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. 

Tacovers

Just a quick note about lunch today. I picked the meat from one of the ham hocks, heated it through, and served it with the remaining components of the fish taco meal. Delicious!


I had to post this just to take credit for coining the term "Tacovers."

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. 

Taco de Pescado

So a fish walks into a bar carrying a pineapple and a tomato...

That was almost the title of this post. After a bit of deliberation, I opted for a more informative title, but thought you'd appreciate the imagery conjured up by the line.

Tonight saw a return to "foods wrapped in tortillas." Despite many years of making burrito variations, I have never made a fish taco. This is odd considering that I have eaten plenty, including several at a taco stand in Monterey, California last Cinco de Mayo. In planning meals for this week, I foresaw a perfect storm of ingredients that would make fish tacos inevitable. I purchased three tilapia fillets in preparation.

As a reward for reading past the first line, here's the punchline: "...and they ended up becoming one of the best meals I've made in a long, long time."

The Method

First, begin by preparing a ham, greens, and potato casserole for dinner tomorrow night. (You'll have to wait for the postprandial post.)

1. Marinate a few fillets of firm, white fish in lime juice, minced garlic, salt, chili powder, cayenne, black pepper, cumin, and oregano. (Don't leave this too long or you'll have ceviche. I gave it 20 minutes.)
2. Prepare your taco toppings: grated sharp cheddar, chopped cilantro and green onion, minced onion, diced (real) tomato, and leftover rice (from yesterday's Asian Fish Packets).
3. Cut fresh pineapple into bite-sized slices.
4. Heat 1 TB oil over very high heat.
5. Lay the fillets on the skillet. Sear for 1-3 minutes per side. (I discarded the marinade, but may use it in the next step in the future.)
6. Remove the fish, and add the pineapple slices.
7. Saute the pineapple until lightly browned.
8. Construct your tacos. (Everyone has their favorite strategy.)

The Result

These were amazing! The fish was flaky and flavorful, but not overwhelmed by the seasoning or other ingredients. Fresh is the best way to describe the overall effect. Crisp, clean flavors. I wouldn't have dreamed of adding sour cream, salsa, or even salt and pepper.

Junior Chef #2, skeptic of all things fish, declared the result, "A Winner!" 

We enjoy something of a food democracy here. The unanimous decision is that these could be a weekly dish.

(By the way, these were cheaper to prepare than chicken tacos...although the remaining beer can chicken seems destined now to be transformed into tacos in a day or two. The paper plates reveal that it's Thursday...nearly the end of a long week.)

A tisket, a tasket, salmon in a packet

Mustard greens are distinct. As a fan of all mustard with all things, especially potatoes in their many fried, boiled, mashed, and baked forms, their flavor especially appeals to me. Nevertheless, it has been a challenge to find different ways of preparing these pungent leaves. Cooked, they mellow considerably, while imparting a little bite to the entire dish. The OPO mustard greens have been magnificent!


Turning to the Moosewood Cookbook by Mollie Katzen we find a way of cooking mustard greens that forces them to submit to a higher flavor: salmon.  (Here, I used two fillets of wild Coho.)


The Method

1. Cook brown rice [meanwhile...take some time to...]
2. Preheat oven to 450
3. Roughly chop 1# (or so) of mustard greens
4. Mince 3 cloves of garlic
5. Mince 1 TB of fresh ginger
6. Combine garlic and ginger with a few TBs of canola oil, 2 TBs of soy sauce, 2 TBs of sesame oil (I used dark), a good squeeze of lime juice, and a few shakes of Tabasco (in the absence of asian-style chili sauce)
7. Grease a large, doubled square of aluminum foil 
8. Place a layer of cooked rice in the center of the foil
9. Next distribute a thick layer of chopped, raw greens
10. Dip the salmon in the sauce and place skin side up on the greens
11. Sprinkle a good helping of chopped scallions on top of the salmon and drizzle with the remaining sauce
12. Find a brightly colored root veggie in the fridge (I used carrots) and tuck along side the fish
13. Tightly seal the packets
14. Bake at 450 for 20ish minutes

The Results

(This picture is for all my readers who like shiny things.)


The salmon was done beautifully. I would have preferred a few minutes less, but play to the audience, who generally request their fish to be fully cooked. (For the record, Junior Chef #2 does not like salmon or other strong flavored fish, and so opted for leftover beer can chicken...although the greens and rice - dripping with salmony-goodness - were quickly gobbled up.)


The mustard greens blend into the overall dish. It's the sesame oil and ginger that are most pronounced. The rice stays chewy, but absorbs the many different flavors from the sauce, fish, and greens. 

Next time, I would increase the garlic and lime juice (probably double) to bring a little sharper  taste into play. Still, everything came together well. If you're a fan of salmon, this is a simple, clean method of cooking - no pots to clean apart from the rice cooker and cutting board.


Notice the ever-present "real" tomato. Eat 'em while you have 'em!


(I'm open to novel mustard green recipes!)

Peas in a pot

We love black eyed peas. Digging about in the pantry over the weekend, we discovered a half bag of dried peas. Rearranging the fridge we stumbled upon two smoked ham hocks. Knowing that we had a large bag of collard greens in the fridge, I turned to one of my favorite cookbooks, Soul and Spice: African Cooking in the Americas by Heidi Haughy Cusick. This contains a collection of recipes from South and Central America, the Caribbean, and Africa - most originating from or inspired by traditional foods prepared by slaves. Tonight's meal was courtesy of Senior Chef #2.


The Method

1. Soak 2 C. black eyed peas overnight.
2. Drain the peas, cover with 9 C clean water
3. Add 1 C chopped onion, 2 cloves garlic minced, 1 green chile, 1 (we used 2) ham hocks
4. Simmer for 45 minutes, or until the peas are tender
5. Skim the foam from the top as you go
6. Add 1# (or so) chopped collard greens to the pot. Simmer until tender

The Results

The peas were a bit bland. We salted. That helped but wasn't quite enough. Next came a splash of apple cider vinegar. Better. A final sprinkling of hot sauce made the dish. Even the more junior eaters among us enjoyed this seasoned version. The cornbread was also delicious. Sweet with a bit of a smoky, peppery bite from the chiles and jalapenos. The whole wheat flour also gave this a nutty, hearty flavor that paired well with the peas.


Again, the greens were delicious. We will miss them as winter (in north FL, yes) arrives and heartier veggies hold sway for a few months.

Cooking with a can, a skillet, and a little Presto

When I was younger, I'm absolutely certain you could not stick an entire aluminum (or tin) can inside of a chicken. Today, beer can chick is the rage. Perhaps genetic modifications have made this possible, or cans are just...well, smaller? The physics of this dish should just be accepted as they are. 


I don't have a particularly interesting approach to this dish. Nothing novel. Just half-fill an empty Diet Coke can with Steamboat Pale Ale. Add 2 TBs of homemade rub to the can, and sprinkle the inside and outside of the chicken as well. Position the chicken over the can (located conveniently in a beer can chicken roasting "rack" you received as a stocking stuffer a couple of years back). Thrust downward on the chicken, impaling it upon the rather large diameter can. Place the entire structure in an 8x8 baking pan. Seat this in the bottom of your Weber grill, surrounded by a full load of hot, ashen charcoal spread around the perimeter. Place the lid on the grill for 1 hour. Return to check. Notice that you let the charcoal burn a little too long before starting to cook...so leave the chicken for another 45 minutes while you watch Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives. Return a second time to find the chicken is PERFECT.

We served this with skillet cornbread made with a twist: 

1. Preheat oven to 400
2. Place 1 TB butter and 1 TB oil to a cast iron skillet, place in over until sizzling
3. Mix 2 C corn meal
4. 1 Tbs baking powder
5. 1 TB sugar
6. 1 tsp salt
7. 2 eggs beaten
8. 1 can green chiles, roasted, chopped
9. 1-2 pickled (or fresh) jalapenos minced
10. Add 1/2 C whole wheat and 1/2 C white flour
11. Add 1-2 C milk until batter is mixed but very thick
12. Spoon batter into hot skillet
13. Bake for 20 minutes, or until golden brown

But, what did you do during the first hour of chicken roasting, you might ask? We made fried okra, of course. Not having made this before, it was time to fake it. 

The Method

1. Bring 2 Q of oil to 350 degrees in your Presto deep fryer (yes, a wedding gift we never thought to return...it still works despite disuse!)
2. Have Junior Chef #1 slice the okra into 1/2" segments
3. Combine 1 egg and a few TBs of milk
4. In a ziploc, combine 1 C corn meal, 1 tsp paprika, garlic salt, salt, lots of black pepper
5. Coat the okra in the egg wash
6. Remove and drop in the breading bag - Shake...Shake...Shake
7. Place breaded okra on a plate
8. Fry each batch (not too many at a time) for 7 minutes, or until deep golden brown
9. Gently drain and transfer to a wire rack (conversely, do these on the rack roughly and watch the coating shatter and fall to the counter top leaving behind naked fried okra)
10. Serve with...ready for this...whatever possessed us? Cocktail sauce or a Mayo/Mustard/Honey dip created by Junior Chef #2

The Results

The okra were gone before the chicken had been cooking for a half hour. A few of the pieces were "woody." These would have been fine in a stewed form, but didn't soften at all during frying. The cocktail sauce was wonderful on these...strange tho' it sounds. The mystery sauce was...well, surprisingly good. Grandma Anne must have rubbed off on these kids over the summer.

The cornbread played a tasty supporting role.  The mixture of flours and chiles gave it a different texture than usual, and a deeper flavor.

The chicken was, as it always is like this, outstanding. It makes you forget the guilt of having impaled the fowl so cruely. The skin is a delicacy. 

CSA Week 5

Our friends at Orchard Pond Organics continue to produce a wonderful array of greens. We've begun to realize how differently - and better - we eat when we have several varieties of fresh, dark leaves every week. 

Our share contains:

• mustard
• turnip leaves (hmmm, stuffed ham?)
• okra
• basil
• collards 
• eggs

Our Veggie "Chucker" set to work immediately. It still makes us laugh to watch her enjoy the produce. After looking over the haul, she began to eat the turnip greens. Previously, Chuck had been partial to arugula, so I have wondered whether to prepare the turnip greens in the same way?

Okra. Round 3. We may opt for a "classic" approach: fried okra.

The basil smells wonderful. Perhaps we will have pizza margherita? Maybe we will make homemade ricotta instead and opt for a pasta concoction? 

The eggs have us contemplating quiche.

Two steps, Two cents

I am new to blogging, so I can completely understand why several people have asked how to post comments (or to follow).  If you would like to leave a comment, simply look for the "# comments" link at the bottom of the relevant post. Click on that and you will be presented with a box in which to enter your thoughts. 


Please choose to be a "follower", if you have a Google account, too. The blog is open to anyone who would like to join, view, comment, or simply lurk. It is encouraging to know people are reading.


Finally, let me know if you'd like more information, have ways to improve, or generally wish to share ideas. As a foodie and fan of local produce, I'd love to hear from you!

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.

Do the Clothes Make the Man?

So, my daily commute down Thomasville has been witnessed twice recently by a Man in Overalls. The first day, I drove past too quickly to take in much more than his sign: GROW YOUR OWN FOOD AND SHARE IT. The impetus for this blog was, in part, giving more attention to how and where we obtain our food. So this particular coincidence was noteworthy. Perhaps it's also helpful to point out that I grew up in a small, rural farming community where many people did grow food, including my own family with our garden plot. Now here in Tallahassee, just before the intersection of Thomasville and Seventh Ave., was someone taking time to remind us that food is both a responsibility and a gift.


On the second day, I slowed a captured this rather poor picture. It was clear enough, however, to read the second sign stating that he had a blog. Nathan, it happens, is passionate (and thoughtful) about gardening: what it represents, challenges, and makes possible.


Seeing Nathan reminded me - as things do occasionally - of having lived for a time in Malawi (East Central Africa) in a region where almost everyone grew their own food to survive. One of the first nights on my own, I heard drumming coming from one of the small cluster of homes below in the valley. At the time, I was convinced that it must have been a ceremonial right or celebration.  A conversation the next morning with a Malawian colleague revealed the true reason. In the midst of a severe drought, an family had exhausted its food supply (corn). The drumming and accompanying singing were a call to all families within the area to bring one cup of corn from their stores to share with the hungry family. While there are many enduring memories from those experiences and years, this remains exceptionally clear in my mind. 


I understand that a blog about cooking is a privilege. Sharing what we make with the produce of others is perhaps a way to enhance our appreciation of their efforts, and a recognition that we have options unavailable to most people in the world. Nathan's message offers the opportunity for reflection. For that I am grateful.

Soup in Seven

I enjoy a complicated food challenge. The longer, more involved the recipe, the more likely I will try it. A few years back, I made cassoulet for Christmas. It required nearly a week of prep cooking (i.e., making sausages from scratch). I have made Turducken a couple of times, which requires a similar amount of sustained effort.

But there is much to be said for simple preparations.

Sunday lunch was a reprisal of radish sandwiches. I realize we were aiming for new uses of repeat OPO veggies, but this just sounded perfect. Again, the method is simple: thinly sliced radishes and their leaves on good bread slathered with butter and a sprinkling of salt. What bread did you use, you might be asking? My resilient whole grain friend, of course!

The presence of good bread makes soup an obvious choice for your next meal. My friend, Dina, sent me a recipe for Portugese Sausage and Kale Soup by John Mitzewich. He has a video cooking blog and a number of other web-outlets for his work. But you're reading my blog, so I feel obliged to tell you how I approached the soup. After watching his preparation once, I headed to Publix and found...why, yes, they do carry linguisa sausage in the lunch meat case. (As a lover of all sausage-styles, I was surprised to be unfamiliar with this variety.)

The Method

1. Slice the sausage into 1/4" thick rounds (on a bias, if you wish to be fancy)
2. Chop two small onions
3. Saute the sausage and onions in some olive oil
4. Season with garlic and cayenne pepper to taste
5. Add 1 quart of good chicken broth (I used defrosted homemade stock)
6. Bring this to a boil, lower to a simmer
7. Add two roughly chopped russet potatoes
8. Simmer until the potatoes are tender (or until you realize that your son mistakenly turned off the stove, and the potatoes have been poaching not simmering)
9. Turn up the heat, and add 8 C. roughly chopped greens (I used OPO kale and arugula. Who knew arugula was this versitile?)
10. Simmer the greens in the soup until they are tender (I let it go about an hour while we played Pictionary.)
11. Serve with good bread.

The Result

Wow. Another keeper. This is a seven (or so) ingredient, single pot dish. Seven is a favorite number, and this is now a favorite dish. 

The linguisa is a mild sausage, as are the greens. The potatoes give extra body to the broth. And the broth itself is the keystone ingredient. (All the more reason to make your own.) Dina, this is a perfect excuse to try kale. 

A side of bakin'

I've already explained that - given the chance - I prefer to spend time in the kitchen over the weekends. While I love to cook, I don't regularly bake. An occasional loaf of bread proves the exception. A couple of weeks ago I made real french bread and more recently a molasses and cornmeal mush based "Anadama Bread".


Several bananas have evolved in our fruit basket. They have reached a point of no return, and now must be reckoned with. Fortunately, I have at my disposal not one but two of my mom's excellent recipes for Banana Bread.


I also have a favorite basic whole grain bread recipe that is a very accommodating starting point for creative bread making. 


The Method (Banana Bread)

1. Blend 1/4 C softened butter, 1 C sugar, and three eggs.
2. Add in three (or four) very ripe banana.
3. Add 1 C white flour (I may use wheat next time)
4. 1 tsp baking soda
5. Incorporate 1/2 bag of Ghiradelli's semi-sweet chocolate chips (which you were eating anyway while you were making Mac and Greens [and by You, I mean me]).
6. Bake at 350 for 1 hour. (Cool 3 hours and then realize that you stuck the knife in the wrong place and it was raw. Return to the oven  for another 1/2 hour...remove fully cooked.)

The Method (Whole Grain Bread)

I'm certain you have your own favorite bread recipe. This isn't my very favorite, but it is forgiving. It includes butter, dried milk, and an open-ended request for "whole grain cereal". 

Okay. A confession. I intended to make Pugliese, a soft-crumbed Italian bread. HOWEVER, I failed to carefully review the recipe first. Had I done so, I would have realized that I needed to allow the starter to set for 8-10 hours before beginning the actual dough. Given that I mixed the yeast and water at 3:30, it seemed a course correction was necessary. Thus, I returned to the ole' stand-by.

After adjusting the flour and water ratios, using bread and wheat flours, I added the remaining ingredients: 1 C. combined of whole bran and granola cereals, salt, butter, honey, and...

Well, I had forgotten to buy milk and discovered I did not have dried milk. Previously I'd tried using soy and almond milks as a substitute, but they were vanilla flavored and gave the bread an odd aftertaste. Unfortunately, I only had those in the house. So, after a quick run to the Circle K for a $3.69 gallon of skim milk, i was back in business.

Of course, by this stage, the yeast had been proofing for almost 1/2 hour. 

Then the bread machine failed. (Yes, I had decided to take the automated route) 

So, I was left with a semi-stirred amalgamation. With a quick flouring of the counter and several minutes of hand kneading, all was ready.

Two risings. A final rising on the baking stone, then into a 425 oven for ten minutes. Lower the heat to 350 and finish baking for ...

I forgot to set the timer.  So, somewhere around 30 minutes after lowering the temperature, I checked the bread. Perfect!

The Results

Homemade bread. Forgiving. Delicious. 


Joy.

Mac and Greens - Love in a single dish

Love. There are few things in life that that come close to feeling as good as love. Food, another four letter word, can spark us to wax poetic about our connection to something apart from ourselves.


Dinner tonight was the food equivalent of a crush. 


Our CSA share yielded a very tasty...but spicy bunch of purple mustard. (I ate one large leaf raw and it made my eyes water and nose itch.) It occurred to me that most Macaroni and Cheese concoctions use dry mustard power in the roux. Why not use sauteed mustard greens instead? (Okay, I realize this is not a novel idea. Someone can probably Google an entire website dedicated to mustard-pasta-cheese dishes.) Nonetheless, I was inspired.


The Method (Mac, Greens, and Cheese)

1. Steam then sautee 8 C. raw, chopped purple mustard leaves until al dente. Set aside.
2. Cook 1# short pasta (We used fusilli)
3. Riffing on Alton Brown's M&C recipe, prepare a roux of 3TBs each flour and butter. Cook 5 mins.
4. Add minced onion, paprika, 3 C. milk, cayenne pepper, bit of dry mustard, and a bay leaf. 
5. Cook 10 mins or until thickened.
6. Season with S&P.
7. Stir in 1 1/2 C. grated cheese (We used Super Sharp Cheddar, Grana Padano, and regular cheddar)
8. Once the cheese is incorporated, add in the sauteed mustard leaves.
9. Pour mixture over cooked pasta spread in a baking dish.
10. Cover with 1/2 C. grated cheese.
11. Cover with slices of "real" tomatoes
12. Cover with 1 C. crushed cheezit-type crackers (We used TLC brand) mixed with 3 TBs wheat bran and 3 TBs melted butter.
13. Bake at 350 for 40 minutes.

The Method (Arugula and Strawberry Salad)

Again, inspired by a recipe found on the Orchard Pond Organics (our CSA) website, I decided to return to a raw salad approach to arugula. 

1. Roughly chop a large bunch of arugula (We each ended up with massive portions)
2. Slice into this a pint of fresh strawberries
3. Add cubed feta cheese (although goat's cheese would be an excellent choice)
4. Drizzle with olive oil and balasamic.

The Result

Words fail when trying to describe how decadent this meal was. First, it was not overly cheesy. There was enough sauce to coat everything, yet not enough to sufficate all the other flavors and textures. The greens blended creamily with the cheese, but kept a little body - a terrific complement to the al dente pasta. Their spiciness was very muted, but infused the dish. Tomatoes as a topping? We decided this tasted like an amazing grilled cheese and tomato sandwiches.


This was definitely a - Where have you been all my life - dish!


The salad, too, was gorgeous! Five, fresh, bright flavors set against the melded (and melted) mac and cheese. The roughness of the arugula leaves contrasted with the soft pasta and greens. Strawberries peeking above everything with their tart fruitiness. Another winner. 

CSW Week 4

Week four. We've kept our commitment (more or less) to eating everything we've received and finding new ways to prepare each ingredient. The reappearance of arugula offers a challenge, as do the radishes and cucumbers. Purple mustard and kale had us contemplating - after our recent, delicious experiment with gnocci.(Special thanks to my now regular veggie washer for cleaning everything when it came home from the market.)

Greenocci

A busy week resulted in a couple of nights eating leftovers and one dinner at Red Elephant. This, however, left us with a surplus of arugula and mizuna on the final evening before our next CSA share.


Enter the Gnocci.


I had recently found a recipe for kohlrabi gnocci in the Victory Garden Cookbook. The author suggested arugula as a substitute for the kohlrabi. It seemed that we could also include the mizuna. Sounds a bit strange perhaps, but I know there are many variations of this dish in traditional Italian cooking. Plus, we still have leftover lemon chicken - so we had a fallback option if they didn't turn out.


The Method

1. Steam the arugula and mizuna (whole) until tender. (This pot reduced to 2 C.)
2. Sautee the steamed leaves in butter (add garlic powder - we have no fresh)
3. Puree the leaves with 1 C. ricotta, some nutmeg, S&P
4. Bring 6 TB butter and 1 C. water to a boil
5. Add 3/4 C. flour, mix until smooth and cook over medium heat for 3-4 minutes
6. Incorporate 3 whole eggs into the flour mixture
7. Combine pureed ricotta/leaves with the batter
8. Add 3/4 C. grated Parmesan (we used Grana Padano plus Parm.)

The batter was thick and sticky. Using two spoons I began forming small "dumplings" and dropped them gently into a pot of salted, simmering water. The initial batch fell apart even with a very mild churning of the water. The leaves-to-flour ratio was too high. I ended up adding an additional 1/2 C flour to it to give it a little more body. With hindsight, I would have doubled the flour mixture for the amount of leaves I used. Also, I decided to make larger balls - about 1 1/2 - 2 inches. These held up much better during cooking. Each batch simmered for 15 minutes or so.

Drain the cooked gnocci and set them into cold water. When cool and firm, they sink. Transfer these to a butter-greased baking dish.

I sprinkled these with browned onions and a good handful of grated Grana Padano. They baked at 350 for about 20 minutes.

The Results

Batter difficulties aside, the gnocci were wonderful. A savory, soft - almost fluffy - texture. The choice of browned onions in place of a sauce was excellent. The flavor of the arugula and mizuna blended nicely with the cheese, nutmeg, and egg. (Remember, we are using free range chicken eggs from Twin Oaks Farm, which have a deep, rich yolk and a very fresh taste.) They didn't hold their shape well. Perhaps using potato in the batter (or simply increasing the amount of roux) would help.

The only downside to eating salad greens this way is the amount of time this recipe takes - it's far more involved than simply preparing a raw salad with dressing. But it was worth it.

We served another cucumber and tomato salad with this. There are precious few weeks left in real tomato season! (Sorry for the poor picture.)

Flavors at Every Turn

We recently watched an old episode of Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives, which showcased a "joint" in Chicago that makes an oven-roasted lemon chicken. We have a similar recipe for the grill that uses a cast iron skillet. This was worth trying! (After all, grilling outside when it's 90+ and sticky isn't so fun after a long day.) We also had a number of OPO veggies to prepare. It was time for an all-or-nothing, weeknight cook-down.


The Method (Lemon Chicken)

1. Preheat the oven to 450. (Yes, that hot.)
2. Add chicken pieces to a roasting pan.
3. Drizzle with canola oil and olive oil. (Toss about.)
4. Season with S&P and dried thyme.
5. Squeeze the juice of four lemons over the chicken.
6. Roast for 30-35 minutes, turning once. (It was probably done sooner, but we like crispy chicken skin, and this didn't turn out dry at all.)

The Method (Veggie Trio)

1. Okra' the Top
• Saute onions and garlic in a bit of olive oil (okay, I forgot to buy garlic and used a hearty dose of garlic powder)
• Add sliced okra, saute five minutes
• Add fresh corn cut from the cob and two diced fresh tomatoes
• Shake of salt and cayenne pepper
• Add a TBish of brown sugar
• Simmer until okra is tender
2. Ankles and Greens
• I brought to a boil a couple TBs of butter , some leftover chicken stock (maybe a little chicken fat accidentally fell into the pot), and the ham hock from our lima beans. 
• Add a big ole' pile of collard greens roughly chopped
• Cook until the greens are tender
3. Beans, Oh Beans, How do we love thee?
• Briefly microwave (leaving crisp) and cut OPO green beans, yellow wax beans into bite-sized lengths
• Add a package of edamame and a can of kidney beans
• Toss with a mixture of equal parts sugar, apple cider vinegar, and oil.
• Refrigerate overnight (or longer)

The Results

This was a meal destined to satisfy every flavor and texture craving one might have. The chicken was tart, crispy, moist, and generally delicious. (La chat and le chien enjoyed some drippings mixed with their food, too.) Okra prepared this way is a family favorite (Thanks Aunt Rose!). I hadn't added brown sugar to the dish before, but that helped to offset the slightly aggressive sprinkling of cayenne pepper. If you think you dislike okra, here's yet another way to try it! Warm, a bit spicy, and comfortably nestled among sweet kernels of fresh corn - all in a fresh tomato sauce. 

Greens. As I've mentioned, while I love greens, they are not a favorite of all members of the household. Until tonight... Maybe it was the homemade chicken broth or the use of a held-over ham hock, which was less intensely smoky; maybe it was deciding to steam not boil...whatever the reason, the greens were a hit with everyone. Slightly salty with a little body remaining to them, they held their own.

The bean salad was terrific, too. Normally, we make this with canned beans. Using the fresh micro-blanched OPO green and yellow beans transformed this dish into crispy, crunchy fun by the fork-full. The kidney beans were soft, the edamame firm and almost chewy. This was a great substitute for a serving of starch.

Four fun and interesting dishes in one meal! (Plus a great way to eat our CSA bounty.)