Mindful Bellyful

Beans, Beans, the Musical Fruit!

2012-01-09T20:28:00.000-08:00

Doesn't everyone display their beans?

I love a good pot of beans. I always, always have. I grew up in Phoenix in a single parent household, with a plant based diet. One of the staples of our diet growing up was a good pot of beans, and to this day. I love 'em. There are so many wonderful varieties of beans out there. I have to admit, I have a little bit of a bean buying addiction. Our local co-op sells so many types, and I can't help buy buy ones I've never tried before. I also love going back to old favorites, and some of the ancient Native American varieties. I'm sure it seems super-whack, but I get excited about a good bowl of beans.
The great thing about beans is they're a wonderful way to provide a no or low-meat meal to your family without cooking for hours. Satisfying and warm, a pot of beans can be prepared with a minimal amount of work, and they're a great source of protein, fiber, and vitamins and minerals. And honestly? After the excesses of the holidays, I'm happy to eat something so healthy and satisfying.

I was hesitant to post about beans at first. To me, they seem so basic. Honestly? Refried beans were my first solid food. I've been making pots of beans since I was old enough to reach the stove. And then a friend (or two!) reminded me that part of the point of this blog is to share the things I love to eat with other families who are striving to eat non-processed food without cooking for hours.And of course, beans are the perfect slow-cooker food. And really? That's kind of the whole point. It's so important to me to find healthy food that I can feed my family while balancing the demands of a full-time job and the responsibilities of home life.

And so, my recipe for beans. Please note, there is all kinds of room for improvisation in this recipe. I'll write down the basics for you, and then give you a few notes about where you can make changes.

Beans are not particularly photogenic. But hey!
You can see the vintage cake plate I got for Christmas!

Slow Cooker Pinto Beans

1 lb pinto beans

1 small onion (or 1/2 large onion), finely diced

1 - 2 small carrots (or 1 large carrot) finely diced

1 - 2 small peppers, or 1 large bell pepper, diced. (I love to use the little mild or spicy peppers I get in my farm share. Jalapenos are great too, as are Anaheim or Serrano, depending on how hot you like it.) (Optional)

1 can diced tomatoes

3 - 6 cloves garlic, finely diced (more or less depending on your family's taste)

1 tsp ground cumin

2 tsp ground pepper

2 tsp oregano

1 tsp paprika

1 chipolte in adobo sauce, finely diced (optional)

1 - 3 tsp salt, or more, to taste (Do NOT add until after the beans are cooked)

1 Tbsp vinegar, or more, to taste (Do NOT add until after the beans are cooked)

The night before you plan to eat the beans -

Rinse beans in a colander or strainer, and place in the insert of your slow-cooker. Cover beans with water and nearly fill the pot. Cover with lid, and leave to soak overnight at room temperature.

Dice the onion, carrot and garlic, and place in a small container to store in the fridge overnight. I also like to add the other seasonings to the diced veggies at this point, so it's all ready to dump in the slow-cooker in the morning. So, add the cumin, pepper, oregano and chipolte, and store in the fridge overnight.

In the morning -

Drain and rinse the soaked beans, and return to slow cooker. Add the diced veggies and seasoning from the fridge, and add the can of diced tomatoes (juice and all). Cover with water plus 2 - 3 inches of water above the "bean line". (Some of the water will evaporate, and some will be soaked up by the beans. You want to make sure there's enough to keep the beans covered while you're out earning a living.)

Set the slow cooker to low for 6 - 10 hours (the longer they cook, the softer they'll be. I like 'em anywhere from al dente, to falling apart. For most people, 8 hours will be perfect. Alternately, you can cook them on high for 5 - 6 hours.

After the beans cook -

Add the salt to taste, and a tablespoon or two of vinegar. (I like to add a good vinegary hot pepper sauce, honestly, but I like it spicy!)

Garnish the beans with your choice of sour cream, grated cheese, chopped cilantro, diced raw onions, diced scallions, salsa and/or hot pepper sauce.

I LOVE homemade cornbread with a pot of beans, but corn chips, tortillas and rice are all good, too.

As you work with this recipe, you might want to try it with various beans. Black beans. Kidney beans. 7 bean mix. Adzuki beans. The choices are endless.....

You can also play with the seasoning. Want chili beans? Add a tablespoon of chili powder. Plan on making an Italian bean soup? Use white beans, and leave out the cumin and hot peppers. Add a bay leaf. Like your beans smokey? Add some smoked paprika, or chipolte powder. And there's always the ol' pork fat option. A little bacon or a smoked pork knuckle would go a long way in a pot of beans.... I usually do mine without any meat, but I also tend to think if you have a family member who feels they *need* meat in their supper, using just a little as seasoning is better for your bodies and the planet than loading up your plate.

Enjoy those beans! Toot Toot!

Bruschetta - where tomatoes SHINE

2011-06-11T19:40:00.000-07:00

My daughter loves bruschetta. She requests it all the time. When we picked up our farm share this week and she saw the tomatoes and the basil she immediately shouted for bruschetta.

I also love bruschetta. I love it for its simplicity. It’s a “cruda” at its best – simple, flavorful ingredients chopped roughly and combined simply. It’s also a perfect summer dish. Bruschetta makes a simple, flavorful use of all kinds of amazing ingredients, with simple basic preparations. Because of the bounty of tomatoes this year, I’m posting a traditional tomato recipe today, but look around on-line and I’m sure you’ll find recipes using chick peas, roasted garlic, olives, anchovies, eggplant and all kinds of amazing ingredients. But for today, we’re going for summer simplicity. This is also a perfect summer recipe because nothing gets cooked, meaning you’re not introducing any heat to your kitchen!

What kind of tomatoes should you use for this? You can use ANY tomato you have. I used the beautiful little black cherry heirloom tomatoes. I halved the very small ones, and quartered the larger ones, so that I had uniform sized pieces. In the recipe below I call for “diced tomatoes” - but halving and quartering smaller heirloom cherry varieties is good, too.

Tomato Basil Mozzarella Bruschetta
• 1 cup diced tomatoes
• 3 – 4 leaves basil, stacked, rolled and sliced very, very thin. (Here’s a description of the chiffonade technique)
• ½ cup diced FRESH mozerella – use fresh, seriously. It makes a huge difference.
• 1 tbsp olive oil (a drizzle)
• 2 tsp balsamic vinegar (a smaller drizzle)
• Salt & Pepper to taste (a pinch and a grind if ya’ know what I’m saying….)
• A baguette or a loaf ciabatta or some other chewy, crusty, lovely bread, sliced.

Combine everything BUT the bread in a bowl and stir to combine. Spoon the mixture on to the sliced bread. Some people start with toasted bread, and that’s good too. Toasted bread will maintain more texture when the wet tomatoes are introduced, and for parties or any time the bruschetta will sit at all, this is preferable, and you should toast the bread. But at home, we like the bread untoasted, so it soaks up all of the juices. (But then you have to eat it right away, so it doesn’t get soggy, dig?)

This is such a simple appetizer, but we also enjoy it as dinner on easy nights, with maybe a little deli meat, maybe some olives, maybe a bowl of gazpacho.

Summer! Gazpacho!

2011-06-11T13:38:00.000-07:00

We are definitely in the thick of summer here in Austin, and it’s only June! It’s too hot! It’s too hot to cook, it’s too hot to eat & it’s way too hot to be hanging out endlessly in the kitchen. But as usual, nature has the answer. The veggies being harvested right now are exactly the veggies you need for one of my very favorite summer soups. In fact, the vegetables this year are amazing. I don’t know how our farmers here in Austin are managing in this crazy weather, but we are getting such gorgeous produce.

Between the heat, and the bounty, I couldn’t wait to make gazpacho. Seriously. When I picked up my farmshare last week all I saw was the complete palette of raw ingredients for the perfect cold summer soup. And yes, I’m goofy thrilled to be able to make this soup almost entirely with produce from our local farms.

Fresh Tomato Gazpacho
• 4 fresh tomatoes, diced & divided in 1/2
• I fresh cucumber, seeded & diced & divided in 1/2
• 2 fresh bell peppers, seeded, cored & diced & divided in 1/2
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled & diced
• 1 small handful fresh parsley, rinsed and diced
• 3 – 4 leaves basil, diced
• ¼ cup red wine vinegar
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• A dash or two of Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp salt
• Several grinds of fresh pepper
• 4 – 6 cups tomato juice, divided
• A few shakes of hot pepper sauce (like Tabasco or Louisiana hot sauce – this can be added to the whole batch or to individual bowls at the preference of the eater)

Place ½ of the diced tomato, cucumber & bell pepper in a large, pretty bowl and reserve.

In the jar of a blender, place the diced garlic, parsley, basil, red wine vinegar, olive oil, Worcestershire sauce, and hot pepper sauce (if using in whole batch) & 1 cup tomato juice and blend until smooth. (The idea here is to get all of the garlic and herbs blended evenly throughout this “flavor base”.)

To the mixture in the blender, add the remaining ½ of all of the diced vegetables. Blend until mixture is consistent and smooth – but still textured, about 30 – 60 seconds.

Add this mixture and 3 cups of the remaining tomato juice to the bowl of chopped veggies. Now take a
look. Is it too thick, or just right? If you’d like it to be a little thinner, add more tomato juice.

Chill for an hour or so, to allow the flavors to blend, or you can eat right away. It keeps well in the fridge for 2 – 3 days, and works great packed for lunch. I like mine with a little cheese and crackers, or bruschetta. And don’t forget the pepper sauce!

What to do with all those greens?

2011-04-29T22:40:00.000-07:00

Have you noticed, by chance, the sheer volume of greens out there? The depth and breadth? And it's not just the ones you think of, the ones that come uniquely whole which you know are greens (like chard, and kale); it's also the ones that come attached at the top of other things! Beet greens! Kohlrabi greens! Right now, there are so, so many. My go to for all of these is to dice them and saute them in olive oil with garlic, onion and salt and pepper, and then toss them with pasta, lemon juice, and either feta or parmesan. But even varying my types of pasta, and alternating between feta and parmesan, and using balsamic instead of lemon, well, after a few weeks of greens, we start to have a little fatigue over here. So I took one of my very favorite spinach dishes, spanikopita, and adapted it to use with our current farm share bounty.
I was really inspired by this article by Carol Ann Sayle, and I've been trying to use ALL the vegetable, whenever I can, since reading it. And like a lot of people, I feel particularly challenged by kohlrabi. It's hard enough to use the bulb, but the greens, too? (I'll use the bulb in a recipe for slaw very soon.) So with a plan to use as much of my share as possible, I headed into my kitchen.

This is NOT an easy recipe, but it's not hard, either. The only thing that really makes it "advanced" is the use of phyllo dough. There's no real mystery here, but you do need to plan ahead, and be patient with the dough. Phyllo dough is nearly always sold frozen, and how you defrost it seems to really impact whether it is easy or difficult to handle when you're using it. I place the dough, still in the box, in the refrigerator the night before I'm going to use it - 12 - 24 hours in advance, so it has time to defrost. Then, an hour before I'm going to use it, I place it out on the counter, still in the box, so it can come to room temperature. Leave it in the plastic wrapping until you're ready to start buttering the dough and layering it in your pan. You don't want it to dry out, so keep it airtight until use.
I very literally grew up with a version of spanikopita from the cookbook, The Vegetarian Epicure. My mom is a wonderful cook, and this was one of my very favorite things that she made. The recipe is really very simple. Spinach, onions, feta, eggs and some seasoning inside phyllo. I used this as my inspiration in creating the following recipe.

Instead of regular ol' yellow onions, I decided to use a mixture of the members of the onion family in my share last week. Honestly, I think it was green onion and green shallot, but I'm not even sure. They looked just like this:

I encourage you to really play with this recipe. Use whatever greens you have. This is a great place to add all the various onion-y things you might have in your fridge. Spring onions, green onions, green shallots, etc. Regular ol' pantry onions work great, too.

Greenikopita

 1 - 3 tbsp olive oil

 1 cup diced fresh green onions, shallots, regular onions, or a combination.
 6 cups shredded, diced greens (this is the good part - you can use beet greens, kohlrabi greens, kale, chard, dandelion greens, whatever. Enjoy!)
 1 lb sharp feta cheese, crumbled
 8 eggs, beaten
 2 tsp dried oregano
 Fresh ground pepper, to taste (I like lots)
 6 tbsp olive oil, divided
 1/2 stick butter
 1 package whole wheat phyllo
Heat a large saute pan over medium heat. Add 2 tbsp olive oil. When the oil is hot, add the diced onions and saute for 2 - 3 minutes. Add the chopped greens. You'll find this is easiest if you add one or two handfuls at a time, adding more as the greens wilt, so there's room in the pan. Once they've all been added, saute for 5 - 7 minutes or until tender. Remove from heat.

In a large bowl, beat the 8 eggs. Add the crumbled feta, oregano, salt and pepper, and finally, add the warm greens and onions. Mix all the ingredients so they're evenly dispersed and set aside.

In a small pan combine 4 tbsp olive oil and 1/2 stick of butter. Heat until butter is melted and remove from heat. Using a large pasty brush, butter a 9 x 11 baking dish. Unroll the phyllo on your counter or other work space, with your baking dish close by. Butter one sheet of phyllo dough, and spread out evenly in the pan, allowing the edges to hand over. I like to alternate sides and corners where the edges hang, so that no one area gets all the over hang. For instance, I'll lay one sheet with the edge of the dough nestled in the front right corner, and the overhang will go over the rear and left sides of the pan, and I rotate these areas of overhang as I add more sheets of dough. Repeat until you have 10 - 15 sheets of dough in the pan. Now, carefully spoon the greens, egg and cheese mixture into the pan lined with phyllo dough, and fold the edges of the dough over to cover the mixture. You'll have an area in the center of the pan not covered - so let's do that now. Butter a sheet of phyllo, fold in half, and place over the top of your dish, and repeat 3 or 4 times until you have a nice layer of phyllo dough evenly covering the top. Brush a final layer of butter over the top.

Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 45 - 60 minutes, or until the mixture is firm and the top is golden brown.

Lovely Lettuce

2011-04-20T13:19:00.000-07:00

Have I mentioned how beautiful the lettuce has been so far this year? I needed, just NEEDED, to make some gorgeous buttercrunch we received the star of dinner, so I played with the traditional lettuce wrap recipe, and created this:

Farm Inspired Asian Lettuce Wraps
1 head good quality lettuce (any variety with big strong leaves will work. I used buttercrunch here. Don't use iceberg - just don't - you shouldn't even have it in your house) carefully cleaned, with leaves separated.*
1-2 tbsp canola oil
1 lb ground chicken**, skinned and boned (but really, any ground meat will do. You could also use tofu, just the veggies, adding a full pound or so of mushrooms )
1-3 cloves garlic, finely minced (however much you like)
2-3 tbsp fresh ginger, peeled and finely minced
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp rice vinegar (or white wine vinegar)
1 tbsp sesame oil
2 fresh carrots, peeled and then grated
2 - 3 green onions, diced (white and green parts)
4 medium mushrooms (I used shitake, but use what you have)
1 5 oz can water chestnuts, drained and chopped

In a medium sized bowl, combine the ground meat, the garlic, ginger, soy sauce, vinegar and sesame oil, and
mix to combine. Let rest so the flavors can combine while you clean and grate carrots and dice the onions, mushrooms and water chestnuts.

Preheat a large skillet over medium heat and add the canola oil. Brown the ground meat mixture (approx 7 - 10 minutes). Add the carrots, onions, mushrooms and water chestnuts and cook until all the ingredients are warmed through.

Spoon the mixture into clean, dry lettuce leaves and top with sauce, recipe below.

Sauce for Lettuce Wraps:
1/2 teaspoon cornstartch
1 1/2 teaspoon water
2 tbsp rice vinegar
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tbsp sesame oil
1 tbsp agave syrup or honey
2 cloves finely minced garlic
1 tbsp peeled, finely grated ginger
Stil together the cornstarch and water and reserve
Combine rice vinegar, rice wine and soy sauce in a small sauce pan over medium heat. Stir in the cornstartch mixture, sesame oil and sweetner. Cook over low hear just until this starts to simmer. Add the garlic and the ginger and simmer for 5 more minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool to warm or room temp before using. (You don't want to wilt your lettuce....)

*The best way to clean fresh lettuce for this or any recipe is to separate the leaves and place them in a very clean sink or tub filled with water, and rinse them carefully by gently swishing them around. Then, you can either lay them out to dry on a towel, or take them for a spin in a salad spinner.

**When I make this at home, I "grind" my own chicken from boneless skinless thigh meat. I usually have some organic thighs in the freezer - I defrost them about 80% of the way, and then toss them in the food processor with the garlic, the ginger, the soy sauce, the vinegar and the sesame oil, and pulse until the meat is a coarse grind.

Homemade Dressing

2011-04-20T10:22:00.000-07:00

Spring is in full swing here in Austin, and the greens are coming at us fast and furious. We are getting really, really gorgeous lettuce in our farm share. Have you ever had farm fresh organic lettuce, the day it was picked? It's amazing. Just imagine, there are people out there in the world who think that pale white round ball wrapped in cello is salad - those poor people have no idea how flavorful, and how colorful, salad greens can be. So in honor of spring, and gorgeous salad greens, I'll be posting a couple of recipes for my favorite homemade dressings, plus a redux of a chain restaurant standard, with farm vegetables as the star (coming up next....).

One of the things I love the most about cooking from our farm share is the very natural way all of the flavors compliment each other. It's so easy and so gratifying to pick a few ingredients from my weekly share and combine them into one amazing dish. The fact is, produce that comes in season at the same

time very naturally tastes good together - that's how our tastes evolved. And that sentiment is the inspiration for some of my very favorite salad treatments.

We get fresh, tender garlic, shallots and green onions from our farm share, and I find they all work equally well in this dressing. I use as much as I can - the green shoot as well - to add both flavor and color. You'll be able to tell, as your cleaning the bulb, what parts are tender. Anything that looks good can be used in this dressing.

Allium Dressing

In the mixing container of your blender (see note below) place the following:

2 - 3 bulbs of either green garlic, green shallots, or a combo of both

6-8 TBSP of very good red or white wine vinegar

1 fresh egg yolk (optional, but it eggs an amazing viscosity to the final product)

1/2 tsp salt, or to taste

4 - 6 turns of a good pepper grinder

Get the blender or hand blender going, then very, very slowly, in a very, very thin stream (really, a series of continuous drops) add 1/4 cup good quality olive oil. (This is the time to use the really good stuff, since you'll really taste it).This is my very basic recipe. A clove or two or three of fresh garlic, shallot of onion, plus olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper. This works great as a dressing on lettuce, or as a dip for fresh veggies.

You can all all kinds of other things before you add the oil, too. Some of my favorite variations include using the juice of a lemon in place of the vinegar, than adding lots of good fresh parmesan to the salad. I also like adding a teaspoon or so of good Dijon mustard, or an anchovy or two.

A note about blenders: I use an immersion hand blender for my dressings. The small container is a good size for these small batch dressings, and it makes for much easier clean-up, too. This was a good investment for me, because I make a dressing 3 - 4 times a week. A good ol' counter top blender works just as well.

The Easiest of the Easy

2011-04-20T09:03:00.000-07:00

This is really just a simple reminder, in case you've forgotten. Roasted root veggies are delicious. And easy. Peel your veggies. Cut off the very tops and very bottoms. Slice the veggies into bite-sized pieces (about 1 inch) - mostly just make sure they're all the same size, so they cook evenly.
Place them in your favorite roasting pan and drizzle them with olive oil. Toss them around so they coat evenly, and sprinkle with some good salt. Place in a preheated oven at 400 degrees for an hour or so.
You can use almost anything. Carrots. Beets. Turnips. Potatoes (scrub, but don't peel). Rutabagas. Parsnips. Mmmmm.
The carrots and beets in this photo were eaten as part of a back yard dinner with very beloved friends. And they tasted soooooo good.

Fresh and Easy Fish Tacos

2010-12-09T20:26:00.000-08:00

I've been posting some slightly more complex recipes lately, and frankly, that's not really my intention. My intention is to share with you how I manage to cook for my family every night (after working a full time job all day) using fresh, local ingredients without losing my everlovin' mind. One of my secrets for maintaining sanity? Shortcuts. Not quite Rachel Ray shortcuts. (I won't buy pre-diced vegetables, but thanks) and hell no to Sandra Lee's shortcuts (If you don't know who I'm talking about, Google Sandra Lee - I swear there are whole blog posts and you tube videos dedicated to justifiably mocking the first lady of Manhattan) but still, technically shortcuts. Some of my favorites involve frozen proteins from Costco. I like the tortellini, and lately, we're loving a panko crusted tilapia they have. I try to cook seafood 2 - 3 times a week for health reasons, and things like frozen tilapia, shrimp and catfish are simple to use, taste yummy, and go over well with the littles.
By keeping that central protein simple, and already prepped, I'm able to build a healthy dinner by adding fresh ingredients to the dish, with out spending hours in the kitchen. And a hunk of frozen fish? It's no where near as evil to me as a box of Hamburger Helper or an entire frozen entree. It's still a pure, natural ingredient. It's just already been cleaned and veined, you know? Have some fresh fish on hand you want to use for this? Just sprinkle it with a little salt and pepper, and saute it a few minutes on each side in a preheated pan with some olive oil.

We've still got a counter full of green tomatoes, so this dish uses one of those, plus some of the beautiful cabbage we came home with last week. I love tacos. These have the goodness of the fish, whole grain corn tortillas, and I pile on the cabbage and the produce based sauce to insure we're getting our fruits and veggies.

See that sauce there? That's the real star of this dish.

Fish Tacos with Cabbage and Green Tomato "Tartar Sauce"
Serves 2 - 4

4 filets of panko tilapia, prepared in the oven according to package directions
4 - 8 corn tortillas (2 per person) warmed in the oven during the last few minutes of fish cooking
1/4 onion, finely diced
1/2 cabbage, shredded
Green Tomato Tartar Sauce (recipe follows)
Grated Cheese (optional - pictured without)

Slice the fish into strips, and assemble as you would any taco - fish, onion, cabbage, sauce and cheese

The real star of this show? This sauce:
Green Tomato Fish Taco Sauce

1 large Green tomato, finely diced
1 medium mild green chili pepper, very finely diced
2 tbsp finely diced onion (optional)
2 tbsp capers
1 small diced dill pickle
1 tbsp chopped fresh dill
2 tbsp mayo
2 tbsp (or more – depending on how “saucy” you want it) light sour cream
Salt and pepper to taste

Combine all the ingredients in a medium sized bowl, and spoon over fish

Green Garlic, Green Tomatoes, Green Onions, and a green breakfast that has nothing to do with ham

2010-12-08T19:53:00.000-08:00

I've been avoiding posting traditionally Southern recipes because, well, I'm not Southern, and how dare I, right? The gall! But I do live in a Southern state - or at least, one that claims to be Southern when it's convenient. And if it means co-opting the recipes of the south, well that's convenient enough for me. In any case, I've learned something in the past few weeks. I used to wonder why there even were green tomato recipes. I mean, if you have to cook 'em to eat 'em, why not just let them ripen to red when they're perfectly tender? But now, with this wacky fall we're having, green tomatoes make perfect sense. When you live where it is warm enough to plant tomatoes in the fall, but then suddenly cold enough that they all must be harvested while they're still green, you better have a few tricks up your sleeve. So I've been playing with some Southern classics.

Green garlic, green tomatoes, and green onions.

For me, cooking is about having fun. I want to use the ingredients I have available and play, and I don't want to take all morning or evening perfecting a new technique or building a million little elements. I'm trying to balance that place where I use fresh, healthful seasonal ingredients, and I live a full, happy, productive life outside of the kitchen. On weekends though? That's when I spend a little more time. So today, you're going to see a few more elements than you normally would. But only in the interest of a beautiful brunch. This weekend I had a farm share filled with goodness. Green tomatoes. Red tomatoes. Dill. Hot peppers. Green Garlic. Green Onions. Cabbage. Butternut squash. Chard! Oh, the list goes on. But this was our third week with green tomatoes, and I just had to play. Which is why God invented Sunday Brunch - my unofficial religion.*

Fried Green Tomatoes and Pimento Cheese Scrambled Eggs for the kiddos, and Fried Green Tomatoes topped with Poached Eggs and Pimento and Green Garlic Hollandaise for the adults
Here are all the component pieces - you don't need to make all of these at once, or even together. But I thought I'd give 'em to you all at once, since that's how we were rollin' this weekend.

Green Onion Pimento Cheese Spread

1 lb Cheddar cheese
1 jar pimentos** (reserve about 1 tbsp if you're going to make the Hollandaise below)
1really big green onion (scallion), roughly chopped
1/2 cup mayo
salt & pepper

Obnoxiously, I use a wonderful cheese made locally by the same farm we source our raw milk from. You could use any Cheddar you like, or a mixture of Cheddar and jack, or a similarly textured cheese. (I've always thought this would be cut with a big of Gouda, for example, or even a nice smoked Gouda.)
Grate the cheese.
In the bowl of a food processor, combine the pimentos, scallion, mayo, salt and pepper and pulse to combine well. Add the cheese, and give it a few quick pulses until it forms a cohesive mass. And really? That's it. Yep, just whip together a handful of ingredients and you have homemade pimento cheese spread, using a gorgeous onion, locally grown. You'll never buy the stuff made from processed cheese again.

Pimento Cheese Scrambled Eggs:
Fork whisk 4 eggs together in a medium sized bowl, with a small glug of milk and a pinch of salt a pepper. Preheat a saute pan over medium heat, and melt a tbsp or so of butter in the dish. Just as the butter starts to bubble and brown, ad the eggs, and stir. When the eggs are still very lose, but starting to form their scrambled little curds, add 2 - 3 heaping tbsp of pimento cheese spread, in 2 - 3 parts of the pan. Stir the eggs lightly as they finish cooking, and serve on a plate with 2 or 3 fried green tomatoes, and maybe a piece of buttered toast.
(Alternately, you could just scramble some eggs, and serve the pimento cheese ON the toast. That's good, too. Or heck, go crazy, and dollop the pimento cheese spread right on the friend green tomatoes. It's a little rich for my blood, which means it tastes really, really good.)

Fried Green Tomatoes and Pimento Green Garlic Hollandaise with Poached Eggs
For the Fried Green Tomatoes.
Slice 2 - 3 green tomatoes into 1/2inch - 3/4inch slices.
Mix together 1 cup corn meal and 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour. To this, add 1 tsp paprika, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp white pepper and 1/2 tsp black pepper. This is your dredging flour.
Whisk 1 egg and 1/2 cup milk or buttermilk together. This is your dredging liquid.
Using your right hand, dip tone slide the liquid, and then drop it gently, without touching the powder, in the flour. Using your left hand, cover the slice with flour, then flip it over and make sure it's evenly covered with the seasoned mixture completely. If you continue with each slice this way, using one hand for the wet and one for the dry, you'll avoid thick sticky doughy fingers. Yes, you'll still get messy, and yes you'll end up with lightly battered digits, but your hands will remain usable for the duration - rather than having to wash them every other slide or so.

Have you ever made hollandaise? You should be scared if you haven't. Not because it's hard to make, but because once you know what it's made of, you'll never enjoy it without feeling a wee little bit guilty again. Let's just say it's not the most heart-healthy thing you'll ever eat. Just the thing to pour over some fried produce, right? Here we go:

Pimento Green Garlic Hollandaise

1 bulb green garlic, washed and thoroughly cleaned (like in this recipe) .
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, cut in 5 - 8 slices (just cut it into smaller pieces so it melts evenly)
The juice of one lemon
3 egg yolks
1 big tablespoon of pimento (I reserve an eye-balled tbsp from the pimento cheese recipe)
a pinch of salt and pepper, to taste

Finely dice all the tender pieces, green and white, as long as they're tender of the green garlic. In a small glass liquid measuring cup, combine the green garlic and the butter. Melt the butter in the microwave - I go 20 - 30 seconds at a time until it's melted, to avoid boil overs.
In the meantime, squeeze the lemon into the jar of a blender, making sure you use a strainer or your hand to catch the seeds. Add the egg yolks, pimentos and salt and pepper, and give it a whirl. Once the butter is melted and as hot as you can get it without it boiling over, pour it sloooooowwwwly through one of the small openings in the lid of your blender, with the blender running on a low speed. Once you have all the butter added, you have hollandaise!

Now here's what I do. I poach a couple of eggs, and place them on an overlapping circle of 4 slices of fried green tomatoes. And I spoon several generous tablespoons of hollandaise over that.

I really want to try making a grilled cheese sandwich using the pimento cheese, and slices of NOT FRIED green tomatoes, but I haven't had a chance yet. I'm hoping the process of making the grilled cheese would warm the tomatoes and make them tender the way frying does, without the, you know, frying. I'll update you when I finally give this a test.

*Officially? I'm Lutheran. I know you didn't ask, and yet, I just had to let you know.
**Now, you could conceivably use some of the lovely red peppers grown locally and make your own pimentos. As could I. But when would I do laundry if I did that?

I promise!

2010-12-07T20:34:00.000-08:00

I have a lovely series of recipes based on pimento cheese and fried green tomatoes on the way!
Oh, and a yummy, yummy soup full of chard and beans and goodness, too!
I just need to get the photos from my camera, to my horribly slow home computer, and in "the cloud" so I can complete the posts and share them with you. I swear!
In the meantime, because you KNOW I love peanut butter pie, would someone make this for me? Please?
Thank you!

30 Days with a Grateful Heart

2010-12-01T15:36:00.000-08:00

Just popping in to alert you to a December blog-extra I'll be keeping, inspired by Jote.
The link is just over there, see it? in the upper left hand corner - Ending on a Grace Note.
Feel free to visit me over there, for a little less about cooking, and a little more about me.

And this, my friends, is the last of the Turkey

2010-11-29T20:30:00.000-08:00

It's the last of the turkey, for now, but surely just the beginning of a nearly endless string of recipes using all the greens we get this time of year....
So, when I came home from work tonight I faced your standard dinner dilemma. I wanted something fast. I wanted something (I'll admit) with cheese. I needed to use up the leftover turkey (I know, right?) and I also had several lovely veggies from the farm waiting to be eaten, post haste. So, I did what I do, and I invented a little something for your dining pleasure.
Two things you should know, first -
I finally managed to get my camera working again.
I totally did NOT take any pictures of dinner tonight, which is a shame, because I had these little hands helping as my prep cook, and I do love to show off his knife skills.

File photo - meal pictured is not represented in recipe.

Alas, you'll have to settle for a list of lovely farm ingredients used in this one recipe, and instructions for recreating at home.
I'm not really sure what to call this - you could very easily take all the ingredients and eat them over rice or pasta. We ate them inside a very simple whole grain flat bread called Roti Chapati that I buy from the refrigerator section of Costco.
(And here's something you might as well know about me. I maintain my sanity while working full time and raising a family by purchasing some simple staples which can be readily and easily prepared to supplement a healthy meal. Sure, there are the stand bys that we all use of dried pasta and good ol' rice. But I also like to have frozen pasta on hand, like tortellini, and interesting flat breads like Roti-Chapati, as well as frozen shrimp and my new favorite, breaded tilapia. [Oh, believe me, you'll be seeing a fish taco recipe using some of that yummy cabbage soon enough....] And yes, in a perfect world, I love makinig my own tortillas, and bread, and you know what? I even asked for a pasta maker this year for Christmas. But my life isn't perfect, and if some raw flat bread from Costco is going to save me 30 minutes in the evening, bring it. [Plus, this stuff is wicked good, okay?])
So back to tonight's dinner. This time of year we see all kinds of beautiful greens from our farm share. Chard, kale, beet greens, turnip greens and all the beautiful varieties of lettuce. We're also getting leeks, onions, green garlic and varieties of winter squash, plus fresh herbs like dill, cilantro and parsley. I love the greens, and I adore how the members of the onion family add a roundness to the flavor. In today's recipe I combine some chard with eggplant - the two flavors match up well, and the meatiness of the eggplant contrasts beautifully with the bite of the greens. You'll soon discover that I frequently add a splash of balsamic vinegar when I cook with greens - the acid brings out the bright flavors, while the sweetness of balsamic cuts the bitterness of the greens just enough. And of course, I love anything with a nice flavorful cheese like sheeps' milk feta.
Let's call it Turkey and Chard ~~Tacos~~ Roll Ups - (but it's so much more than that.)
And there's a sauce! I do love a good sauce....
For the filling (which would also work as a pasta topping.....)

A glug of olive oil
2-3 small cloves of garlic, very finely diced/smashed/crushed (or however you like it)
2 small eggplants, quartered and sliced (so you get triangles about an inch or so each) ((I don't peel it either, when it's small and fresh and tender.))
1 bunch chard (or other robust, leafy green) thinly shredded (an 1/2 inch chiffonade if you want to be fancy...)
about 2 cups shredded/diced cooked turkey meat*
salt & pepper to taste
balsamic vinegar
crushed red pepper

Heat a saute pan over medium heat, and add a thin layer of olive oil to the pan. When the oil is hot, add the eggplant, garlic, salt, pepper and crushed red pepper. Saute for about ten minutes, covered, stirring occasionally, until the eggplant is nice and tender. Once the eggplant is very nearly cooked, add the chard and stir, then add about 2 tbsp of balsamic vinegar, and cover. Cook, stirring occasional, for another 5 minutes or so. Add the turkey and continue cooking until everything is heated through.
Fill a piece of roti-chapati with filling, and add some lovely sharp feta and some of the dill sauce, below.
*this would also work without any meat at all, or with some shrimp, or some chicken

Dill Sauce

2 diced small green onions, including the green parts
1 diced pickled beet (totally optional, but adds a fun pink color!)
1-2 tbsp chopped fresh dill
salt and pepper to taste
a good sized large spoonful of Greek or Bulgarian yogurt (or any good plain yogurt)
a slightly smaller large spoonful of mayo
a squeeze of fresh lemon juice OR white vinegar IF you didn't use a pickled beet (or even if you did but you really like the acid flavor.....)

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix until the mayo and yogurt are fully combined, and serve with our mid-eastern version of a turkey taco.

Farm Fresh Snacking - Hummus

2010-11-24T13:39:00.000-08:00

The day before Thanksgiving seems to inspire anticipatory light eating, doesn't it? Today, my family is baking, and prepping, and playing and talking and snacking. Thankfully this week's farm share included some really beautiful produce perfect for creating some lovely snacks.

Cilantro, Dill and Green Garlic were all in our farm share this week. Mmmmmm

I love green garlic. Aside from the occasional store bought dip, though, I had never encountered it first hand until we started our Green Gate Farm Share. The farm considers green garlic one of its signature veggies, and once you try it, you'll know why. We like it sauteed in scrambled eggs, mixed into stir fry, or added to any number of dips. As you can see from the above photo, it looks a lot like a small leek, or a scallion. But it packs a great deal more flavor. So good!
If you're using it for the first time let me give you a little tip. It's good to clean it like you would a leek. Chop off the very tip, where the roots are. Pull off the first outer layer of two from the bulb, and then split it right down the middle and fan it out a bit under running water to insure you're removed all the grit. When I use it in recipes, I use both the green and the white parts - all the way from bulb to tip, stopping only at the very top where the green gets a bit stringy - really, much like you would a scallion.
And speaking of scallions (or green onions) - don't let the lack of fresh green garlic deter you from creating this yummy hummus. You can use green garlic, green onion, or plain ol' garlic with similar results.
Hummus is one of our go-to foods. It's versatile, protein rich, smooth, creamy and delicious. Or in this case (I can't resist!) Dill-icious. We got our first taste of green garlic for the season in our share this week, and it combines perfectly with the dill in the share for a lovely, herby hummus.
Herby-y Hummus

1 can garbanzo beans
1 bulb of green garlic, lightly chopped
Juice from1 lemon
1-2 gloves garlic
1/4 cup dill (roughly - a good handful works fine)
Several tbsp cilantro (a small handful)
Several tbsp parsley (small handful, and optional)
1/3 cup tahini (or less, about 1/4 cup, if you want it less creamy)
4-6 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
A dash of cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp coriander
Salt and pepper to taste

Here's how I mix 'er up.
Place smashed raw garlic, juice from one lemon and the tahini in the bowl of a food processor and process until the garlic disappears into the mixture. (I do this first to avoid bit of raw garlic clove surprising us as we eat.) Add 4 tbsp olive oil, slowly, so it emulsifies. At this point, scrape the sides of the food processor and add everything BUT the fresh herbs and green garlic. Process until the mixture is nice and creamy. If it's too thick for your taste, add more oil and/or tahini. When you have the desired consistency, add the green garlic, dill, cilantro and parsley. Pulse into herbs and garlic are fully incorporated.

Serve with crackers, chips, raw veggies, etc. I can tell you right now this is particularly yummy served on a small cracker with a tiny little tomato on top.

Thanksgiving! And Tacos!

2010-11-16T11:39:00.000-08:00

We didn't have a hard and fast Thanksgiving tradition when I was a kid, growing up in Phoenix. Sure, we always ate turkey, but where and with who changed from year to year. We often ate with my Mom's extended family, rotating houses from year to year. My Uncle Charles had a wonderful house, with a pool and horses, but they didn't allow drinking, so while it was a favorite with the kids, the adults were less enthusiastic. I didn't understand the big deal then, but I certainly do now. I remember fondly a food fight in my Aunt Kay's back yard, started by her son Andy. Thank goodness we were outside, and no wonder we rotated. Who wanted to sign up for that potential every year?

Beautiful, Lovely Aunt Irene
Taking a well deserved break from cooking. Dig the sweat band!

One of my favorite was when my Aunt Irene hosted. Her house felt like home. Irene was married to my mom's brother, Boyd, and they lived right across the street from my grandparents for years. We would run back and forth between the two, and play ball in the street in front of them. I knew both houses well, but I loved Irene's the best. When she hosted, it wasn't just Boyd's (and my mom's) side of the family who attended. Irene's sisters would be there, too, and her niece, who I knew as my cousin Allyn. Allyn had hair like Streisand in Funny Girl. She was an adult - 10 or 15 years older than me - but still a cousin. Irene is the one who taught me that the definition of family should extend to include everyone you love. She's also the one who taught me that you should embrace the culinary traditions of where you come from and where you live, so Thanksgiving at her house always meant turkey, and tamales.
When I was about 12, our old neighbors bought a house in Northern Arizona, in Prescott. And for years after that we spend Thanksgiving with them. These were some of my very best Thanksgiving memories. The best years, of course, were when we would wake up to snow Thanksgiving morning. Growing up in Phoenix, this was a big, big deal. But more than the snow was the whole weekend in the house with all the leftovers. Thanksgiving seemed to last for days there. And it seems like we had pie at every single meal. Of course, pie for breakfast on Black Friday is a tradition I still observe....
When I was in college in Tucson, my folks moved to Rhode Island. That first year I spent Thanksgiving with them, but after that it just wasn't financially feasible to fly for both Thanksgiving and Christmas, so for a while, I was on my own. Rather than resenting it, it gave me such freedom! As an adult child, I knew I had options. I could always spend the holiday with my parents, but I was free to stay with friends, travel, etc. The world was my oyster stew.....
Two important things came out of my childhood Thanksgivings, for me. One was that I view Thanksgiving as a very flexible holiday. Some years we travel. Some years we visit family. Some years we stay home and invite everyone we know. The second thing? I'll get to that at the end of this post.

My step-dad also enjoys when my mom and I cook together.
He just had to take this photo before breakfast one year....

This year, we cancelled our plans to go to Big Bend after I realized something. I miss Thanksgiving with my mom. I don't think either of my kids have ever spent a Thanksgiving at her house. And although she and I both love to cook and have more fun in the kitchen together than you can imagine, it's been a few years since we've been together on Thanksgiving. (And the last time was at a condo in Destin - it was fantastic, but it wasn't a kitchen either of us knew, you know?) So this year we're going to my mom's house. We're still deciding what to cook, but I know that it will include some Minnesota Wild Rice - since regardless of where we ate as kids, I always knew my mom would make wild rice from her childhood state.
The second thing that came out of my childhood Thanksgivings ties into so much of my past. The love of regional food. The glory of the leftovers, and the need for a little something from my childhood. This, my friends, brings me to my favorite use of leftover turkey. My mom's turkey tacos. This will be the rare recipe on my site that doesn't celebrate local ingredients (although I encourage you to source your turkey locally) but it does make good use of quality ingredients on hand, while allowing you to enjoy the holiday weekend. And you know what else? It's fresh tasting. No gravy. No heavy - nice and crunchy, which is a nice break from the hot and mushy of Thanksgiving, frankly.

Best. Leftovers. Ever.

Diane's Turkey Tacos

Approx 2 or 3 cups leftover turkey meat, shredded
1 onion
2-3 cloves garlic
1 can chopped green chillies (you pick the size - depending on how many chillies you want....)
1 tsp ground cumin

1 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro (hey! I have some of this in this week's farm share!)
salt and pepper
1 package crispy taco shells
chopped lettuce
diced tomatoes

diced raw white onion
grated cheddar, Monterrey jack or similar mild cheese
La Victoria Green Taco Sauce (this is what makes it taste like home, to me.)

Line a baking pan (a 1/4 sheet cake pan works well) with the taco shells (upright, ready for filling) and set aside. Heat the oven to 350 degrees.

Very lightly coat a frying pan with canola oil or olive oil

Add the chopped onions, and saute until translucent, about 5 minutes

Add the turkey, green chillies, cumin and salt and pepper, and cook until everything is warmed through. Toss is the cilantro. Fill the taco shells and place in the heated oven for 5 - 7 minutes, until the edges of the shells crisp up, and the bottom gets just a wee bit chewy from the turkey filling.....

Remove, fill with cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion and smother with La Victoria.

Enjoy with a side of rice and beans, and a nice cold beer.

I hope you all enjoy the upcoming holiday, however you spend it.

Onion Dill Bread!

2010-11-15T18:45:00.000-08:00

Fall has finally arrived in Central Texas! Cooler weather means baking around here. And as I mentioned in my last post, our farm share this week inspired me. Tonight I finally had time to bake some bread. I used the green onions and fresh dill from my farm share, as well as some white whole wheat bread. To round out the meal I also made some white bean and chard soup. I'll post that recipe tomorrow.

Buttermilk Onion Dill Bread

1 cup warm buttermilk, 115 to 125 degrees F (like a nice warm bath – not too hot – just warm)

1 tablespoon active dry baking yeast
2 tablespoons sugar, honey or agave nectar
3 cups white whole wheat flour (I like King Arthur’s)
2 tsp baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 egg, beaten
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, grated
½ cup onions or green onions, finely chopped
¼ cup finely chopped fresh dill

Pour warm buttermilk into bowl, and add sweetener and yeast. Let sit 5 -10 minutes until yeast is bubbly.
Sift together flour, baking soda and salt. Add 1 cup of flour mixture to buttermilk mixture and add egg and olive oil. Mix together, then add the rest of the flour mixture, cheese, onions and dill.
Turn mixture onto floured board or counter top and knead for about 5 minutes, until texture is even and smooth.
Place dough into oiled bowl and allow to rise in warm, still spot for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until doubled in size.
Punch down, divide in half, and divide each half into eight even pieces. Roll pieces into balls and place on oiled baking sheet about 1 inch apart.(They will just barely touch after they rise - which I like - it makes a softer roll. If you like a crustier roll, place them farther apart.)
Allow to rise for 45 minutes.
Bake at 350 for about 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Friday Night

2010-11-12T20:11:00.000-08:00

It's 10 PM on a Friday night, and I'm exhausted. I've been running around with the kids all afternoon. We picked up our farm share, dropped off car pool, went to The Girl's piano lesson, and went to The Natural Gardner where we picked up some native landscaping for the yard.
Part of this involved running around in the car with our farm share in the back. You wouldn't think fresh veggies would smell so good, but they do. There was a lot of good stuff in our share this week. But the stuff that made the car smell best? Fresh green onions, and dill. Those two will be combined at some point this weekend in a yeasty onion bread. I cannot wait!

Seriously McDonald's? No shame at all, huh?

2010-11-11T19:25:00.000-08:00

So, I finally saw the McD's add "Where does breakfast come from Mommy?" and I went apoplectic. That the symbol of all that is wrong with American food would be so blatantly proud of it - and in fact craft a sweet little fairly tale around it? Oh, that made me crazy.
Breakfast, like all actual food, comes from a farm. If you're very lucky it comes from a small farm where the chickens and pigs are raised naturally and humanely. If you're lucky your breakfast is whole grain deliciousness mixed with farm fresh milk. The reality is, the more recently your food was actually on a farm, the better for you. Did your breakfast spend any time in a lab? Maybe think about finding another breakfast.... One made of food.

It's LIKE Bubbles and Squeak, but it's not.

2010-11-10T18:42:00.000-08:00

Today I bought the Korean Chili Powder needed to make Kim-Chi. So now you have something to look forward to.
The other thing I did today? I used the other half of the GINORMOUS head of Chinese cabbage to make my version of Bubbles and Squeak. Bubbles and Squeak is a British dish made with potatoes, cabbage and sometimes other stuff. Mine is more like hash browns with cabbage, and it's pretty easy, as long as you don't skip the squeezing step. So maybe I should call it Bubbles and Squeeze.

Bubbles and Squeeze

3 cups of grated potatoes. (I've used russets, purple, white and red on various occasions. Use what you have on hand.)
2 cups shredded (very thinly sliced) cabbage. (Perfect with Chinese Cabbage)
salt and pepper to taste (and of course, I like to add smoked paprika)
Canola oil

The most important step? Take the shredded potatoes, place them in the middle of a thin, linen style dishtowel and sprinkle with about 1/2 tsp of salt. Let it rest for a minute or two, and then, while standing over the sink, gather the ends of the towel with the spuds in the middle, and wring it. Just squeeze the bejeezus out of those 'taters. All kinds of water will come out - keep squeezing until water stops pouring out. (There will still be some liquid - you're just trying to get the majority out.)

Add the potatoes to a bowl and mix in the cabbage and the seasoning.

While you're squeezing the spuds, preheat a frying pan with some canola oil over medium heat. Once the pan is hot add the potato and cabbage mixture, and spread evenly over the surface of the pan, and press down. Now, leave it. Just let it sit on the heat for about 3-4 minutes. Then stir, press and leave for another 3 minutes. Repeat one more time. After you've let it sit, then stirred, 3 times, flip it. I know it's really hard to flip the whole thing. I don't even try. I take my spatula and flip in sections, then I press it out evenly again, let it sit for another 3 - 4 minutes. At this point, you should have a giant potato pancake that is crispy on both sides and tender in the middle.

I've served this any number of ways. I love it with a poached egg. I place about 1/4 of the mixture on a plate, use the back side of a spoon to create a little well, then plop an egg on top. (Even better with hollandaise....)

This afternoon I picked up pork cutlets from Richardson Farms at the Triangle Farmer's Market and served the Bubbles and Squeeze with pork, applesauce and fried green tomatoes (we had green tomatoes in last week's farm share).

You can also add finely diced onions to the mixture, and serve with any number of sausages or sausage like products. It's also good with cheese melted over the top, and a fried egg, or you know, nothing at all.

Simple food, simple preparation, and a good, new use for an old standard leafy green. Enjoy!

I Like my Chicken like I like My Men; Local, Fresh & Easy*

2010-11-09T19:30:00.000-08:00

Have I mentioned posting every day is somewhat exhausting? But I seem to have gotten into a bit of a rhythm of easy post easy post involved post easy post. I'm likin' it. Today, then, will be an easy post.
But first, might I suggest reading this article by Carol Ann Sayle called, "Eats Shoots and Leaves". It's a very short article about the benefit of the whole vegetable, and I'm going to work it into tonight's recipe, to boot.
This one is easy. And since it's so easy, I'm going to write it out like we were chatting on the phone or over coffee.
Let's call it:
Easy Chicken and Broccoli!

1 lb chicken thighs (actually, optional, which I'll explain)
1 lb broccoli (or however much you would like to serve)
1 tsp sweet paprika
1/2 tsp smoked sweet paprika
1/2 tsp hot paprika
1/2 tsp poultry seasoning (optional)
salt and pepper to taste
a drizzle or two of olive oil

Cut the chicken into bite sized pieces - about 1 - 2 inches or so each.
Mix all the spices in a bowl, and add the chicken, and mix to coat. (I like to get my hands in there and really rub the seasoning in.)
Coat a baking dish (about 8x13, but whatever size, as long as it's large enough for a single layer of the chicken) with olive oil, and add the chicken in a single layer. Try and leave some space between the pieces, but honestly, I usually do this in a dish where the pieces all touch a bit, and it's totally fine.
Bake at 450 degrees for 10 minutes.
While the chicken bakes, wash and dry the broccoli and cut it into bite sized pieces. Remember what Carol Ann said - use the stems, too. They're yum. I like them either sliced in coins, or diced in cubes. Both good, although if I do the coins I then halve them.
After the chicken has baked for 10 minutes, pull it from the oven and add the broccoli (mix it with a spoon so the chicken juices and spices coat the broccoli) and bake for another ten minutes.
This is good with mac and cheese on the side BUT for some '50's style goodness, you can mix it into your mac and cheese before you bake it. (And honestly, that's what we ate tonight!) It would also be good over brown rice, or with buttered pasta and a sprinkle of cheese.
This preparation would also totally work without the chicken. Just cut up some broccoli, coat with olive oil and the spice mixture, and roast at 425 degrees until it's done to your liking.
One last thing - all we did here was coat chicken with a favorite seasoning and bake in bite sized pieces, adding veggies for the final 10 minutes. I've done this with chicken marinated in soy sauce, coated in oregano and garlic, etc. It's easy, and yummy.
Not bad for a Tuesday.
*And of course, the title is just a play on "I like my women like I like my coffee" - I like my men local, fresh , already married to me and named "Brit", naturally.

Pickled!

2010-11-08T19:11:00.000-08:00

Where are the cucumers?

I did something incredibly painful tonight. Something that, in all my years of cooking, and all my years of self inflicted pain, I have never done before. And something, as a matter of fact, that was very much cartoon worthy. I didn't rub my eye after seeding hot peppers. (If I had a dollar, though, for every time I had.....). I didn't squeeze a lemon with a paper-cut finger. I didn't even drop something from the freezer onto the highest part of my foot. (I swear, last time I heard a bone crack.) Tonight, while enjoying the smokey aroma of one of my favorite seasonings, I managed to get a bunch of chipolte powder up my nose. Oh, the sneezing that followed!

What has that got to do with the picture of pickles, you ask? Patience, I'll get there eventually. (Did you know those were pickles? All those colors and textures and shapes? They are! And not a cucumber among them....)

As I mentioned yesterday, I've been dying to do some simple pickling. Not canning, just pickling. In his book, Momofuku, David Chang waxes rhapsodic about the virtues of pickling. He also advocates pickling nearly anything you can get your hands on. After a wonderful experience recently with a pickley appetizer I decided to take his advice, and so my pickling adventure began.

Kohlrabi, Beets, and Radishes, oh my!

The great thing about these pickles is you're not canning - you don't need to go through the time consuming (and nail biting) canning process of boiling everything and sealing it forever. I used canning jars with the lids simply screwed on. You could use any glass or plastic container you have with a lid.

In my farm share this week were several veggies prime for the brine. Did I mention I'm over okra? I decided it was time to pickle it. We also got some beautiful green beans. I love farm fresh green beans, and I love pickles, and having had some great pickled beans I decided to go for it. We also got kohlrabi this week. (Oh, kohlrabi - how I struggle to love you. In the future I'll share with you my recipe for apple and kohlrabi slaw, too.) This week, I roasted the leaves (a la' every kale recipe out there right now - works with kohlrabi leaves to) and saved the bulb for pickling. I can't wait to try the results. I also pickled some turnips, some radishes, red and yellow beets, and carrots. (I purchased the beets and the carrots but every thing else came from the farm!)

I started with a master brine from the book, with a few alterations to suit my family. My husband is a die-hard pickle fan, and he likes salty and sour more than sweet. I also love vinegar, and have been reducing the amount of sugar (even if only a little) in all my recipes lately. So, I reduced the sugar, uppped the salt just a smidge, and increased the ratio of vinegar to water. With that in mind, here's the brine I ended up with - scale it up or down to fit your needs, depending on how many jars you need to fill:

Master Pickle Brine

2 cups boiling water
1 1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
4 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon kosher salt

Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl and stir until the sugar dissolves. Pour this mixture over prepared vegetables in a canning jar or other container, and refrigerate for 1 - 2 weeks.

From here, there is so much space to improvise! Use whatever vegetables you think would work. Peel if applicable and scrub them good and clean. I sliced most of mine to the size I thought would work best for snacking - some I quartered (beets and radishes) some I left whole (carrots, green beans and okra) and some I slided into cute little half moons (turnips and kohlrabi). All you need to do is put the prepared veggies in a jar and pour the brine over. In traditional canning you would smash them as tightly in the jar as possible, but for our purposes, that's not necessary. In most cases I didn't have enough of the veggie to cram the jar full - so I just tossed in what I had, filled the jar to the top with brine, sealed it and placed it in the fridge.

Garlicy Dilly Beans, Plain Jane Carrots, and Smoky Spicy Okra

Now, I did play with the master recipe a bit. For the veggies with their own bite and flavor I used the recipe as written. I mean, I don't have any idea how pickled turnips or kohlrabi will turn out (although I'll let you know in two weeks!) so I stayed pretty close to the recipe. I can play with it when I understand the flavors it produces better.
I also left the carrots and radishes alone. Because that's what sounded good to me.

I spiced up the beans just a bit, by adding garlic and fresh dill, both from this week's share. (I think some peppers would be good in there, too. Next time!)

But oh, the okra. And oh, my sinuses - here's where the chipolte powder comes in. In the other cookbook I've mentioned this week, Vegan Soul Kitchen, Bryant Terry lists a recipe for smoky spicy purple okra, which inspired me. So, here's what I ended up with there:

Spicy Pickled Okra

2 cups white vinegar
1 cup water
1 tbs chipolte powder
3 or 4 cloves garlic
whole peppercorns
any hot peppers you may have in the house (I used 3, you guessed it, from my CSA share)
Several small stalks of whole, fresh dill
A canning jar full of fresh, clean okra

Add the fresh dill and the fresh peppers to the jar of fresh okra. Combine vinegar, water, salt, chipolte powder, garlic and peppercorns in a small pot, and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and fill the jar with this brine.
Cover, allow to cool, and refrigerate for 1 - 2 weeks.

All of these recipes should sit and pickle for a week or two. One week for small, thin veggies or anything you've sliced this, and two weeks for whole veggies, or anything cut particularly thick or large. Once you start eating on them they should last a month, but I bet they'll be gone within two weeks.

I think our are going to be served as snacks at a pirate party. I mean, pirates would have had to preserve any veggies they were going to eat, right? And what's a more salty brine than ye olde ocean, aye?

Pickles!

2010-11-07T10:53:00.000-08:00

I took this photo from the window of a train in the Great Smoky Mountains of NC.

Sunday is a day of rest, right? For me, it's usually a day of satisfying work. Private work. Home work. Today I'll get invitations together for my son's classmates to his birthday party in two weeks. I'll clean the kitchen. I'll pick up the living room. I'll put away laundry. Hopefully I'll find the manual to my camera and figure out how to fix it. I'll even try and find a little time to lay on the couch and watch bad TV for just an hour or so, for me.
Blogging daily is a lot of work. Fun work, but work. My other plan today is to finally get some radishes pickled - something I've been meaning to try since I got back from North Carolina a couple weeks ago. We tried some pickled radishes at a lovely little locavore restaurant there, and I've been wanting to make a go of it at home ever since.
I recently acquired the Momofuku cook book. I think I'm going to use the pickling discussion there as my jumping off point.
I promise to let you know how it goes. And since I want to work a little bit of rest into my Sunday, that's all the blogging for today.

Apples and Trees

2010-11-06T23:52:00.000-07:00

Is there anything in the world like seeing a bit of yourself in your child, and finding just a bit more joy in who both of you are? It's not narcissistic, right? For me, it's more like self-acceptance through my true love of that kiddo, you know? One of my great joys in life is cooking with the kiddos and seeing just how much they really enjoying it. The Boy started surprisingly early. He seems to genuinely really love it, too.

The Boy was just a few months shy of 3 when he made this breakfast (And The Girl was about 8 when she filmed it....):

(This is really not a very exciting video, but it is somewhat amazing to watch a not yet 3 year old handle a fork this way. And again, I'm padding the blog. A post a day is pretty ambitious.....)
Really, the point here? I'm a big, big believer in getting the kids in the kitchen and having them cook, and it's never too early for them to start. Understanding where their food comes from, including visits to the farm, helping with grocery shopping and preparing the meals is so important in having a healthy relationship with food. At the end of the day, they're why I do it all. I want them to be healthy, and making their little bodies is so important to me.

Oh Okra.....

2010-11-05T14:53:00.000-07:00

Friday is my favorite. I leave work at noon, pick up my daughter and we go together to pick up the farm share. Then, I work from home all afternoon and think about those veggies...
Today's share is AMAZING. When it rained earlier this week I had a good feeling and hoo-boy!, I was right. We have kale, beet greens, lettuce, green beans, okra, green tomatoes, garlic, dill, cilantro and the list goes on.....
But I have a confession. A horrible confession for the end of summer. I'm done with okra - not forever, just for the season. (And based on the swap box, I'm not alone.) It's been a long, lovely summer and okra is a beautiful hardy crop. We've had okra in our share every week, I believe, for the past 7 or 8 weeks. I'm over it. Last night, in fact, I made a gumbo with last week's okra. If you need a recipe for gumbo, ask someone else. I'm from Phoenix. I have NO business telling anyone how to make gumbo. (Although later this month I'm pretty sure I'll post my quick and simple cheater gumbo, so there's that....)
But I do have a really, truly fantastic okra recipe up my sleeve for all of you, RIGHT NOW. Do you think okra is slimy? This recipe will teach you how to de-slime it! Are you just plain sick of it? I bet you've never had it prepared like this!
The recipe is from the book Vegan Soul Kitchen by Bryant Terry. We're not vegans, but we do love our veggies and we do love our soul food, and this book is chock full of inventive, healthy (low fat!) versions of southern classics. I love every single thing I've made from it so far. Seriously.
I first made this recipe the week of July 4th, at my parent's lake house, when my Aunt and Uncle were visiting with their grandkids, and we all just devoured it. Oh, July, when I was so excited about the first lovely, fresh and exciting crop of okra...... The recipe has a couple little steps, including making a lime vinaigrette. This is so totally worth it, even if your dad is using the blender to make margaritas (pre-limed blender!) and I don't recommend skipping it. What I do recommend, though, is feeling comfortable subbing whatever fresh or dried herbs you have on hand. For instance, I've made the lime vinaigrette with dried oregano (in fact, almost always), and if I were making this today, I'd use the cilantro from my share. The lime, and some herbs (plus the other ingredients), are the key. What herbs is slightly less important.
And check this out - I found the recipe in an excerpt from the book on Amazon. Yes!
Here is a link to the recipe - it is on pg 46! (The recipe title IS the link - click it! And below that is an embedded screen of the recipe, so you can find it.)

Crispy Okra Strips with Lime Thyme Vinaigrette

The recipe above is linked from a preview on Amazon - it seemed much more honest and "public domain-y" than just typing out the recipe.
What? You don't have p. 167? Conveniently, that gives me a chance to type out a recipe and see which of the two options gets me into more trouble. I'm hoping neither!
The Multi-purpose Coating for dredging is very basic, and should be good on pretty much anything you dredge and fry or bake.
1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 cup cornmeal
1 tsp fine sea salt
2 tsp freshly ground white pepper (I will tell you, mine isn't "freshly ground")
1/4 tsp cayenne

And you just whisk, sift of shake it all together. Simple enough.....

One more thing - when you are de-sliming the okra as described by the Bryant Terry, call in the kids! Call in the neighbors! It's so fantastically slimy and oooky and viscous. I put the okra in a colander inside a larger bowl full of cold water, and just lift the colander out. And all that slime - OH! - all that SLIME! It just oozes out of the bottom of the colander. Party trick!
Enjoy!

Oh Sweet Thing!

2010-11-04T19:36:00.000-07:00

Sunday was Halloween. Monday, I worked from home. In other words, I was in the house all day surrounded by an ever-decreasing supply of the kids' Halloween candy. I. Could. Not. Stop. Eating. Candy. On Tuesday I quit sweets altogether. I had too. I demonstrated a complete inability to control myself around sweets in any way, shape or form. It was the sugar version of waking up naked in a parking lot, frankly. In fact, yesterday I found not one but two candy wrappers in my jean's pocket. And so I decided to quit cold turkey for two weeks as an exercise in self control.

And really? Candy isn't usually even my thing. I like chocolate, of course, but I've never had a Snickers a day habit or anything like that. I like it, but I can take a piece from the jar at work and move on, usually. I love baked goods, but I'm usually able to eat two or three cookies and rest easy knowing the rest will be there the next day. But seriously, on Monday? Snickers, Butterfingers, M&Ms, MilkyWays, Bit-o-Honey.....

Why am I telling YOU all of this? Today is Day Three. Day Three Sucks. I want candy.

So in a twist of dramatic irony I'm giving you a recipe I've been meaning to post for months. This summer our fig tree went crazy and I finally had enough figs to make jams and also try out a few recipes for ice cream. My favorite of the bunch was Orange Chocolate Fig Frozen Yogurt. The tartness of the yogurt complemented the sweetness of the figs. The chocolate covered candy orange peels mirrored that sweet and tart combination. The whole thing was divine.
And while it's true that the season for figs and ice cream is now behind us for the year, the season for reminiscing about recipes using homemade candied oranges, and chocolate (and ohmygodImissdessertgivemethatcandy) is not.

Fig Frozen Yogurt with Chocolate Covered Orange Pieces*

Candied Orange Slices
Divide orange into four sections, and remove peel from each. Cut into ¼ inch slices, and trim off as much of the white pith as you can. (but don't stress out.....)

Peel from 1 orange
1TBSP Cardamom Seed
1 TBSP crushed whole cinnamon stick
3-5 star anise seeds
3-5 whole cloves
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
Melted Dark Chocolate

Boil slices of peel for 15 minutes, and rinse in cold water.
Add peel slices to 1 cup water with 1 cup sugar and the whole spices. Bring to boil, and then reduce heat to simmer and simmer for 45 minutes.
Strain and reserve syrup
Place orange peel on parchment and allow to dry overnight.
Dip peel in melted dark chocolate, freeze for 30 minutes and dice.
(This will be added to the frozen mixture during the final 5 minutes in the ice cream maker)

Fig Paste
Place all ingredients in medium saucepan. Bring to boil, reduce to simmer and simmer for 1-2 hours, until you have the texture of a thick, lovely jam.

3 cups chopped figs
The zest and juice from 1 lemon
1 cup sugar
¼ cup reserved syrup form orange peels

Fig Frozen Yogurt

Add all ingredients EXCEPT yogurt and reserved ½ cup fig paste to small saucepan and heat just to simmer. Remove from heat and strain. Let cool. Mix with yogurt and process in ice cream maker. Once the mixture has reached the frozen consistency, add remaining ½ cup fig paste plus the diced orange slices and process for just another minute or two, or alternately fold these ingredients in by hand. Place in freezer safe container and freeze for several hours before serving

1 cup cream
1 cup light brown sugar
1 egg yolk
¼ cup fig paste + ½ cup fig paste
½ cup reserved syrup
Zest from 1 orange
1 TBSP orange flavoring
2 cups full fat Bulgarian yogurt

*I have to admit to being very, very proud of this recipe. I spent several days conceptualizing it before I made it and I'm so pleased with the flavor combination and how it turned out. I fantasize about being a pastry chef and this is one of the first dishes I've made that I feel really show some sophistication in the multiple components and how they work together. That said, it's really inconsistent in many ways with my goal to make this a blog about using fresh ingredients used in a simple way in every day life. (Although it's very consistent with my passion around using home grown figs!) In any case, I'm not always going to post daily - so this month, we're going to see all kinds of crazy stuff.

Our Farm

2010-11-03T19:24:00.000-07:00

The Boy helping me pick out our share

I'm not a meal planner. I mean, I could be. I probably should be. And I do like to think ahead about the possibilities. But I'm not someone who decides what to make and then goes shopping. Instead, I'm someone who picks up our farm share, and then decides what to make.

So, okay, I plan. I get this great food surprise every week, and then I plan. And really, I usually plan around two things: what we have in our share, and what I'm hungry for. So a lot of the meals you're going to see this month, as I challenge myself to post every single day, are based around our farm share. So let me tell you a little bit more about that.

I know I've written about our share before. I really do love it. It's not just about the food, either.

We're part of a milk co-op, and provided I remember to place my order, every other week we pick up fresh milk, buttermilk and cheese. The milk is raw and delicious, and I can do things with the cream on top. And the buttermilk? Oh, I love it. I buy it just for baking and it sings to me. It sits in the 'fridge and it whispers seductive baking suggestions to me. It finds its way into my mind, then a bowl, then my oven, and then things like yesterday's scones. But of course, the milk is just a fringe benefit.

Skip and Erin from Green Gate Farms - used with permission from their Flickr stream

I love saying, "our farm" or, "my farmers" when I'm talking. Because I'm a big ol' nerd. And because Skip and Erin, the farmers, are truly delightful and inspirational people. They welcome people to the farm. They encourage us to look around and explore the grounds. For them, the best part seems to be all of it. Erin loves the joy and surprise when a child discovers a warm chicken egg. Skip believes passionately in what they are doing for our bellies, our local economy and our planet. Well of course, everyone there does.

Oh, the bounty! Also used with permission from the Green Gate Flickr stream

I especially love our Fall farm share. This isn't even a little bit unique among food fans, of course, but it's very true. Our lettuce has a flavor. A strong, green, fresh flavor. And I love cabbage. Who knew? Braised cabbage is one of my favorites. You would not believe the cancer fighting greens - kale, beet greens and frankly, things I would have thought were weeds if I didn't know better. (They're totally not, of course. They're incredibly delicious heirloom greens.) And after years and years of buying produce in markets all over the place, our farm surprised me with a veggie I'd never tried. Kohlrabi. You'll see it in a recipe later this month. The farm has also challenged me to try new things with old favorites.

I've told this to the farmers, and now I'll share my secret with you. It's not really about the food. Sure, the fresh produce is beyond yummy. Sure, I have a nearly pathological belief that our bodies actually really enjoy seasonal food more. And yes, I'm a firm believer that fresh seasonal food is the healthiest thing I can do for both the planet, and my family. But that's not really why I love our share. There are babies, people, babies. Chicks, ducks, goats, pigs - babies! And we're allowed to wander around and exclaim at their cuteness as much as we want. Seriously.

This is for Pine Curtain Gal, and was also used with permission from the Green Gate Flickr stream.
My camera and I are sill fighting, okay?

This week, I'm going to try something new. On a recent trip to North Carolina we ate at a great place in Asheville which featured seasonal food. We started our meal with a plate of house made pickles. The surprise hit of the plate? Pickled radishes. The radishes from the farm are about to be introduced to some brine. I'll keep you posted...

And one other thing? If I ever get one of these, I'm totally taking it to the farm just to enjoy the SMUG. By posting this cute link, I've entered a contest to win a Madsen bike. And my dog? Dude, he really wants me to win. How fantastic is that giant bucket?

Breakfast Scones

2010-11-02T19:53:00.000-07:00

So, I'm posting later than I wanted to tonight. You know why? I've gone slightly apoplectic over a facebook post. My super cute friend is struggling with how to approach more nutritious snacks at her son's school. She's trying to gently suggest to the teacher that the school should supply guidelines for community shared snacks - she's not reaching for the moon. She just wants them to limit sugary snacks. And one of her friends? This woman wrote, "There aren't really any healthy prepackaged snacks to feed the kids and fresh is usually too messy" I just can't quit saying, "Fresh food is too messy." Seriously? Fresh food is messy? My adorable friend isn't asking for perfection. She's asking for less sugar. That's all - less sugar. Dude. Fresh food is too messy? I wonder where she stands on pudding cups vs grapes? Chef-boy-ar-dee vs whole grain crackers? Cheetos vs carrot sticks? So anyway I've been too busy freaking out over how messy fresh food is to write tonight's post. But I think I finally pulled it together to tell you about breakfast at our house.

My camera? She is not working. This pic? Cell phone. I warned you....

I believe in sleep. I like my kids (and okay, me) to sleep as much as possible. I put off waking the kids up until the last minute. And for that reason, breakfast is almost always grab and go at our house. But you know what? Grab and go in the morning takes a little bit of planning during the week. We're big fans, for instance, of muffins. However, we've been doing the muffin thing for a while now, so I decided to mix it up with some scones. I knew what I wanted. Something whole grain. Something with oats. Something low in sugar and fat and something with lots of fruit.

My current go-to cookbook for baking is King Arthur's Flour Whole Grain Baking. In there I found a lovely oatmeal scone recipe which I altered a bit. I reduced the sugar and butter, added quite a bit of fruit and supplemented it with some extra oats and ground flax seed. I'm pleased. It uses beautiful seasonal apples and the buttermilk I get from our milk co-op which I am in LOVE with for baking. I know the whole grain has staying power through the morning, and the fruit is giving the kids fiber and some quick start energy for the morning. The eggs and protein from the flax and oatmeal give them some longer term protein, too, so they don't crash from the fruit. A winning breakfast, and I feel good, too. Maybe I'm not a mom who can get eggs or pancakes on the table in the morning, but those crumbs in my back seat? They're full of natural goodness.

Cherry Apple Oat Scones

(Adapted from the Oat & Current Scones in KAF's Whole Grain
Cooking)
1 1/2 c white whole wheat flour
1 1/2 c whole wheat pastry flour
3/4 cup oat flour
1/3 cup ground flax seed
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) cold, unsalted butter
1 cup finely diced apples (granny smith, Jonathon, Jonagold or whatever
your fav baking apple)
1 cup dried cherries
1 cup oats
2 large eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla

Place the cherries in a small bowl, add just enough water or juice of your
choice (or a mixture) to cover the cherries, and microwave on high for 1 minute.
Leave them to cool until you need them.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Lightly grease a baking sheet or
line with parchment or silpat

Whisk together the flours, baking soda, baking powder, salt and
sugar. Using a fork, pastry blender or your fingers, cut the butter into
the dry ingredients until it resembles bread crumbs.

Drain the cherries and chop very coarsely. (or not at all - just bite
sized, you know?). Add cherries, apples and oats. Mix.

Whisk together egg, buttermilk and vanilla in a bowl. Add, all at
once (dump it in!) to the dry mixture. Stir quickly - use a light hand -
until everything is moist.
Flour a large cutting board or your counter-top. Dump the dough on
the surface and form into a large rectangle. Don't handle it too
much. Just enough to keep all the dough together - knead it 2 or 3 times
in the process. Cut the rectangle into triangles (Make squares
or rectangles then cut those in half corner to corner like a good ol'
sandwich.) You should end up with 8 - 12 squares, which become 16 - 24
triangles. YOU decide how big. I go little because my kids only eat
a little b'fast. But then I make some bigger, for me and my spouse. (If
you do two different sizes, place them on 2 different baking sheets since, you
know, the smaller ones will be done faster and ready to come out
sooner....)

They will look prettier if you brush the tops with milk or cream before you
bake, but you don't need to.
Bake for 20 - 25 minutes, until the scones are puffed up and golden
brown. As soon as you see color showing up around the bottom, pull 'em
out!

Store in the fridge in an airtight container for 3 - 5 days. OR
freeze and defrost a couple nightly.

I Should be Committed

2010-11-01T19:20:00.000-07:00

Keep an eye on this space. By this time tomorrow (or maybe a little later....) I should have a new post up. Today I went ahead and signed up for NaBloPoMo - National Blog Posting Month - all it means is I've committed to writing and posting every day. We'll see how it goes when I'm in Big Bend, unplugged, over Thanksgiving, but let's face this one day at a time, shall we?
It's been AGES since I posted, I know. I cook nearly every day. And I even remember to take photos of some of those meals. But two things keep me from posting:

Lack of time
Lack of faith in my photos

I've decided that both of these can be overcome. Ironically, I've decided this just as my camera's auto focus has mysteriously stopped working all together. Hopefully I can find the manual.....

I've been reminding myself that I started this blog because I LOVE seasonal cooking, and I love preparing meals that my family enjoys in the limited time I have after work using farm fresh ingredients. I'm still doing these things. I've just been keeping the recipes and the excitement to myself.
Frankly, Fall is hailed by foodies everywhere as nirvana. I decided now was the perfect time to get back into the swing of things. Even as I type this I can smell our breakfast scones - oat scones with apple and dried cherries - baking in the oven. Whether I get a decent photo of them or not, I promise to post the recipe by tomorrow. Y'all know what flour and diced apples look like anyway, right?

Beet This*

2010-05-21T14:42:00.000-07:00

We have an amazing farm share with Green Gate Farms. I love it. Every week is like my personal Top Chef challenge. Can I use all these ingredients? How many can I fit into a single recipe? Can we eat everything before next week? I feel a lot of pressure to not waste any of the food, since I love the farmers and value these gifts. And that pressure? It actually helps me insure my family eats fresh local food every night. And a little secret? The kids like the farmers, too, and they eat more veggies.

Last week we got some beets. I knew they were coming, because several weeks ago we had baby beet greens. Oh, the anticipation of those fresh beets. And I have to tell you; these surpassed my expectations.
I usually roast my beets. But, I was in a hurry and decided to grate them into a salad. I'm glad I did. These beets were too pretty to roast. And grated? They seriously looked like peppermint candy. I'm in love.

Beet and Tangerine Salad

Fresh salad greens**

1 - 2 medium sized beets, grated (I used a box grater, old school)

1 - 2 tangerines, mandarines, or oranges, segmented (Whatever you have on hand)

Juice from one small orange or tangerine

1 tbsp honey

3 tbsp olive oil
3 tbsp balsamic

Combine fluid ingredients in small bowl. Add grated beets and citrus segments. Put greens on plate, or in a big bowl, and top with contents of small bowl.

I also added some chopped cashews and some goat cheese. I encourage you to do the same.

Serves 1 - 2, or a family of four if the kids will only eat small bites of salad. This is a good one in my family, because the beets look like candy and the kids love citrus. I double the recipe.

*Is every foodie post about beautiful beets titled "Beet this"? I think it probably is. And I'm totally okay with that.

**Also from our farm share. Delish!

Surely the Dough has Risen by Now.....

2009-09-14T18:41:00.000-07:00

My, it's been a while. I bet you're wondering why. And, you may also be wondering just why it is that the nutrition of my family is so gosh-darn important to me. Here's the thing. We have some health issues. My husband was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis many, many years ago. No one really knows what causes it. And the only recognized treatments involve some less than satisfactory medical intervention. But while reading and learning and wondering, we realized that diet may have a lot to do with preventing it. Heck, diet may have a lot to do with everything, right? Your heart, your guts, your chances of getting cancer, your weight, your energy and if you're a flamingo, even your color.

This whole "making a person" thing freaks me out a bit, so I decided to use the best materials available in building the two my fella' and I started from scratch. Real food, close to the source. And if I'm going to make such long-living healthy people, I might as well make sure they have a nice place to live, so we try to eat as sustainably as is practical for us. We haven't transitioned to a wholly sustainable diet, but we're doing what we can. Balancing the demands of work, health, happiness and housework (not necessarily in that order, although for sure, housework is last) means we don't come anywhere near any one's version of perfect. But we do eat some yummy food!

Speaking of, I bet you're wondering about the "filling and baking" of the lunch pockets I promised. So here we go:
I believe I left you with some rolled out dough, and some braised and cooled chicken. The idea is to fill the pockets with a combination of a protein of choice, a veggie of choice, and a viscous element of choice. (Sauce, cheese, mustard, pesto - something with moisture and flavor).

So, once you've rolled out the dough -
Spread your sauce or cheese or other condiment around the surface of the dough. Really, this is like making a pizza, but you fold it over at the end.
Then, add several tablespoons of shredded chicken, pepperoni, kidney beans, or whatever you'd like.

After that, some spinach, diced tomatoes, shredded zucchini, or steamed broccoli. Again, whatever you think your kid will either enjoy, or not notice. With the veggies, I tend to go for "accept" - enjoy is often too much to ask.

Once you have all your fillings in place, brush an egg wash* around the edge of your dough, very lightly, and then fold the dough over.

Crimp the edges together, and bake in a HOT oven until golden brown - about 7 - 10 minutes.
What do I mean by HOT? I use a pizza stone for this (and pizza...), and it works best if I turn my oven on ALL the way up, and preheat for at least 20 minutes.

If that's not your style, a greased cookie sheet in a 400 degree oven for 15 minutes should work, too. (This one is covered in cornmeal - that's my trick for getting them to slip off the sheet, and on to the pizza stone. Well, not "my" trick - this is why so many really good pizzas have cornmeal on the bottom.)
Here are some fillings we tried and liked:

Pepperoni (I use natural, nitrate free. I really, really avoid nitrates), mozzarella cheese, and pizza sauce (often knows as spaghetti sauce)
Shredded chicken, goat cheese, and defrosted frozen spinach. (Fresh works too, but you have to watch out for the moisture.....)
Shredded chicken, finely chopped broccoli, and cheddar cheese
Black beans, roasted red peppers, and pepper jack (my boy LOVES beans)
Sliced, cooked sausage (like a Polish sausage) with mustard, sauerkraut and Swiss cheese.

Be creative. Have fun. Start with familiar ingredients if your kid/spouse/self doesn't like new stuff. Or hey, fill 'em with leftover stew or pot-roast or chili, and call it a night.

These can be wrapped in freezer paper and/or foil, and frozen for several months. They'll keep your kid's apple cold, while defrosting in their cubby.

And remember both the bread dough and the braised chicken in this post? The dough works great for pizza, too. And the chicken? Once you have some good, cooked chicken around, the possibilities are nearly endless.....

(Some day soon - a post about chicken tacos!)
Besos,

Emily

No More Turkey Sandwiches

2009-08-23T21:11:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow is the first day of school! Hooray! Back to my favorite thing, making lunches every night before bed. I love it! Especially the part where I'm done cleaning the kitchen, and folding laundry, and I'm trying to remember where I was in my book and then I remember - I still have to make the #%$& lunches before I can go to bed. So I drag my tired butt into the kitchen, slap some turkey and chees on some bread, and call it a night.

Only, Lydia has suggested that she almost doesn't even like turkey and cheese anymore, because she is so sick of it. So like many moms this time of year, we're trying to rethink lunches.

"What if, " I asked Lydia, "we cooked some chicken, and filled some bread dough with chicken and cheese, or pizza fillings - like kolache or calzones. We could freeze 'em, and you could heat them at school."

This idea was met with much enthusiasm. And after we discussed all the possiblities, Lydia pointed out, "And, I won't even know which filling I have until I bite into it at school!"

Clearly, these are just a take on the age-old pocket pie. A somosa. An empenada. A calzone. But they're also something I can do in batches, during the weekend, and freeze a month-long supply at a time. And so a new lunch tradition has been born.

You can use any bread recipe you like. I used a pizza dough, since that's what Lydia asked for, but you could use a yeasty dinner roll recipe and make these a bit flakier if you like.

We were lucky enough to find a 10 grain bread flour in the bulk section of whole foods, so that's what I used, but any good wheat bread flour will work.

For our dough:

3/4 cup warm water (body temp - not too hot to touch, or it will kill the yeast)

2 tsp active dry yeast

1 1/2 - 2 cups bread flour

2 Tbs olive oil

Dissolve yeast in warm water. When it's nice and foamy, add 1 & 1/2 cups flour and the olive oil, and mix until all the flour is absorbed. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface, OR use the hook attachment on your mixer, and knead the dough until it is smooth and elastic - about 10 minutes. You may need to add more flour. The dough should be moist, but not sticky.

When the dough is all nice and elastic-y, rub it lightly with more olive oil, place in a clean bowl, and cover the bowl (not touching the dough) with a damp towel, and place in a warm, dry place. (A cool oven, with the interior light on, works lovely. The heat from the light bulb is just enough warmth, and the closed oven door prevents drafts.) Allow the dough to rise until double in size - about an hour. Then, punch it down, and divide it into 4 pieces.

NOTE: Double or even triple the recipe to make more dough. Next time, I'm going to QUADRUPLE it, and make enough of these for a month.

Roll each piece out, and fill with the fillings of your choice.

For the chicken, I preheated my saute pan over medium heat, added olive oil, and when it was hot, I added a couple of thighs and breasts, which I had lightly seasoned with salt and pepper. Then I added a smashed garlic clove, some crushed red pepper, dried oregano and a bay leaf, plus a few inches of chicken stock - just enough to come about half-way up the meat. Cover, and allow the meat to simmer for about 5 - 7 minutes, then turn the meat, and simmer for 5 - 10 minutes more, until cooked through. Remove from heat, and allow the chicken to cool IN the broth. This is very important. Keep the chicken in the broth while it cools, and it won't dry out.

Next time - fillings and baking!

Simple Eating

2009-08-21T21:32:00.000-07:00

This isn't a particularly fancy dinner. It's a pretty funny first post, really, for a food blog. But it was a goooood dinner, as I recall. And perfect for an easy summer evening. Plus, it followed a couple of my favorite food philosophies, including local and seasonal eating. But, that's not why I picked it. I picked it for this face.

This one.

You see, Lydia put this plate together herself. She treated her meal as art, and then ate all of it. And I have to admit, my kid's not much of a salad eater. But when the planets align, and she gets excited about the spirit of a meal, she dives in. And that willingness is how I know that what I'm doing - well, it's working. And that's why this is our first Mindful Bellyful blog together. Lydia was mindful of this meal, and where the ingredients came from, and everything it took to put this simple dinner together, and she dove right in.

So, what do we have here?

Turkey Reuben with a salad of summer greens and avocado, and some oven baked fries. Which yes, are purple. We'll get to that.
The olives and ketchup? That's all Lydia. You should, of course, garnish as you see fit. *wink*

Do you ever make Reubens for dinner? They're pretty easy. We like them with turkey instead of pastrami, simply because our kids like turkey, and we can get some pretty good nitrate free turkey around here.

Apply in this order:

Bread, mustard, cheese, turkey, sauerkraut, tomato, cheese, mustard, bread.

On either a griddle or a panini press, grill sandwiches until cheese melts.

Oh, and I find it helps to warm the 'kraut a bit first, so the sandwich warms up more quickly.

The salad is just the mixed field greens with a simple vinaigrette, and some avocado for creaminess, and healthy fats, and because I can't even begin to tell you how much I love avocado. And there may be some goat cheese in there, too. Yum.

And now, those purple potatoes. They came from our weekly farm share in the middle of the summer. And they made the most beautiful home fries ever. Just cut them into wedges, coat with olive oil and sea salt, and bake in the oven at 425 degrees until soft on the inside and crispy on the outside - about 25 minutes.

When they were done, they looked like jewels, I kid you not. The variation in the coloring - the striping? Gorgeous. We had a total of kids around the table that night, and the purple potatoes were gone quicker than an ice cube in Phoenix in August. So I don't have any other pictures of them. But don't they sparkle next to those ketchup "rubies"?

Keep an eye out for heirloom potatoes at your local store or farm stand. The colors and flavors are amazing.

The recipes will get more complex, and the photos more detailed. For now, though, I'm just going to keep thinking about that beautiful, proud face.

Full belly. Happy heart.

Here We Go!

2009-08-20T08:06:00.000-07:00

I have this amazing friend, Ellen. As good friends often do, she makes me feel special. She makes me feel like I have something unique, and of value, to offer to the world. And because she is so smart, and funny, and wise, and has such amazing taste, sometimes I actually believe her. This blog is dedicated to Ellen.
And the thing about Ellen is, she sends me all kinds of amazing blog links. I think Ellen is the person who introduced me to P-Dub. And I know Ellen is the person who introduced me to Kathie Sever and Cynthia Lair . And The Mamas! Oh lawd, The Mamas. Austin has this amazing community of women who congregate in a Yahoo Group. These are some spectacular women. Writers! Bloggers! They believe in slow living. And crafting. I cannot begin to tell you how much I respect and admire the women behind these websites. They love what they do, and it shows.

I've been thinking about my life lately. And as usual, I've been thinking about food. And, I'll admit, I've been wishing that my life revolved around food even more than it already does. For a while I've wished I could work around food, somehow. I could open a restaurant! Except I hate getting up early. I could start a catering business! Except my kitchen is too messy (and too doggy, okay?) to pass an inspection. And besides, I’m not in a position, financially, to open a business. I could write a book! But first I’d need to build an audience. And content. Maybe a blog…..
And so the idea just sat in the back of my head, while I continued on in my life, cooking healthful meals for my family, loving my farm share, having a great time at the farmer's market, religiously monitoring what my kids eat, etc., etc.
Because the truth is, I don't have much free time. I work. I take care of two kids. I worry about my husband. I try to exercise from time to time, and I already wish I had more time to sew, and to cook. And my income is far too important to my family for me to NOT work.
But this morning, it hit me. I do ALL that, and I still take the time to prepare healthful meals for my cute family. Many of the books and blogs I love? They all started somewhere, right? And yet, none of them have exactly my passion. Yes, there are blogs about seasonal cooking. And slow family living. And balancing a career and motherhood. But how about the space in which those combine? The kitchen space, specifically, in which those combine. My space. And there is was.
So I give you, ladies and gentlemen, my first tentative step towards fulfilling a dream. This is it.
I hereby announce my intentions to blog about food MY way. Healthful, whole grain meals prepared at the end of an already long day. Healthy, balanced lunches prepared, simultaneously, with love and exhaustion. Parties thrown in a not-quite-clean house. Local food. Seasonal food. Plus, the activities that bring it to our home.
It's my hope that folks will find inspiration here, and learn about building healthy little bodies and full productive lives. I want to romanticize trips to the farmers' market as the mini-festival days they feel like to me. And by bearing witness to my own life, I intend to embrace the lovely tradition of mindful living. I think about what we eat. We eat with a purpose. We eat to nourish our bodies, and to cherish the earth.
So, you'll see healthy, seasonal recipes. You'll read stories full of humor and love. And together we'll share the expression of love that cooking is to me.
Our lives. Slightly off kilter, but still full of love and nutrition. That's what I'll share.
Full belly. Happy heart.