- 7 hours ago
Girl Meets Farm - Season 15 Episode 10 -
Beet Harvest Bake Off and Big Farm Lunch
Beet Harvest Bake Off and Big Farm Lunch
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00:00Baby, it's pretty good. Huge, eggy and fready bacon frittata focaccia sandwiches.
00:06They're the ultimate BFF. Get it? Because bacon frittata focaccia. With spicy kimchi
00:12mac and cheese on the side. This almost makes me want to sit on a tractor all
00:16night long harvesting beets. And super duper drinkable broccolini cannellini
00:21soup on the other side. Then for dessert I'm hosting a bake-off for the farmers.
00:28Mayan tree? Chocolate combine cookies filled with all the best sweet and
00:33salty snacks imaginable. Feed Harvest Bake Off, here I come.
00:38Look at these beauties. Hey, this is me, Molly A. This is my husband Nick. This is
00:45our growing family. And this is our farm on the North Dakota Minnesota border. The
00:50place where I eat, sleep and breathe food.
00:58It's beet harvest, so I am whipping up some fantastic farm lunches for Nick. And me, of
01:05course. But first I'm hosting a bake-off between the non-farmers in the workshop. And for that
01:10I am entering with my combine cookies, which are thick and chocolatey and filled with all
01:16of the tastiest bites of my kitchen sink dreams. I'm pretty sure I have this bake-off in the bag.
01:22I'll start by melting one cup of unsalted butter. I love starting chocolate chip cookies with melted
01:28butter because it yields a super dense chewy cookie, which I just love. I'm using a combination of one
01:35cup of light brown sugar and half a cup of granulated sugar. I'll pour in my melted butter and give it a
01:42whisk. Another thing that's nice about using melted butter as opposed to softened butter is that you don't
01:47have to get the stand mixer out. These can all come together in one bowl. I'll whisk this around to
01:52combine the butter and the sugar. And I also want the butter to cool a little bit more before I add
01:56the eggs. So I don't want to cook the eggs when I crack them in. I'm going to address the tractor in
02:01the room, which is that I'm calling these combine cookies because a combine is a big piece of farm
02:06machinery. But I'm still learning my farm equipment and you don't use a combine at all during the beet
02:13growing process. You use it for wheats. But I love alliteration, hence combine cookie. I wasn't going to call
02:19these beet lifter cookies. No one said these had to be accurate in name. They just have to be tasty. Butter and
02:26sugar are combined and I can feel on the outside of the bowl that the butter is no longer hot. So I'm going to
02:31crack in my eggs one at a time, whisking after each, just to allow the dough to come together in a nice
02:37cohesive manner. Butter and sugar smells so good. It's a shame that the beet fields don't actually
02:44smell like freshly baked cookies in the same way that wheat fields smells like pizza. All right,
02:49next a tablespoon of vanilla, which is quite a bit of vanilla, but I like adding an extra slash of
02:55vanilla whenever I'm making something chocolatey because vanilla really enhances chocolate. Then I'll
03:00add the dry ingredients right on top of the wet ingredients. Two cups of all-purpose flour. I'll sprinkle
03:05it all over the surface of the wet ingredients, which helps with even distribution of the dry
03:10ingredients. One and a quarter cups of Dutch processed cocoa powder. It has a bolder, richer flavor
03:15and color. So it's really representing the dirt in these cookies. One teaspoon each of baking powder
03:23and baking soda, which will help the cookies puff up while they're baking and then lead to a nice
03:27chewy texture. And whenever you're baking with baking soda, you need something acidic to react with it in
03:33order for it to do its thing. And there is a good amount of acidity in the molasses that's in brown
03:38sugar. So that's where your little science experiment is coming from. And lastly, one and a half teaspoons
03:44of kosher salt. This chocolate just tastes better with a little extra salt. Sort of like caramel in that
03:50way. Now, while all of the dry ingredients are sitting here on top of the wet ingredients, I'm going to give
03:55them a rough little whisk so that they can combine amongst themselves. And then I'll slowly incorporate
04:00them in with the wet ingredients. When the dough becomes too thick to whisk, I'll switch to a rubber
04:05spatula. When I first moved to the farm, I had all this time on my hands because Nick had these really
04:12long days harvesting. And so I just baked all day and it was awesome. And during harvest, it's perfect
04:18because there are extra farmers around, more mouths to feed. So I would put all of my baked goods on a table
04:24in the workshop for them to grab before a shift or after a shift. And I felt like I had a little pop-up
04:30bakery out there. And then a few years ago, my mother-in-law, Roxanne, and my mom, Jody, started adding
04:37their baked goods to my pop-up bakery. And I was like, what's going on? Why are you like encroaching on my
04:45thing? But I figured rather than be rude, I'll make it fun and do a blind bake-off. And in the words of Nick,
04:52give them a good old-fashioned shellacking. The dough is looking good and chocolatey. I'm ready
04:58for the mix-ins. A third of a cup of caramel bits, which are going to be these little sweet,
05:04chewy moments throughout the cookie. A third of a cup of chocolate-covered espresso beans because
05:09you need caffeine when you're harvesting for very long hours every day. And then some white chocolate
05:15chips, which are such a nice contrast to the chocolate cookie. Rainbow chips because they're cute
05:20and they're crunchy. And then peanut butter-filled pretzels. Nick keeps a bulk bit of these in the
05:27workshop at all times of the year. So I know that he loves these. He loves the espresso beans. He loves
05:32chocolate. I'm going to win this bake-off. I'm going to coarsely crush these with my hands as I add them
05:39in. I want some big bits because the combination of the pretzel, which is nice and crunchy, in the
05:47chewy cookie. It's such a great texture party. It's got everything but the confine. I'll just fold them
05:53all in. Honestly, even if I don't win, I feel like I'll be a winner when I eat these.
05:59I'm going to win. I have to win. I have to win. I've got two baking sheets lined on the bottom with
06:04parchment. I like a big cookie because you get more chewy center. And you do that by using a great big
06:11cookie scoop and then overfilling it. It looks great already. I'll flatten it slightly. And then
06:17I always like to see some of the mix-ins on top of the cookies. So I'll plug in some big bits of
06:23pretzel, a couple of pieces of white chocolate, and obviously rainbow chips. And then a little
06:31sprinkle of flaky salt will be sparkly and extra tasty. I'll keep on scooping and then bake at 350
06:38degrees for about 12 minutes until they're set around the edges, but still gooey in the center
06:43because no one ever complained about a gooey cookie.
06:54Holy chocolate peanut butter buckets. It smells so good in here. I'm going to check on my cookies.
06:59Oh yeah, baby. Well, they certainly look like first place cookies. Let me make sure that
07:08they taste like first place cookies. Going straight for the center.
07:15Mmm. Zoinks! That is the ultimate combination of sweet and salty and crunchy and chewy. Get ready,
07:23moms. Beet Harvest Bake Off. Here I come.
07:33Boy, this looks awesome.
07:37Mmm. It's pretty good. There's really no clear winner at this point. Okay, well, I feel like if I eat
07:41too many more of these, I might not be able to work my next shift, so.
07:45Must be a tough choice, huh, Nick?
07:47Mom made one of these.
07:48Oh.
07:49There's really no right answer.
07:53There's really no right answer.
07:57Every beet harvest gets around 10 lunches in total. I pack a ton of food into one
08:02backpack until all the sugar is harvested, and this side is one of my favorites to include.
08:08I am making kimchi mac and cheese. It's a one-pot, easy-cheesy mac that has the added bonus of kimchi,
08:16so it's spicy and fermenty, and the kimchi is such a great combination with the cheddar. Plus,
08:22it all comes together in the braiser. I'm not even gonna cook the noodles first.
08:26What? I'll start by adding a drizzle of oil to my pot here, and then I'll cook up my veggies. So I
08:33have my chopped kimchi here. Kimchi and cheddar cheese are like peanut butter and jelly. They go
08:38together so well. Also, a chopped onion, and I've got a few chopped scallions here. I'm just gonna add the
08:44white parts of the scallions first. They're tougher, so they need a little bit more time to cook
08:49down and soften, and then I'll reserve the scallion greens to add at the end. A good pinch of salt
08:54will help these cook down. I'll just allow these to soften for a few minutes. So kimchi is fermented
09:00veggies. Commonly, it's cabbage. It's spicy and so, so delicious. Think of it as sauerkraut's hot Korean
09:09cousin. It's just a great vegetable to have on hand because it can keep in the refrigerator for a
09:14really long time, and you can eat it right out of the jar. It's that good. A little bit of chopped
09:20garlic will boost the flavor. It enhances kimchi really nicely as well. I'll cook the garlic for
09:26just about a minute until I can start to smell it. I'm ready to add my pasta. I've got 12 ounces of
09:32cascatelle, which is a really fun shape that catches sauce really well, so I love it for mac and cheese.
09:38You can really use any small pasta here, though. I'll spread it out evenly,
09:41then pour in three cups of water, which is going to be just enough to come to the top of the pasta.
09:49Cooking the pasta in a small amount of water like this is great because you don't have to drain it.
09:53It also helps concentrate the starch that comes out of the pasta, and that's going to give you a nice,
09:58thick, creamy sauce. Can't forget to salt it a good few pinches or about a teaspoon of salt.
10:04I'll bring this to a boil and then reduce it to a simmer and allow it to cook until the pasta
10:09is just shy of al dente. Depending on the type of pasta, this could take anywhere between four
10:14and ten minutes. Harvest always starts at the beginning of October and then it goes for 24 hours
10:19a day, seven days a week, because it's crucial that they get the beets out of the ground before
10:24the ground freezes. So it's kind of got a little extra energy because everyone's just trying to get
10:30all those beets out of the ground. There are more people around the farm. It's a really exciting time,
10:35and this is just going to be the fuel that Nick needs to keep on going. The pasta has plumped up.
10:41I'm ready for the next step. I'll pour in a can of evaporated milk, which will be the base of the sauce.
10:47It's creamy and it's going to stay creamy. It's not going to separate like a typical milk out of the refrigerator.
10:54I'll sprinkle in a combination of sharp yellow cheddar and mozzarella tossed with some cornstarch,
11:00which is going to be one more insurance policy that this sauce is going to be creamy.
11:08Oh yeah, it's already getting stringy and cheese pull-y. This almost makes me want to sit on a
11:13tractor all night long harvesting beets. To finish this off, I'll stir in some kimchi brine for extra heat
11:20and pickle-iness. Black pepper and sliced scallions. This looks heavenly. The best part about packing farm
11:29lunch is that I get to nosh as I'm cooking. I'm so happy right now. Sprinkle with a few more scallions
11:40and then I like to season it with some furikake, which is toasted sesame seeds and seaweed. So it's
11:46crunchy and salty and has a little hint of sea flavor and it looks cool. Here I go.
12:01Yes, it's creamy and spicy and it's got that little bit of funk, which I'm obsessed with.
12:08All right, I'll pack this up and keep it warm and spicy for my warm and spicy farmer.
12:16A key element of driving for this farm is baked goods. It probably makes up for getting stuck in
12:25the truck a few times. This first shift sort of like numbs the pain of that.
12:36For the big bready star of my big farmer's lunch, I am making my bacon frittata focaccia sandwiches.
12:44They are giant, satisfying and melty and you construct them like a layer cake but with bacon,
12:51egg and cheese as the layers.
12:54They're the ultimate BFF. Get it? Because bacon frittata focaccia. BFF. Okay.
13:01I'm starting by cooking up my veggies. I'm using sliced zucchini and onion. I'm cooking these over medium
13:07high for about 7 to 10 minutes. It is important to cook the zucchini first before adding it to a frittata
13:13because zucchini has so much moisture. You don't want that moisture making the eggs soggy. No soggy eggs
13:19here. I'll season it with salt and pepper. And then grab some cheese and my pan. I'm gonna bake the frittata
13:28in a big casserole pan like this which is the exact same size as my focaccia and it's gonna bake up into
13:35a perfectly even layer of egg. To prepare the pan, I've greased it and then lined it with parchment
13:41and the grease acts as a glue for the parchment so that the egg doesn't sneak under it. And then the
13:45parchment will help to get it out of the pan. All right. I'll scatter the veggies all over the bottom
13:50of the pan. You can really use any veggies with a frittata like this. I love spinach, kale, scallions or
13:57leeks are really nice. I'll sprinkle on some cheddar cheese for that nice creamy richness. For my egg
14:05mixture, I've got eight large eggs which I'll combine with three quarters of a cup of whole milk
14:10and half a cup of heavy cream which will help protect against overcooking the frittata. A teaspoon of
14:16kosher salt, some black pepper, and a little heat to keep Nick on his toes. And I'll whisk until it's smooth.
14:26This is inspired by those six-foot party sub sandwiches that used to be at birthday parties but
14:33in slab focaccia form. I always wanted them when I was little and I never got one. Make it up for it now.
14:40This is smooth. I'll pour this evenly all over the veggies and the cheese.
14:48I'll get this into the oven at 400 degrees for about 25 minutes now until it's lightly browned
14:53on top and just set. I'm getting so excited.
14:58I have an egg-ceptionally good feeling about this frittata.
15:04Ooh. Oh yeah. She cute. I also have some bacon that I just crisped up in the
15:10oven. I'm ready to assemble. I've got my focaccia which I'd love for its crisp exterior and bubbly
15:16interior. And it's a pretty fuzz-free bread. Mix together bread flour, instant yeast, sugar to feed
15:22it, salt, olive oil, and water. Then knead until it's smooth but still quite sticky. Put a nine by 13
15:31inch pan with oil. Plop in the dough. Let it rise until it's doubled. Add some more oil to get that rich
15:37flavor and crisp crust. Pat it into the edges and dimple. Rise and dimple again. A final rise to
15:44achieve those signature focaccia bubbles. Add flaky salt and then bake at 425 degrees for 25 minutes.
15:52You can totally make this the day before or if you just wanted to go store-bought, use a pack of
15:57Hawaiian rolls. I'll use my serrated knife and gently saw it across using the edges of the pan as my guide.
16:03So it's almost as if I'm leveling a cake. Oh yeah. Perfection. And now this is the fun part,
16:12I'll just stack it up with the frittata. Say a little prayer.
16:19She sticks the landing. Like peeling off a sticker. I'll quickly layer on the cheese because the heat of
16:25the frittata will melt it. And come on, you gotta use American cheese with a BEC.
16:32And the bacon. This is a perfect party sandwich or for a bunch of hungry farmers because they're easy
16:38to make a lot of at once. If you wanted to prep any of this a day in advance, you could absolutely do
16:43that. You could make the focaccia and prep the frittata and then just warm it in the oven for a few minutes.
16:48I'm excited about this. One giant breakfast sandwich. Oh yeah. I'll cut it in half.
17:01I'm so ready for this cross section. Look at these layers. Now each of these halves will get cut in
17:09half and then each of those strips will get cut into three. So you get perfectly sized sandwiches.
17:13She is beauty. She is grace. She's going right into my face after a dollop of ketchup.
17:29That is the perfect ratio of bacon to egg to cheese to bread. This is truly a best friend forever.
17:37Oh boy. You know I'm going to catch heck if Molly doesn't win though.
17:46Yo, try to throw me a solid here, please. For a second side that's sure to make lunch even more
17:52comforting, I am making my broccolini cannellini soup. It's as fun to eat as it is to say. It's super
18:00hearty and creamy from beans and a spud, not cream. So it's actually pretty good for you. And I just
18:06whizz everything up into a slurpable consistency so there is no spoon necessary. I've got an onion
18:13and garlic and crushed red pepper just cooking down here in my pot. And I've coarsely chopped 12
18:19ounces of broccolini, which I love because it has got a slightly milder flavor than broccoli. And it
18:26just goes so nicely in a blended soup like this. Next, one chopped russet potato that I didn't even peel
18:33because the peel has so much nutrients. Who has time to peel? And then a can of cannellini beans.
18:39We'll bulk this up add some protein and of course contribute more creaminess. Six cups of low sodium
18:45chicken stock. You could of course also use veggie stock. A couple of good pinches of salt and some
18:50black pepper is really nice with this. A parmesan rind is going to infuse this soup with great depth and
18:57umami. I'll bring it to a boil. So the two ways that Bernie and Ira will reliably eat vegetables
19:04is through air fried broccoli or through green smoothies. So I'm going to try to build this soup
19:10to them as a hot broccolini smoothie. That sounds way grosser when I say it out loud.
19:18We'll see. It's just really nice when Bernie and Ira eat the same meal that I make for Nick for his farm
19:23lunch. I'll reduce this to a simmer, cover it up and allow this to cook for about 20 to 30 minutes
19:29just until a fork pokes easily into a potato. Then remove the parm rind and immersion blend until smooth.
19:37You could do this in your blender too. To finish off this soup, I'll squeeze in some fresh lemon juice
19:42which is crucial for flavor just balancing everything out. That acidity makes broccolini just shine.
19:48And then a sprinkle of shredded parmesan. You've got to have cheese with a broccolini soup. A ladle into
19:55mugs. This looks awesome. I would much rather drink a mug of soup than a mug of hot chocolate or coffee.
20:03A drizzle of olive oil adds pretty swizzles on top and just tastes really good. Like fancy restaurant
20:10but on a tractor. A pinch of flaky salt. Cheers. Oh yeah, that just explodes with flavor.
20:23You can really taste the broccolini in there and I feel so cozy right now. Okay, I'm gonna go pack up
20:29a few lunches and then jump on a beat lifter with Nick. How's it going? Good. I brought you lunch. Perfect.
20:39Have you been by the shop yet? Who's in the lead? As a delegate of the Sugar Bee Growers Association,
20:45I declare you the winner of this year's Sugar Bee Harvest Bake Off. Take that, Roxanne and Jody.
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