Ratatouille

The other night I made Ratatouille "the right way". Julia Child describes it in such a complicated method, I never thought I'd bother with it. Generally, I like to cook with one or a few pans in the fewest steps. I was drawn in by Julia Child's description of the recipe, "Ratatouille perfumes the kitchen with the essence of Provence and is certainly one of the great Mediterranean dishes."

With a whole evening available, time wasn't a concern, and that's a good thing since it took me nearly two hours.

But the result was absolutely devine. Certainly worth the effort!

Along the theme of dinner, I rented the movie Ratatouille. Such a great foodie movie.

My only change to the recipe was that instead of peeling the tomatoes and dicing the pulp, I cut the whole tomatoes into chunks, then pureed them. I can't bring myself to throw away any part of these gorgeous heirloom tomatoes I've been getting from the farm. The eggplant took a bit more than 1 minute per side, perhaps because I cut them a little thicker than called for.

I served it on top of whole grain pasta.

Julia Child's Ratatouille

1 eggplant and 1 zucchini (of similar sizes)
1 teaspoon salt
A 10- to 12-inch enameled skillet
4 tablespoons olive oil, more if needed
1/2 pound (about 1 1/2 cups) thinly sliced yellow onions
2 (about 1 cup) sliced green bell peppers
2 to 3 tablespoons olive oil, if necessary
2 or 3 cloves mashed garlic
Salt and pepper to taste
1 pound firm, ripe, red tomatoes, peeled, seeded and juiced (makes 1 1/2 cups pulp)
Salt and pepper
A 2 1/2 quart fireproof casserole about 2 1/2 inches deep
3 tablespoons minced parsley
Salt and pepper

Peel the eggplant and cut into lengthwise slices 3/8 inch thick, about 3 inches long and 1 inch wide. Scrub the zucchini, slice off the two ends and cut the zucchini into slices about the same size as the eggplant slices. Place the vegetables in a bowl and toss with the salt. Let stand for 30 minutes. Drain. Dry each slice in a towel.

One layer at a time, saute the eggplant and then the zucchini in hot olive oil in the skillet for about a minute on each side to brown very lightly. Remove to a side dish.

In the same skillet, cook the onions and peppers slowly in olive oil for about 10 minutes, or until tender but not browned. Stir in the garlic and season to taste.

Slice the tomato pulp into 3/8-inch strips. Lay them over the onions and peppers. Season with salt and pepper. Cover the skillet and cook over low heat for 5 minutes, or until tomatoes have begun to render their juice. Uncover, baste the tomatoes with the juices, raise heat and boil for several minutes, until juice has almost entirely evaporated.

Place a third of the tomato mixture in the bottom of the casserole and sprinkle over it 1 tablespoon of the parsley. Arrange half of the eggplant and zucchini on top, then half the remaining tomatoes and parsley. Put in the rest of the eggplant and zucchini and finish with the remaining tomatoes and parsley.

Cover the casserole and simmer over low heat for 10 minutes. Uncover, tip casserole and baste with the rendered juices. Correct seasoning, if necessary. Raise heat slightly and cook uncovered for about 15 minutes more, basting several times, until juices have evaporated leaving a spoonful or two of flavored olive oil. Be careful of your heat; do not let the vegetables scorch in the bottom of the casserole.

Set aside uncovered. Reheat slowly at serving time or serve cold.

Pototo Leek Soup

The same night I made Ratatouille and watched the movie, I also made a soup to use for lunches. I made a recipe that was included with the farm's newsletter. It was Potato Leek Soup.

In the movie, Linguini messes up a soup in the kitchen and Remy the rat helps him fix it. Ironically, the fragrant soup he makes that gets rave reviews is...drumroll please...potato leek soup! What a coincidence.

I followed Julia Child's recipe, since that was the one on the newsletter (another strange coincidence of recipes). The one I include here is Remy's recipe. The two recipes are very similar, but the rat's includes more herbs. I did not bother with the chive oil, though I did add chives. A drop of olive oil in the pan prevents the butter from burning.


Remy's Potato Leek Soup

4 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 large leeks
2 large russet potatoes
5 cups chicken stock
Bouquet garni (recipe below)
1/2 cup cream
Chive oil (recipe below)
1/4 cup finely minced chives
Coarse salt, ground black pepper

Top the leeks, leaving some of the pale green, and remove the root. Slice lengthwise in half, and then slice each half crosswise into 1/4-inch slices. Immerse leeks in bowl of cold water, repeating until no sand remains, lifting leeks from one bowl to another with hands so you don't transfer sand. Melt butter in heavy saucepan over medium low heat, add leeks and sauté for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally so leeks do not brown. Cut potatoes into rough 1-inch dice and add to leeks.

Add chicken stock and bouquet garni, and simmer for about 20 minutes until potatoes are tender. Remove bouquet garni, transfer soup to blender in batches, purée until smooth, and transfer to clean pot. Reheat soup, add cream, and bring back to simmer for 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

To serve, drizzle with chive oil and garnish with finely minced chives.


Bouquet garni

Fold a 6-inch length of washed leek leaf in half, inserting several sprigs of fresh thyme and parsley, eight peppercorns and two bay leaves between the folded leaves. Tie with butcher's cord.


Chive oil

1 bunch chives, roughly chopped
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Coarse salt and ground black pepper

Add the chives to a food processor. With machine running, slowly add the olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Strain through a fine sieve into a bowl or squeeze bottle and reserve.

Serves 6.

Ginger Cabbage Stir Fry

I really thought I already had this recipe posted since I've made it this season. My friend's mother gave me this recipe. I've tryed it in a few ways since, adding tofu or broken pieces of veggie burger, or an egg, or a splash of hoisin sauce when serving.

Last night I stirred in 2 Tbsp of apple butter before adding the veggies. I grated the onion instead of slicing it, and that made it more of a part of the sauce. I also grated in half of a zucchini and a small bunch of carrots. Delicious! A very adaptable recipe.

Ginger Cabbage Stir Fry

2 teaspoons Olive Oil
2 teaspoons Sesame Oil
1 Onion, sliced or grated
3 cloves Garlic, minced
2 Tablespoons minced Ginger
1 head Napa Cabbage, cleaned, sliced and chopped
2 tablespoons Soy Sauce
1 tablespoon Rice Vinegar


In a large saute pan over medium-high heat, add the oils and heat. Add the onion, garlic and ginger and saute, stirring, for 1 minute. If I'm adding any other spices or sauce ingredients, I stir them in here. It distributes better that way.

Add the cabbage and cook until it wilts, about 5 minutes. Add the soy sauce and rice vinegar and stir well, about 5 to 10 minutes.

Serve over rice or other grain.

Eggplant Gratin

Someone had suggested using Ricotta cheese in a smoothie to make it creamy. It is delicious! Here is another use for the ricotta in my fridge.


Eggplant Gratin

1 pound eggplant, sliced into rounds
1/4 cup shallots, sliced
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
1/4 cup milk
3 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
1 Tbsp tomato paste
1/2 cup chopped fresh tomatoes
2 tsp thyme

Preheat broiler, place rack in center of oven. Coat baking sheet with non-stick spray.

Place eggplant rounds on baking sheet in single layer, drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Broil for a few minutes, until eggplant is just beginning to brown (keep your eye on it!) Turn over each slice, add shallots to the pan, season with a little more salt and pepper, and return to the oven. Broil again until eggplant and shallots are beginning to brown.

Turn oven down to 350 degrees.

Combine ricotta, milk, tomatoes, thyme, tomato paste, and parmesan in food processor. Process until well combined.

Lightly oil (or spray with non-stick spray a small casserole dish. Layer half of eggplant/shallots evenly in bottom. Top with half of ricotta cheese mixture. Repeat layers.

Bake at 350 for about 20-25 minutes, or until bubbling and cheese sauce on the top is browning, and all is heated through.

Vietnamese Cucumber Salad

3 cucumbers, cut into diagonal slices
1 small onion or shallot
2 tsp grated fresh ginger
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1/8 tsp sugar
crushed red pepper to taste
1 cup rice wine vingear

Toss all ingedients in a bowl. Add enough water to cover the cukes. Stir and let sit in fridge for at least 30 minutes. Drain off marinade to serve. Marinade can be reused a few times.

Some repeats and more grilling

I made the Romanesco Pasta tonight. It was a small head of Romanesco and I didn't make much pasta, so I ate the whole thing! It has such good flavor. I didn't have the white wine this time, so I used Porto, which I looove.

The grill has been my friend lately for cooking. More often than not this week, for dinner I've grilled or broiled veggies and either stacked them into a sandwich or tossed them with pesto on pasta.

CSA Week 8

The Pick List for Week 8:

Tomatoes
Cherry Tomatoes
Potatoes
Kale
Green Peppers
Cubanelle Peppers
Beets
Carrots
Eggplant
Onions
Cucumbers
Pickling Cucumbers
Zucchini
Garlic

The "fall garlic" is in. This garlic has developed cloves and has been dried, so it lasts longer than spring garlic. These are the first of the potoatoes.

I'm not sure what to make first this week! The farm newsletter includes a recipe for pizza I may try. It promises to be an interesting week.

Catching up

After being away for more than half the week, I've had some catching up to do with my veggies. I made #86, #11 and #4 from the Grill List. I also made babaganoush and stuffed roasted bell pepper halves with it. I mixed up my old favorite, Cucumber Lemonade, doubling up on the cucumber to make up for a shortage of 1 lemon.

Still remaining from prior weeks are the napa cabbage (holding strong!), zucchini and watercress.

Reasons to Light the Grill

Our newsletter included some favorites from Mark Bittman's "101 Reasons to Light the Grill", which made me google it to find out the rest. The full list is over whelming, but there are some that I'd like to try.

I henceforth vow to use the oven and stove top less and cook more with this list (it's fast and easy!). Maybe I should get a grill first. Does a George Foreman count? A broiler will do.

The ones I want to try:

1. Brush thick slices of fennel bulbs with olive oil and grill over not-too-high heat. Cut oranges in half and grill, cut-side down. Put fennel on a bed of arugula or watercress, squeeze grilled oranges over top. Garnish with fennel fronds.

4. Spice-rubbed carrots: Roll peeled carrots in cumin, salt, pepper and brown sugar. Char, then move them away from direct heat and cover the grill until carrots are tender.

6. Brush slices of beet with olive oil and grill slowly until tender and lightly browned. Top each slice with a little goat cheese and some salad greens.

7. For perfectly ripe tomatoes only: Grill tomatoes, any size, until hot and lightly charred but not bursting. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and serve with fresh mozzarella (or, even better, burrata) and grilled bread.

9. Grilled guacamole: Halve and pit avocados; lightly char them, then scoop out the flesh. Grill halved red onion, too. Chop, combine, add tomatoes, lime, garlic and spices if you like.

10. Grill corn. Serve with mayo with minced garlic, pimentón and parsley.

11. Grill more corn. Serve with curry-powder-laced yogurt and minced onion.

15. Rub thick zucchini slices with a mixture of fresh or dried dill, yogurt, olive oil and lemon. (Or use pesto or parsley pesto.) Grill slowly.

18. Lightly char whole or halved heads of baby bok choy; drizzle with soy sauce and top with chopped scallions.

20. Grill pineapple (or anything, really, from pork to tofu to eggplant). Make a sauce of half-cup peanut butter, a tablespoon (or more) soy sauce, a dash (or more) sriracha chili sauce, a handful of basil or mint and enough warm water to thin. (I’m tempted to say, “Throw away the pineapple and eat the sauce,” but the combination is sensational.)

23. Grill red, orange and/or yellow peppers; toss with olives, capers, balsamic vinegar and olive oil.

24. Quick grilled pickle: Rapidly char thick slices of cucumber; toss with salt, vinegar and sugar; let sit for 15 minutes, then drain.

61. Odd, but good: Strawberries and cherry tomatoes, finished with basil-laced balsamic vinegar.

63. The California special: Figs, with chunks of good bacon.

64. Kebab or hero? Your choice: Cut brussels sprouts in half; grill slowly on skewers, with chunks of sausage. Both slowly crisp as they cook.

66. Peaches, plums, strawberries and watermelon. Finish with a sprinkle of salt and perhaps a drizzle of balsamic vinegar.

67. Cubes of mango and chunks of white fish; brush with a mixture of soy, fish sauce, sriracha chili sauce and chopped mint or cilantro. Serve with a mai tai.

69. Grilled coleslaw: Lightly char wedges of green and red cabbage and carrots. Let cool, then shred and toss with a little mayo, vinegar, salt and sugar.

70. Grill halved new potatoes or fingerlings (microwave or parboil first for a few minutes to get a head start), red onions and scallions. Chop as necessary and toss with chopped celery, parsley, mustard and cider (or other) vinegar. I make this annually.

74. Steak salad with almost no steak: Halve endives or radicchio; brush with oil and grill. Sprinkle with bits of blue cheese and bits of charred steak.

75. Ratatouille: Grill chunks of zucchini, yellow squash, mushrooms, eggplant, onion and tomatoes (or use cherry tomatoes), all until lightly browned and perfectly tender. Toss with fresh marjoram or oregano, thyme, basil and olive oil.

85. Glorified grilled cheese: Use grilled pineapple, grilled ham, cheese, pickles and mayo; grill with a weight on top.

86. Grill bell peppers until blackened and collapsed; cover, cool and peel. Grill eggplant planks, brushed with olive oil (or pesto if you have it), until very tender. Make a sandwich with balsamic vinegar, mozzarella and basil. This is also good with strip or skirt steak: grill meat until medium-rare, then slice and salt.

93. An idea whose time has come: Halve and grill peaches, nectarines or apricots. Brush with barbecue sauce or, if you want to be sophisticated, a mixture of bourbon, sugar and mint, or simple syrup laced with basil.

94. An idea whose time will come in September: Halve and grill pears or apples. When they’re done, drizzle with yogurt, honey and a pinch of cardamom.

96. Cut grapefruit in half. Sprinkle with brown sugar; grill, cut-side down. You might top this with chopped pistachios or a little honey.

CSA Week 7

The Pick List for Week 7:

Cherry tomatoes
Corn
Green peppers
Beets
Carrots
Watercress
Eggplant
Celery
Onions
Cucumbers
Pickling cucumbers
Zucchini

Tomatoes are here at last! There is a lot of buzz at the farm about the tomatoes. It seems they are the most exciting crop. My farm planted over 130 varieties; I had no idea so many kinds existed!

This week's pick up contains the more "traditional" veggies - ones I'm used to cooking with. I'm going backpacking for 4 days of this week, so it will still be a challenge to use it all.

I'm planning on bringing the cucumbers, carrots, green peppers, tomatoes and maybe one onion along on the trip.

Kale Potato Soup

My half Portuguese boyfriend's preferred use of kale is kale potato soup. I wish I had chorizo to make it properly Portuguese, but I skipped that ingredient this time. Here's the recipe as it should be.

I used my own vegetable broth and halved the recipe. He informed me kale should be sauteed a bit in butter or oil before being added, especially since it is no longer the tender, early season kale. This soup is a comfort food that would be fitting in mid-winter, except you don't have such delicious kale then!

Portuguese Kale and Potato Soup

2 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 cups finely chopped onions
3/4 cup sliced carrots
1/4 cup olive oil
1 pound russet potatoes
4 cups chicken broth
3/4 pound Spanish chorizo
3/4 pound kale, stems discarded and the leaves washed well, spun dry, and shredded thin (about 8 cups packed)
1 pound red potatoes

In a soup pot, cook the garlic, the onions, and the carrot in the oil over moderately low heat, stirring, until the vegetables are softened. Add the russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces, the broth, and 4 cups water, bring the liquid to a boil, and simmer the mixture, covered, for 10 to 15 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender.

While the potatoes are cooking, in a skillet cook the chorizo over moderate heat, stirring, until it is browned lightly and transfer it with a slotted spoon to paper towels to drain. With the slotted spoon transfer the cooked potatoes to a blender, add about 1 1/2 cups of the cooking liquid and purée the mixture until it is smooth.

Stir the purée into the broth mixture, add the chorizo, the kale, the red potatoes, cut into 1-inch pieces, and salt and pepper to taste, and simmer the soup, covered, for 10 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender.

Vegetable Broth

All season long I've been freezing my leftover bits of raw vegetables, saving them for a vegetable broth. The stalk of broccoli, tops of garlic and onion, unused greens (except lettuce), last year's wild harvested fiddleheads. I had a one-gallon sized ziploc bag full of veggies, so now it's time for broth!

It was incredibly easy to make; I can't believe I haven't done it before. I chose the longer method - where you take your time browning the veggies before adding the liquid. You can skip the browning to speed things up.

The flavor was so concentrated, I may dilute for use.

Vegetable Broth

Heat a soup pot and add 2 Tbsp of oil. Add the veggies to brown. Leave them alone for 5 minutes, then stir. Repeat this procedure until you have good browning.

Add 6 cups of water, 2 Tbsp soy sauce, 20 stems with leaves of parsley, and pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to a simmer.

Simmer, covered, for about an hour. The longer you go, the more flavor it will have, though even just 30 minutes will do if you are in a hurry.

When finished, strain the liquid into a container.

Broth can be frozen to increase storage time.

Babaganoush

The recipe for Babaganoush came with the farm newsletter. I wish I could credit the person who submitted the recipe, but I lost the original page. This is based off of memory. I made it one more time to be sure I remembered it correctly.

Babaganoush

1 large eggplant
1-2 cloves of garlic
1/4 tsp salt
2 Tbsp tahini
2 Tbsp lemon juice
1/2 cup parsley, thick stems removed, chopped

Grill, broil or bake the eggplant until soft and collapsed, turning a few times. The skin can become blackened in places.

Chop the garlic cloves small and mush in the salt to create garlic salt. In a bowl, combine the garlic salt, tahini, lemon juice and parsley. When cool, remove the eggplant skins and add the eggplant to the mixture. Stir well. If you prefer a smoother texture, blitz in a food processor.

Quick Pasta for One

I got home later than usual after going to the gym. My kitchen was already clean and I didn't want to mess it up with a complicated recipe. Plus, I had some delicious pesto ready to use.

I made a pasta without following a recipe, just creating as I went.

I sliced zucchini into long wedges, put it on a cookie sheet with two scallions, spritzed with olive oil, sprinkled with salt and broiled until a little brown at the edges.

Meanwhile, I put whole grain pasta on to boil. When cooked, I drained the pasta but left a little bit of the cooking water behind. I stirred in a spoonful of pesto, carrot puree (also pre-made earlier this week) and Parmesan. I put the veggies from the broiler on top, drizzled a bit of balsamic vinegar and cracked on pepper.

Dinner in 15 minutes!

Pesto

I had great success storing the basil I got over a week ago.

When I brought home the share, I placed the bunch of Basil in a vase with water, wrapped it in a wet paper towel, covered it with a plastic bag and stored it in my fridge. It stayed as fresh as the day I picked it up. A few of the flowers even blossomed.

I used little bits of it here in there for lemonade, pasta dishes and a sandwich. But now, it's just beginning to show signs of wilting. Before I waste any of it, I'm making a pesto. You can even use the flower blossoms in the pesto.

Basil Pesto

2 cups of basil leaves
2 Tbsp pine nuts
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
a pinch of salt
1/4 cup olive oil

Add all the ingredients to a blender or food processor and puree. Scrape down the sides a few times as you go. Add up to an additional 1/4 cup of olive oil as needed.

For storage, spritz the top with olive oil to keep it nice and green. Cover tightly.

When you are ready to use the pesto, stir in some parmesan cheese.

Vegetable Puree

When all the veggies from yesterday's pickup were spread out across my kitchen table, I was feeling a little overwhelmed. There was so much there! I never want anything to go to waste.

So I made a puree. It stores much smaller and is a different texture than other veggie preparations so my meals don't get boring. Puree can add excitement to simple things. I think I want to use it as a bed for a roasted vegetable dish. Doesn't that sound pretty?

If I had an orange, I would have used orange juice instead of lemon and I would have grated in some orange zest. I used stem ginger, since I had some I wanted to use up, plus that adds a touch of sweetness.

Carrot Puree

1 small bunch of carrots, cleaned and roughly chopped
Salt
1 tsp Olive Oil
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1/2 Tbsp minced ginger

Steam the carrots until soft. Using a hand blender or food processor (or a fork and some determination) mash the carrots to your preferred texture. Add the remaining ingredients and mix well.

CSA Week 6

The Pick List for Week 6:

Spring Onions
Celery
Beets
Carrots
Kale
Japanese Eggplant
Green Peppers
Parsley
Pickling Cucumbers
Zucchini

The celery is greener and smells better than any I have seen before. I get a kick out of becoming familiar with the farm-version of vegetables. The CSA doesn't trim them up like they do in the produce aisle; the vegetables still have their extraneous leaves and offshoots. 

As usual, I purchased extra items in the farm stand. The stand is so well stocked, I hardly need to go to the grocery store. I bought eggs, honey made right on the farm, cheese, bread, tomatoes, plums, raspberries, bananas, an avocado, a cubanelle pepper, yellow zucchini (which is comic book yellow!) and romaine lettuce. My pet rabbit will appreciate the romaine I bought. He turns his nose up at any other type; his stubbornness means he hasn't gotten fresh lettuce in many weeks.

The farm newsletter informed us that high heat damaged 1,000 heads of lettuce. That may explain why we didn't get any lettuce included in bushel.

Olive Chicken and Mustard-Caper Sauce over Cauliflower

I was thinking of Julia Child as I sliced the hunk of butter into this dish. It was worth the indulgence. The flavors of this dish are tangy and salty. They work well together. In some dishes, a sprinkling of capers can be overpowering. Here, with so many strong flavors at one time - olives, sundried tomatoes, gherkins, capers, mustard, vermouth - it worked well.

The recipe called for anchovies, which I'm not a big fan of and rarely have in my kitchen. For a similar salty flavor, I would substitute olives or olive tapenade. I only had a sundried-tomato/olive tapenade in my refrigerator. A substitute for the substitute.

I pounded my chicken breasts with a jar to flatten them up a bit before cooking, then sprinkled with salt and pepper.

My cauliflower was impressively white around the outer florets. Middle-of-the-winter cauliflower with its browning edges is no comparison.

Olive Chicken

1 Tbsp Olive Oil
2 Tbsp Olive tapenade
Two 4 to 6 oz. chicken breasts
1/2 cup vermouth or dry white wine
4 gherkins, finely chopped
salt and pepper to taste

Heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the olive tapenade and push around the skillet for about a minute to spread the flavor into the oil. Salt and Pepper two chicken breasts. Cook for a few minutes each side and remove to a warm plate. Add the vermouth and gherkins, letting the wine bubble the bits off the bottom of the pan. Scrape over the chicken.


Mustard-Caper Sauce over Cauliflower

2 to 3 Tbsp of butter in the microwave.
2 Tbsp lemon juice
2 Tbsp of stone-ground mustard
1 Tbsp capers

Melt the butter in the microwave. Add the remaining ingredients to the melted butter. Whisk in 1 tsp of cornstarch if you'd like a thicker sauce. Serve over freshly steamed cauliflower or broccoli.

Kale Chips

I've been wanting to try this recipe, but I use all my kale for smoothies. I bought extra kale this week and had enough to finally try it. The oven was hot this morning while roasting some veggies for a breakfast side dish and I used it for the dual purpose of making a salty snack for later in the day.

Kale Chips

1 bunch of kale
Olive Oil
Seasoned or plain salt

Preheat the oven to 350 deg. Line a non-insulated cookie sheet with parchment paper or foil. Remove the kale leaves from the thick stems and tear into bite-sized pieces. Wash and thoroughly dry with a salad spinner.

Drizzle the kale with ~1 Tbsp olive oil. I have spritzer, so I spray mine on without measuring volume. I likely use less than 1 Tbsp with the spritzer. Sprinkle with salt.

Bake until the edges brown but are not burnt, 10 to 15 min.

My friend warned me they were easy to overcook. I erred on removing them a little early, and they were perfect.

I hesitate to call them chips; they are so frail. They have an interesting taste and would fix a salt craving, but they certainly couldn't be used to scoop any dip. Crushed, they might make an interesting topping for a baked dish.

Fennel Chicken

This recipe was given to me by my farm share buddy. In the past, I've eaten the fennel raw in salads or slaws. This was my first time cooking with fennel!


Braised Chicken with Fennel and White Beans

1 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 lb Chicken Breasts, in large slices
Salt
Pepper
1 onion, cut into little moons
2 large cloves of garlic, chopped
1 fennel bulb, sliced
1 yellow bell pepper, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 can chopped tomatoes
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 Tbsp chopped fresh rosemary
1 can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
Parsley for garnish

In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium high heat. Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper. Add the chicken pieces to the skillet and cook for 5 to 6 minutes, turning occasionally. Remove the chicken from the pan.

Add the onion, garlic, fennel and bell pepper. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the chicken, tomatoes, wine and rosemary. Heat to boiling, then cover and reduce the heat to a light simmer for 20 to 25 minutes.

Stir in the beans and cook for a few minutes until the beans are heated through and the sauce is thickened.

Serve with crusty bread for soaking up the flavorful sauce!

Basil Lemonade

I can't stop sticking my nose into the fresh bunch of basil. This summer, I have almost always had a cold pitcher of homemade lemonade in my refrigerator. I make it with Splenda to keep the calories down, but the same recipe can be followed with equal measurements of regular sugar. Sugar is hard to dissolve. It may take some warm water and lots of swishing.

Basil Lemonade

A large handful of clean basil leaves
3/4 cup lemon juice
3/4 cup sugar
~5 cups of water

Rip the basil leaves off their stems and put in the bottom of an empty pitcher. Pour the lemon juice on top. Using an ice cream scoop or other blunt tool, bruise and mash the leaves to spread their flavor into the liquid. Stir in the sugar, ice cubes and water.

When serving, put at least one of the leaves into each glass. They are too pretty to leave behind.

Romanesco and Penne Pasta

This must be one of my new favorite dishes. The balance of flavors between the lemon and red pepper was just right. The recipe here is how I made it, adapted from Rachael Ray's Romanesco and Rigatoni recipe.

Romanesco and Penne Pasta

Salt and Pepper to taste
2 Tbsp butter
1/2 the head of spring garlic, finely chopped
1 cup chicken stock
1 large spring onion, chopped
1/2 cup dry white wine
grated lemon peel from 1 and 1/2 lemons
2 sprigs of rosemary, finely chopped
1 tsp crushed red pepper
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 head of Romanesco cut into bite-sized florets
Penne Pasta

Bring a pot of water to a boil, salt it, add the pasta and cook to al dente. Drain and reserve a cup of pasta cooking water. I dribble in a little olive oil to the cooked pasta to prevent sticking.

While the pasta is cooking, melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. If you add a dab of olive oil, it will keep the butter from burning. Add the onion and garlic, cooking until golden for 6 or 7 min.

Stir in the wine for 1 minute scraping up any bits from the pan, then stir in the stock. Add the romanesco, lemon peel, rosemary, and crushed red pepper. Season with salt and black pepper to taste. Cover and cook for about 10 minutes. If it needs liquid, add some of the reserved pasta cooking water.

In a serving bowl, toss the pasta, reserved pasta cooking water and cheese, then the cooked vegetables.


The dish was divine the evening it was cooked. Many dishes taste even better the second day, but this dish I preferred the first day when the flavors were distinct and complimentary. When reheated, it was still above par, but the flavors had melded together into one.

CSA Week 5

The Pick List:

Romanesco
Basil
Kale
Spring Onions
Fennel
Green Cabbage
Carrots
Sugar Snap Peas
Beets
Bib Lettuce

Spring Onions are regular onions before they developed that tough skin. They have to be used fresh. The green tubular tops can be eaten like scallions.

The Romanesco is crazy looking! I love it. It looks like an art student bred broccoli and cauliflower together. The CSA Newsletter described the florets as "logarithmic fractal spirals."

Lemon Roasted Cauliflower and Asparagus with Dill

Yum yum yum. I can't say enough how yummy this dish was. The cauliflower was the perfect palette for the lemon and dill.

Lemon Roasted Cauliflower and Asparagus with Dill

1 head of cauliflower, cut into florets
1/2 lb asparagus, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 heaping teaspoons of Dijon mustard
4 cloves of garlic, crushed
Juice of 2 lemons
1 tsp salt
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup chopped fresh dill
Ground black pepper

Pre-steam the cauliflower in the microwave to cut back on oven time (it's summer and it's hot in my kitchen!). To steam, put in a bowl with a couple of tablespoons of water, cover and microwave for about 3 minutes to get it halfway cooked. Drain, then continue with the recipe.

Preheat the oven to 400 deg. Place cauliflower florets and asparagus in a bowl. In a smaller bowl, combine the rest of the ingredients and whisk until blended. Pour the marinade over the veggies and toss. Spread in a baking pan. Scrape any remaining marinade over the top. It's too good to waste.

Bake until tender but not mushy (about 10 min?? depends on how soft they got in the microwave). The cauliflower should have some browning at the edges.

Cucumber Lemonade

I make this lemonade recipe all the time. I use Splenda, which is quick dissolving, even into cold water. The measurements are the same for regular sugar, but it helps in dissolving if you add some warm water. If you hate pulp texture you can deseed the cucumber, but I leave the seeds in to keep it easy.

I've also added a pint of strawberries to this recipe. Other delicious subtistutions are lime juice instead of lemon or green tea instead of the water.

Cucumber Lemonade

1 whole cucumber, peeled and roughly chopped
3/4 cup lemon juice
3/4 cup sugar

Puree the above ingredients with a hand blender. Add ice cubes and water to the top of the pitcher.

Roasted Beets and Goat Cheese Gratin

I love beets. They are the vegetable that 'converted' me - they showed me I could love trying new things and opened my mind. I prefer them without vinegar. Mushy, vinegary canned beets are the reason I never thought I would like them. Freshly roasted beets are so pretty and purple, they glow and beg to be eaten. In this dish, the sweetness of the beet is contrasted by salty goat cheese. It's a satisfying balance that can serve as a meal all on its own.

Roasted Beets and Goat Cheese Gratin

Olive Oil
1 small bunch of beets
salt and pepper
2 oz of goat cheese
2 Tbsp bread crumbs
Thyme leaves

I scrubbed and sliced the beets. This recipe is done in the broiler. But it was such a hot night to shorten the broiler time, I pre-softened the beets in the microwave by covering the bowl and cooking for ~3 min, till the beets could be easily pierced with a fork.

Heat the broiler. Use a shallow dish that is oven proof. Coat the bottom a dish with olive oil. Place the beets in the dish, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Thinly slice the goat cheese so that it crumbles over the beets. Sprinkle with bread crumbs and thyme leaves.

Broil for 3 to 5 minutes until the cheese is melted and a little golden.

CSA Week 4

The Pick List for Week 4:

Green Cabbage
Cheddar Cauliflower
Broccoli
Carrots
Beets
Sugar Snap Peas
Hakurei Turnips
Lettuce
Garlic Scapes

The Cheddar Cauliflower is colored like cheddar but doesn't taste like it. It's slightly more cauliflower-tasting than the usual white kind. The broccoli is nearly broccolini - young enough that the stalk is even tastier than the florets!

Hakurei turnips are a Japanese turnip with round roots and white skin. The greens are mild enough to eat raw, as are the roots. They are sweeter than common turnips.

A visit to another farm stand

I can never get enough of farm stands. We stopped at a great one on the drive north in Tewksbury, MA, The East Street Farm.

We bought apples, carrots (I’m a sucker for the farmer’s own crop and I only got a small bundle of carrots with this week’s pickup), plus whoopee pies and chocolate milk.

The milk was from Shaw’s Farm, whose farmer's rant I really like. I wanted to buy something to show my support. The chocolate milk was the only thing small enough to consume immediately, though we seriously debated the ½ gallon of ice cream.

While rock climbing, we ate the carrots from the East Street Farm – straight out of the bag with the dirt rubbed off. Mmm, vitamin B12.

Chocolate Pudding

I had just a bit of cocoa powder in the house, and nothing else that would really help a sweet tooth. Luckily, I also had two wonderful CSA eggs and light cream. Cream, eggs and chocolate - that's all you need for a great dessert!

Eggs from pastured chickens are so much easier to separate the yolk and whites. I lucked out that my little bit of leftover cocoa powder measured out to just about 1/3 cup.

Chocolate Pudding

1 cup milk
1/2 cup cream
1/3 cup sugar (I'll confess to using Splenda here)
1 Tbsp cornstarch
1/3 cup cocoa
2 Tbsp boiling water
2 egg yolks
1 tsp vanilla extract

Warm the milk and cream in the microwave.

Put the sugar, cornstarch and cocoa into a saucepan. Add the 2 Tbsp of boiling water and whisk into a paste. Whisk in the egg yolks; follow with the warmed milk and cream, then the vanilla. Put the saucepan on the heat, cooking and whisking for about 3 minutes until the mixture thickens. Take off the heat and pour into small glasses. Place in the refrigerator until cool. It's so yummy warm that it's tough to wait for it to cool.

The Best Salsa

My coworker brought in the tastiest salsa she had made from scratch. This is her recipe. It's so fresh and tasty, I had it for dinner with blue corn tortilla chips - and that's it. I was surprised that it used a whole jalapeno, but it really wasn't hot. Don't be afraid of that.

The Best Salsa

In a food processor, add the following and mix:
1 onion
1 jalapeno, with the seeds and stem removed
2 cloves of garlic
Juice of 1 lime
The entire bunch of cilantro, thick stems removed (the farmshare bunch was a little smaller than typical grocery store ones. You may want to split the bunch in half)

After processing, stir in 4 to 5 chopped tomatoes.

Curry in a Hurry

This is a highly adaptable, go-to recipe for using up almost any veggie and/or meat. I base it off of Nigella's Curry recipes, but change it with whatever I have in my cabinets. I always use light coconut milk. Squashes and potatoes should be added to the liquid earliest and cooked for about 15 min before proceeding with the rest. Meats should be added before quick-cooking veggies.

The same recipe can be used for red or green curries.

Curry in a Hurry, for 2 hungry people plus some leftovers

2 - 3 scallions
1/2 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 1/2 Tbsp Green Thai Curry Paste - or more to taste
Chicken cut into strips or shrimp
1 14-oz can of light coconut milk
1 cup of chicken stock
1 Tbsp fish sauce
3 cups of veggies, like peas, green beans, cauliflower, tomatoes, onions

Cooked rice or noodles to serve
Lime wedges

1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan over med-high heat. Add the scallions for a minute or two, then the curry paste.

2. Add the chicken pieces and turn for 2 minutes before adding the coconut milk, stock, and fish sauce. Then add the veggies, except for the delicate veggie like sugar snap peas or asparagus; you don't want them to get mushy.

3. Simmer for 10 minutes, then add the sugar snap peas and cook for another 3 - 5 minutes.

4. Serve with rice, noodles or Kashi grains. Sprinkle with cilantro and a squeeze of lime.

Pasta Primavera

I’ve been comparing brands of whole grain pasta. My current favorite is the Hodgson Mills brand for its simplicity – only one ingredient, and for its satisfying texture.

Wanting to use up my veggies before a weekend away from home, I made a simple pasta primavera. I wasn't really following a recipe, just making it up as I went. I was even so lazy as to not peel the carrots. They were so young and fresh that the delicate skin didn't need to be removed. The carrots were from my farm’s own crop, non uniform in shape and decidedly not standard grocery store carrots.

Pasta Primavera

Broccoli, washed and cut into florets
2 carrots, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 tomatoes
Spring garlic
1 onion, cut into little moons
1 Tbsp olive oil
A slice of butter
A splash of some red wine from the glass I was drinking while cooking.

I heated the oil and butter in a large saucepan and stirred in the onions, followed by the carrots and garlic for about 5 - 7 minutes. Then I added the broccoli for a few more minutes. Last came the tomatoes, a splash of wine and a ladleful of the pasta cooking water. I cracked on some fresh black pepper, then tossed in the pasta.

Dinner in under 20 minutes!

Asparagus New Potato Dill Salad

I found this recipe online at About.com, of all places. I wanted something that used a good amount of dill and asparagus. I increased the dill quite a bit since I was skipping the anchovies and wanted to add back the strong flavors. I used "Red, White and Blue" new potatoes. I steamed the aspargus in the microwave. It's the easiest way to get the steaming just right and prevent mushyness.

Aspargus, New Potato and Dill Salad

1 pound new potatoes, unpeeled and scrubbed
1/2 pound fresh asparagus, cut into 1-inch lengths
1 whole vidalia onion, chopped
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup light sour cream
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 Tbsp sweet pickle relish
1 tsp dijon mustard
1/4 to 1/2 cup fresh dill, chopped
1/2 tsp kosher salt, or to taste
Black pepper
2 hard-boiled eggs, cut into quarters or slices
3 tsp small capers
Paprika for garnish

Boil the potatoes in salted water until tender; drain and cool. Cut into 1-inch chunks.

While the potatoes are cooking, steam the asparagus until crisp-tender. Rinse in cold water to prevent over softening; drain thoroughly. Cut into 1-inch lengths.

Combine the potatoes, asparagus and onion in a large bowl. In a seperate bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, sour cream, lemon juice, pickle relish, dijon, dill, salt and pepper. Gently stir into the potato and asparagus mixture until combined. Arrange the hard-boiled eggs and sprinkle with the capers and paprika.

CSA Week 3

The Pick List for Week 3:

Garlic Scapes
Spring Garlic
Cilantro
Dill
Mesclun Mix
Scallions
Red Leaf Lettuce
Kale
Sugar Snap Peas
Broccoli
Collard Greens

The farm told us our pick list changed this week from the original plan thanks to the unusually high heat. It's interesting to be close enough to the fields to know how my menus are affected by weather. The broccoli bumped the cabbage off the list. Broccoli was picked early this week to save it from the heat; cabbage is hearty enough to withstand it.

The sugar snap peas have been my favorite for snacking on. I appreciate them even more now that I know they are the most time consuming to pick. It takes two people three hours on the morning of pick-up day to harvest enough peas for the shares.

The Garlic Scapes are fascinating. They are the flower of the garlic. Before they straighten and open, they are removed from the garlic bulb and can be eaten as a delicacy. They're so curly they look like bracelets!

Green Smoothie

It sounded strange when first suggested, but the Green Smoothie is my new favorite breakfast. I'd love to use my kale for other purposes, but the kale never lasts past Wednesday morning once I tried this recipe.

Green Smoothie

2 or more fruits
raw rinsed greens (like kale, spinach, chard, etc)
fruit juice or nectar
dab of honey
ice (optional)

In a blender thoroughly mix the fruit and juice. Banana is a great emulsifier. Other yummy fruit additions can be frozen or fresh mango, fresh oranges, nectarines, peaches, strawberries, and raspberries. Add the ice till well chopped. Fill the blender to the top with loosely packed greens and blend until incorporated.

The best version I've made so far included strawberries, raspberries, banana and kale with orange juice for the liquid.

Later in the week, a second attempt at a green smoothie using collard greens was not quite as good. Collard greens are a little too spicy or peppery. Not a good combination. At least I could feel good about getting my raw greens in!

Keeping the veggies fresh

Farmshare pick up day! My favorite day of the week.

For the first two weeks of the share, I’ve been shoving my farmshare goodies away in the fridge as best they fit in. This week, I tried something a little different. I washed, prepped and tupperwared the dill, cilantro, sugar snap peas, mesclun, and lettuce.

The farm gave me a great tip for lettuce storage. They say to wash it, spin it and store it in the salad spinner. The lettuce stays fresh for a full week like this. Salad making was a snap since the lettuce was ready to go.



A Simple Salad

Lettuce, Garlic scapes, Almond shavings, chopped Cheddar cheese with balsamic vinaigrette - served with a slice of whole grain bread on the side and a glass of red wine.

Balsamic Vinaigrette

¼ cup Olive Oil
¼ cup walnut oil
½ cup Balsamic Vinegar
½ cup Honey
2 scallions, chopped
3-4 cloves of garlic chopped roughly
1 to 2 tsp of grill seasoning
Salt and pepper to taste

Add all ingredients together and puree till smooth. A teaspoon of cornstarch will thicken it, if desired.

CSA Week 2

The Pick List for Week 2:

Sugar Snap Peas
Fennel
Lettuce
Kale
Swiss Chard
Scallions
Spring Garlic

Each pick-up comes with a newsletter of farm notes, instructions and a few recipes.

This week's newsletter included instructions for freezing the peas. The peas are so sweet I can't imagine needing to freeze them. They'll be gone within a few days anyway! It makes me wonder if there will later be so many that I will have to freeze some? I suppose the instructions are handy for blanching almost any veggie.

CSA Week 1

The Pick List for Week 1:

Green Leaf Lettuce
Mesclun Mix
Watercress
Napa Cabbage
Spring Garlic
Spinach
Kale
Scallions

I am so excited at the start of the harvest season. I felt like a kid at a birthday party on my first pick-up day. My friend, who I am splitting the share with, gave me a tour around the farm (well, not the whole thing - just the areas the customers frequent). She showed me the barn where we get our weekly bushel and introduced me to Wendy, the share manager and beekeeper. Wendy seems to be on first-name basis with all the share holders. We shopped the farmer's market, where we get a discount on our pick-up day.

The farm is non-certified organic. They care about soil health and good produce. They raise chickens in pastures with portable hen houses. The produce for the farm share are harvested the same morning as pick-up!

Lucky lucky me.

Mexican Chicken Salad with Black Bean Salsa

It was my turn to host book club and our choice of the month was Michael Pollan's In Defense of Food. With a book like that, I wanted to stick to a main dish that mostly vegetables and was seasonal. I wanted it to be one dish and filling. In addition, I had a gluten-free member attending. Nigella's Mexican Chicken Salad fit the bill perfectly.

I found it is easiest to shred the chicken by hand; I used skinless, boneless chicken breasts that had been cooked in an oven and cooled before shredding.

I had never made anything with jicama before. I wasn't even pronouncing it correctly before this recipe. I made the salsa first so the flavors could marinate.

Mexican Chicken Salad with Black Bean Salsa

For the Dressing:

1 ripe avocado
1/2 cup sour cream, reduced-fat
3 Tbsp lime juice
1 clove of garlic, peeled
1/2 tsp table salt
pinch of black pepper

Place all the ingredients in a blender and process until smooth. It can be kept covered in the fridge for several days.

For the salad:
2 1/2 cups shredded chicken
1 lb jicama, peeled and cut into matchsticks
4 scallions, finely shredded
1/2 cup finely chopped cilantro
3 cups shredded romaine lettuce

Put all the salad ingredients into a bowl, spoon over the dressing and toss with tongs to get everything coated.

Tomato and Black Bean Salsa:
1 15 oz can black beans, well rinsed
2 tomatoes, deseeded and chopped
1 jalapeno, chopped
1 Tbsp lime juice
1 tsp salt

Mix everything. If it's too hot, you can take the edge off with a teaspoon of sugar.

Assemble the salad with the salsa on top and decorate with scallions and cilantro.

Thankfully, I had some of the dressing leftover. It was so delicious. I had it on a salad a few days later and also used it as a dip.