First attempt at Apple Butter

My family has a long history of making apple butter.  We used to do it in my grannies backyard in a copper cauldron, over an open fire.  That is one of the best memories I have from my childhood.  Last year we broke out the same cauldron and made applebutter.  This year I had to do it at home in my crockpot.  I had never tried this before, but I really wanted to give it a shot. 

Apple Butter
12lbs apples (sweet...not too crisp)
sugar
cinnamon
nutmeg
That's it.

    9:00pm. First peel an slice all those apples.  It took me about an hour.  Then add all the apple slices to a stockpot and add about 1/4 cup of water.  Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until apples begin to break down and volumn decreases enough to fit them into your crockpot.
   Next I added the apples to the crockpot, turned it on low, covered it and let it go until about 9:00am the next day.  Here is what it looked like at that point.  After I gave it a couple good stirs.

   I put the lid back on and let it go until 2:00pm that afternoon.  Stirring occasionally.  At this point I added my sugar and spices to taste.   I think I used about 3 cups sugar and only a little of the spices.  I like my apple butter to taste like apples....NOT Cinnamon, nutmeg or nasty, nasty cloves.  At this point I removed the lid and set the crockpot on HIGH.  I gave the mix a stir every 20 minutes or so until about 7:00pm. 
Here is what we had. ( I am talking on the telephone to my mother asking her for advice!) Thanks mom!

   I thougth the mix was thick enough so I stopped there and filled my jars with the apple butter. 

   It tasted amazing, but was a bit too thin.  I think I should have let it go a few more hours on high.  Mine is really about half way between thick apple sauce and thin apple butter, but at least I know how to do it now and can improve upon my technique next year!

Busy, Busy. Busy.

   I have been so busy lately that there hasn't been much time for creative cooking.  However, last night I had no choice.  My wife was working late so Simon and I were on our own for dinner.  I was hoping for a simple trip to a restaurant, but Simon said he wanted to go home and have dinner.  Most of the stuff we had planned for the week was too big of a meal to fix for just the two of us so we had to make something up.  The only thing you can EVER count on Simon eating much of is pasta, so that and a little from our basket and we were off to cooking.

Pasta with Sausage and Arugula

2 Sweet Italian sausage links (casing removed)
1/2 medium onion
1/2 red bell pepper
2 cloves minced garlic
5 medium tomatoes (diced)
1 tsp dried basil
1/2 cup chopped arugula
1/2 tsp Berbere spice (Ethiopian hot pepper spice)
1/4 tsp Mekelesha (I will talk about this below)
1/4 cup red wine
1 tsp red wine vinegar (only if your wine is a bit sweet as mine was!)

   I am not going to tell you how to boil pasta, but do that while you do the sauce.  I started by sauteing my sausage in a little olive oil.  I then removed it from the pan and sauted my onion, and peppers in the leftover fat until soft and then added in my garlic, tomatoes and wine.  I cooked this a little and then added my basil, berbere and Mekelesha.  Mekelesha is an Ethiopian spice blend that is a bit tough to find.  It is however, Delicious in red pasta sauces.  Check out this website to buy Ethiopian spices: http://www.ethiopianspices.com/index.asp  I know it has some cinnamon, nutmeg, and maybe some cumin in it, but I wouldn't guarantee anything.  Season with some salt and pepper and puree with a stick blender. Add back in your sausage after blending.  Right before you add the pasta (after cooking it) toss in the arugula and a bit of parmesan cheese.  It is delicious.  As you can see by the photo above.....Simon loved it!

Butternut squash Gnocci

Well, we got our first Butternut Squash of the season on Wednesday.  We usually love to make a soup with them, but I wanted to try something different.  I decided to try making Butternut Squash Gnocci.  Since squash vary in size etc. there are no amounts for this recipe.

Butternut Squash Gnocci
1 Butternut Squash
AP Flour
Salt
Pepper
Nutmeg
Olive Oil

The firs thing I did was split my squash in half, longways and scoop out the seeds.  I then rubbed the cut side with some olive oil and seasoned with Salt and Pepper.  I placed them on a baking sheet (cut side down) and roasted them in a 400 degree oven until soft.  Let them cool and scoop out the flesh into a bowl and mash with a potato masher. 
Next I seasoned the puree with a bit of salt and pepper and some nutmeg.  I don't really like a lot of nutmeg so I only put a dash.  Feel free to adjust to your tastes.  I then transferred the mixture to my stand mixer and began slowly adding flour.  It takes a LOT.  I added it until the mixture began to pull away from the sides and form a dough.  I then turned it out onto a floured surface and kneaded it a few times.  I then pinched off parts of the dough and rolled them out into 3/4 inch ropes.  I cut them into 1/2" pieces and rolled them across the back of a fork and placed them on a floured baking sheet.  I then put the sheetpan in the freezer and froze until solid.  I packaged up the gnocci and put them back in my freezer for a later date.  Now how should I sauce my Gnocci?  Brown butter and sage?  Bolognese?  Not sure just yet. 
I hope these taste good as they are quite a lot of work.  I am afraid they might be a bit too doughy, but without a LOT of flour the dough was just WAY TOO STICKY.  I guess we'll find out when I cook them!

Holy cow....Spaghetti Squash Gratin. Amazingly delicious.

Okay, maybe one of my best "made up" recipes ever.  First of all, I should point out that I really do NOT like spaghetti squash.  Everyone says "Just use it like spaghetti", so I tried that and hated it.  I have always thought there was potential for something better and tonight I finally found out what it was.  We got a small (9" or so) spaghetti squash in our basket and somehow the idea of a gratin got into my head.  I had never even heard of using spaghetti squash that way so I looked it up online.  As it turns out there are a LOT of recipes online and all very different.  I read about 5 or 6 and then made up my own.  Here is how it went.

Spaghetti Squash Gratin
1 sm-medium spaghetti squash
1 shallot minced
1/4 cup ricotta cheese
1/4 cup parmesian cheese
2 TBS Sour cream
2 TBS half and half
1 egg
1/2 tsp dried Thyme
2 TBS sharp cheddar cheese (finely shredded)
Topping:
Bread crumbs ( i used the large kind like you would use for stuffing)
butter

   First halve and de-seed your spaghetti squash.  I like to place mine (cut side down) on a microwave safe plate with a little water in it and microwave for about 10 minutes or until soft.  Set aside to cool. 
   In a small saute pan add some butter and saute your shallot until soft.  Set this aside also to cool. 
   In a large mixing bowl, add your ricotta, sour cream, half and half, and egg and mix together.  I then added my Thyme and parmesian cheese.  To this add your cooled shallot and spaghetti squash and mix until thoroughly combined.  Here is where I added a little shredded sharp Cheddar cheese and mix it in. 
   Butter a small to medium baking dish and fill with squash mixture. 
  Melt about two TBS of butter in a bowl and mix in your bread crumbs.  When thoroughly mixed add on top of your squash mixture and bake at 375 degrees for about 40-45 minutes. 
   I have to say that this was delicious.  Not only did it taste great, but it looked really pretty too.  Too bad we still do not have a camera at home.  This would be great with some goat cheese, and I thought a little sweet corn mixed in would have been nice too.  It was very light and airy and not as heavy as you would think a gratin to be.  I HIGHLY recommed this as an alternative use for spaghetti squash.

Stuffed Squash Blossoms and Incredible Sweet Potatos

    As I said in my last post, I have been wanting to try stuffed squash blossoms for a long time and I finally got my chance.  I bought eight of them at the farmers market on Saturday and sent them home with my wife as I went to work.  I asked her to take them out of the paper bag I had them in, put them in plastic and in the fridge.  Chaos ensued.  Evidently they warmed up just enough in the bag that when Wendi opened it, the "dozens" of bugs living in the blossoms became active and flew out of the bag in a "cloud" as soon as she opened the bag.  OH..and a grasshopper jumped out of the bag too!  Her and Simon spent a little while chasing down and "squashing" bugs. 
   Well, after a thorough cleaning, I did stuff the blossoms with a mixture of goat cheese and a bit of ricotta (should have left the ricotta out!) and fried them in a beer batter (1 cup flour, salt pepper and enough beer to make a thin batter).  After all this waiting and excitement....they were okay.   Just okay.  I am terrible at deep frying things so I don't think I had the oil hot enough and they soaked up a bit too much oil.  Also, the batter did not coat them as well as I had hoped.  A good first try. 
    On Wednesday of last week we got our harvest basket and it had white sweet potatos in it.  I remembered these from last year and they are delicious.  Last time I just roasted them whole with a bit of salt and they tasted great.  This time I wanted to channel a little southern lady (my mother) and candy them.  I cut them into large chunks and put them in a baking dish with butter and brown sugar.  That's it.  I roasted them at 400 degrees for about 40 minutes (stiring them once or twice to get all them covered in the syrup).  Oh my...they were excellent.  I served them with some grilled pork chops and some greens that I also got from the basket.  A simple, but excellent Sunday dinner. 
   I think tomorrow I am going to try and make a gratin with some spaghetti squash.  The truth is that I do not like spaghetti squash very well and I thought I would try something different.  I'll let you know how it goes. 

We hope to have our camera back soon!   I keep forgetting to bring one home from work. 

I am so excited about this one!!!!

For years I have seen chefs on television cooking squash blossoms and they always look great.  There is something about them that always looks so delicate and tasty that I have always wanted to try.  I have NEVER NEVER NEVER seen them anywhere that I could buy them UNTIL TODAY!!!!   The downtown Lafayette farmers market had them four for $2 so I bought eight.  I think I am going to stuff them with goat cheese and tempura fry them.  Yummy!  I'll let you know how they come out!

Ethiopian Food - Doro and Misr Wat

    My wife and I try to incorporate Ethiopian culture into our lives as much as possible.  We want our son to have some connection with his heritage and food it a great way to do that.  I have been working on these recipes for a few years now and I think I am finally getting pretty good at them.  These are my versions, but that taste great and are very similar to what I had during my trip to Ethiopia.  Both dishes use Berbere spice, which is a hot pepper spice mixture used heavily in Ethiopian cooking.  It is worth ordering!  It has a lot of heat, but also a great and really unique flavor.

Doro Wat
5-6 chicken legs (they really do work best!)
Juice of one lemon
3 medium red onions
1 tsp sugar (not traditional, but it helps)
1/2 cup butter
1/2 tsp fenugreek
1/4 tsp Turmeric
1/8 tsp Cardamom (ground)
1/4 cup Berbere spice (You can find it online!)
Salt (to taste)
Water as needed 
2-4 hard boiled eggs (optional)

This is one of the very fist Ethiopian dishes I ever tried.  It is the main dish for most traditional meals (Christmas etc.).  First you want to let the Chicken set in the lemon juice for about an hour or so.    While that happens, start dicing your onions.  I like to dice them very fine (I have even used my food processor). 
In a hot stockpot, saute your onions (DO NOT USE ANY OIL!) until they lose most of their moisture and start to carmelize a little.  I like to add a tiny bit of sugar to aid in carmelizing the onions.   Once this gets to the point that it want to stick and burn, add in your butter.   Then add in all of your spices and stir them in.  Next add the chicken and lemon juice marinade and put a lid on it.  Typically you would cook this on the stove top, but I like to put mine into a 350 degree oven for about an hour and a half.  You may need to add a bit of water after half and hour or so.  I really depends on how much liquid comes out of your chicken.  When this is done, you should have a thick sauce and chicken that is falling off the bone.  I like to pull my chicken legs out of the sauce, remove the meat and add the meat back into the sauce.   Here is a great time to add your hardboiled eggs.  Just take the shell off them and poke them all over with a fork to allow some of the sauce to seep in.  The eggs are my favorite part!   This would normally be eaten with the hand with Ethiopian flatbread called Injera, but we like to serve it over rice or couscous also. 

Misr Wat (red lentil stew)
1 cup red lentils 
1 can chicken stock
1/2 medium onion
1 carrot (diced)
1 stalk celery (diced)
1 can diced tomatoes
1/2 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cardamom
1 TBS Berbere
salt 
butter for sauteing

   Start this recipe by sauteing the onion, carrot and celery in butter until softened.  Next stir in all the spices and let them toast for a minute.  Add your lentils, tomatoes  and stock, cover tightly and simmer until the lentils are cooked.  You may need to add more stock or water as this goes.  In the end you should have a bot of lentils that are a bit on the mushy side.  I actually like to smash mine a little extra (especially if I substitute green lentils as they don't cook up as easily as the red) with a potato masher.   Serve hot or at room temperature with Injera, rice, or couscous.  

    I have tried and tried to make Injera this traditional way and it never comes out well for me.  It was so bad once that the ducks at our local pond wouldn't even eat it.  Here is a quick version you can try that comes out well.   I think this recipe came from Marcus Samuelson's book on African cooking.  It is a fantastic book if you like trying new things.  You can find the Teff flour at most health food stores.  

Injera
3/4 cup all purpose flour
3/4 cup Teff flour
1 cup plain yogurt
2 cups (or more) club soda
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt


Mix the flours, salt and baking soda together in a bowl.  In a separate bowl mix the yogurt and club soda then add that mixture to the flour mixture and stir.  This should be the consistency of thin pancake batter.  I make mine a lot like crepes.  I get my largest nonstick skillet hot over medium heat and pour the batter in.  I then lift the pan and tip it around in circles to spread the batter out evenly over the surface of the pan.  You want this pretty thin.  cook for about 30 seconds then cover and cook for another 30 seconds.  Remove from pan and let them cool.  This can be very tricky and you will surely lose a few the first time you try this. 
    

Grilled vegetable corn chowder - This was really nice on these first few cold days.

Okay....so I've been gone a couple of weeks.  I have been fighting allergies, and sinus problems as well as returning to college to complete a nursing degree.  I've been busy to say the least.  Our basket this week was kind basic, but I was able to make a nice soup with some of it as well as some corn we had frozen from earlier baskets.  I wish I had a good photo, but alas...my wife left our home camera at my parents house. 

Grilled vegetable corn chowder
4 oz.  diced ham
4 ears corn on the cob
2 cups corn cut off the cob
1 red pepper
1/2 yellow onion
2 carrots
1 1/2 cups new potatos diced
1 qt.  chicken stock
1 cup white wine
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1/4 cup fresh cilantro
1/2 cup half and half (optional)
Salt and Pepper

     The first thing you want to do it fire up your grill and char the 4 ears of corn, the red pepper, the onion and the carrots.    Just put them over high heat so that they get a little char on them.  Don't worry if they are not cooked through.  Set them aside to cool.  
     Put your 2 cups of corn that is off the cob into a blender with some of the chicken stock, and puree it until it is as smooth as you can get it.  Set it aside.
     In a large stockput add a bit of olive oil and then your ham.  Cook until browned. Next add your grilled and diced up onion, pepper, and carrot in  a little olive oil and give a quick stir over medium heat.  Then add the grilled corn (after you have cut it off the cob of course!), followed by the white wine.   Bring this to a simmer and add the pureed corn and all of your chicken stock. Once this has returned to a simmer, add your potatos and some of your cilantro, Thyme, salt and pepper and cook until the potatos are tender.  This should look like a creamy soup without the cream.  I went ahead and added a bit of half and half just to make it a bit creamier, but you could easily leave that out.  Add a bit of cilantro to your bowl when you serve this.  It is fantastic.  I think this would also be great using butternut squash instead of potatoes. 

Ribollita!!!!!!! I have been waiting years to make this!

   While my wife and I were on our honeymoon in Tuscany, I had this fantastic, hearty soup and I loved it.  I must have had it three or four different times at 3 or 4 different restaurants.  All were slightly different.  This weeks vegetables made me think about it again, and of course, I put my own twist on it (mostly to use the vegetables that I had on hand). 

Ribollita

1 medium onion (large dice)
3 stalks celery diced
1 cup diced carrot
1 cup diced peppers (I had a wide variety from   the market this week)
1 medium yellow squash
1 cup tomatoes diced
1 cup dry white wine
1 1/2 cup chopped Cabbage
3 small leeks (I had these and decided to throw them in!)
3 cans chicken stock
2 cups marinara (homeade is of course better.  I made mine with last weeks tomatoes)
4 cloves garlic
1 tsp dry oregano
fresh basil  (I used a LOT, but use as much as you like)
Salt and Pepper
2 cans cannellini beans
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
2 cups crusty bread cubed

Okay...that is a LOT of ingredients.  At least more than most of the stuff I make.  I cooked my onion, carrot, celery and peppers in a little olive oil until they started to soften.  I then added my tomatoes, squash, garlic, leeks, red pepper flakes and oregano.  After a bit I added my white wine and then chicken stock, and my cabbage.  I let this simmer for quite a while until all the vegetables were tender. 
    At this point I stopped since I wasn't planning on serving it until the next evening.  I let it cool and put it in the fridge over night. 
    The next day I added my beans and  heated it back to a simmer, I added my marinara and basil and simmered for another hour or so.  Lastly, I added my bread and simmered until the bread, sort of , fell apart.  (I cut the crusts off mine as I thought it would help).  This should be VERY thick.  Hardly a soup at all. Serve in a bowl topped with a bit of parmesan cheese and a drizzle of good olive oil. 

RESULTS:  This came out very, very close to what I remember in Italy.  However,  my cabbage was still quite crunch...I couldn't believe that.  If I didn't have the cabbage, I think Kale would have been a much better substitute for the original "Black Cabbage" that most Ribollita recipes call for.  Also, some tomato paste right after sauteeing the onion, carrot, celery and peppers would have made a big difference.  My final result wasn't quite tomato-ee enough.  Still a very good, hearty soup. 

This weeks Haul of Vegetables

Here is the list of our items for the week:

1 head of cabbage
leeks
cherry tomatoes
tomatillos
Squash
Cucumber
Carrots
and a few "Scratch and Dent' tomatoes that Kevin gave me!

     I have been wanting to make "Ribollita" for a while now.  It is a really hearty Tuscan vegetable soup with cabbage, white beans and day old bread.  You top it off with marinara so I will use my tomatoes for that as well.  I fell in love with Ribollitta in Italy while on my honeymoon and have always wanted to try my hand at making it.  They use black cabbage, but I have never seen or heard of that around here so green will have to do.  It can't be that different.....right????    I think I will try that this week.  My in-laws are coming so I can't be too creative in the kitchen.  They are classic Pennsylvania Dutch and aren't very adventurous. 

Basket Tomorrow...but a great dinner tonight

Grilled Marinated Swordfish, lemony basmati rice, and green beans.  Some friends gave us some swordfish steaks and I decided they would make a nice quick dinner tonight. 

Swordfish
Swodfish steaks
Mirin
Soy sauce
garlic
Ginger
Lemon Juice

  I mixed all the marinade ingredients together and marinated the fish in it for about 4 hours.  I got my grill good and hot and grilled them until barely done through. 

Lemony Basmati Rice
1/4 cup diced onion
1/4 cup diced carrot
3/4 cup basmati rice
1 cup Chicken Stock
2 TBS Lemon Juice
1 tsp lemon zest
Pinch of salt

I sauted my carrot and onion until soft and then added my rice, stock, salt, zest and Juice.  Bring to a boil then cover and set on low heat for 20 minutes.  Fluff with a fork and serve.

This was very good.  I only wish the rice had a bit more lemon flavor.  Next time I will put a bit more zest and lemon juice.  It was a very nice, light dinner.

Pasta Caponata......sort of.

  Here is how this one came about.  I have said before that I watch entirely too many cooking shows.  On several I saw them make caponata as a dip and I thought to myself.....I bet that would be great as a pasta sauce.  We got several eggplants , some tomatos and some peppers in our basket this week so I was off and running.  Not a traditional caponata, but made with what I had on hand.

Caponata

3 small eggplants diced (skin left on)
1/2 small onion
1 small bell pepper
1 medim tomato diced
1/2 small can tomato paste
juice of 1 lemon
1/4 cup red wine
1 TBS red wine vinegar
1/2 cup green olives
1/2 cup fresh parsley
1/4 cup almonds
good olive oil!

   First of all, it was supposed to be pine nuts not almonds, but have you seen the price of those things!  No way.  I like almonds better in my pesto so I thought what the heck.  First I sauted my eggplant, onion, and bell pepper in olive oil until well softened.  I then added the chopped tomato and tomato paste and cooked it a bit to carmelize the tomato paste.  I then added the red wine (mostly because I had an open bottle sitting there and thought it could only help).  I transferred all of this to my food processor.  I added about 1/2 of the olives,red wine vinegar, lemon juice, parsley,  and the almonds and pureed.  I added this back to my pan. Rough chopped the remaining olives for texture and added them.  I then added my pasta, tossed it together and served.  Really nice.  I feel like it was missing some flavor, but I couldn't put my finger on it.  I think I might try it as a dip soon with some pita chips. 

Sorry forgot to take a photo! Chicken Corn Chowder

   As a photographer, by trade, you would think I would remember to take photos of the recipes I make.  I forgot to do it with this one.  We got a LOT of corn in our last basket and some red potatos and some onions so that sounds like corn chowder to me.   I even went so far as to make my own chicken stock for this one. 

Chicken Corn Chowder
4 Chicken Drimsticks
1 qt chicken stock
2 cups sweet corn
2 cups red potatos 1/2 inch dice
1 small onion diced
2 carrots diced
1 pt. half and half
salt and pepper

   For this one, I boiled the chicken legs until they were done and then used the water and bones to make my stock, with a little celery, carrot, onion, water.  Oh ya...I roasted the bones first.  I diced up the chicken and set it aside. 
    

A Guatemalan Dish.....Jocon. LOVE IT!

Okay...I did NOT want to make salsa with my tomatillos.  I love it, but it was just too easy and boring.  I posted that I wanted to make something different and a friend said to try "Jocon".  So I did.  Here is how it went.

Jocon

3 boneless chicken thighs
1 can chicken stock
1 cup tomatillos (diced)
1/4 cup sesame seeds
1/4 cup pumpkin seeds
1 bunch cilantro
1 small onion
2 corn tortillas (soaked in water then drained)
1 jalapeno pepper
1/4 tsp cumin (optional)
salt
pepper

Okay...first I put my can of stock and about 1 cup of water in a pot.  I added some cilantro stems, some cumin and the chicken and simmered it until the chicken was done.  Skim off any foam on top as you go. 

As that is going, I toasted my seeds in a small pan and put them into my food processor (DO NOT DO WHAT I DID).  You will be much better served to use a coffee grinder and grind these into a fine powder.  My food processor did not get it fine enough.  After that, I added my tomatillos, onion, jalepeno, cilantro and tortilla to the processor and pureed until as smooth as I could get it.  I added a bit of the stock the chicken was cooking in to make it blend better.

When the chicken was done I removed it from the pot and strained the stock.  I added my tomatillo mix to the pan and thinned it out a bit more with the stock.  I shredded the chicken and returned it to the pot, and simmered it for about 20 minutes more.  I then seasoned with salt and pepper and served it over rice.  Garnish with cilantro and enjoy.  I WILL BE MAKING THIS AGAIN.  I LOVED IT!

note:  in this I used several items from my basket.  Tomatillos, onions, and jalapenos.  I think I might try some fried green tomatillos next.  Kinda like a friend green tomato....How does that sound to you?

Thai Green Curry with Eggplant

   I haven't posted for a while!  Last week I used almost all of my vegetables in one single dish...my spicy cabbage rolls.  This week we got some nice stuff from our basket and a bit from a friend with a large garden (thanks Randy!).  Thanks to our basket and Randy we have several small eggplant to work with and some peppers.  I thought....GREEN CURRY!  One of our favorite restaurants has a great green curry so I am going to try and replicate that...to some extent.  Here it is:

Green Curry with Eggplant
3 small eggplant cut on the bias
1 zucchini cut into matchsticks
2 TBS green curry paste
1 can coconut milk
2 small chicken breasts
4-5 basil leaves
1 small bell pepper sliced
2 jalepeno peppers Sliced into strips
2 Scallions
1 tsp fish sauce
Salt and Pepper

I cut the eggplant and sauted it in a bit of oil until it started to brown. I removed it from the pan and cooked my chicken quickly in the same pan.  I then removed it.  I then added my zucchini, and peppers and cooked for only a minute or so on high heat before adding back the chicken and the eggplant.  Next I stirred in the curry paste and let it cook for a few seconds before adding the coconut milk, fish sauce, salt and pepper.  I let this go on medium heat for about 5 minutes just to let the flavors meld.  Just before serving, I added my chopped basil and then the scallions as a garnish.  Serve over a little rice and you have a wonderful dish.  I think this would also be great with a little cilantro instead of the basil.

Spicy Vegetable Cabbage Rolls - An invented Recipe

     When we picked up this weeks basket, I admit that I wasn't very inspired.  However, I pushed forward and sought advice from others in the CSA farmer's basket world and received a great idea.  (Thanks Steven!!!).   I am going to attempt to make Spicy Vegetable cabbage rolls.  I am literally going to use about every vegetable I have on hand in this one.  I have eaten cabbage rolls twice before...I think.  I have never seen a recipe or had anyone describe to me how to make them...so this should be interesting.  Here is what I think I am going to do:

Spicy Cabbage Rolls

1 head Cabbage 

2 small carrots

1/2 yellow onion

1 small yukon gold potatos
1/4 cup sweet peas
1 cup cooked rice (not fully cooked)
1 clove garlic
1/2 cup broccoli florets
1 small bunch Kale (diced)
1 tsp Cayenne Pepper
1/2 tsp ground Cumin
1/2 cup chicken stock
Salt and Pepper

Sauce
4 tomatoes
1/4 cup chopped Parsley
1/4 cup diced onion
2 cloves garlic
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
3/4 tsp Mekalesha (Ethiopian Spice Blend) OBVIOUSLY OPTIONAL!
Salt and Pepper

   I think that I remember something about blanching my cabbage leaves first so I did that (in order to make them more pliable?)  In a pan I started with my onion, carrots and garlic in a bit of olive oil.  I then added my potatoes that I diced into about 1/4 inch pieces.  Next I added my Sweet peas, Broccoli, Kale and finally my rice. I added a bit of chicken stock and cooked it until most of that was evaporated or absorbed by the rice.  Set Aside to cool.

     After it cooled I layed out 2 leaves, overlapping.  I placed a large spoonful of mixture into the middle of the leaves and rolled them like a burrito or eggroll.   I then placed them into a backing dish.  (I put a little of my sauce in the bottom of the baking dish first).  I had a lot of leftover filling so I spread that around on top of the rolls before I added the sauce.

RESULTS:  The filling for this came out wonderful.  It had a great texture and a great taste.  The only real problem I had is that I didn't have a big enough head of cabbage.  I think this is a recipe that really tastes great and I will make it again when I have a bigger head of cabbage with larger leaves to work with. 

     For the sauce, I started a saucepan with a little olive oil, onion and garlic. Once that softened I added my diced tomatoes.    I then added my red pepper and Mekalesha.  After that it was just a matter of seasoning to taste with Salt and Pepper, and pureeing with a stick blender. 

   I ladled the sauce over the rolls and baked, covered, at 350 deg.  for about 45 minutes. 

Hoping for Some Inspiration!!!

Okay...so today is the day!  We pick up our CSA basket on Wednesdays at the West Lafayette, IN farmers Market from Cooley Family Farms.  They are always so nice and helpful.  By what I saw at the weekends farmers market, there is a lot of things coming ripe this time of year.  I am really hoping for something this week that inspires me. 
   I haven't had a lot of time to cook the last two weeks.  My 2 year old has been in swim lessons right after work so it has mostly been about grabbing a "quick bite" and off to the pool.  I am really "jonesing" to cook something new and unusual.  I am also looking forward to some sweet corn!  We haven't got any yet, but I am betting that this is the week.  Maybe also some melons!
   I will let you know later what we got and if I have any good plans.  The "surprise" aspect of the harvest basket is really tough sometimes!

ART and 3 fresh dips!

I had a gallery exhibit of my Fine Art Photography on Friday and decided to use some of my vegetables to create some "Dips" to put out for my guests.  Out of the 3...2 came out great.   The other one was good, but I think it is missing something.  Maybe you could fix it.

#1  White Bean and Spinach Dip
(you can find the recipe for this in an earlier post)

#2 Gazpacho Dip (Use as a dip or as a cold soup.  Excellent either way!)

3 Tomatos (large)
1/2 Red onion
2 cucumbers (medium)
1 Jalepeno (small)
1/4 cup Fesh dill (Chopped fine)
Salt, Pepper
Lime Juice

This one came out very good.  I am not a huge fan of Gazpacho, but this is pretty good.  Simply place everything, except the salt, pepper and Lime Juice in a food processor and let it rip.  Don't blend it too smooth if you are using it as a dip.  I like it a bit "Chunkier".  Add the salt, pepper and Lime Juice to fit your tastes.

#3  Southwestern Zucchini Dip
4 medium Zucchini
1/2 yellow onion
1 Jalepeno
1/2 cup Chicken Stock
1 tsp Cumin
1/2 tsp Cayenne
Salt and Pepper

I found a recipe similar to this online (which is how I got the idea), but then I couldn't find it again...so I made it up.  It came out okay, but I think it needs something.    I diced the onion and Jalepeno and sweated them in olive oil until they were soft.  I then added the cubed (3/4 inch) zucchini, the chicken stock and the spices.  Simmer on low until the zucchini gets soft and the chicken stock has evaporated.  Remove all to a bowl and mash well with a potato masher.  I think this needs to be strained and mixed with some sour cream or something.  What do you think?

Arugula and Cashew Pesto

I am a bit embarrassed to admit that the first time I ever even had Arugula was last year.  Before then, I did the majority of my shopping in supermarkets and I have NEVER seen Arugula there.  Needless to say that once I tasted it...I LOVED IT!  However, I had no idea what to do with it.   One of my friends suggested a pesto with Arugula and Walnuts.  We tried that and liked it, but I am just not a big fan of walnuts.  This year we bought a big bunch of Arugula with the plans to make up the pesto and freeze it for later use.  I also decided to try something a little different, and that is when I opted for Cashews.

Arugula and Cashew Pesto
Arugula (I used two large bags)
Cashews (roasted and salted, about 1 cup)
garlic (about 4-5 cloves)
olive oil (about 1/4 - 1/2 cup)
Parmesan Cheese ((1/4 - 1/2 cup)
Salt, Pepper

  When you make this you can vary the amounts to fit your taste.  I simply added everything except about 1/2 of the olive oil to my food processor.  I drizzled in the remaining olive oil until I got to the consistency that I was looking for.  I spooned about 1/3 cup into zip-top bags and then put them in the freezer.  You can thaw them quickly by putting them in a bowl of hot tap-water. 

   This came out GREAT.  To me, the walnuts were a little too bitter in combination with the bitterness of the Arugula.  The Cashews brought a nice nuttiness as well as a richness that went much better with the spicy Arugula.  I can't wait to try this on some pasta with a little squeeze of lemon Juice.  I also plan to use some of it with some pork loin.  I like to cut the loin so as to "unroll" it, cover it with a thick layer of pesto an then roll it back up and tie it.  Give it a good grillin' and it will be fantastic.  I'll let you know how that one comes out.  Maybe I will make that next week!

chicken cacciatore...sort of.

Okay..I admit....I have only had real chicken cacciatore once in my life, but that was in Florence Italy.  I have never even seen a recipe for it, so this is PURELY interpretation. 

chicken cacciatore
4 boneless Chicken Thighs (bone in is fine)
1/2 cup celery rough chopped
1/2 cup carrot rough chopped
1 small onion quartered
3 med-lg. tomatos quartered
10-12 basil leaves
1/2 cup parsley chopped
3 cloves garlic
1 cup red wine
1/2 cup chopped black olives
salt and pepper

I like to get some olive oil REALLY hot in my pan and add my chicken thighs to brown.  While that is happening, I put everything else except the wine, into my food processor and give it a whirl.  This never really gets smooth so don't worry if it is a bit chunky.  It will good down fine.  Quite honestly, I prefer it a little "Rustic". 
After my chicken is brown I remove it from the pan and return the pan to the heat.  Once it is REALLY hot again, I add my puree to the pan and let it go for a few minutes.  This would also be a good time to add some tomato paste if you have some. (I didn't have any on hand so I left it out.)  I then add my wine and return my chicken to the pan. 
I like to cook it on the stovetop without a lid for about an hour at just above a simmer.  A very slow boil.  If it starts to get too dry, I add a bit more wine or some water. 
After a while the vegetables will begin to break down and make a nice thick sauce.  This is when I add the olives.  I let it go about another 1/2 hour until the chicken is almost falling apart. 
Serve over some pasta, garnish with some fresh basil and enjoy. 
( I sometimes like to add about 1/4 cup of grated parmesan cheese near the end of the cooking, but that can also be left up to the individual diner to add however much they like.)

This weeks haul!

Well today was a good basket day!  Here is what we got:

Tomatos
Cucumbers
Yukon Gold Potatos
Broccoli
Salad
Basil
Parsley
Dill
Green Beans

I think that is it.  I also purchased about 3 bunches of Arugula to make some pesto.  I'll be putting that recipe up sometime soon.

I have some plans for this basket already.  Tonight I am making chicken cacciatore for tomorrow's dinner.  My son has swim lessons right after work so this is a good "make ahead" recipe.  I think It actually tastes better after one day.  I will also use some of the tomatos and cucumber for some Gazpacho dip.  I think I will make this really thick and use it for a dip.  I have an art gallery opening on Friday and think I will make a few dips.  The Green Beans I am going to try a recipe I got off the facebook group CSA for newbies. 
We'll see how the week goes!

Blueberry and Goat Cheese Turnovers

Okay...I have been working on this one for a while.  My first attempt was in "pie" form and it came out pretty good....at first.  Right out of the oven it was beautiful, but after it set until the next day when I wanted to serve it to guests...It got soggy.  I TASTED WONDERFUL...but it was an embarrassing disappointment.  BUT!  Since the farmers' market is full of blueberries...We try again. 

This is a version of a recipe I saw on food network and have never been able to make it come out just right.  Here was tonights attempt:

Dough:
1 1/2 cups AP Four

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
3 TBS butter (melted)
7 TBS lemon Juice
1/4 cup hot water

Filling:
1 8oz. pkg. Cream cheese
1 4oz. pkg. goat cheese
1 egg
1 egg yolk
1 pint blueberries
1/2 cup sliced almonds
8 basil leaves (chopped)
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup Sugar

Start the dough by putting the flour, spices, salt and baking soda in a food processer and pulse to combine.  I then add the lemon juice and butter at the same time while pulsing.  I then turn on the processor and let it run while I add the hot water.  After it forms a ball, put in a bowl that you have coated with cooking spray, cover and let sit for 15 minutes. 

The filling is pretty easy... add everything except the blueberries and mix thoroughly.  Then gently "fold" in the blueberries so as not to crush them. 

I boke off golf ball sized pieces of dough and rolled them out to about 4-5 inch rounds.  Placed a large dollop of filling in the middle, wet 1/2 of the edge with water and then fold over into a semi-circle and crimp closed.  Place on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper. 
I brushed the tops of mine with a little egg wash (cut a slit in the top of each if baking)  and baked at 400 degrees until golden brown.  These would be MUCH better fried.  I just hate frying anything. 

Critique:  Well,  Still not perfect.  I think I needed more sugar and I should have fried them.  Mine exploded a little in the oven and the juice made the bottoms wet and a bit soggy.  Not all of them...but a few.  The do taste great.  The basil and blueberry really go together well, and the goat cheese just gives it a bit of a tanginess.  If you can "fix" this recipe....PLEASE tell me what you did.  I can make it taste good, but I just can't seem to make it pretty. 

Summer Bolognese

One of my wife and I's favorite dishes.  It is a light pasta dish that leaves a LOT of room for variation and experimentation.  Calling it a "bolognese" is probably pushing the term a bit too far in my opinion, but it is very good.  I think I first read this recipe in one of my wife's magazines...Real Simple...I think.  However, over the last couple of years I have tweaked it to fit our tastes.  Today I used the following recipe.

Summer Bolognese
1 lb. Lean Ground Turkey
1 zucchini (grated)
2 medium tomatos diced (canned also will work)
1 Small sweet onion
1/2 cup Summer Squash (diced)
1/2 cup Sweet peas
2 cloves Garlic
2 carrots (diced small)
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese 
basil leaves (chopped) AS MUCH AS YOU LIKE!
Optional vegetation!
Spinach (or other greens)
Red Bell pepper
Can you think of anything else that might be good in here?  let me know!

I by adding a bit of oil to my pan and sauteing my shallot, garlic and carrots (and red pepper if you are using it) for a few minutes.  I then add my ground turkey and start breaking it up.  When it is "not quite" cooked through, I add the grated zucchini  and white wine.  Bring this to a simmer and add the tomato.  After the wine has reduced by about half I add my basil and Parmesan cheese.  Simmer for a minute or two more until the sauce gets a little thick and  serve over pasta.  If your sauce reduces too much...just add some of your pasta water as the starch in it will also help thicken the sauce.

In this dish alone I used the following items from my basket and the farmers market in general.   Onion, Garlic, Peas, Carrots, Zucchini, Squash, tomatos and basil.  This is a GREAT ONE for using a variety of vegetables and it really does taste great. 

Pho...huh? Chicken Sausage, Pho and Summer Rolls

Okay...this is a BIG one.  A lot of vegetables from our basket and a lot of ingredients.   Here goes!  First I made the chicken sausage (I had some casings left over from making Hungarian Hotdogs a while back so I thought it would be fun to try.  I think these would make good meatballs for the soup, but I wanted to play with the casing idea.  I also wanted to create something "hotdog-like" that my two-year-old would eat that had some vegetables. I basically, just chopped everything finely in my food processor and then put them in casings.   I grilled these until almost done and then sliced them into chunks for the soup.

Chicken Sausage

2 boneless chicken thighs

2 cloves garlic (crushed)

1/4 tsp Sezchuan Pepper

1/4 tsp Korean Chili paste

1/4 cup mustard greens

1 egg

1 tsp Hoisin sauce

3 TBS  Sweet Peas
Salt and pepper. 

 

Next I started on the Pho or Asian Noodle soup if it is too far off from Pho for you.

Pho (Asian Noodle Soup)
1/4 cup carrot (diced)
1/2 onion (diced)
3 Green Garlic Shoots (really...what do you call these)
1 TBS Mirin

1 tsp Hoisin

1 tsp Fish sauce

1 tsp soy sauce

1/4 tsp Sezchuan Pepper

3 cans chicken stock

1 package noodles

1 cup Chicken Sausage

1/4 cup Cilantro chopped (more reserved for garnish)

1 TBS Lime Juice (reserve extra lime wedges for garnish)

I started out by sauting my carrot, garlic and onion in a little oil until they start to get soft.  I then add all of my spices and sauces.  Next we add the chicken stock and some of the sausage and let that simmer for a little while.  At the last minute, I add the noodles, then Cilantro and Lime Juice.  You can adjust with Salt if needed.  Serve steaming hot with cilantro, lime and hoisin on the side so you can add however much you like.  Feel free to omit the fish sauce if you don't like it.  It is a bit weird. 

Next a little side for the soup that uses up a few more vegetables.  I LOVE summer rolls.  I just used what I had on hand. 

Summer Rolls

Rice Paper wrappers

bean sprouts

basil

Lettuce greens

carrot

cilantro

Dunk the rice wrappers in warm water until pliable and fill with your vegetables.  Roll up and enjoy.  I would usually make a sauce for these out of fish sauce, soy sauce and lime juice with some sliced chilis, but with the soup...it just wasn't necessary. 

My thoughts on Recipes

I know I am writing this blog as if I am some kind of "authority" on cooking.  Believe me...I am NOT.  I am, however, a cook who is willing to experiment and try something different.  I usually tell dinner guests to come with the knowledge that they might be getting "take out" pizza for dinner if I screw things up too badly.  Admitted...it hasn't happened yet...but it still could. 
Here is whow I usually decide what to make..and how to make it.  First of all...I watch WAY TOO MANY cooking shows.  I love them.  I am addicted to them.  My favorite show is the old Japanese version of Iron Chef.  Food network doesn't show it anymore, but I really wish they would.   I loved the idea of "mystery" ingredients that you had to figure out what to do with (Many of the ingredients on that show were still a mystery AFTER they told me what it was.  That is what I like about our CSA basket.  I get to be an Iron Chef. 

When I get our basket, I usually get a few ideas right off, but if I don't...there is always the internet.  What I will do is read as many recipes as I can for something and then promptly ignore them and do whatever it is that I want.  You see...I consider recipes as loose "guidelines".  I take  what I like from the recipes I see and then put them together how I see fit.  Sometimes it works...sometimes it doesn't, but it is always an adventure.  I hope that anyone and everyone approaches my recipes on here the same way.  Maybe you can make and improvement on what I came up with.  If you do...please let me know.  My recipes are always changeing and evolving. Partly because I learn more and partly because I don't write them down and my memory sucks.  Oh well.

Gyros....great results

Okay...so I made the gyros for dinner tonight.  After last nights prep work (making the tzatziki and marinading the flank steak), I had a quick and easy meal tonight.  I simply grilled up the steak, some onion and some pitas and served it alongside the tzatzkiki, some chopped tomato, cucumber, some feta cheese and a little bit of our salad greens.  It really came out great.  The marinade for the meat was fantastic.  I was a little afraid that I had put too much lemon juice and it would "cook" the meat overnight.  But...Nope!  It came out great.  I let it rest about 5 minutes after grilling and sliced it against the grain and it came out with a great flavor and very tender.  I am becoming a BIG FAN of flank steak. 

 

I have tomorrow afternoon off so it will be a major cooking day as I take a stab at my version of the vietnamese soup...pho.  It won't be traditional, but it should be good.  I have no recipe I am following...I am just going to "wing it".   I will let you know how it goes!

Grilled Gyros and Pho in the planning stages.

Just got our basket for this week and it looks pretty good.  Simple...but good.  Here is what I will be working with for the week:

Bag of Mixed Lettuce
Bok Choy
Green Garlic
Mustard Greens
Sugar Snap Peas
Broccoli
4 tomatos
Carrots (I bought these in addition to our basket)
Two Cucumbers (left over from last week!)

Tonight I started working on dinner for tomorrow.  GYROS!  I mainly was looking for a way to use my cucumbers and a bit of salad mix.  Tonight I made my version of Tzatziki, a yogurt based  sauce for our gyros.

Tzatziki:
1 cucumber grated
1 cup greek style plain yogurt
Juice of 1 lemon
Fresh Mint (6 or 8) leaves (minced)
1 TBS greek oregano (minced)

Mix all ingredients together and let sit overnight.  I also marinated my flank steak in a mixture of Garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, oregano, honey, salt and pepper and a little soy sauce.  Tomorrow I will grill the steak and my pita bread, and maybe a bit of red onion and serve it all as a sandwich with some of my salad mix, tomato, and our tzatziki.  Should be good!  I'll let you know tomorrow. 

Also looking ahead a bit, I think I will use some of my carrots, broccoli, snap peas, green garlic, and bok choy in a soup similar to vietnamese pho.  Not exactly the same, but I would say "inspired" by pho.  I'll let you know how that one goes too.

Our favorite Salad....with a twist.

When my wife and I are wanting something light for dinner, we often turn to an old "stand-by".  It is a salad that is very filling and tastes great.  With all the fresh lettuces we get in our harvest basket, we make it quite often, however this week we mixed it up a little.

Salad:
1 bag mixed greens
2 Grilled Chicken breasts
1/2 cup blue cheese (or goat cheese)
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup almonds

Dressing:
8 (or so) raspberries
Juice of 1 lime
1 TBS  Balsamic Vinegar
1/2 tsp  Dijon Mustard
1 1/2  tsp Honey
Salt and Pepper
1/4 cup olive oil

Normally we eat this salad with Blue Cheese and a balsamic vinegret dressing and it is really good.  However..just to mix it up a bit (and used another item from our basket) we used Goat cheese and some Raspberry Venegret.  I simply through all the dressing ingredients into a blender and blended until emulsified.  In retrospect....I think I should have strained the dressing afterword.  I am still picking seeds out of my teeth.  The goat cheese was also a nice change.  This is a great dinner salad. 

When all else fails.....PASTA PRIMAVERA!

When given a diverse buch of vegetables to use, it is great to have Pasta Primavera in your arsenal of "loose" recipes (and by "loose" I mean they are easy to change in and out ingredients).  Here is what I am making today.  I am not putting amounts in the recipe because it is totally up to you how much you put in.  It won't affect the recipe at all.

Pasta Primavera
Bacon
Penne Pasta
Garlic
Onion
Yellow Squash
Peas
Arugala
Parmesan Cheese
Salt and Pepper

Start your pasta cooking and then:  Dice up your bacon ( I used 2 strips) and render it down in a saute pan.  Remove the bacon and drain, while reserving about 1 TBS of the drippings.  In the drippings I add a little olive oil, garlic and onion and begin sauteing.  I try not to cook the vegetables too much as I like them to have a little texture in the final product.  I then added my peas and sauted them for a minute or two.  I then added my Yellow Squash which I cut into matchsticks.  I only cook the squash for a minute or so.  At this point I usually add about 1/4 cup of the pasta water and all the pasta to the saute pan.   Toss to coat in the oil, add the arugala, parmesan cheese, salt and pepper.  Toss again and serve.  Also great to add:  Cherry tomatos, Red Peppers, basil, Zucchini, Carrot. etc.  Whatever you have on hand!

RESULTS:  This really came out nice...arugula really just is perfect with pasta.  I would have loved to add a bit of dry white wine when I added the pasta water and maybe a few cherry tomatos. It was good but it would have been better with just a bit of zing from those two things...I just didn't have any on hand.

Turnip Bubble and Sqeak!

Thanks to someone from a CSA group on facebook, I had an idea for my Turnips.  They said that Turnips made really "zippy" hashbrowns and I ran with that idea.  I also saw, on food network, a recipe for "Bubble and Squeak", so I combined the ideas.  Here is what I did:

Turnip Bubble and Sqeak:

1 cup Turnips (cubed)

1 cup Red Potatos (cubed)

3 slices bacon,

1 cup Turnip Greens (chopped)

1 TBS Butter

Salt and Pepper

First I sauted my tunip greens in a little olive oil and garlic.  Once they were done, I set them aside to cool.  After coating with olive oil, salt and pepper, I roasted my potatos and turnips in a 400 degree oven until  they were fork tender and a little browned.  While they were cooking I cooked up some bacon, crumble it and dicarded most of the oil. 
I then combined everything in a bowl with a little butter and mixed until the potatos and turnips started to break up a little.  I re-heated the bacon drippings in my small frying pan and added the mixture to it.  I let it go for a while without turning and mashed it all down into the pan like one big pancake.  After it started to brown, I gave it a flip, brown the other side and served. 

RESULTS:  This actually came out pretty good.  We had Salmon Croquettes on the menu tonight and this went with it pretty well.  I think the only thing I would change is to use a different type of greens with the turnips and potatos.  The turnip greens and the turnips was just a little too much together.  I think a milder green would have worked better.  It did make a really good side dish though!

HELP!!!.....Turnips

And todays mystery basket contains: 

Mixed Lettuce

Snap Peas

Turnips

Onions

Cucumbers (2)
Yellow Squash (1)
Raspberries
Arugala (This didn't actually come in the basket, but I added it)

My wife and I had already planned for salad one night, so the lettuce is taken care of along with some of the arugala and I think I will make a raspberry vinegret dressing.  The rest of the arugala, yellow squash, onion and some of the peas I will use in a pasta primavera (a personal favorite and an easy way to use a lot of vegetables).  I am not too sure about the Cucumbers ( I generally just cut them and eat them, but I would like to try something else). 

Turnips!  Growing up, all we did was pull them out of the ground, brush the dirt off and eat them.  I really don't know much else to do with them.  I think someone put a recipe up on Facebook about steaming them in butter with mushrooms, but I'm not sure if that appeals to me too much.  Anyone have any ideas?  I am gound to spend a little time on the internet exploring possibilities, but ideas are always welcome!

Mango Sorbet and Lentil Sweet Potato Packets

I am Dying to get my harvest basket tomorrow!!!  It is always such a challenge to see what we got and figure out how to use it.  Makes me feel like an "Iron Chef".  Since I don't have the basket ready, I am still trying to be creative in my cooking.  For dinner tonight I am making Curried Lentil and Sweet potato packets. And for desert we are having Mango Sorbet.  (I have to admit that the strawberries from past weeks have made me wan to tinker with the ice cream machine a lot lately.  Also our local grocery store had mangos 10 for $10 so I had to have a little fun with them!).

I will start with the Mango sorbet since I actually started it last night so it could be thoroughly chilled before I put it in the ice cream maker.

Mango Sorbet

2 Ripe mangos cubed

1 cup sugar (minus 1 TBS)

1 cup water
1 tsp white corn syrup
1 TBS orange liquor 
1TBS lemon Juice
2 TBS Orange Juice





In a small saucepan put your water, sugar, lemon juice, orange liquor and corn syrup, and heat on meduim and stir until all sugar is dissolved.  Set aside until cool.  In a blender add your Mangos and Orange Juice (I really used the orange juice just to get the mangos liquified, but I figured it would add some flavor also).  Puree this until smooth.  Mix together the syrup with the fruit puree and chill in the fridge for at least a couple of hours.  I did mine overnight.  Put into your ice cream maker and mix until frozen.  I usually put mine in the freezer afterword to firm up a bit.  The corn syrup and liquor are there to help keep the ice crystals small and give the sorbet a good texture.  I leaned this from my Gelato experiments in earlier posts. This came out so delicious...you have to try it.  My wife and I set down and ate the whole batch for desert. 

Curried Lentil and Sweet Potato Packets
1/2 cup Green Lentils
2 small Sweet Potatoes (1/2 " dice)
1/2 medium White Onion
1 Carrots (diced small)  *Optional*
1 Clove Garlic
1/2 cup Chicken Stock
1 Red Pepper (diced)
1 1/2 tsp. Curry Powder
Salt and Pepper



The first thing you want to do is pre-cook your lentils a bit.  I simply add mine to a saucepan, cover with water (or stock) and simmer until almost they start to get soft and tender.  You can also add some spices during this part to give a bit more flavor to your lentils (consider, curry, turmeric, cumin, red pepper flakes).  After the lentils are cooked, let them cool slightly.

To assemble the packets get a couple of sheets of Aluminum Foil about 12 inches square or bigger.  I like to mix together, the Lentils, Potatos, Onions Carrots, Red Pepper, Garlic, Curry Powder, salt and pepper in a bowl and then add a large serving to the middle of the foil.  Bring up the edges of the foil leaving an opening at the top to add about 1/4 cup of chicken stock.  Now crimp the top of the foil pouch and place on a baking sheet.  I usually bake mine at about 400 degrees for 20 minutes or so.  I actually did mine on the grill along with some grilled chicken.  Open carefully and serve!  These would be great with other vegetables as well.  A good recipe for using what you have on hand.

Spinach and White Bean dip

This is still a slow week for creative cooking since we did not get a basket last week and won't get one again until this Wednesday.  However, we did pick some things up at the farmers market to play with.  First of all we picked up some snap peas to use in a stir fry along with some of our left-over green garlic and scallion.  With the addition of a little broccoli, carrot, cauliflour and some edamame we had a great little stir fry.  Not all that creative and exciting...but still quite tasty!

While at the farmers market, we also picked up some spinach (very hard to find this week) to try a dip recipe I had seen.  It is a Spinach and White bean dip that looked really good. 

Spinach and White Bean dip

2 1/2 - 3 cups chopped fresh spinach

1- 15.5 oz can Canellini beans (rinsed)

1/4 cup Olive Oil

1 clove Garlic

1 TBS Lemon Juice

1/4 cup chopped fresh Dill

Salt and Pepper

I made a few changes to the recipe right off.  It called for steeping the garlic in the olive oil and using the oil, but that was too much work and unneccessary in my opinion.  Also, I used some of our green garlic from our harvest basket.  I also added some scallion.  I did not have an fresh dill so I used about 1 1/2 tsp. of dried dill.  Here is what I did.  I rinsed my beans and added them to my food processor.  With that I added some chopped scallion and green garlic, the spinach, lemon juice and dill.  I pureed all of this until relatively smoothe.  I then added in the olive oil and gave that a buzz also.   after that I emptied it into a bowl and added salt and pepper to taste.  We toasted up some crostini and gave it a taste.  WE LOVED IT.  I think I might try the same thing later with some other greens such as Kale etc.  I will probably have to cook that a little bit to get it tender first...but I bet it tastes great! 

Results and a recipe EDIT

Okay...I grilled my ribs last night.  I cooked them for about 1 1/2 hours at about 250 - 275 degrees ( a bit difficult to regulate with my grill).  The first 1/2 hour of that they were wrapped in foil.  In retrospect that should have been longer and the meat would have just fallen off the bone.  Oh well...they were still delicious.  The rub really did give them a great flavor. 
Also....I made a second batch of Strawberry Gelato last night.  I made two small additions to the recipe this time around.  1st I added about 1/2 tsp of good vanilla extract to my simple syrup.  I thought the vanilla gave it a bit more "richness" and a greater creamier taste.  2nd, I also added about 1 tsp. of white corn syrup to the simple syrup.  I seem to have a vague recollection of Alton Brown saying that this will result in a finer crystal structure to the final product....and it did!  The gelato had a much smaller grain of ice crystals  which gave it a much better texture.  If I falsely attribute this to Alton Brown...I apologize. 

No Veggie basket this week....let's talk about MEAT!

Our farm family are taking a, much needed, vacation this week.  (I can't even imagine how hard it is to do what they do).  What does that mean to me?  Well....no harvest basket.  But don't worry...I will find something food related to talk about.
For the last few weeks, I have seen ribs at the grocery store, and seen them on TV on cooking shows.  I think I am finally going to have to give them a try.  I have NEVER made ribs before so this should be interesting. 
Last night I mixed up a dry rub to put on the ribs.  It was something like this:

RUB:
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup finely ground coffee
1 TBS Cumin
1 tsp.  Cayenne
1 TBS Smoked Paprika
1 tsp. Black pepper
1 tsp. Salt
1/2 tsp.  Garlic Powder
1/2 tsp. Ground Ginger

I rubbed this liberally over the ribs and then wrapped them tightly in plastic wrap.  I placed them in the refridgerator overnight and they should be ready to go this evening.  I will let you know how it all comes out!

Man...do I love greens!

So tonight for dinner I decided to make the greens recipe I blogged about yesterday.  A good use of several items from our harvest basket.  Garlic, Onion, Mustard and Asian Greens (see recipe on yesterdays blog).  I also made some Phyllo dough wrapped Asparagus (to use up some of what we have on hand.  I have about 3-4 lbs. frozen also!).  I got this recipe from Cooley Family Farms Blog, but I made one change.  I added a bit of goat cheese to each roll just to give it some richness.  It came out great.  Serve all of this with a nice grilled pork chop and you have a beautiful and tasty meal. 

6/8/2010....ARRRRGGGHHH!!!!.....More Asparagus

Okay...Here is what my wife brought home in our basket today!

Garlic
Scallion
Mustard Greens
Asian Greens (?)
Asparagus
Strawberries
Salad

Okay...so I already used the salad with our Ceviche, but we have enough of that left to have with dinner one night this week.  My wife has already informed me that this batch of Strawberries will be going to Gelato again since it came out so great last time.  (Since then I tried vanilla and it was good, but not so different from regular ice-cream).  I am thinking that tomorrow night we will have grilled pork chops with some of the greens.  I have fallen in love with greens over the last year or so. 
   A couple of years ago, my wife and I ventured into an Ethiopian restaraunt to give their cuisine a taste.  We did so because were adopting a child from Ethiopia and wanted to find out more about the culture.  At the time we went to the restaraunt, I had never had greens before (even growing up in a mostly southern family).  It turns out that Ethiopians also eat a lot of greens.  I think they call them "gomen".  I tried them and couldn't believe how great they are.  Since then we have them quite often.  Usually collard greens. 
  Since  I am not too sure what "Asian Greens" are, I think I will do the following, just to be safe this time around.

Greens:
1 bunch "Asian Greens"
1 bunch Mustard Greens
2-3 Scallions
1 garlic
1 Jalepeno pepper
1 cup Chicken stock
1/4 tsp Cardamom (used in Ethiopian Greens)
Salt
Pepper

Dice the onion and garlic and saute it in some olive oil (bacon grease works REALLY well too).  Add Greens and stir to coat with the oil.  Add the chicken stock and Jalepeno pepper and some salt and pepper.  Cook uncovered until most of the stock has evaporated and the greens are tender.  Add the cardamom and more salt and pepper if needed. 

That should use up my greens and even some of my scallion and garlic.  I am sure I will find plenty of uses for them during the rest of the week. 

Okay.....as for the Asparagus.  We have recieved a LARGE bag of asparagus every week.  More than  we can eat.  I have been simply blanching it, drying it in a salad spinner and freezing.  I'm not sure how good it will be after doing this.  If nothing else, it should be fine for pastas, stir fry, soup, and things of that sort.  I guess we will have to wait until I run out of fresh and have to use the frozen.  I'll let you know how it works out!

Finishing up the week!

I suppose the first thing I should do in this post is finish up some of the things we used from last weeks harvest basket.   I had planned to make a nice Spinach and Potato curry with the rest of our Spinach, which I did do.  I just didn't do it the way I had planned.  Truthfully, it was just too hot and I was too tired to make it all on Tuesday so I cheated.  I used a "Trader Joe's" curry sauce mix and doctored it up a bit with some fresh spinach.  Here is what I did:

1 Jar "Trader Joes" curry sauce
1 bag Spinach
1 small onion
6 small red potatos
1 TBS Curry Powder

I started by sauteing the onion until soft in a little olive oil.  I then added the jarred sauce and heated to a simmer.  At this point I added the potatos that I diced into about 1/2 inch pieces, all the spinach and a little water.  I simmered this until the potatos were cooked.  At this point I tasted it and realized it needed a little more curry powder so I added some.  We served it with Brown rice and Naan.  Not the most homemade dish ever, but still quite tasty, and VERY fast. 



Last week we also got a nice bunch of Cilantro in our basket.  My wife and I both LOVE Cilantro.  If it were a little later in the summer and there were some fresh tomatos I would have made salsa, but I decided to do something a little different with this bunch.  We made Ceviche!  One of my all time favorite dishes. 

Ceviche:
4 filets Halibut
1 red bell pepper
1 jalepeno pepper
1/2 medium red onion
1 cup chopped cilantro (less if you don't like it as much as we do)
the juice of 7 limes
Salt
pepper

I simple dice all the vegetables and the fish to about 1/4 inch pieces and place it all in a non-reactive bowl.  Then add the chopped Cilantro and the lime Juice.  I like to let mine set for several hours and then add some salt and taste.   I keep tasting until I have the salt correct.   I also add pepper...well...because I usually add it to everything.  We served ours with an avacado, simple salad and good quality tortilla chips (El Milagro are our favorites). The fish is cooked chemically by the acid in the lime juice so don't worry about eating "raw" fish.  If you like salsa...you will probably like Ceviche.  The fish gives it a little more "hearty" texture.  For variations try other fish, other citrus juice and even fruit.  The first time I made this I added diced watermelon and served it with a watermelon sorbet and it was amazing.