Hello, Pumpkin!

We’ve been settling into our routines at Chez Kim-Martin: Romaine is milking cows a couple of early mornings each week, Gaston eagerly awaits his new best friend Gary, the mailman who gives him a treat for a high five (Gaston’s best, and perhaps only, trick), and I’ve been writing in my office, taking breaks to do little tasks, make a snack, or admire the delicate purple asters of our sauvage garden and the gold and crimson foliage of Vermont. 

Though we have an unending list of things to do around the house, Romaine and I are steadily making progress in making this cottage our home. This week, our dear friend Alain installed our kitchen lighting, which gives our kitchen a soft, warm glow rather than the jarring exposed light bulbs we had before.

Since we’re moving at a more sustainable pace, Romaine and I are spending more time cooking in our kitchen. I love that we’re about to start our third winter here. Because we’ve spent the last two years building our community, we can spend more time deepening our relationships—joking freely, laughing harder, being vulnerable, and feeling safe to be our whole outrageous selves. 

Each time we invite our friends over, Romaine and I learn a little more about how we want to use our new space, what the flow of our meals should look like, and how to move around each other and share space in our kitchen. I’m trying to figure out how to streamline our cleanup routine. Each time we host, I learn something and make tweaks here and there to make the experience more enjoyable for our guests and, of course, for us hosts. 

This month, I want to share a quick guide about the farm stands and shops I like to visit in my corner of the state. If you live locally, are visiting leaf peepers, or are curious about how to support your local food system, I’ve linked it below. 

I’m also curious about if there are any vegetables and foods you’re wondering about. Romaine and I chatted about winter squash as we admired some beauties at a farm stand. He mentioned it could be daunting to encounter some of these foods in their unprocessed or natural state. Until recently, he was intimidated by cooking winter squash. I agree. Without exposure or education, foods in their natural states can be inaccessible. You might wonder: How do you cut it open? Can you eat the skin? What about the seeds? How do you cook with them? Are there any foods you’d like to explore or learn more about? Let me know what you’re curious about by replying to this email. 

I hope you have a gorgeous weekend!

Warmly, 

Jen

Moments of Everyday Opulence

Small things that make my day to day feel more luxurious

Freezing half of my meal for later—Sometimes, I cook larger meals so there is enough food to freeze for a future meal when we’re too tired to cook. 

I made a chicken salad at the beginning of last week to eat on top of greens, with bread or crackers, or in a lettuce wrap for quick weekday lunches. I love to cook my chicken sous vide like Kenji does - 155 degrees for an hour. I season my chicken salad with my heart (or whatever is in my fridge/pantry). There is so much room for creativity in seasoning chicken salad. If you’re a vegetarian or vegan, you can make a chickpea and tofu salad with a can of chickpeas, vegan mayo, and drained, crumbled, firm tofu. 

Apples! I just started a jar of lacto-fermented apple cheong (syrup). These will take longer to ferment than the plums that is traditionally used; likely a five-month process instead of 100 days. Here is a piece I wrote about the technique with a recipe for cheong, a Korean preservation method.

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