The Rustic Kitchen

Unfinished harvest: black walnuts

Pinecone Meadow Farm has a stand of black walnut trees in the "way back." I view my plot in three parts. In the front are the maple trees. In the back is the back yard and the vegetable garden. In the way back is essentially tundra. No, I should rephrase. That's the meadow part of Pinecone Meadow. It's suffered from benign neglect, but at some point a forward-thinking farmer decided to plant a row of black walnut trees.

I learned that black walnuts engage in an interesting form of chemical warfare by sending toxins through their roots that kill other plants, including tomatoes. Since I harvested about a hundred pounds of tomatoes this season, I'm guessing they were planted far enough away. All clear for now.

And black walnuts also are a delicious food, with a bit more of a forward flavor that regular walnuts. And now I know why they're so pricey at the store. Because it's all but impossible to get the bloody things open. My cousins Vicki and Sue harvested some, staining their fingers along the way. And months later I still have shelled nuts calling out to be enjoyed. I envision a walnut tart lovingly removed from the oven, an embellishment for my signature granola, spiced and caramelized for little hostess gifts.

Instead, they sit in their bowl, impervious to hammers and plyers and any other tool I can think to try. Now I've resolved to send my request to the universe so that someone can help me enjoy them at last. OK, universe, your turn.

Rustic Kitchen FAQs

Answers to a few questions I often get:

Tell me about the Rustic Kitchen.
I opened my Chicago-based cooking school when I realized that my friends were reluctant to come over for dinner for fear they’d feel obligated to reciprocate. I was an avid home cook, had worked on projects with star cooks (even visited Julia Child’s kitchen) and studied at the Culinary Institute of America’s Greystone campus in Napa. I started teaching private groups in my Chicago kitchen under the premise that delicious, inviting food doesn’t have to be fancy or complicated. Thus the name Rustic Kitchen – nothing about it implies white tablecloths and tall food, just simple, grandma-style cooking. After several years I also began working with a large public relations agency with clients who like to reach home cooks and occasionally need recipes.

And in early 2007 I bought a 3½ -acre farm in southwest Michigan with an eye on growing my own vegetables and giving people a cooking-in-the-country experience. But that will be after the kitchen spiff-up -- the farmhouse dates to 1881. It’s lovingly called Pine Cone Meadow Farm.

How to I schedule a cooking class?
My classes are on hold until the kitchen remodeling is complete. If you’d like to be added to my e-list for updates on future classes in Chicago or southwest Michigan, please sign up at rustickitchen.com.

How did your Michigan place get the name Pine Cone Meadow Farm?
The previous owners might have been overwhelmed, or maybe just a little lazy, because the lawn was almost entirely meadow. While I’m a big environmentalist, I wanted some room to garden and sit in my red Adirondack chair, so I wanted to clear some of the meadow. After Rick the lawn guy introduced me to the glories of a machine called a Brush Hog, I learned that a regular mower was not up to the pine cones. Rick now has a regular gig keeping the meadow and pine cones in check. My cousin Vicki gets credit for the name.

What if I want my own little farm that needs a lotta work?
Make sure your neighbor is a master carpenter. Kurt came to plow the driveway and since then has done two bathrooms, one beat up shed, a staircase and one spiffy lattice fence around the vegetable garden.

Isn’t there a restaurant called the Rustic Kitchen?
Indeed, there are three Rustic Kitchen restaurants in Boston. I had the name first, which is why I own the RusticKitchen.com domain. But it seems like a lot of work to insist that they change the names of the restaurants, and I’ve set up my e-mail to reject the messages requesting their reservation line. I’ve decided to embrace the idea that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

Rustic Kitchen, writing and recipes fresh from the farmstand

Over the course of a single day, three people asked me for my blog address.  Hmmm.  Note to self:  start a blog.  I had been thinking about it for some time, but having a deep-seated fear of commitment I was reluctant to start something I might not stick with. Between writing, cooking and basking in the glow of a place I call Pine Cone Meadow Farm, not to mention keeping my day job happy, I didn’t want to add one more thing. 

But the time has come. This past year I bought the little weekend farm, enlisted friends and family to paint most of the rooms, recruited my neighbor to put his carpentry skills to good use on bathrooms and shed, and carved out time to make friends with chefs and growers, who helped make Pine Cone Meadow a desirable food stopover, even if I made people work for their supper.

I feel like I’m starting this blog mid-adventure, but I know there will always be lots to eat and drink (and plant and harvest). So I’ll talk about my infatuation with food and farmers, and maybe keep my head straight about my ever-growing to-do list.