Simple and in Season

From everything is delicious by Lara Adler

June 25, 2009

As my CSA vegetables arrive each week, I get excited thinking of what new foods I’ll discover (this week I got kohlrabi, which I’ve never had before, and can’t wait to try), and what new recipes I’ll get to make. Yesterday marked my third week of veggies from my CSA and so far it’s been so so wonderful!

Lettuces, kale, rhubarb, strawberries, peas, and so far my most favorite... garlic scapes!

These twisted little tangles of garlicy heaven arrived in last weeks box, and I was stumped as to what to do with them. A quick google search led me to recipes that either used them chopped and sauteed, or puréed as a pesto, which is what I ended up doing. I threw the 4 scapes I had, chopped up, into a food processor, with a scant 1/4 cup of pine nuts, and a pinch of salt, and blended them up. Drizziling in enough olive oil to make a nice pesto-y consistency finished it off... and my god... the taste. THE TASTE! Not overpowering in the least. Mellow, but likely one of the most insanely delicious things I’ve ever eaten. I’m bummed that the scape season is so short, and will be stocking up on scapes this weekend at the farmers market.

Once I made the pesto, I had to put it on something. And that something with delicious, soft polenta. This could not have been a more simple, more delish dish if i tried! I threw in some ribboned lacinato kale, also from the CSA box that week, while the polenta was cooking, but close to the end.

I highly, HIGHLY recommend everyone go out NOW to their farmers markets and pick up some scapes.

Soft Polenta with Garlic Scape Pesto and Kale

Serves 2 (but can easily be doubled)
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes

1 1/2 cups water
1/2 cup polenta cornmeal
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 or 5 lacinato kale leaves, stripped from stems, and cut into short, thin ribbons

Garlic scape pesto (recipe follows)

1. In a medium saucepan, bring water, and salt to a boil. Slowly stir in the cornmeal, stirring constantly with a long wooden spoon, until thickened.

2. Add in kale ribbons, and cook a few minutes more, until fairly thick.

3. Either dollop on top, or mix in 1 tablespoon of the garlic scape pesto.

Garlic Scape Pesto

Prep Time: 5 minutes

1 bunch garlic scapes
1/3 cup pine nuts
pinch of salt
extra virgin olive oil

1. Add scapes, pine nuts, and salt to a food processor and pulse until fully combined and no large pieces remain. With the blades running, slowly drizzle in enough olive oil to achieve the desired consistency.

The Spoils of My Spree

From everything is delicious by Lara Adler

May 30, 2009

So I finally had the chance to get down to the farmers market last weekend to start spending some of my Culinate Cash from the April blogging contest. Commitments had kept me away until now, but I used the time to fantasize about all the amazing things I could buy... those amazing cranberry pecan breads, jams, oh my!

I went with only $40, a small amount indeed, but managed to get exactly what I wanted, and nothing more. My mother came with me, a voice of reason as I oogled at everything at once.

I posted images and a little intro here. These were not things I bought, but things that looked lovely!

My most prized purchase, which I forgot to mention on my other post, was a compost bin! Living in New York, I’ve struggled with how to get a compost bin home, but thankfully my mother, and her car solved that problem :)

Thanks again to Culinate and all the awesome people who voted for me!!

Breakfast smreakfast

Mix it up, people

From everything is delicious by Lara Adler

April 22, 2009

I, like most other Americans grew up on breakfast cereal. Cereal is a marvel to behold, and sometimes even to eat. But it does seem strange to me, to open a box, shake a bunch of dry, processed pellets out into a bowl, pour milk over it, and call it breakfast. Seems odd indeed. Don’t get me wrong, I love me some breakfast cereal every once in a while, but I like to think that my palate for my morning meal has matured past Honey Nut Cheerios.

My issue with cereal (I actually have a few, but for the sake of sticking to the point, I’m going to pretend I have one), is that it trains people, from an early age, that breakfast is supposed to be sweet. Even “basic” cereals like Corn Flakes (my personal favorite still to this day) have sugar in them. Then we’ve got pancakes, waffles, danishes... All sweets. And what a way to start the day?! Barely any sustenance, just sugar. I’m over it.

Yes, eggs and bacon are also a staple for breakfast here, but those seem less like everyday fare (and with good reason too). But we’re still stuck in the idea of foods being relegated to certain meals only. Sandwiches are for lunch. Soups and stews for dinner. Eggs of any kind, are reserved for breakfast. It’s kind of lame if you think about it... we have this massive array of foods at our disposal, and it’s always the same things to eat. If you Google ‘breakfast’ images, what do you see? Waffles, pancakes, bacon, eggs and sausage, cereal, croissants. I say to hell with all that! MIX IT UP. I’m not talking pancakes for dinner, I’m talking about rethinking breakfast completely.

Whole grains, soups, stews, stir fries, noodles, anything is game. Breakfast really IS the most important meal of the day, and should be regarded as such. None of this quick bite to eat on the way out the door. No more eating a danish and a coffee at your desk, or, gasp! an egg mc’crappy sandwich. Be good to yourself, and take some time to make, or sheesh, at least heat up, a filling, healthy breakfast.

Whatever it is, aim for having at some form of protein and fat for breakfast, as these macro-nutrients will not only leave you satiated, but they break down slower in your body, leaving you full for longer. This means you can ride your breakfast wave easily into lunchtime without getting the 11am munchies.

A few weeks ago, Mark Bittman, food writer, cookbook author, and New York Times blogger posted an article about eating whole grains for breakfast. I’m a huge Bittman fan, and was really inspired by his article. I have probably made his recipe for Coconut Oat Pilaf twenty times since reading this article. It’s seriously THAT good, and THAT easy. It’s sweet, savory, and spicy all at once, and the spice combinations, simple as they are, marry in such a complex and delicious way. His recipe calls for steel cut oats, which I love, and prefer in this recipe, but desperation led me to try both regular rolled oats, and quinoa on different occasions. The rolled oats turned out just as good, with the only difference being in the somewhat more “oatmealy” texture, that is, soft and mushy. Steel cut oats, if you’ve never tried them (for shame!), have a more chewey bite to them. “Al dente” if you will. The quinoa was light and airy, and has the added bonus of providing significantly more protein than any other grain.

Thinking outside the cereal box for breakfast can be fun! Look to cuisines from around the world for inspiration and ideas. This fun website has lots of fun information about breakfasts from all over. Consider breakfast an opportunity to start your day right, to correct any “wrong side of the bed-ness” that might have occurred upon waking. It’s a prime time to start incorporating more whole grains into your diet, and experimenting with breakfast is a great place to begin!

If you’ve got any unusual breakfast recipes or ideas, I’d love to hear them!

(note: this morning I had rich lentil soup with a hearty whole wheat toast for breakfast, followed by a cup of tea, and an apple.)

My Secret Stash

From everything is delicious by Lara Adler

April 13, 2009

Sorry, not drugs. Nor mustaches. I’m taking you on a guided tour of my freezer. This is a bit like opening up my underwear drawer for all to see, only less sexy (or more sexy, depending on how much you like frozen food, I guess). I’m baring it all... my secret to quick, inexpensive dinners at a moments notice. I’m a little embarrassed by how seemingly unorganized my freezer is, and how I tend to avoid the very very good advice to label the food so 3 months from now I’ll know what the hell that jar of black liquid is (Its the leftover water from cooking lentils and is delish when added to soups or used to cook rice in.)

On my blog I created an illustrated legend to all those jars in my freezer

I keep meaning to pick up some of those wire shelves that go inside your fridge or freezer to help my stacks of jars from falling over. One day I may actually remember to buy some... but until then, everything will loom under the threat of collapse. Precarious indeed!

Here’s a list of things I often have banging around my freezer that have proven helpful for me. I freeze everything in single serving sizes:

• Quarts of vegetable stock Quart sized freezer ziplock bags are the best for this. Freeze flat, and once frozen these will either stack or sit nicely on end taking up barely any space. I do this for almost all soups if I have bags on hand.
• Cooked Beans and Lentils Cooking dry beans is so much cheaper than canned, and is so easy you really have no excuse not to. Freeze the beans in small containers covered with cooking liquid. If you’re going to add them to soups, you should undercook them slightly before freezing so they’ll finish off in the final dish. Cooking lentils is the same, and reserving the cooking liquid and freezing that separately will also come in handy.
• Fresh Tomato Sauce Late last summer I stumbled across a HUGE sale on organic tomatoes that had seen better days. But they were perfect for sauce, so I bought them all. Thirty pounds of organic tomatoes for $3.00!!!
• Tomato Paste No recipe I have ever made in all my life has called for the amount of tomato paste that comes in the standard cans, even the teeny tiny ones! I hate wasting food, and I don’t like those tubes of tomato paste, so I usually buy a larger can of tomato paste, glob it onto a plastic wrap lined piece of tin foil, and roll it up like a sushi roll, and twist the edges closed. Once frozen, I just slice off as much paste as I need, re-wrap, and toss it back into the freezer.
• Breads I don’t bake bread that often, but when I do, I always make more than I can eat (I figure i’m going through all that effort right!?), so I freeze the 2nd loaf. I tend to make a lot of sweet breads like banana, pumpkin, zucchini, and corn bread. These all freeze wonderfully, and are so great to have on hand. I slice each loaf, and place small pieces of wax paper between the slices, and either re-assemble the loaf or stack in the case of stuff like corn bread, and tightly wrap in foil. These stacks go into a ziplock bag which I label. I make enough of these that labeling is important and saves me from opening the wrong package.
• Individual Pies I LOVE pies...sweet and savory. This is usually reserved for summer (fruit) or winter (savory), and I usually only do it maybe 3 times a year, but lordy, I’m so glad I do! For summer fruit pies, I made a double batch of pie crust, and roll out as many small circles as I can (I’ll post about this next time I do this), and either make rustic pies by just freeforming them once the uncooked fruit filling is added, or buy mini tin pie pans. Wrapped in plastic, then foil, then ziplocked (must keep out freezer burn!), these keep wonderfully for months. Throw them in a hot oven straight from the freezer and BAM! fresh baked pie whenever you want it! Savory pies are the same, only the filling for those is already cooked and cooled before forming. You can even make mashed potato topped shephard pies and freeze those too. Endless possibilities.
• Fresh Made Breadcrumbs I really really dislike store bought breadcrumbs, and if you’ve got a food processor you really have no excuse not to make your own. Let a bunch of bread go stale, or if you’re impatient, toast lightly, and whiz in the food processor. If you want to season it, go for it. If you’re a purist, then you’re done. Bag it, label it and there ya go!
• Nuts Not much preparation here...I just keep nuts in the freezer so they don’t spoil. Nuts have a lot of fat in them, which can easily go rancid. If you’ve ever tasted a bad nut, you know what I’m talking about here. So so gross.
• Filo and/or puff pastry These are great for both sweet & savory dishes...think spanikopita or apple gallete. Either one of these is a breeze with these on hand.
• Soups/Stews Anything really. I make lots of soup and stews in cold and cool weather, and will always make more than I can eat. Freezing at least one serving of everything I make ensures I’ve got plenty of variety on hand!
• Cooked Grains Rice can take a while to cook, so save yourself some time by cooking a big batch, and freezing the rest in small portions. Having this on hand means you can whip up dinner in no time!

So there ya have it. I don’t eat meat, so you’ll see that’s not on my list, but as everyone knows, meat freezes well, so go for it! cooked or raw, just make sure you label and date everything.

A word on defrosting. I have a microwave. It’s mostly just holds up my rolls of foil, plastic wrap and parchment, and is rarely used. I’m just not that into microwaves. My mother has never used one in her entire life, and doesn’t even know how to work them! Try to develop a teeny amount of foresight into your meal planning and take out what you want to eat the night before and toss it into the fridge. Countertop defrosting is pretty unsafe, as it allows lots of nasty bacteria to feast on your food before you do. I cheat sometimes by running warm water over my containers to melt the outside of the item enough to slip it out of the jar and then throw the still frozen cylinder into a pot and simmer it.

Another quick note on containers. Plastics are easy and cheap, but they’ve got all kinds of crappy stuff in them that I’d rather keep out of my food. I worked hard to make my dinner, and don’t want to spoil it by inadvertently adding BPA to the list of ingredients. I save EVERY glass jar I use, and will even chose one item in the store over another if it’s packaged in glass. Glass is fine for freezing so long as you a) leave enough headroom for the contents to expand during freezing, and b) don’t pack hot contents into them before throwing them in the freezer. Let your meal come to room temperature or close before portioning and freezing. Glass is great too because you can see perfectly whats inside!

If you’ve got other freezer tips or tricks that you use, send them my way! Or, if you’re feeling daring, send me a picture of the inside of your freezer!