![Finding My Way Back to the Kitchen](https://millertonnews.com/media-library/a-tomato-and-bacon-jam-is-easy-to-make-and-makes-a-nicely-contrasting-accompaniment-to-fritters.jpg?id=48216466&width=980&quality=90)
A tomato and bacon jam is easy to make and makes a nicely contrasting accompaniment to fritters.
Photo by Cynthia Hochswender
Two days ago I put my apron on again, after a month of ignoring it. It’s not that I hadn’t cooked; it’s more that I’d done it in a somnolent state, not really paying close enough attention to realize I needed protective gear.
The garden is a harsh mistress and doesn’t really care what else is happening in your life. The zucchini need to be picked when they’re ready, before they grow large enough to be baseball bats. The tomatoes will explode if you ignore them. The corn will only show up on tables at the farm markets for a few short precious weeks.
And so it’s time to pay attention, and to collect all those ingredients and return to the kitchen and to life.
This recipe for fritters is unremarkable, you can find similar sets of instructions in any cookbook and of course online.
What’s different is the quantity. Like many people in the world (old and young), I am now cooking for just a single person: myself. Most recipes serve at least four, so this is an exercise in finding foods that are happy if you give them all your attention and cook just a small portion.
Usually, to be honest, I don’t measure much, especially with a homespun recipe like this. But I knew I would be sharing this recipe — if not the finished dish — with you readers, so … I measured. You’re welcome. But feel free to monkey around with the quantities. Want more green? Use more zucchini and less potato. Hate the potato thing? Leave the potatoes out. Cooking for 10? Just multiply the quantities. It will all be OK.
For a person dining alone, this is a filling meal and the perfect companion to a tomato salad. Or you can sautée some diced onions and add some cherry tomatoes, then cook it all down over low heat into a jam. Add garlic and diced peppers if you like more heat.
To create the julienne sticks of zucchini and potato, I used a mandoline, which seems like a fussy luxury until you have to make zucchini julienne sticks or until you want to make super thin cucumber or potato slices.
I bought mine on Amazon.com; it is called the PL8 Gourmet Slicer and you can buy one for $43. I store it in its box, which is about 15 inches long by 5 inches wide and 4 inches deep (small and easy to tuck into a corner of the pantry).
Be sure to use the safety accessory; the blades are extremely sharp.
Zucchini Fritters
Enough for one serving
One ear of corn, 1 cup of julienned Yukon Gold potato (lightly packed), 1 cup of julienned zucchini, 2 eggs, 1/8 cup sour cream, 1/2 cup all purpose flour, 1/2 cup chopped basil, 1/4 cup chopped scallions, 8 cracks of fresh black pepper, 2 teaspoons of coarse kosher salt, 1 teaspoon of curry powder
This recipe assumes that you have cooked corn left over from yesterday’s dinner or lunch. Scrape the kernels off the ear.
Julienne the potato (you’ll want about half of a large Yukon Gold) and the zucchini (about a third of a big old baseball bat). Blanche the potatoes in boiling water for about 5 minutes (if this seems too hard, just leave the potatoes out).
In a medium bowl, beat together the two eggs and the sour cream. Add the flour and beat it in until you have a fairly smooth batter.
Drop the julienned veggies into the batter and add in the basil and scallion (about one long scallion stalk — I usually just cut them into small bite-sized pieces with a clean pair of kitchen scissors; so much easier than chopping with a knife). Add the pepper, salt and curry powder and stir it all up.
Heat up a griddle or cast iron pan — although really a nonstick pan will work fine, too, since you will be cooking this over low to medium-low heat. If these were regular breakfast pancakes, you’d cook them faster and over higher heat. But you want the zucchini to cook, so … use low to medium-low heat.
I like to use butter with my fritters, but you can use whatever you like, including nothing if you’re working with a nonstick pan.
When the griddle is hot, scoop a large spoonful of vegetable-filled batter onto the hot surface and pat it down so it’s somewhat flat. You’ll want to cook each side for about 3 to 5 minutes.
You can eat them as I do, standing over the sink with my fingers. Or you can serve them on plates with tomato jam, or a white dairy such as sour cream, creme fraiche or Greek yogurt. Sprinkle more herbs on top. Do whatever you want. This one’s for you.
AMENIA — A number of projects achieved forward momentum at the regular meeting of the Town Board on Thursday, August 1, whether by unanimous vote of approval or by report and discussion.
The project to construct a new town garage saw unanimous approval of a resolution to use the services of Hudson Cultural Services to complete an archeological and environmental study of the intended Lakeville Road garage site. Eight bids were received. The Town Board agreed to award the contract to Hudson Services, the lowest bidder, at $5,620.
The area to be studied measures 5 acres, but the focus will be on the area to be disturbed by the construction of the town garage and salt storage shed to determine environmental impact. The archeological phase of testing will dig test pits to determine presence of artifacts that if found, will be sent for laboratory testing and dating.
Also important to the town garage project was the opening of the six bids received from engineering firms hoping to be selected to complete the design phase. Copies of the bid packets were distributed to board members for their review and future discussion.
Architect Tracy Salladay presented her plans for renovations to improve the function of the Beekman Park Pavilion, under consideration since December 2023. Finding the present covered seating area to be adequate in size, Salladay suggested improved lighting and perhaps enclosing the seating area.
Options that would affect the cost of changes to the food preparation area are driven by whether the kitchen will prepare food on site or offer prepared foods that are pre-packaged.
To gain kitchen space, Salladay suggested closing one of the two concession windows.
The restrooms and equipment storage room would need significant changes. Plumbing does not meet current code requirements, Salladay said.
For the building’s exterior, Salladay recommended replacing the current vinyl siding on the gables with corrugated metal.
To councilwoman Rosanna Hamm’s question about who would be expected to use the renovated pavilion, Recreation Director Katie Sterk-Grassi replied that it would be used by the soccer and baseball programs, with those programs paying fees for use. She pointed out the importance to the community of vital recreation programs.
Summarizing responses to a recent survey he had created to measure residents’ impressions of the town’s official website, finance director Charlie Miller told the Town Board that comments have been coming in over the past two years.
There were 67 responses to the on-line questionnaire, with 45% of respondents indicating that they visit the town website at least once a week. 76% of those responding said that they use the town’s events calendar. 91% of users said that they experience difficulty in using the current site, with 50% finding it hard to navigate. 82% said that they would be likely to sign up if the town offered an alerts/announcements feature.
In general local people want an easy search function, emergency notices, and a simplified menu. Some asked for summaries of current projects and a more detailed calendar of events.
The next step, Miller said, would be for him to create a “scope of work,” an outline of the skeletal framework and then to obtain quotes from vendors.
Miller said that it will be important to select the vendor in the next 60 days before the present contract with Dutchess County, the current provider, expires.
“If we had a better website, we could reach a wider audience,” Town Supervisor Leo Blackman observed.
Presenting a brief report on options for a new Town of Amenia Town Hall sign, Miller reviewed alternative design options for a new LED electronic sign to be placed close to Route 22 just south of the Town Hall driveway near the southern parking lot.
The sign itself with installation would be estimated to cost between $39,000 and $45,000, depending on the size variables and desired resolution. The LED electronic component would allow for messages to be posted on the sign, including upcoming meetings.
Noting that funding is already in place for the needed engineering study, Miller said that funds for the engineering aspect are already in place in the town’s engineering budget.
The 6th annual Harlem Valley flamenco festival visited Millbrook winery Friday, Aug. 2. Peter Basil, left, Ricardo Sanchez, center, and Hector Marquez, right, performed flamenco music on their guitars and drums while visitors drank wine and ate oysters. Creative Director Anna Librada said the Flamenco Fest’s next event is September in Hyde Park.
AMENIA — Families of any size who are seeking to introduce a bit of fun into their summer memories are invited to attend the annual Family Fun Night to be held at Beekman Park on Thursday, August 15, between 5 and 7 p.m.
The event is sponsored by the Amenia Recreation Department and the Amenia Free Library. Admission, as always, is free.
A variety of activities will include face painting, The Bubble Bus, an ice cream truck, bounce houses, fire trucks and a great chance to visit with friends and neighbors while the children are occupied. Food will be available for purchase from Webutuck Little League volunteers.
For more information, phone 845-373-8273 or go to www.ameniany.myrec.com
AMENIA — By an official unanimous vote, the Town Board passed a resolution formally accepting the historic gift of Wassaic’s restored twin charcoal kilns on Deep Hollow Road at their meeting on Thursday, August 1. The gift preserves an important part of Amenia’s history for the benefit of present and future generations.
The beehive wood-fired kilns, located near the intersection of Route 22 and Deep Hollow Road, were built around 1825 to serve the thriving iron industry. The massive stone kilns have been painstakingly restored to their original condition by Bernie Leighton, and once restored, were offered to the town as a gift from the present owner, Alan Shope.
Situated on a fenced parcel measuring slightly less than one-third of an acre, the kilns stand as monument to the dawn of the industrial revolution, creating charcoal to fire the Reed, Gridley and Co. iron works furnaces in operation until the 1920s.
Information about the kilns, published on the town website, indicates that three weeks of slow burning was essential to create Sulphur-free charcoal, Sulphur being harmful to iron.
For more information about the kilns, go to www.ameniany.gov or contact the Amenia Historical Society.