Great flavors think alike!

In my house, I'm known for looking at the veggie drawer in the refrigerator and start pulling out random items and somehow, they combine to be an excellent dish.  As was the case with this recent dish.  I blended bitter, sweet, smokey, and pungent flavors for this awesome dinner. 

Assembly list:

• 2 slices of bacon
• several handfuls of kale
• 2 small sweet potatoes; peeled, diced
• 1 can of chickpeas, rinsed
• spices: cumin, curry, garlic
• honey
• 1/3 c feta cheese for each serving

In a small bowl, combine cumin, curry, and garlic, add some salt and pepper, a small drizzle of honey, and pour in about 1/3 cup of extra virgin olive oil.  Scramble up this, so that all of the spices are incorporated.  Peel and dice your sweet potatoes and set aside in a larger bowl.   Pour the olive oil spice mixture over the sweet potatoes and toss the bowl a few times so that they are coated. Put the potatoes on a small roasting dish, covered, at 375 - 400 degrees in a toaster oven.  Cook for approximately 45 minutes, or until done.

About 15 minutes before the potatoes are done, you can begin cooking the greens. Start off by chopping up your two pieces of bacon and letting them get warmed up in the pan.  Once the bacon begins cooking, add the kale and cook on low heat until wilted and they get nice and bright.  Add the chickpeas to the kale and cook until warmed through. 

To serve, put the sweet potatoes in the bowl first, top with the greens, then add the feta cheese on top. I found an extra drizzle of extra virgin olive oil was a nice addition. 

Merry Christmas

I hope all of my readers/fans are enjoying this holiday season.  Are you trying any new recipes?

I wish all of you a very Merry Christmas and if you don't celebrate this day, have a wonderful 359th day of 2011.

This place is missing something

I know!! A dessert recipe!!!

The fall is my favorite time of year because pumpkin is very much in season and part of many recipes. I cannot get enough pumpkin--lattes, ice cream, soup, and...PIE!!!

A few years back, I made this "healthier" pumpkin pie recipe that I got from Stoneyfield Farms.  A direct link to the recipe is here.  This pie tastes SOOOO wonderful. 

• 3/4 cup granulated sugar (organic!)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt 
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger 
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves 
• 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• 2 large eggs (local!)
• 15 oz. canned pumpkin (organic!)
• 1 cup Stonyfield Lowfat Vanilla Yogurt  (buy two small yogurts at the store, since one yogurt contains 6 oz)
• 1 unbaked 9-inch deep-dish pie shell (I prefer a whole wheat pie shell)

Preheat oven to 425°F. Combine sugar, cinnamon, salt, ginger and cloves in small bowl. Beat eggs lightly in large bowl. Stir in pumpkin and sugar-spice mixture. Gradually stir in yogurt. Pour into pie shell. Bake for 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350°F and bake for 40-50 minutes or until knife inserted near center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack for 2 hours.

Top with ice cream (vanilla, or...pumpkin!!) or fresh whipped cream. 

Post-Thanksgiving: The only thing left to make was...

We ate most of our Thanksgiving dishes this year (for the first time ever, I did not make too much of any one dish and sent leftovers home with family). So, with very little remnants of Thanksgiving left in the refrigerator, I decided to whip up some turkey soup. 

Super easy "assembling" of this dish:

• Several cups of veggie, turkey or chicken stock (I think I used 8 cups, maybe more)
• bay leaf
• 3 carrots (chopped)
• 3 celery ribs (chopped)
• onions, garlic, thyme (to taste)
• 1 cup (dry) of mini pastina, whole wheat
• a few handfuls of kale
• 2 cans of white beans, rinsed and drained
• leftover turkey meat

In the stockpot, I tossed in some oil, the onions, carrots, and the celery. Let those cook a bit on medium heat until the onions were translucent.  I added the bay leaf and the thyme and made sure they were incorporated in the veggie/oil mixture.

I then added my stock, brought it to a rapid boil for 5 minutes, stirring regularly, then brought it down to a simmer. Remove the bay leaf at this time.

I added the pastina, stirring to make sure none stuck to the bottom of the pot. Once the pastina was cooked (about 4-5 minutes), I added the white beans. I also added the leftover turkey meat at this time. From there, I tossed in the handfulls of kale until they wilted and turned bright green.

The best bet is to allow this soup to mellow for at least 24 hours.  Allow the soup to come to room temperature on the stovetop and then refrigerate until ready to enjoy at dinner the next day.  The starches have then broken down and will give the soup more heft. 

Top the soup with grated Parmesan cheese and enjoy with a crusty piece of bread (or leftover stuffing).

This soup can be made vegan f you stick with veggie stock and remove the turkey meat from the recipe. Either version is incredibly enjoyable.



Turkey version


Vegan version

Spaghetti Squash: what is it?

Spaghetti squash reminded me of a vegetable with an identity crisis. What is it? Squash? Spaghetti?  I had never prepared it, nor have I had it in my kitchen, as evidenced by this late August post. Well, I have been storing it for a few weeks in the kitchen (squash stores well for a long time) and decided with the recent cool snap, it would be a good time to prepare the spaghetti squash.

I found a simple recipe in Terry Waters' book, Clean Food.  One thing to realize, the skin of spaghetti squash is TOUGH. A chainsaw would have helped me cut into this sucker.  Once I was done fighting with the spaghetti squash, I then began my preparation:

• preheat oven to 400 degrees
• scoop out seeds and place each half face-down on a cookie sheet
• cook for 50 minutes (or when skin can be easily pierced with a knife)
• remove from oven, allow to cool
• scrape out flesh of squash into a bowl

Spaghetti Squash: the before and after

While I allowed the scooped spaghetti squash to cool in a bowl, I cooked up some green squash in my Le Creuset with garlic and fresh basil.  Once that was bright green, I added the spaghetti squash. I tossed in more basil, some good olive oil, and a touch of lemon juice.




When we sat down for dinner, I added some grated pecorino cheese and enjoyed. Things I learned from this dish: I should have added some chickpeas or cannelini beans for more "heft" to the meal. The mister and I were both hungry later. All in all, this first attempt at spaghetti squash was a success.

Fruit: I think this is my new currency!

Another great week of our Fruit CSA.  You MUST support North Star Orchard--chances are, they make appearances at a Farmer's Market near you! 

Here's what we received during mid-September. Just gorgeous. Peaches (yellow and white), apples (three types), and--our favorite--Asian pears!!!

Supremely Veggie Pizza on homemade dough

Several posts ago, I talked about the love I have for my Cuisinart food processor.  This is one of the best kitchen products I own and I use it so very often to make a myriad of recipes.  One of my favorites is homemade pizza dough. The Cuisinart came with a handy-dandy recipe booklet with an excellent pizza dough recipe. Of course, I don't follow the recipe to a T--I add my own spices and herbs.

It takes some time (gotta let the dough rise), so I don't do it very frequently. However, when I DO make pizza, I absolutely love it!

This night, I decided to make a whole-wheat and cornmeal dough and top the pizza with a ton of veggies. My own version of veggie supreme.  Here's a look at the process.



Letting the dough come together on the pizza peel before allowing to rise.


The dough, just hanging out in an oiled bowl waiting to rise.

While I was waiting for the dough to rise, I grilled up some zucchini and eggplant.  I didn't want to over-cook the veggies, since I was going to be topping the pizza with them.





The dough has risen!!

Because I had more than enough dough, I decided to make two pizzas that night. The veggie supreme and a traditional Margherita pizza.


Veggie supreme pizza: grilled eggplant, zucchini, roasted cherry tomatoes, basil, mozzarella.


Margherita pizza, waiting patiently for its time in the oven. 

Because we have only one pizza stone (a secret to my success of pizza cooking), I cooked the veggie supreme first and then put the Margherita in the oven. 


Veggie supreme cooling on the pizza peel.


Even though this doesn't look pretty, it sure tasted good!

Okra? What the heck can I do with Okra?

Last year, we received a bag of an unfamiliar vegetable in our CSA share. When I first saw this green, tube-like veggie, I had no idea what it was. I even posted a picture to Facebook asking for answers from friends. Turns out, it was OKRA.  Fried okra was the only recipe/preparation style that I was familiar with. But, I had never tasted the veggie.

I have several cookbooks--some really great ones--and they help to give me a good starting point for food prep. Especially when I am using a new ingredient.  Unfortunately, okra does not have many entries in ANY of these cookbooks.  I was able to find one on the information superhighway that included curry powder and tomatoes. Some GREAT flavors in there.

One thing to keep in mind is that okra can get slimy. Yes, slimy...  So, if you buy some, be sure to use it very quickly.

After cleaning, I sliced the okra--I used it ALL up!  I began sauteing it in garlic and onions.



I then added a large can of crushed tomatoes. I bet you didn't think it was possible to find local canned tomatoes, but I managed to get some at the Fair Food Farm Stand at Reading Terminal Market. These tomatoes are grown and canned in Jersey.



I let the tomatoes and okra simmer for a long time on very low heat. From there, I added a can of rinsed chickpeas.



The okra/tomato mixture was then served over basmati rice. Success!

Local Food Lady's fast food lunch

I stopped by LOST Gourmet's stand at our end-of-August farmer's market.  LOST Gourmet has been there all summer, but this was their last weekend at since they are going to concentrate on their catering business.   So, I had to get one last taste of their excellent dishes. 

I opted for the kale and navy bean hummus. I had some earlier this summer and fell in love with it. I'm going to figure out a way to make this excellent dish. It is AWESOME. 

I used the hummus and a cucumber to make the Local Food Lady's version of a fast-food lunch.  I brought some of the hummus in a container, and a peeled and sliced cucumber for lunch.  Then, I just topped each of the cucumber slices with the hummus. It was awesome and a very refreshing lunch. 

Peppers and sausage

Ok, so the Local Food Lady is a Phillies fan. So is my mister.  We try to get to a game or two during the year and when we go, I always want a sandwich with peppers and sausage.  I don't know why, but that stuff is tasty (I'm sure it is all of the grease that is on the grill that adds that "super secret" ingredient).

We made a local version at home while we were waiting out Hurricane Irene.By the way, Hurricane Irene is definitely not a dinner guest you want to have.  Many of the farms in her path suffered severe crop loss and erosion issues.  Darn you, Irene!

Here's what we used to make our sandwiches:

• sweet Italian sausage from Countrytime Farm
• onions and green peppers from our CSA share
• rolls from St. Peter's Bakery
• grated pecorino romano cheese (provolone is a great substitute)

As usual, every great dish begins with olive oil + [something]. Tonight, it was onions and green peppers.  Once the onions were translucent, I added the sausage. Cooked it low and slow until ready for dinner.  Served on great French bread from St. Peter's Bakery and topped with grated cheese.

Mexican inspired bean salad

I received tomatillos in our CSA share a few weeks ago. In the past, I had roasted them, and used the Cuisinart to make a salsa, but I wanted to try something different.  So...I made some bean salad with them.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups tomatillos, husks removed and washed
• large can of black beans, rinsed
• 1 cup of corn
• cherry tomatoes
• fresh parsley and/or cilantro
• Cholula Chipotle hot sauce to taste

The tomatillos have a paper-like husk on them.  Remove the husk (they easily peel off) and rinse well. Slice in half.  Rinse your can of black beans and slice the cherry tomatoes.  Combine the first four ingredients in a large dish.  Top with fresh parsley and/or cilantro (I prefer cilantro) and toss on some Choulula Chipotle for taste. To keep this dish vegan, omit any cheese, but you can also add goat cheese for more flavor.

The Local Food Lady Remembers

Please take a moment to remember and honor those who passed away on September 11th in PA, NY, and DC, along with the families across our nation that experienced the painful loss in their families.

We also are grateful for the people that helped others get out safely and away from harm. 

USAFlagDepot.com

 

The local food lady grows...

...some pretty flowers!  Just some further proof that I have good dirt.  I grew these zinnias in the containers outside of our house. The bumblebees absolutely LOVE these.

I think the bumblebees get drunk from the zinnia pollen, since I've seen bees hanging out in them well after dark.  Check out the colors on these flowers.

http://flic.kr/p/ah6oPs

 

 

 

 

http://flic.kr/p/ah6oSQ

Farmers Stew

There are plenty of stews out there...fisherman's stew, miner's stew, Irish stew, Texas stew.  I have crafted what I call Farmer's Stew.  This is what I would call an "empty the fridge recipe." 

There are several flavors, textures and temperatures in my farmer's stew.  It usually involves a leafy green or two, a legume, good herbs, an egg, and cheese.  I sometimes will even top with bacon...repeat after me, "because everything is better with bacon!"

Farmer's stew ingredients:

• plentiful amounts of leafy greens: spinach, kale, chard
• for this recipe, I added zucchini, cut in to half moons
• legume: it can be chickpeas (aka: garbanzo beans) or great northern beans (aka: cannellini beans)
• hard boiled egg (one for each plate)
• feta cheese to taste
• well-done slice of bacon (one slice, diced, for each plate)

In a large pot, I begin sauteing garlic in olive oil with a few sprigs of rosemary. The rosemary can be fresh or dried...I take my fresh rosemary and hang it upside down in our kitchen to dry out for future uses.  After a few minutes, add your zucchini. Saute for 3 minutes, moving around the pan. Be careful not to overcook. Then, add your greens on top and cover--this will allow the greens to get some of the steam and wilt. 

Zucchini and greens

Zucchini, greens, legumes

Be sure to rinse your legumes before adding them to the pot. Shake off the extra water and add to the pot.  If they get a little mashed, it's ok. Their starches will contribute nicely to the flavor of the dish.

Allow the legumes to cook through. I find that chickpeas can warm up more quickly than northern beans.  Turn the temp down so that the greens and zucchini will not overcook. 

Once the items in the pot are cooked through, you can move them to your serving dish.  Top each dish with a chilled, sliced hard-boiled egg.  We also like to top the dish with feta cheese and a slice of well done bacon.

Farmer's Stew!

Bad, bad local food lady

I must apologize to my readers...I was very diligent in writing posts over the last two months.  I took a break from writing, but I didn't take a break from cooking.  You will see some new scheduled posts over the next couple of days.

Thanks for hanging in there and reading my adventures in cooking. There are plenty more to come!!

Fruit CSA Week 3!

It just keeps getting better. This week, we had 6 varieties to choose from (clockwise, from top left):

• peaches (a mystery--since there were some white peaches and yellow peaches spread out among the CSA members)
• more Asian pears, but a different variety from last week's share
• purple/red plums
• yellow plums
• nectarines
• apples

Note that there are only 4 pears in this week's share...I may have to sneak an extra one away from the mister!

Another day, another mystery

Mystery food #2. I really have no idea what this one is...  The green top of this one reminds me of a tomatillo, but the skin is definitely tougher.  This fruit? veggie? is larger than a clenched fist, with a very smooth skin and a more lemon-yellow color.

What do you think? Figure this one out for me!

Name this fruit (I think it's a fruit!)

So, the mister and I picked up our veggie CSA this weekend and found this item.  Our farmer has grown peaches and melons this year, so our veggie CSA is not "all veggies, all the time."  However, I'm a bit perplexed about this recent arrival.

It has the stalk of a pumpkin, but is very smooth skin like summer squash. That said, it also has the color of a honeydew--my cell phone picture does it no justice.  It's a soft, butter yellow color.  We have yet to cut into this, but I wonder if my curious readers can figure this out first. 

"Did I hear a string of curses?"

Kale and zucchini in the pot

That's what the mister asked me the other night.  He was upstairs while I was preparing a meat-free dinner (I was inspired by this recipe posted on Food Inc.'s Facebook page).  We had the ingredients at home and I had the entire recipe all planned out, the greens were cut and washed and the garlic and spices were waiting in the pan.  Heck, I had even hard-boiled, cooled, peeled and sliced the eggs!

The zucchini was cooking and I was just about to add the kale...and then the cursing started.  $^#%@! *^&$#!

Many of the ingredients of this dish are Greek/Mediterranean/Middle Eastern-inspired.  Garlic, cumin, feta, lemon, olive oil...and most importantly, chickpeas (aka: garbanzo beans).  It wasn't until it was time to add the chickpeas did I realize that my cabinet was depleted of garbanzos.

Cannellini beans were a great substitute!

I have the problem of buying extra beans when I'm at the supermarket--I regularly stock up on black beans, kidney beans, chickpeas, and cannellini (known as a white navy bean or great northern bean).  I usually have 2 - 3 cans of each in the cabinet and then replenish when needed.  For some reason, I have neglected to buy garbanzos in some time and I was completely out. 

I started to think, "what substitute can I use?"  I have only a few items in the cabinet--clearly, I NEED to stock up this weekend--and they consist of pumpkin puree, tomato paste, rice, black beans (they are not a suitable substitute) and one small can of cannellini beans. 

Why not try the cannellini beans? They are not as "sturdy" as garbanzos and work better in soups or broth-based dishes because the cannellini break easily. However, this does have a positive side, as their starches can lend depth to the soups or stews. 

As it turns out, my mistake didn't ruin the dish. I was a bit more delicate in moving the cannellini around the pan, but it had a nice flavor.  I topped the dish with a hard boiled egg, feta cheese, and some lemon olive oil dressing. It was quite enjoyable!  Recipe is below.

Dinner is on the table!

Recipe:

• garlic, shallots, cumin, olive oil
• 1 medium zucchini, sliced, salted and rinsed
• 2 bunches kale, de-stemmed, washed, torn; handful of spinach (optional)
• cannellini beans, drained and rinsed (or chickpeas if you want to follow the original recipe)
• crumbled feta cheese
• hard boiled egg (one for each dish)
• dressing:  olive oil, lemon zest, lemon juice, honey, garlic (mix it to your own desired sweet or tart flavor); I keep my quantities very small and only make about 1/4 - 1/8 of a cup

In a large pan, warm up your garlic, shallots, cumin and olive oil.  Add the zucchini and cook for 3 - 4 minutes, add handfuls of kale--cover to cook, but checking regularly--until wilted and the greens get very bright.  Add the beans, cook covered for a few minutes so the beans get warmed through.  Plate your dinners and top each dish with a scoop of feta cheese and one hard boiled egg.  Top the dish with dressing to taste.

Question: Vegan burgers? Is that really possible? And tasty, too?

Answer: Hell yes!

I am a fan of veggie burgers and I have begun to keep a close eye on my soy consumption. Soy is one of those crops that has a high incidence on genetic modification (or commonly known as GMOs).  I'm no scientist, but from what I have read, GMO foods can have a negative impact on our bodies--and, it has been too short a period for medical professionals to know for sure the long term effects of GMO consumption.

Many of the veggie burgers sold in supermarkets have GMO soy in them.  The best way to avoid this is to make your own veggie burgers with only organic products. We have friends that are vegan, so I like to make a batch of these burgers without any egg. The easiest egg substitute is 1 tablespoon of ground flax seed combined with 3 tablespoons of water. It replicates an egg in any recipe.  The veggie burgers are best made using a Cuisinart mixer. 

As you can see, the ingredients are pretty simple:

• onion, small
• full bulb of garlic
• can of kidney beans, rinsed
• can of black beans, rinsed
• olive oil
• 1 cup uncooked oatmeal
• herbs and spices to your liking--cumin, garlic, curry powder
• 3 cups of shredded carrots

Combine the first four ingredients in the Cuisinart.  Pulse a few times until combined.  Give a few glugs of olive oil and pulse. Add the uncooked oatmeal in small amounts; pulse after each addition. Add the herbs and spices to your liking--I always add cumin, fresh parsley, and dill.

The mixture will have the consistency of plaster. Fold in the 3 cups of shredded carrots.  To form the veggie burgers, moisten your hands with cool water. Form the mixture into patties and place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.

Parchment paper is very helpful when making veggie burgers! You will freeze these veggie burgers for an hour or so before baking at 425 degrees for 15 minutes on each side. Keep the burgers on the parchment paper--it will prevent it from burning or sticking to the cookie sheet.

Once cooked, I will re-freeze for dinners at a later time.  To use for leftovers, remove from freezer and put the patties in a toaster oven at 425 degrees (do not defrost) for 15 minutes on each side. Broil for a nice finish.

Noodle-free lasagna

We had quite a few eggplants in our CSA share this week, along with a bounty of tomatoes.  I wanted to make something a little bit different than grilled veggies and/or sauteed over pasta.  I found a recipe that included some eggplants, tomatoes and a lovely amount of mozzarella.

As much as I say, "bacon makes everything better." I feel the same way about mozzarella cheese.  Cooked, chilled, solo or with tomatoes and basil...mozzarella can do no wrong.

Tonight's recipe included the following:

• 2 eggplant, sliced
• 2 -3 lbs. medium to large tomatoes (red or yellow)
• fresh basil, onions, garlic
• mozzarella (shredded or sliced)
• a shake of nutmeg and garlic powder
• pecorino cheese

I sliced and salted the eggplant in a colander. While that was resting, I began chopping my tomatoes and putting them in a large bowl.  I heated up my Le Creuset pan with olive oil, onions, and garlic.  I gave the eggplant a good shake to remove the excess moisture and added it to the pan.  I gave it a nice grill, until the eggplant developed small amounts of brown on the skin.

I removed the eggplant from the pot, and layered an oiled baking dish with it.  I then tossed the tomatoes and some fresh basil into the pot.  I gave the tomatoes a shake of garlic powder and nutmeg.  I allowed that to simmer, and allowed for some of the liquid to cook off.  The colors were gorgeous!!!
Once the moisture began to cook off, I poured the entire pot of tomatoes into the baking dish (I did make a mistake; I should have spooned the tomatoes into the baking dish...too much liquid was transferred).  I gave a sprinkle of pecorino cheese on top.
I then sliced some mozzarella and covered the entire baking dish and placed in the toaster oven at 425 degrees. The dish hung out for 25 - 30 minutes and then I turned on the broiler to get the cheese browned.

I used a slotted spoon to serve dinner, so as not to overwhelm my dish with whatever tomato liquid did not cook off.  It was pretty darn good.