inspire you to prepare farm-fresh home-cooked meals with your own family. Im fortunate to have recipes for my mothers cakes and breads, such as , plus those of my grandmothers and some family friends. Im delighted to share them with you, along with those I developed in my Carolina kitchen. Home-cooked meals like these bring families and communities togetherback around the kitchen table with device-free conversation. Simple dishes using farm-fresh eggs, locally grown produce, and ingredients you have in the pantry are the ones I love best. Maybe youll plant a few additional heirloom tomato varieties this season, make homemade marinara sauce, and can it for the first time. Or maybe youll try your hand at making sourdough bread served with a jar of your own berry jam. Whatever you do, have fun and enjoy the time with family and friends sharing wholesome, simple dishes.

F rench-Canadian and Polish farming roots are strong in our family. When I was growing up, meals featured heirloom recipesespecially baked goodsthat had been passed down many generations on handwritten recipe cards. Some of the recipes were written in French and had been translated. But the message of their flavors was universal: The joy of family and friends gathered around the kitchen table for a home-cooked meal. Deep rural history was etched into those handwritten recipes. Much of my own recipe development is inspired by the many handwritten recipes that have been passed down by multiple generations.