Bacon, Poached Egg, Asparagus and Brie Toast

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This recipe was created for the Mill City Farmers Market as a part of their Farmer’s Stories. It follows my previous post A Visit to the Shepherd’s Way Farm where I visited the Read’s family and their Shepherd’s Way Farm. I was beyond excited and honored to be able create something for my most beloved Minneapolis Farmers Market as the Mill City Farmers Market has been my place of joy, my community, and my source of amazing local foods and goods. It was a true pleasure for me to work with the Read’s family and their Shepherd’s Way Farm, and I hope you enjoy my story about them and this recipe.

The ingredients of this recipe celebrate both the abundance of the Shepard’s Way Farms and the Mill City Farmers market. Bread from Baker’s Field. Cheese, bacon and eggs from Shepard’s Way Farms – alternatively, eggs and bacon from Sunshine Harvest Farm. Asparagus from Bean Market, Prairie Hollow Farm or many of the other farmer’s stands at the market.

This recipe is so easy to make and it feels luxurious at the same time. The melted morel mushrooms brie over the crunchy toast compliments the lemony-roasted asparagus so well. And the smoky bacon and soft poach egg on top make the whole experience so decadent and worth savoring every bite.

Bacon, Poached Egg, Asparagus and Brie Toast

Makes 4 large toasts

Ingredients:

• 4-6 bacon slices
• 1 bunch of asparagus, ends trimmed
• 4 tablespoons of olive oil
• Salt and black pepper
• Juice of 1 lemon, divided
• 4 sourdough slices (such as Baker’s Field Table Bread)
• 1 large garlic clove, peeled and sliced in half
• 1 chunk of Shepherd's Way Farms Morcella cheese (or another brie-style cheese), sliced in 4 slices
• 4 eggs
• Fresh thyme leaves for topping

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400F

2. Place bacon on a foil-lined baking tray and bake for 9-10 minutes. Flip bacon slices over and bake for additional 2 minutes, or until lightly golden and crispy. Place cooked bacon on a paper towel-lined plate and set aside.

3. Increase oven temperature to 450F

4. On a baking sheet, toss the asparagus with 2 tablespoons of olive oil, salt and
   pepper. Transfer to the oven and roast for 15 minutes, or until asparagus edges are slightly browned. When done, pull the tray out the oven, pour half of the lemon juice over the asparagus and toss to evenly coat. Set the asparagus tray aside.

5. On a separate baking sheet, place the bread slices and lightly brush them with the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil. Transfer to the oven and bake for 5 minutes. Flip the bread slices over, with your fingers, rub the top of each toast with the garlic clove. You will see the cloves get smaller as the garlic is dispersed, pushed into the bread. Add a slice of brie to each toast, return to the oven and cook 5 more minutes or until the brie is melted. 

6. While the bread and asparagus are cooking, make the poached eggs. Heat a medium saucepan of water over low heat until just simmering. Add the remaining lemon juice, a couple of pinches of salt and use a wooden spoon to create a gentle whirlpool. Crack 1 egg into a small bowl and gently add to the water. Poach for 4-5 minutes or until the egg white is cooked and the yolk is still runny. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside. Repeat with the remaining eggs by heating the water up again until simmering after each egg.

7. To serve, top each toast with asparagus and bacon pieces torn in thirds. Add a poached egg, and sprinkle with fresh thyme, salt and pepper. Serve immediately.

A Visit to the Shepherd's Way Farm

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This article was written for the Mill City Farmers Market as a part of their Farmer’s Stories. I was beyond excited and honored to be able create something for my most beloved Minneapolis Farmers Market. Mill City Farmers Market has been my place of joy, my community, and my source of amazing local foods and goods. It was a true pleasure for me to work with the Read’s family and their Shepherd’s Way Farm, and I hope you enjoy my story and images.

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It takes a special person to be a farmer. It takes someone who can see and appreciate the wisdom and the beauty of nature. Someone who can see themselves as part of nature and not as the center of it. A person that can think creatively and use that creativity to share nature’s gifts with the world. Someone who is passionate and determined. And someone who chooses to see all the good things that come with the work, without denying the hardships and the challenges of the calling. It’s a balancing act of having one foot in reality and making smart business decisions, and another foot in passion and creativity – two opposite worlds that most of us find very challenging to balance.

Jodi and Steven Read from Shepherd’s Way Farms embody these qualities and live them out on a daily basis. Their passion for farming, their animals, and the cheese that Jodi makes is evident in everything they do – from how freely their animals roam in the open green fields, to the grass the sheep eat and the life they live. Everything on Shepherd’s Way Farms goes through the creative path of transformation. It starts with the air and land, back to the animals and the milk they give, all the way to Jodi – who like a magician transforms the milk to an amazing cheese, which in return with Steven’s marketing skills makes its way to our homes and tables. As the Read’s say: good milk makes good cheese. And good cheese is good for our bodies. 

The Read’s farming journey started in1994. They left their nine-to-five jobs and created a new life for themselves. Neither of them came from a family of farmers, or knew how to farm. They learned on the go as they fully dove into farming. The Reads started as milk farmers and out of necessity in the years to follow Jodi took the plunge of cheese-making. Talking to Jodi one can feel her passion and excitement for cheese-making. She has such a great sense of curiosity for learning, which combined with her creativity gives life to the Shepard’s Way Farm’s award-winning cheeses. 

Transforming milk to cheese is a process unknown to many of us, and it’s so fascinating to learn that what turns the same milk into different types of cheeses is a combination of many factors such as, temperature, size of curds, type of culture, different salting and aging processes. Change, add, or subtract one of the steps and you get different cheese. One can feel Jodi’s respect for the milk her sheep give, and when asked how often she attempts to make a new cheese she explains that “When I want to make a new cheese I go through extensive research beforehand. I don’t want to waste any milk by making a mistake. Even if I make a mistake, I want it to be an edible (by my family) mistake.” It is striking and humbling to see how Read’s respect and appreciation of nature’s gifts keeps being the guiding philosophy in everything they do, small or big.

The Read’s choose the farming life as a way to be close to nature and to witness the growth of their sons. Everyone is involved in helping with the family business as their three sons work around the farm or sell the cheese at Farmers markets. It is hard not to notice how much pride they have in the fabulous cheeses that Jodi makes. And Steven Read, as the other half of the Shepherd’s Way Farm, has been the balancing force between great farm products and smart business decisions. He has been the face at their stand at the Mill City Farmers market for many years, and it is hard not to notice how proud and passionate he is about all their farming goods. His passion is so contagious when talking to him it makes you want to buy all of the cheeses as well as their recent additions of chicken and duck eggs, honey and meats. 

To meet the Reads and chat about cheese and anything farming, stop at their stand at the Mill City Farmers market where you can find their full selection of farm goods. And if you want to experience their deliciousness in all its forms try the recipe in my next blog post which includes their seasonal Morcella Cheese, bacon, and eggs.

Fish Chowder with Wine and Bacon

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This is one of my favorite soups of all times. It’s so light and full of flavor, and I crave it on early spring days or cool summer evenings. It makes me think of lunches at small cafes at the Bulgarian seaside, or a well earned meal after hiking for two days in northern Minnesota. The beauty of this soup is that the fish is the star, and it is gently poached in the flavorful broth. I absolutely love the texture and the mild flavor of the Whitefish, and I think that it is the perfect fish for this soup. When cooked gentility in the broth, the Whitefish becomes buttery and velvety, and it’s such a wonderful compliment to the rest of the ingredients in the soup. 

I absolutely love Julia Child, and the original recipe of this fish soup is from her show “In Julia’s Kitchen With Master Chefs” with Jasper White. The original recipe was made with homemade fish stock. I modified several parts of the original recipe per my taste, and instead of homemade fish stock I used clam juice and water for the base of the soup. I found that calm juice flavors the broth just right, not too fishy or too bland compared to if you just used water. I do have to say that homemade fish stock would be absolutely wonderful for this soup, however I often find myself limited to the fish and the fish parts I can get at my local market, but this would never stop me from finding ways to make this beloved fish chowder even when limited by geographic location or ingredients..

Fish Chowder with Wine and Bacon

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 5 strips bacon
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 2 large russet potatoes, peeled and cut in 1/2-inch cubes (about 3-3.5 cups)
• 1/2 cup white wine (Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Grgio)
• 1 (8oz) bottle of clam juice
• 3 cups of water
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
• 2-3 bay leaves
• 1.5 pounds Whitefish (Pollock, Haddock, Sea Bass, or another white type fish works well too) skin removed
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• zest of one lemon
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 cup fresh parsley
• Salt
• Pepper
• Olive Oil  

Directions:

1. Chop the bacon in small pieces (about 1/4-inch). Heat 1tbs olive oil in a Dutch oven or a large pot, add the bacon and cook in until crispy by stirring from time to time so it doesn’t burn. Remove the cooked bacon with a slotted spoon, place on a paper towel-lined plate and set aside for later. Add the onion to your cooking pot with the leftover oil and bacon fat, and cook until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add potatoes and the wine, stir and cook for additional 1 minute to allow the alcohol to escape. Add the clam juice, 3 cups of water, bay leaf, thyme, 1 teaspoon salt and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer on low for about 20-30 minutes, or until the potatoes are soft. 

2. When potatoes are cooked, turn the heat off and remove the bay leaves. Cut the fish into large chunks (about 4-5 inches), do not worry the fish will break into smaller pieces when stirred around in the pot when cooked. The large chunks will prevent the fish from turning into a mush. Add the fish gently into the soup. Make sure the fish is nestled well and covered with liquid. Let it sit with heat off and undisturbed for 30 minutes. The hot liquid will gently cook the fish into a buttery, soft texture.  

3. After 30 minutes add the cream, lemon zest and lemon juice, and gently stir the pot. Taste and add more salt, pepper and lemon juice if needed. 

4. Ladle the soup into serving bowls, top with freshly chopped parsley and the reserved cooked bacon bits.  Enjoy!