Ile Flottante

School has started and I feel like a crazy person. I am driving kids to school, waiting for yellow buses and hauling an almost 30 pound baby every where I go. There is not a day that I don't have a mild back-ache from it all.

Since this new routine began, I have placed high expectations on myself to get my house in order too. So, with schedules and self-imposed chores I have had a lot to do. But, I am finding ways to procrastinate!

Each day that my husband comes home lately he is astonished at what I have been up to in the kitchen. In one day I cooked chili from scratch, marinara from scratch and a quiche all using veggies form the farm. I baked banana bread and chicken and dumplings all before mid-week. I think I am trying to avoid all those chores and instead have a little fun.

My latest adventure was a dessert called Ile Flottante, or floating islands. I knew it consisted of three things: crème anglaise, meringues and caramel. I knew how to make the crème anglaise from a cooking class I took a few years back. It is my husband's favorite thing! And, luckily, since this sauce requires egg yolks I had plenty of egg whites to whip up some meringues. Then, it got tricky. I had seen my mother-in-law poach the meringues so that they came out very light and soft. This is something I had not done before. So, I simmered some water, put the meringues gently in by the spoonful and let them cook about 10 minutes. Voila! I had the islands. Last, I boiled a cup of sugar and a cup of water together until I had a caramel sauce. I assembled my floating islands in a large bowl and waited for everything to cool. (when it was warm there was too much of an eggy taste)

The result was delicious! Everyone in my family gobbled up this dessert with its vanilla and caramel flavors, soft pillows of egg white and creamy sauce.

The Farm

This Summer we eagerly joined a local farm with a CSA program. It is called Honey Brook Organic Farm and it is located in the same town that we live in. Each Tuesday, since May, I have traveled to the beautiful farm, set against wooded hills, to pick up my produce. Spring harvest brought us lots of lettuce and greens. Summer brought tomatoes, peppers, basil, eggplants and squash. We also get herbs, some fruit and can pick flowers! Visit the farm's site to see all the produce and the harvest calendar.

Besides having a bounty of vegetables in the house I got to learn new recipes. I made sure to use up my produce each week, so I was determined to find ways to cook or use it. I learned how to make homemade tomato sauce and used that for pasta, eggplant Parmesan and even made chili with it. I finally made gazpacho which is a cold, Summer soup that my husband adores. I learned how to make a middle eastern dip called babaganoush with all of my eggplants. And, I made ratatouille. I also took a cooking class at Chamber's Walk and the chef highlighted recipes with the local, farm produce!

I am sure that all of the farm's gifts have kept us healthier this Summer. I know at the beginning of the season I was eating salads four times a week! We will be sure to join next season and have encouraged friends to do the same!

If friends are interested in joining I would recommend choosing the same picking days because going to the farm is truly an activity that could take the whole morning if you wish. There is not only the farm stand with veggies to pick up, but large fields of "pick your own." Some kids' toys and picnic tables are by the farm stand, so a picnic and play is also included.

We get to visit Honey Brook through the Fall until the frost. Then, we will hurry to join and eagerly await the Spring season again.