Radishes Fowl Point Zero

The smaller CSA share this week and our earlier salad extravaganza  left us with only a few items remaining to cook. I had bought a whole chicken thinking to roast it with sage and red potatoes. That felt a little uninspired, so I decided to check the fridge. Pulling open my veggie drawer, I found a large bunch of OPO radishes, some turnips, and a number of carrots. 


We've come to love both radishes and turnips. In fact, the other day, we all set upon a sliced raw turnip: crunchy and spicy with just a hint of sweetness. Both remind us of horseradish - another favorite. Then it struck me: Horseradish roasted chicken. It sounded quirky but worth trying.


The Method


If you don't have the luxury of homemade horseradish grown in Midwestern soils (thanks, Dad), you will want to a) buy a horseradish root and make some, or b) purchase really good jar. You could brine the chicken in advance, but I prepared this without doing so.

• 1  roaster chicken
• 3-5 turnips, sliced in half/quarters if large
• 1 bunch of radishes
  
• 3 carrots, roughly chopped
• several new, red potatoes
• 2 TB horseradish, ground
• 2 TB butter, melted
• Salt and pepper
• 2 TB real maple syrup

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Season the inside of the chicken with salt and pepper.
3. Place the turnips and radishes in a plastic bag.
4. Season the turnips and radishes with salt and pepper.
5. Add the horseradish and melted butter to the bag. Mix to coat the vegetables well.
6. Stuff the chick with the turnip and radishes. Set breast-up into a roasting pan. (I use one with a rack, adding 2 C of water, so that I can make gravy.)
7. Turn the bag inside-out and rub the chicken with the horseradish butter.
8. Place the remaining vegetables around the chicken. 
9. Season the outside of the chicken with a little salt and pepper.
10. Drizzle with maple syrup.
11. Roast until done, about 1 1/2 - 2 hours. (Check the water level to ensure it doesn't dry out completely.)

The Results

As with several of our previous radish meals, this was scrumptious. The chicken was moist, buttery, and sweet - with just a hint of the spiciness from the horseradish. Roasted vegetables are always delicious. They held up well to the peppery flavor of the dish. The resulting gravy, however, made by adding a few tablespoons of flour and water blended together with the pan set over high burners on the stove, was the star! It had an ambrosial aroma and taste - piquant, yet creamy, blended with a touch of maple syrup. On the side, OPO mustard greens, turnip, tops, and kale.

Enwraptured: The Filling Tale of Two Dishes and a Salad

Buffalo. Junior Chef #1 asked me to make buffalo recently. Yes, our junior chefs are experienced and relatively adventurous eaters, so this request didn't catch me too much by surprise. We bought a pound of grass-fed ground buffalo, and I began to think about how best to prepare it. An obvious choice: Buffalo Empanadas. (Only obvious if you know that I've been planning to make empanadas for a couple of weeks, and thought to substitute buffalo for ground beef.)


But there were gorgeous oyster mushrooms on offer at the farmers' market this week. I had to buy a pound. While they would keep a couple of days in the fridge, I decided to make the for dinner, too. The question was, how?


We tend to overbuy food for the holidays. Generally, most of our families join us here for the week of Christmas. And to feed the multitudes, we make sure the pantry, fridge, and freezer are well-stocked. I had intended to make a couple of pots of blackbean and turkey chills to feed the ravenous throngs, but we had more than enough other food. The turkey remained unused in the freezer. Then there were the leftover crepes from our Gateau de Crepes, which have set atop several other items in the freezer - longing to be used. 


A vision. Turkey and oyster mushrooms wrapped and baked in crepes - a savory, mild counterpoint to the spicy empanadas.


... and a salad from the lovely OPO offerings this week.


It was the best of menus.


The Method (Buffalo Empanadas)


Every culture has its version of travel-friendly food.  While living in Africa and traveling through southeast Asia, I sample many interesting items - perhaps most interesting was "mbewa pan ndodo." (A quick Google search of the individual words will reveal more than you'd like to know about that culinary treat.)


The empanada takes various names and forms around the world. But the notion of stuffing breads with meats is familiar. Think of burritos and sandwiches. The calzone takes this to a larger scale. Alternate starchy coverings give us sushi/sashimi, the corndog, and meat-filled crepes in the night markets (pasar malam) of Malaysia. 


Here, I offer spicy buffalo in a crispy, buttery pastry.


The Crust

• 2 1/4 C all-purpose flour
• 1 stick butter, chilled and cut into tablespoon pieces
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp vinegar
• 1 egg
• ice water (about 1/4-1/2 C)
• 2 egg whites (reserve for filling the empanadas)

1. Mix the flour and salt.
2. Cut in the butter using a fork or pastry knife  until the consistency is like cornmeal
3. Beat together the egg, vinegar, and 1/4 C of ice water.
4. Mix the liquids with the flour and butter until the dough just begins to hold together. (It should be very flaky and loose.)
5. Turn the dough onto a floured surface and press it into a mound. (Add a bit of ice water if it's too dry.)
6. Knead the dough quickly and gently. You want it to just hold together.
7. Press the dough into a disk-shape about 1/2" thick.
8. Cover in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1+ hours. (This allows the butter to firm up and the gluten in the dough to relax.)

The Filling (while the dough is chilling)

• 1# ground buffalo
• 2 TB canola oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 5 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2-3 chipotles in adobo sauce, chopped finely
• 1 tsp Adobo seasoning
• 1 TB tomato paste

1. Saute the onions and garlic in the oil over medium-high heat until lightly browned.
2. Add the ground buffalo and cook thoroughly.
3. Stir in the chipotles, Adobo, and tomato paste.
4. Simmer 5 minutes.

Creating the Empanadas

1. Preheat the oven to 350.
2. Remove the dough from the fridge. 
3. Roll the dough until it is about 1/8" thick.
4. Cut out circles of dough about 5-6" in diameter. 
5. Brush one half of each circle with beaten egg whites.
6. Add 2-3 TBs of filling.
7. Fold the dough over the filling and seal the edges using a fork.
8. Brush with egg white.
9. Bake for 45 minutes.

The Method (Turkey and Oyster Mushroom Crepes)

Crepes freeze very well, so we used what was on hand along with a few newly-made. They are simple to make from scratch - and quick, apart from the one hour rest period for the fresh batter.


The Crepes

1. Whisk together until smooth: 3/4 C flour, pinch of salt, 1 C skim milk, 1 egg, and 1 egg white.
2. Chill covered for one hour.
3. Heat a non-stick skillet over medium-high.
4. Spray with cooking spray.
5. Remove the pan from the direct heat.
6. Tilt the pan toward you. (Far end from the handle is higher.) 
7. Pour about 1/4 C batter into the far end of the pan.
8. Tilt the pan until the batter covers the bottom. (This should be a thin layer with a lacy appearance around the edges.
9. Cook 1 minute.
10. When the underside is lightly browned, flip the crepe.
11. Cook 30 seconds.
12. Remove to a plate. 

(If you choose to freeze crepes, separate them with waxed paper.)

The Filling

The filling was more involved, but still uncomplicated.

• 1 TB butter
• 1/2 C onion, thinly sliced
• 4-5 C oyster mushrooms, roughly chopped
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• 4 cloves of garlic, minced
• 4 TB flour
• 1 1/2 C chicken broth
• 2 TB sherry
• Salt and pepper
• 1# ground turkey
• 1/4 C Grana padano cheese, grated (Parmesan or Asiago would substitute.)

1. Preheat the oven to 350.
2. Brown the turkey in a pan with a little butter. Set aside until you fill the crepes.
3. Saute the onion in butter over medium heat until softened.
4. Add the mushrooms, garlic, and thyme. Cook until mushroom release their juices, 5 minutes.
5. Sprinkle flour over the mushroom mixture and cook for 1 minute.
6. Slowly add the broth and sherry.
7. Season with salt and pepper.
8. Return mixture to a boil and simmer for 3-4 minutes, until the sauce thickens. (But don't overcook the mushrooms; they should retain some firmness.)
9. Remove from heat.
10. Reserve 1/2 C of the sauce.
11. Stir the cooked turkey into the mushroom sauce.
12. Spray a baking dish with cooking spray.
13. Add 1/3 - 1/2 C of the turkey and mushroom mixture to the center of a crepe.
14. Fold one side over the mixture, and pull it tight against the filling with your fingers - holding the filling tightly under the flap.
15. Fold the second side over the first to create a sealed "tube" containing the filling.
16. Place the filled crepes in the baking dish with their seams on the bottom. 
17. Cover the crepes with the reserved mushrooms.
18. Sprinkle with cheese.
19. Bake for 15 minutes.

The Results


We savored this meal in three courses beginning with a crepe apiece. These were soft and creamy with a meaty, earthy flavor from the mushrooms. The turkey contributed a firmness that offered nice contrast.

The salad was an inspired creation from our CSA share - and definitely worth a few notes here. We placed a small head of loose-leaf lettuce (variety?) on each plate. We then sprinkled chopped arugula around and over the lettuce. Next came layers of grated carrots, raw turnips, and radishes. We added sprigs of shunkigu (edible chrysanthemum) and a dressing concocted by Senior Chef #2, which was purposefully sweet to balance the strong spicy and bitter flavors of the greens. (Brown and yellow mustard, Worcestershire sauce, canola oil, garlic powder, and brown sugar)

We concluded with the empanadas. Dense, crunchy, and full of hot, peppery meat! They were entirely different from the crepes in almost every way. (I would roll the dough more thinly next time, and add a bit more fat to the buffalo meat.)


The meal, divided in three parts, was thus enjoyed by us one and all.


(Although there is plenty of both for a second meal.)

Haluski: Pasta and Cabbage United

Unseasonably cold. As a midwesterner by birth and rearing, a little winter in Florida doesn't bother me too much. I still run around in short-sleeved shirts and sandals. But, the chill makes me crave warm, one-pot dishes. Enter Haluski. At the risk of repeating myself, we recently watched an episode of Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives that featured this dish. Thumbing through my Christmas gift, More DD&D by Guy Fieri, I found the recipe from the show and Guy's own version: Holy Haluski (p. 75). I opted to make the later, because it included two ingredients I especially love: pancetta and capers. I also used the dish as the chance to use the humongous cabbage I found last week at the farmers' market.


The Method
I made this one by the book. With an almost 8 pound cabbage, I doubled the recipe (below is the single batch). This was nearly too much for my favorite Le Creuset dutch oven; but as the cabbage cooked down I managed to fit everything. 

• 1/2 stick unsalted butter
• 1/2 pound thin-sliced pancetta, diced (I had mine sliced too thinly. Opt for something a little thinner than bacon.)
• 2 large onions, sliced
• 1 medium head of cabbage, cored and sliced 1/2" thick (I have no idea what a medium head weighs, but I was probably cooking with 3-4 times this amount.)
• 2 carrots, julienne (Save yourself the hassle and just diced them.)
• 1 TB fresh thyme
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 2 tsp black pepper
• 8 ounces wide egg noodles (I used the real deal, not the no-yolk style.)
• 3 TB garlic, minced (Okay, I probably used triple this amount.)
• 3 TB capers, rinsed and drained
• 1 C peas (I used frozen)
• 1/4 C white wine
• 1 TB lemon juice
• Italian parsley to garnish

1. Bring a pot of water to boil for the noodles.
2. In a large pot, melt 1 TB butter and fry the pancetta until crisp (12-14 minutes). 
3. Remove pancetta and drain, reserving the fat.
4. Add 2 TB pancetta fat to pot along with the remaining butter over medium-high heat.
5. Add the onions, cabbage, carrots, and thyme. Season with salt and pepper. Stir to coat the veggies with butter.
6. Cover and cook until cable is wilted and almost tender, 10 minutes. 
7. Uncover and cook until the cabbage is very tender, 10 minutes more.
8. While the cabbage cooks, boil the pasta al dente.
9. Increase the heat under the pot to high and cook until the cabbage and onions are golden. [Maybe it's my stove - a lack of BTUs - or the moisture content in 8 pounds of cabbage, but it took much longer: almost 40 minutes. I also had to drain off several cups of liquid so that the veggies could sautee and not simply steam.]
10. Add in the garlic and capers. Cook for 1 minute.
11. Add the peas.
12. Deglaze the pan with wine and then add the lemon juice. [I didn't achieve much of a glaze, again, probably due to the veggie volume.]
13. Add 3/4 of the pancetta (reserve the rest to garnish). Remove from the heat.
14. Drain the noodles and toss with the cabbage mixture. [It took so long for my cabbage to brown that the noodles were a congealed mass, which I lovingly teased apart with my fingers...okay, not really, I threw them in and stirred until they separated.]
15. Serve immediately garnished with parsley and pancetta.

The Results
This dish has several things in its favor. It's a great way to prepare cabbage. I suspect it would be passable even among cabbage-doubters or haters. Second, it has a mixture of sweet (onion, cabbage, peas), sour (capers), and salty (pancetta) flavors. Still, the overall dish is mellow. We paired it with a glass (or two) of the remaining wine and an OPO  arugula salad with a sharp, tangy vinaigrette.


Doubling the recipe means that we've eaten only half during three separate meals this week. As good as this was, it's going to take really willpower to eat it three more times. Unfortunately, I think it will freeze poorly; but I may give that a shot. In the end, I should have used half of the monster cabbage to make sarma.

A plate of sunshine

Growing attention is being given to the humane and health aspects of eating corn-fed beef and other industrialized types of meat. (Plenty of good sources, I like Michael Pollen among many others.) We do not limit our consumption to only organic, free-range, or other preferred animals. Perhaps we should, if only for reasons of taste. Eating grass-fed beef, as we did tonight with steaks from Red Bridge Beef, is a different experience than one normally has with supermarket meat.

The distinction between grass- and corn-fed beef during our dinner-time conversation sparked an observation that we were really eating "sunshine." Meat is an inefficient  way to do this, of course, but eating locally-grown and free-range animals is a step in a positive direction. Plus, it is incredibly delicious! (With consideration for our vegetarian friends.)

I failed to take a picture of the raw ribeyes. They were nicely marbled and possessed thick layers of fat in the proper places. Generally, I like to cook steaks on a charcoal grill, but wasn't feeling well-enough to spend the time in the cool air.

The Method

Thank you to my father-in-law for suggesting that we use a recipe he found for Outback's steak seasoning. I reduced the original proportions by half, because I was preparing only two steaks. The result was:

• 4 tsps salt
• 2 tsps paprika
• 1 tsp ground black pepper
• 1 tsp onion power
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• ½ tsp cayenne pepper
• ½ tsp coriander
• ½ tsp turmeric

1. Bring steaks to room temperature.
2. Season on both sides with seasoning mix.
3. Melt 1 TB butter and 1 TB olive oil in a frying pan. Heat until smoking hot.
4. Add steaks.
5. Cook to preferred temperature. (Our preferences range from the rare side of Medium-Rare to the well side of Medium.)

The Result

We seldom have red meat, and even less often steak. These were marvelous. The flavor was - well - simply two-steps above anything you can find in the store (or nearly any restaurant): "deep" is the best descriptor.  The texture was soft...not quite buttery as would be a filet, but fork-tender. It was a steak to be savored bite-by-bite. The seasoning was excellent, too. I used about 2/3 of the mix on the two steaks, and would reduce it a bit further next time. I might also cut the coriander in half.

Our now-regularly appearing salad of OPO mixed greens with a balsamic vinaigrette, OPO sweet potatoes (diced and boiled until tender), and caramelized onions rounded out the meal. Nothing fancy, but served with a glass of cabernet...the perfect way to forget how poorly I felt most of the day.

CSW Week 11

The seasons are beginning to change, but apparently the okra continues its steady advance on humankind (or at least upon our CSA). Fortunately, our friends at Orchard Pond Organics ASKED if I would like okra this week. I politely (?) declined, but did accept their offer of additional salad greens. The younger man in line behind me opted for the ubiquitous green pods. I almost offered to run home and bring him the bag we have from last week's share, but he had gleefully trotted off before that idea had come to me.

This week's picture shows the share as it's received. Several delicious, recurring favorites were among the items:

• mustard greens
• mubuna (sp?) (Thank you to the OPO women for identifying this for me. Front center, below the eggplant.)
• bok choy (two types)
• salad greens (lots)
• three baby eggplants
• arugula
• eggs

Sunday will need to be filled with aggressive cooking, or else Senior Chef #2 and the Junior Chefs will be stuck with plenty of edible leaves while I am away for another business trip.

By the way, a quick word about washing greens. After trying several approaches, we have settled upon the triple-soak and spin. We fill the sink with cold water. Drop a load of leaves in and churn them about for a few seconds, then allow them to sit for a couple of minutes. Then spin them dry in the salad spinner, re-rinse (generally in the same water...the sand /dirt sinks). Repeat three times. This seems to produce the best results for storing (they last longer) and eating (no grit).

If you have a better method, let me know!

Finally, breakfast today - courtesy of Senior Chef #2 - was homemade french toast using the remaining Anadama Bread. Fabulous!

Beans, Bones, and Greens.

As I have a few times previously, I found myself confronted with a backlog of greens. There was also the residual humerus from the stuffed pork shoulder to be addressed. Touring the pantry, however, I found few options for dried beans...until I stumbled upon a bag of lima beans. But, these were purchased from Winn Dixie perhaps 5-6 years ago.

Would they still be good?

They smelled fine and were uniformly firm. I decided to quick soak them and see. Finding no issues, I proceeded with the soup.

The Method

1. Place the dried beans (any type) in several cups of water. Bring to a boil. Cook for two minutes, then remove from the heat and allow to sit for 1 hour. Drain.
2. Soak a handful of dried forest mushrooms in very hot water for 20-30 minutes.
3. While the beans and mushrooms soak, brown pork bones in a deep pot. (You could have done this in the oven for an even deeper roasted flavor.)
4. Scrounge three leftover Italian sausages from the freezer. (Why did I have three, single sausages in ziplocs? Why not just cook the extra link each time?)
5. Brown the sausages along with the bones.
6. Add six cloves of whole garlic, the mushrooms, 1 tsp dried thyme, a bay leaf, and enough water to cover the bones.
7. Bring to a boil.
8. Add the soaked beans.
9. Add 6-8 cups of roughly chopped greens (bok choy and mabuna).
10. Season with salt and pepper.
11. Simmer for at least 1/2 hour. (I cooked this for 2+ hours.)
12. Remove the bones - picking and adding any meat to the soup.

The Result

Mellow. The sharpness of the greens and roasted pork bones were discernible and the beans created a thick, creamy base. It was the perfect dish, served with a salad and slices of Anadama bread (freshly thawed and heated in the oven), for a cool fall evening. The Junior Chefs added hot sauce to their bowls partway through and reported it was delicious (my bowl was already empty).

Other things to try. I would certainly make this with other types of stock bones. It would also be worth adding tomatoes or tomato paste midway through cooking. Different varieties of beans would work well, too.

CSA Week 10

A week of travel for work and plenty of activity at home has kept me away from cooking and the blog. Our week ten CSA share contained the usual suspects and a couple of less frequent items:

• an array of greens (mustard, bok choy, mabuna)
  
• salad greens
• okra (hmmm...should I hope for a heavy frost?)
• white radishes
• broccoli
  

I wasn't even in town to collect them from the farmers' market, but my kitchen staff obliged. Alas, we have no picture.

We spent the week eating simple salads dressed with a balsamic vinaigrette. Junior Chef #1 has become quite proficient at preparing the dressing - in part because he likes the word "emulsify." We added thinly sliced radishes, too. There was some complaint that this precluded the creation of radish sandwiches. Epiphany becomes legacy.

Stuffed Cider Pork Shoulder

I recently saw a recipe for a smoked pork shoulder stuffed with blanched greens. While I like smoked meats, building an entire meal around a single smoked cut is tricky business. If the smoke is too strong, it could overwhelm the dish. Perhaps I'll try to smoke my own some time soon.

Instead, I decided to work with a fresh pork shoulder, which I deboned myself. (That was a harder task than I anticipated. It did leave me with an excellent bone with which to make a pot of beans at a future date.)

The marinade is also my own creation. I'm blogging prospectively. It's shaping up to be a two-day prep. We'll see how it turns out.

The Method (Marinade)

After deboning the shoulder, I realized that someone (Senior Chef #2) had made a fruit salad using the orange I intended to add to the marinade. This sparked a little innovation.

1. Season the shoulder, laid out in a roasting dish:
   • Salt and pepper
   • Thyme
   • Allspice (ground)
   • 7-8 cloves
   • 6-7 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
   • 4 sticks of cinnamon
2. What to use as liquid? I had once made pork loin roasted with granny smith apples. While we had no apples in the house to add to the marinade, we did have...
   • 2 bottles of hard, granny smith apple cider
3. Cover the pan with foil. Marinade overnight. Flip the meat two or three times.
4. Retain the marinade after removing the meat. Bring marinade to a boil and set aside to use as basting liquid when roasting the pork.

 

The Method (Stuffing)

I opted for a mixture of spicy greens to offset the sweetness in the cider and allspice.

1. Roughly chop 1# mustard greens.
2. Dice 1 sweet potato (about 1 C).
3. Bring several cups of water to a boil.
4. Add the garlic, cinnamon sticks, and cloves from the marinade to the water.
5. Blanch the sweet potato for 5 minutes.
6. Use a slotted spoon to remove the sweet potato, cinnamon sticks, garlic, and cloves.
7. Salt the liquid and return to a boil.
8. Add the mustard greens and cook until tender (about 10 minutes).
9. Drain the greens.
10. In a bowl, mix the greens, 1 TB butter (melted), and one egg (beaten).
11. Season the stuffing with salt and pepper.
12. Place a layer of greens followed by a layer of sweet potato over the butterflied pork shoulder.
13. Roll the shoulder to enclose the stuffing. 
14. Secure with butcher's string. 

The Method (Roasting)

I began by cooking this over indirect heat on the grill for 1 hour, skin-side down. The heat was a bit high (or I left it longer than I should have) and the skin crisped up very quickly.

Next, I flipped the roast and basted it with some of the leftover marinade. (At this point, I add a few briquettes of charcoal to each side basket on my grill. I should have covered the meat with foil, but didn't.)

When I next checked the meat (one hour later), the skin had browned considerably. I intended to make several shallow slices in it to allow the fat to cook down, but it was too hard to pierce easily. I managed to stab a few small slits and basted it. I added a few more pieces of charcoal.

The roast cooked for a total of 3 hours (160 degrees internal temperature is fine). I was distracted and cooked it to 169 degrees. :(

The Result

This reminded me of pig roasts from my youth. The garlic and spices permeated the meat. It cooked longer than I would have liked and was a bit dry as a result.  The greens were exceptionally mild, even though I used mustard greens; and the sweet potatoes were equally understated but tender.

The Junior Chefs weren't happy with the amount of fat surrounding each slice. (This is either a boon or bane of pork shoulder - depending upon your fat-titude. I think, too, they were less happy with this cut of meat, because it is much more "gamey" than other types of pork (especially when roasted this way).

The Senior Chefs enjoyed themselves (as did Chuck's best furry friend forever, Ticho, our Havanese). We agreed I should have cooked it for less time and basted it more frequently. Still, the spices and cider marinade worked very well. The meat had a smoked quality from the long roasting. Had I protected and scored the fat earlier on, I think it would have improved things overall.

Served with brown rice. A solid dish. If you like pork shoulder, this is worth trying. Enjoy!

CSA Week 9

Look very closely. Can you see my source of joy? No OKRA! Yay!

Plenty of other goodies this week.

• Sweet potatoes
• A few red potatoes
• Salad greens
• Mustard greens
• Baby turnips 
• and...courtesy of Red Bridge Farm, a grass-fed ribeye and 1# ground beef
  

Bratwurst, baked pasta, and lima beans?

As week seven draws to a close, we had only a few things remaining to make from the CSA. Primarily, there were several handfuls of salad greens, but also a single moderately spicy chili pepper.

With family coming into town, I added the pepper to a pot of bratwurst and onions. This is a favorite method of cooking these.

The Method (Bratwurst)

1. Slice 2-3 onions
2. In a deep pot, add:
• onions
• 2 bottles of dark-ish beer (Sam Adams works well)
• 1 TBs whole mustard seed
• 1/2 TB whole black peppercorns
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 fresh red chili pepper, whole or cut in half
3. Bring the mixture to a boil and simmer for 15 minutes
4. Add 5-10 bratwurst to the pot.
5. Simmer for 20 minutes. (You may wish to move the top brats to the bottom of the "pile" occasionally.)
6. Grill the brats as you like. They will be completely cooked already through the simmering, so you can grill for color.
7. While the brats are grilling, continue cooking the onion mixture over high heat until most the liquid has boiled off. (You can add a splash of oil at this stage, too, if you'd like.)

The Method (Baked Pasta and Lima Beans)

First, disabuse yourself of the notion that you have to buy specialty pasta made for baking. Several brands market a "no boil" noodle - usually lasagne - that costs more. You can achieve perfectly good results with regular pasta.

I decided to use locally grown lima beans in this dish. These weren't from our CSA, but were hand-picked and -shelled by a family who has a regular stand at the farmer's market. We love limas, and they pair well with tomatoes as a rule. I thought it was worth a shot to add them here.

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Parboil 2 C fresh lima beans in water or chicken broth, about 10 minutes.
3. Add 1# pasta to a 9x13 baking dish. (I used corkscrew-shaped pasta.)
4. Drain and add the lima beans.
5. Add slices of Italian sausage. (I used sweet sausage. Spicy would work, as would bulk Italian sausage.)
6. Add 1 jar of prepared pasta sauce. (You can certainly use homemade sauce. Publix had these 2-for-1. Easy.)
7. Mix the ingredients gently.
8. Add enough water to cover the pasta completely.
9. Top with mozzarella cheese.
10. Bake for approximately 45 minutes (until the cheese is well-browned).

The Results

What's not to love about bratwurst? The onions make a rich garnish - sweet with just a hint of spice from the pepper.

Baked pasta is a comfort food. The lima beans held up well - they retained some bite and mixed nicely with the chewy pasta.

And then there was none...

Okra. (Oh-crah). A single letter change in the phonetic spelling might better express my reaction in finding yet another helping of these pods in our CSA share this week.

The challenge lies in finding a new way to prepare repeated veggies.

Tonight I was committed to cooking off TWO week's of pent up pods - both red and green. Fortuntately, other items also remained behind and contributed to the cause: Curried Okra.

The Method

Take a deep breath and remind yourself that the okra didn't CHOOSE to reappear this week. Experience a twinge of disappointment that last week's haul hadn't yet turned bad, so it must be included. Call this the ZEN approach to okra control.

1. 
   
   Chop 2# of red and green OPO okra into bite-sized pieces.
   
   
   
2. 
   
   Roughly chop 1 onion
   
   
   
3. 
   
   Heat 2-3 TBs of oil in a deep pot.
   
   
   
4. 
   
   Add the onion and a pinch of asafoetida (a spice used in Indian cuisine that smells of onion and garlic when cooked).
   
   
   
5. 
   
   Saute until the onion softens.
   
   
   
6. 
   
   Add 2 TBs garlic, minced and 2 TBs of ginger, grated.
   
   
   
7. 
   
   Add 2 TBs sweet curry powder and 1 TB of hot curry.
   
   
   
8. 
   
   Add 4 whole green cardamon pods and 2 whole black cardamon pods.
   
   
   
9. 
   
   Add 1 C eggplant, roughly chopped (This was the supposed "turnip" in this week's CSA share. Whoops.)
   
   
   
10. 
    
    Saute while stirring for 2-3 minutes to allow the spices to meld with the vegetables.
    
    
    
11. 
    
    Add okra, 1 C carrots (sliced), a few slivers of red chile pepper, and 4-5 tomatoes (chopped).
    
    
    
12. 
    
    Add a sprinkle of sugar, if necessary to cut the acid and/or spice.
    
    
    
13. 
    
    Bring to a boil and simmer on med-low for 15-20 minutes, or until the veggies are tender.
    
    
    
14. 
    
    Serve over rice.
    
    
    

The Results

We served this with hard boiled eggs, which were cooked according to the evidence-based procedure developed by Junior Chef #2 during last year's Science Fair project. (Start eggs in cold water. Bring to a boil and cook for six minutes. Remove from water and peel under cold water.) The salad was comprised of 5-6 varieties of OPO salad greens and dressed with a simple vinaigarette.

This was an acceptable dish. (Okra fatigue has set in. But there is none left...for now.) The okra was tender and not overly "slimy" when mixed with the other ingredients. I would have added even more garlic and perhaps a bit more salt. Black cardamon is very smokey, so take care to use it sparingly.

Five-minute Salad

One of our favorite lunches is a salad of fresh lettuces topped with tuna. Quick, easy, and healthy, we enjoy using it as an excuse to clear out our veggie drawer when needed. Today's salad was very simple. Large helpings of OPO salad greens, shredded carrots from the farmers market (these were especially large and sweet), and sunflower seeds. Senior Chef #2 made a tuna salad with a little mayo, mustard, onion, and Grandma's bread-and-butter pickles. We added a splash of balsamic and a few grinds of black pepper to complete the dish.

CSA Week 8

The heat has continued to take a toll on Orchard Pond. Nonetheless, we received a large share. Two new items, white radishes and salad greens, appeared.

• Okra (last week was so busy we didn't cook the red okra; I'll combine both in a curry)
• Salad greens (lunch today?)
• Turnip greens
• Basil
• Mustard greens (stuffed pork shoulder, along with the turnip greens?)
• White radishes
• Baby arugula

Requisite Chuck shot (she ate the salad greens):

CSA Week 6

One of the benefits to being a member of a CSA (community-supported agriculture) farm is that you know more about your food. And you know more about what did not become your food. Picking up our share today from the Orchard Pond Organics stand at the farmers' market, I learned from Lydia that the entire new crops of broccoli and carrots were killed by the unusually high heat. When your produce is grown around the country and hemisphere, local weather and climate conditions have less influence on what is available at the supermarket. When your food is local, the impact is more discernible. 

Our week six share includes:

• Okra (Hmmm. I'm running out of ideas. Gumbo may be in order.)
• Mustard greens (Found a fascinating recipe we'll try.)
• Rutabaga and turnip leaves
• Collard greens
• Baby arugula (We'll likely revisit fresh salads.)

Chuck conducted her weekly appraisal. Everything passed with flying colors either as edible

or as a potential toy. (Yes, that's okra.)

These action shots are intended to cause my younger sister (read: not a cat person) further distress that we allow Chuck to investigate the produce. 

That's how we casserole

Friday night. Long week. Paper plates are the order of the night, but what to make? Thinking ahead, I'd known that a comfort-food dish would be appreciated by Senior and Junior Chefs alike. Last night I completed most of the prep work with this ham, greens, and potato casserole. A recipe from the Victory Garden Cookbook served as the foundation for this version. I added caesar salad with homemade dressing (ala Broccoli Forest) to the meal. 


The Method (Casserole)

1. Roughly chop 1-2# of greens. (I used OPO collards and mustard leaves; any variety would work)
2. Steam-boil the greens with the third and final smoked ham hock left from previous dishes.
3. Cook and cool 3-4 large russet potatoes. (I microwaved them. This would be a perfect use of leftover baked potatoes.)
4. Roughly chop 2 large onions. (Onions always do a number of my eyes. This prompted many suggestions from the rest of the kitchen staff about how to avoid the tears. Does chewing gum really work?)
5. Dice 1/2# of cooked ham.
6. Saute the onions with 3 TBs of butter. As they become lightly browned, add the ham and heat through. Set aside.
7. After the greens are cooked, drain and saute with 1-2 TBs of butter until they "dry out."
8. Slice the potatoes into 1/4" thick rounds.
9. Grease a baking dish.
10. Place a layer of potato slices and cover with the onions and ham.
11. Sprinkle with shredded cheddar cheese.
12. Spread the greens in a layer.
13. Place final layer of potatoes and sprinkle with cheese.

At this point the dish could be baked, but I thought it would be helpful to add a binder. Time for a Bechamel Sauce. This sounds more impressive than it really is. 

1. Melt 3 TBs butter in a sauce pan.
2. Slowly whisk in 3 TBs of flour.
3. Cook for several minutes (I let it brown very lightly.)
4. Slowly whisk in 2 C of cold milk.

I then decided to enrich the sauce with 2 egg yolks and a bit more milk (in the absence of cream).

1. Slowly whisk a few table spoons of the hot sauce into the egg yolks beaten with 1/2 C of milk. You want to temper the eggs so they do not curdle the sauce.
2. Once the eggs are hot and blended with approximately an equal volume of sauce, drizzle the remaining hot sauce into the bowl - wisking continuously.
3. After the sauce is fully incorporated, return the mixture to the pot and bring to a boil.
4. Season to taste. I added a pinch of thyme to give it a bit more depth.
5. Pour the sauce over the casserole. (It will be fairly thick, and will not work itself too far into the dish, so I helped it along with a spoon and a shake.
6. Bake at 375 for 35 minutes.

The Method (Caesar Salad)

This is a very simple dressing.

1. Whisk together 1 TB each of minced garlic, horseradish, Worchester Sauce, and brown mustard.
2. Blend in 1-2 TBs of lemon juice.
3. Incorporate 4-6 TBs of good olive oil.
4. Whisk in one fresh, raw egg. The dressing change into a light-colored, creamy mixture.
5. Toss with good salad greens (and alfalfa sprouts, if you like). Eat immediately.

The Results

First, let me say that each of the several pictures I took of this meal looked horrible. I have little talent (or time) for professional or even decent photography to support this blog. 


Here are two of the less-awful shots. 


The addition of the enriched bechamel sauce was a success. It didn't do much to bind the casserole layers, but it gave an overall creaminess to the entire dish that worked very well. The potatoes were still firm and absorbed the many flavors. The greens were mellow and slightly salty/smoky...or maybe that was the ham. At this point, I was eating so quickly I may have gotten confused. Delicious. The tangy, spicy caesar dressing stood up well against this hearty dish. 


There will be at least one more meal from this casserole. I may even try to freeze it. 

Carrots, Corn, and Chiles - Turkey Burritos

We've always enjoyed a good burrito. Nothing fancy. Just a simple combination of ingredients in a tasty wrap. Over the years, we eaten primarily bean burritos, then beef, then chicken, then mixtures of any or all of these. We've made the burrito shells by hand, bought traditional varieties from Mexican groceries, and tried the low carb-high fiber wraps that have become so popular.


Tonight's Burrito Story begins with four Anaheim chilies. I was perusing the produce section and saw a large basket of chilies. Wouldn't they be perfect roasted?

This is a simple process. Remove the grate covering the burner on your gas stove. Hold the chilies directly in the flame until the skins pops, crackles, and blisters its way to a coal black. Cool. Remove the skins by gently scraping the chilies with a knife edge. Chop. Toss with a tiny bit of oil and salt. Refrigerate until needed.


Next decision. What should the filling be? I turned to an old favorite - ground turkey. Then turned my attention to the fridge.


The Method

1. Saute chopped onion, red pepper, and the green chilies until they soften.
2. Add 1# ground turkey. 
3. Add oregano, black pepper, cumin, salt & pepper, and any other seasonings you like.
4. When the turkey has browned, add 1 can of unsalted corn. (Fresh would also be great.)
5. Simmer to meld the flavors.

We lined each whole wheat burrito shell with refried beans (canned and made especially tasty by the efforts of a certain young cook in the family - who would have imagined mustard and horseradish could improve upon the original, but they were quite delicious!). 

Shredded cheddar cheese formed the second layer. I like to use it to melt-secure the burrito filling to the beans. 

The Turkey filling comes third. Then a little guacamole. Drizzle of good salsa...and...

Shredded OPO carrots. We love shredded carrots for the sweetness and crunch they add.

The Result

The roasted chilies were an excellent addition, and paired nicely with the sweet corn and carrots. Moreover, Familiar favorites - even when updated - don't last long on our table. It was, therefore, not surprising that mealtime passed in relative quiet.

Depending upon the day the parents may have had, this could be viewed as the perfect accompaniment. But, as it happens, we enjoyed yet another OPO cucumber and tomato salad - tossed with a bit of olive oil and red wine vinegar.