Gluten free kohlrabi tabouli (tabbouleh/tabbouli)

A new post!  It's been a while.  But I wanted to share this recipe modification cause it's a good one.  No pictures or anything... and it's barely even a recipe since I wasn't really measuring.  But here goes.

This idea was born of necessity and to address three small problems.
1) Ack!  What am I going to do with all this parsley!?
2) Ack!  What am I going to do with all this kohlrabi!?

3) Tabouli is a good use of parsley but Andy doesn't eat wheat anymore, so what to do...

Substitute kohlrabi for the wheat.  Easy peasy.  Actually it makes putting together tabouli easier cause you don't have to cook the bulgar.

Ingredients - serves 4 as a side

1/2 a medium sized kohlrabi (about the size of a large orange)

about 1 c. parsley leaves loosely packed, washed and spun in a lettuce spinner or dried with a towel

3-4 green onions

~8 cherry tomatoes

2 T. olive oil

juice of 1 lemon (I like it very lemony, you may want to start with less)

S+P to taste

1.  Peel the kohlrabi and cut into slices.  Cut the green onions into 1" pieces.

2.  Place the kohlrabi, green onions, and parsley in the food processor.  Process till everything is pretty finely chopped.

3.  Put the tomatoes in and pulse a few more times.

4.  Toss with oil, lemon juice, S+P.

Tip: don't worry much about getting the stems off the parsley.  I basically just grabbed all the leaves and pulled, taking whatever stems that wanted to come with me.  Since we get them finely chopped in the processor, the stems don't detract from the texture, and they actually increase the parsley taste!

This is a very fast way to make tabouli, and I love how the sweetness of the kohlrabi tempers the lemony acidity, and also improves the texture compared to a straight parsley based recipe.

Red spaghetti squash hash

I'm not going to claim I knew where I was headed when I made this the other night.  It was one of those "uhhhhh what do I want for dinner ... let's see [head in fridge] ... errr... there's kale, spaghetti squash ... and beet puree, what the hell am I gonna make with this??"  I was actually surprised that I really liked the end result.  And I'm proud to say that it's February and the spaghetti squash marks the last of the CSA produce (the beets too but they were in the freezer).  Took me long enough!

I had defrosted and pureed previously roasted beets to make a recipe - Quinoa and Beet Pancakes - from a cookbook I just got, Kim Boyce's Good to the Grain.  What a great cookbook, the cakers were awesome.  You can see another blogger's result from making this recipe here - they really are beautiful pancakes.  This reminds me of red flannel hash due to the color, but is meatless and probably tastes quite different, but that's what inspired me to put poached eggs on top.  Poached eggs on top of anything generally make it awesome.   This isn't the best picture - Andy took it from his phone once we were halfway through - sorry, but it gives you an idea!

Half eaten spaghetti squash hash

serves 2-4
Ingredients
1 small spaghetti squash
2 T. butter
1 T. olive oil
1 head flowering purple kale
1/2 t. salt
4 cloves garlic
1/3 c. beet puree
1 t. thyme
1/4 c. parmesan cheese
4 eggs
2 t. vinegar (white, white wine, or apple cider)

1.   Cut squash in half, scrape out the seeds.  Place cut sides down in a microwave safe casserole with about 1/4 inch water.  If you can only fit one half cut side down, do them one at a time.  Microwave for 10 minutes on high.  Let it sit a few minutes in the microwave to cool off.  Check for doneness - WARNING - will be VERY hot, use mitts.  Microwave for additional minutes till done if necessary.  It is done when the strands come loose with a fork.
2.  When cool enough to handle, transfer strands to the casserole dish (dried) and toss with butter, salt and pepper to taste.  (You probably want to do this step when the kale is almost done)
3.  Meanwhile, heat oil in a skillet.  Tear up kale in large bite sized pieces, put in skillet with salt, and saute till just wilted.  Add about 1/4 c. water, garlic, and cover.  Cook for about 10 minutes or till done.
4.  Add beet puree and thyme and stir till it is warm. 
5.  Have a straight sided skillet heating with about 2 inches of water and the vinegar.  When it's at a simmer, very carefully break each egg into a saucer, and use the saucer to transfer the eggs in the simmering liquid, one for each quadrant of the skillet.  I do four eggs at once in my largest skillet, but if you haven't poached eggs like this before, you might want to start with one or two so you're not worried about them bumping each other.  Monitor the heat so you're maintaining a very gentle simmer.  After 3 minutes, remove the eggs.  I use a slotted spatula for this cause I do find they occasionally are slightly stuck to the bottom of the skillet.  You may want to gently shake them or flip onto a slotted spoon to remove excess water - just be careful not to break the yolk - they're delicate!
6.  Top the hash with the eggs and parmesan, serve.  This could be breakfast for four.  Andy and I each had two eggs for dinner but did not finish the hash.  I may need to poach another egg to have with the leftovers!

Scrambled duck eggs with piperrada

The summer produce keeps on rolling!  Last week, we got about 2 gallons of peppers and a gallon of tomatoes.  We also did a special order of a dozen duck eggs.  I had never had duck eggs before this... so I wasn't sure what to expect.  For our first duck egg breakfast, I just cooked them over easy and we had them with some toast and grilled tomato slices.  They were only okay.  I didn't love the texture; the yolks are a bit stickier than an over easy chicken egg yolk, and the whites were much firmer.  But they were very rich.  It made me think they'd be better scrambled.  And I have to say, they definitely were.

The peppers and tomatoes that went into the piperrada

I made this for breakfast by myself on Friday.  I had some time to kill after dropping Andy off for the airport shuttle at 5:30am (he went to Montana, and his friends got their elk, he'll be coming home on Monday with a cooler full!)  I love cream cheese in scrambled eggs, and at the risk of over-rich-ifying the duck eggs, added a small amount.  I think they went great together.  Inspired by a NY Times recipe, I stewed some of the peppers and tomatoes from the CSA, trying to mimic a Basque piperrada.  Not sure how close I got, but it tasted great!  I thought about cooking everything in the same pot, but decided against it cause I wanted to be able to control the heat on the duck eggs.  Also had some leftover roasted red potatoes.  Now that's a breakfast.

Piperrada (makes a good amount!)
1 T. olive oil
12 small peppers, cut into strips (probably equivalent to 8 medium sized bell peppers.  Use a mixture of types, if possible, I think it imparts some depth... our CSA calls our peppers "Italian peppers" which look like bell peppers, and "chile peppers" which look like hatch or poblanos)
salt
4 tomatoes
2 bay leaves
2 t. smoked paprika
1 t. thyme

1.  Heat the olive oil over low heat.  Add the peppers and some salt and cook about 10 - 12 minutes, stirring only occasionally (longer's fine too, this is basically a stew).
2.  While the peppers are cooking, boil a medium pot of water.  Cut a shallow cross into the skin on the bottom of the tomatoes.  Submerge the tomatoes in the water for about 15 seconds.  Plunge the tomatoes into ice water.  Slip the peels off.  Roughly chop the tomatoes.
3.  Add the tomatoes, bay leaves, smoked paprika, and thyme.  Cover and cook for 12 - 15 minutes, stirring only occasionally.
4.  If it looks watery after 12 minutes, remove the cover and turn the heat up a little.  There should be liquid, but you probably want it more sauce-y than liquid-y.  Mine probably could have used a little more time but I was hungry.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Scrambled duck eggs (serves 1, multiply as you wish)
1 t. butter
2 duck eggs (size?  most of the ones we got were close to the size of chicken eggs... except for one giant one.  I used the chicken egg sized ones)
2-3 t. cream cheese
Freshly ground pepper
Salt, Maldon smoked sea salt if you have it

1.  Heat the butter in a sautee pan over low heat.
2.  Whisk the ducks eggs, add in some salt and pepper.
3.  Pour into sautee pan.  Use a spatula to stir and break up the curds nearly constantly.  You want to cook these guys slowly, it probably took about 5 minutes to cook my two eggs.  More than 2 eggs will take longer.   The texture at the end is closer to a small curd cottage cheese than, say, the egg patty you might get at a bagel shop on your breakfast sandwich.
4.  When they're nearly done, add the cream cheese and break apart with the spatula.  I like it mostly broken up but with an occasional tasty little chunk. 
5.  Season at the table with the smoked sea salt and more pepper.

Does anyone else have ideas on ways to cook duck eggs?  I have 6 left.  If you have an idea leave a comment!

Rice cooker polenta! ... and ratatouille

I will be making polenta more often now.  I made it in my rice cooker the other night, and I think it's better, and WAY easier, than making it on the stove.  Traditional polenta calls for nearly constant stirring for 20-30 minutes.  I think the reason for this is to prevent burning and clumping, not to significantly improve the texture, as is the case in traditional risotto.  With the rice cooker, the heat is low enough so that it doesn't burn, and I'm willing to bet the tight seal and slightly elevated pressure quickens the cook time.

Kinda hard to see but I was trying to capture the creamy texture.

I'm pretty sure you could just throw in whatever seasonings, cheese, butter, etc. that you want.  I used a 4:1 water to polenta ratio and used Bob's Red Mill Brand polenta.  I thought it would take a while, so I put it in the rice cooker, flipped the switch to cook, and didn't check it for probably half and hour.  It had already finished cooking and switched to "warm," and I think it had been done for a little while.  But I don't think there's any harm in letting it stay in warm mode, making this a perfectly flexible side dish.  The parmesan rinds imparted a nice flavor... I learned a trick at some point to save the rinds from wedges of hard parmesan cheese after I've grated the gratable parts for topping pasta and other things... just throw the rinds in a ziploc and keep them in the freezer.  Then add them to risottos, soups, and apparently polenta for extra flavor.

We ate the polenta with ratatouille.  It is based on a Cook's Illustrated method and recipe.  I just discovered Cook's Illustrated.  The website and magazine are by paid  subscription only, but I really like it and think it's worthwhile.  I love their emphasis on methods and explanations of why things happen as they do in a recipe.  They approach cooking scientifically.  I changed the recipe just enough to not feel bad putting it up here, but really the awesome method not at all my own.  I used to make ratatouille just by kind of sauteeing everything together, and usually using canned tomatoes.  The CI method of roasting the eggplant and zucchini first makes a much chunkier stew than I used to make, and I think that's a good thing, given my predilection towards vegetarian dishes with texture.  So I think I'll stick with this method, it's still infinitely adaptable, and though it might take a little longer than a simple sautee, it's not any harder and more closely mirrors the traditional French preparation.  Also any combo of fresh basil, oregano, thyme, or rosemary would only make the ratatouille better.  Add them if you have them!

I love eggplant even though it makes my mouth itch.

If anyone makes the rice cooker polenta and has thoughts on how it compares to a traditional polenta, I'd love to hear them.  I don't make polenta often enough to know for sure how it compares.


Rice cooker polenta
1 c. polenta
4 c. water
1 T. butter
2 T. grated parmesan or pecorino
1/2 t. salt
a few parmesan rinds, if available

1.  Combine in rice cooker.  Stir once.  Push down the switch to cook.  Come back when you're ready for it (at least 15-20 minutes, probably).

Ratatouille
2 lbs. eggplant, cut up in 1" chunks
2 medium zuchinis (about 1-1.5 lbs), also cut up in 1" chunks
About 4 T. olive oil
5-6 small carrots (or 2-3 big ones), sliced into coins
2 bunches scallions or 1 medium or large onion, chopped (I would have used an onion but only had scallions)
2 large, very ripe tomatoes, cut up in 1-2" chunks
1/2 bunch of parsley, chopped
1 t. thyme, dried
ground black pepper

1.  Place eggplant in large colander set over large bowl; sprinkle with salt and toss.  Let eggplant stand for 1 to 3 hours.  Rinse eggplant well under running water to remove salt and spread in even layer on a clean towel.  Cover with another towel.  Press down firmly until eggplant is dry and feels firm and compressed.
2.  Heat oven to 500 degrees.  Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with foil.
3.  Toss eggplant, zucchini, and 2 tablespoons oil together in large bowl, then divide evenly between prepared baking sheets, spreading in single layer on each.  Sprinkle with salt and roast, stirring every 10 minutes, until well-browned and tender, 30 to 40 minutes, rotating baking sheets from top to bottom halfway through roasting time.
4. Heat remaining 2 tablespoons oil in Dutch oven over medium heat. Add carrot and onion (if using, if using scallion add in about 10 minutes after the carrot); reduce heat to medium-low and cook, stirring frequently, until softened and golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes total.
5.  Stir in garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
6.  Add tomatoes and cook until they release their juices and begin to break down, about 5 minutes.
7.  Add roasted eggplant and zucchini, stirring gently but thoroughly to combine, and cook until just heated through, about 5 minutes. Stir in parsley and thyme; adjust seasonings with salt and pepper and serve over polenta.

PS - I would be remiss in not thanking Grant Family Farms for the incredible late season zukes, eggplant, and tomatoes.  SO good!!

Split pea soup with potatoes and dill

Wow!  This might be one of my favorite recipes that I've posted yet.  As I started describing in the last post, this soup was born because I just wanted to cook all the veggies in my fridge at the same time and couldn't focus on one thing.  The potatoes and dill were just begging to be cooked, and with the first chill of fall, they ended up in soup.  I didn't know exactly where it was going while I was making it (so unfortunately, the amount on the liquids and potatoes might be a little off, cause I didn't measure, but they're close.  You'll notice copious tilde use in the ingredient list.)  The flavors are really great, so I encourage you to make this one, especially if you have good potatoes, dill, and parsley hanging around.  It works best if you are completely distracted by cooking other things.

Makes about 1 gallon of soup (8 big servings)

1 T. olive oil
1/2 large onion, diced
~3 qts. water
1 lb. of yellow split peas (green would be okay too)
~2 bay leaves
~1 T. Better than Bouillon veggie base 
~1/2 lb. small Yukon gold potatoes, cut up in bite sized pieces (other kinds would be okay, but I LOVED the creamy sweetness of the Yukes)
~1/2 bunch parsley
~4-5 T. fresh dill
~1 c. buttermilk
Salt to taste
optional: chopped chives or green onion to garnish and for extra flavors

1.  Heat olive oil over medium, add in the onion and sautee till soft and just starting to brown (6-8 minutes or so). 
2.  Add water, split peas, bay leaves, BTB.  Bring to a boil and reduce heat to low.  Cook for ~15 minutes.  
3.  Add the potatoes.  Continue to simmer for about another 30 minutes.  Check occasionally towards the end.  You don't want to cook it for so long that the potatoes start to disintegrate.
4.  While simmering, chop up the parsley and dill; I used the food processor to get it quite small, but process the two separately so you can add the right amount of dill for your liking. 
5.  When the soup is done, stir in the parsley, dill, and buttermilk.  Go easy on these and taste as you go.  You don't want the dill to be overpowering (and I think people have pretty different levels of dill tolerance, I tend to prefer it on the light side), but you definitely want to taste it.  For the buttermilk, I would suggest that you don't even want to really be able to identify it.  Using just a small amount - a cup or so (compared to the 3 qts water) - gives the soup a creamy body and a very slight tang, but I wouldn't describe it as sour or acidic at all.  6.  Add some salt if necessary (for once, I think I didn't add any extra at all!).  Serve with chives or green onions if desired.

Bun' cha ca' (Vietnamese fish and noodle dish)

This recipe is from Thuy, Tin's mom.  It's quite easy, healthy, and above all, tasty.  A lot of the dishes we order at Vietnamese restaurants are somewhat heavy - either in a creamy sauce or friend.  But in this dish, the catfish is in a light marinade and grilled, and the flavors come from herbs and nuoc mam', the typical fish sauce based dipping sauce.  Most of the ingredients should be available at a well-stocked grocery store - the King Soopers near us has everything except the galangal.  Galangal is a root that looks like ginger, but is not as spicy.

There are 5 components to the dish: rice noodles, grilled catfish, sauteed onions and dill, and finally the toppings: nuoc mam' and peanuts.  First, here is the full list of ingredients, separated out by component.  This is about the right amount for 6 people.

1 package thin rice noodles (vermicelli, something that looks like this, 1 pound or 500 g)

4 fillets of catfish (catfish seems to vary dramatically in size, you want about 2 pounds for 6 people)
1 t. turmeric
1/2 inch grated or finely minced galangal (if you can't find any, you could use a smaller amount of ginger or a squeeze of lemon or lime juice - it'll be a little different but that's okay) 
1 T. olive oil

1 large yellow onion
1 large bunch fresh dill

1 T. lemon juice
2 T. sugar
2 T. concentrated nuoc mam' (we have the brand second from the left in this photo)
4 T. water

Roasted unsalted peanuts, slightly crushed

Directions
1.  Start with the catfish: slice the fillets into pieces that are about 1.5 - 2 inches by 4 - 5 inches... this doesn't need to be exact, but try to make the pieces relatively uniform so they cook evenly.
2.  Place the fish in a zip-lock bag with the turmeric, galangal and olive oil and marinate for 1 hour.
3.  While it's marinating, cut up the onions and dill, prepare the nuoc mam', and put a pot of water on the stove to boil for the noodles.   Slice the onion very thinly, and set aside.  Separate the fronds of the dill from the thick stems and slice into 1 inch pieces; set aside separately.
4.  For the nuoc mam', combine the lemon juice, sugar, concentrated nuoc mam', and water in jar and shake.
5.  Cook the rice noodles according to the package directions.
6.  Heat a little olive oil, and sautee the onions until they are softened.  Add the dill and stir for about a minute more, allowing the dill to wilt.
7.  Pre-heat a grill (or broiler), and once the catfish is done marinating, place the pieces on the grill and watch closely.  Depending on how thick the pieces are and how hot your grill is, it may only take a few minutes per side.
8.  Serve!  Put some noodles in your bowl, followed by a piece of fish (or two), veggies, peanuts, and a few spoonfuls of nuoc mam'.

Peach, cucumber, black bean salad/salsa

This one might sound familiar... at first I was going to title it "peach and cucumber salad," but being different by only one word from the previous post is unacceptable. So I aggrandized it. Also I realize every August post is a salad. But that's how it's supposed to be in the summer right? In reality, this salad is totally different, even from the previous peach salad. And, it would be just as great as a salsa to serve with chips, over fish or chicken, in a burrito, you name it. I would just recommend chopping everything a bit smaller if you are going to dip into it. I'm going to give you recipes for the full menu, although the salad was really the winner on the plate. The menu:
~Peach, cucumber, black bean salad
~Shredded cabbage w/lemon and cilantro
~Sliced raw beets w/lemon and chile
~Quesadillas

Peach, cucumber, black bean salad
3 peaches, chopped
1 cucumber (medium to large sized), half-peeled (leave alternating stripes of peel) and chopped
2 green onions, chopped
2 radishes, thinly sliced
1/2 bunch of cilantro, chopped
1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 t. salt or to taste
Zest of one lime
Juice of one lime and one lemon (I probably would have used 2-3 limes instead of 1 lemon and 1 lime, but I only had 1 lime)
2 squeezes of honey
2-3 T. canned chipotles in adobo, very finely chopped
1 T. olive oil
Optional: shredded cabbage

1. Combine all the chopped things together, as well as the beans.
2. Combine the dressing ingredients and whisk: salt, lime zest, juices, honey, chipotles, olive oil. My measure on the chipotles is approximate - they have a little heat, so adjust to your liking. When I open a can I put the rest in the freezer and then use a knife to cut off however much I want from the frozen chipotle block. Then I microwave it, and I chop it finely enough so that it's almost a liquid consistency.
3. Toss dressing with the fruit mixture, let stand for 20 minutes before serving. Serve on top of or next to a bed of cabbage if you like, or even better, citrusy-cilantro-y cabbage (see below).

Shredded cabbage w/lemon and cilantro
Green cabbage, sliced very thinly (I used about 1/3 a head)
Juice of 1 lemon
1 T. chopped cilantro
One squeeze/glug/choose-your-verb-inspired-measure of olive oil

1. Toss them all together. Season.

Sliced raw beets w/lemon and chile, a recipe from The Kitchn.
2 large beets, sliced as thinly as possible
Juice of 1 lemon
A few shakes good quality chili powder (discussed here)

1. Toss them all together.

Quesadillas - don't need a recipe for these - but I like a simple white Vermont cheddar (mmmm Cabot) on corn tortillas.

The green stuff you can see in the picture (on top of the quesadilla) is a chutney I made to go with some saag paneer a week or two ago ... it was loosely based on this recipe, but I don't remember exactly what went into it.

Some of the things in tonight's dinner came straight from today's haul of the CSA. I thought it might be fun (for me at least) to write down what all the things in one week's CSA went into. And this was a particularly good-looking and large haul (which was quite interesting to bike home with), so I set it up for a photo shoot. Keep an eye out for that in a coming post.

Mint-cilantro quinoa salad

This is a particularly good, very herby variation on my framework summer grain salad. I probably mentioned it on that initial post, but a recipe like this is my go-to for any summer potluck or barbeque. Especially when it’s a barbeque-centric potluck cause although there are tons of great vegetarian grillables (and BBQ tofu is a favorite of mine), I don’t love a lot of more typical barbeque fare: meats, veggie burgers, potato salad, etc. I really try to avoid store bought veggie burgers when I can (homemade is another story).

I made this particular salad a while ago and don’t have any pictures, but you can guess what it would look like. This recipe makes A LOT.

3 c. quinoa (uncooked)
1 bunch cilantro
about 1 c. mint leaves
2 bunches scallions
1-2 packets sun dried tomatoes
8 ozs. sugar snap peas
8 ozs. feta cheese
Juice of 5-6 lemons
Olive oil to taste
Salt and pepper
Optional: lettuce, and nice chopped romaine would be great

1. Rinse (if necessary) and cook quinoa according to package directions. Set aside to cool.
2. Roughly chop cilantro (stems okay), mint (no stems), scallions, sun dried tomatoes, and peas. Put in serving bowl.
3. Cube feta cheese, add to veggies.
4. Juice the lemons and mix together with about 0.5 c. of olive oil.
5. Toss quinoa and veggie-feta mixture with the dressing. Add salt and pepper, and more olive oil and lemon juice if desired.
6. Serve on its own or over some fresh lettuce. It’s really good on some very crisp chopped romaine.

Aioli-dressed cole slaw

The CSA has been giving us a cabbage a week lately, which is about a cabbage a week more than I would normally eat. I like cabbage just not quite enough that I am super inspired every time I see it. And I don't often buy it in the grocery store. But the point of the CSA is to eat seasonally and locally, so instead of relying on my tried and true cabbage preparations (like this one and this one), I looked for outside inspiration. Specifically, I sought the advice of high school kid from Pennsylvania. It's kinda funny/weird, but I really like this kid's blog, Foodie at 15 (now 17). I love his passion for cooking, curiosity about methods and ingredients, and the fact that he is not averse to using candy corn as an ingredient. It's a nice voice in the sometimes snooty world of self-righteous foodies.

Anyway, the other day he was doing a "live chat" on the website of a WHYY, Philadelphia public radio, cooking show. So I decided to ask him about my cabbage Here's the "transcript":


So I decided to take the advice of my favorite not-so-celebrity chef, just for kicks, and it was pretty good. Mayonnaise and aioli are really pretty easy to make in a blender or food processor, and a food processor makes cutting the veg a snap. And while I still wouldn't say cole slaw is one of my favorite dishes, a homemade sauce is a vast improvement on the original. Here's the recipe, but keep in mind that the amounts of the vegetables is completely tunable to your whims, this is just what I used.

Ingredients, slaw:
1 to 1.5 heads of green cabbage
3 large carrots
4 small turnips
1 bunch parsley

Dressing:
3 cloves garlic
4 egg yolks
4 T. lemon juice
1/4 t. dry mustard
a small squeeze yellow or dijon mustard
0.5 c. olive oil
0.5 c. neutral oil (vegetable or canola)

1. Prepare vegetables. I used the slicing attachment for most of the cabbage (I think it gets a little too texture-less and watery if you use the grating attachment), the grating attachment for the carrots and turnips, and the normal blade for chopping the parsley. No need to clean the work bowl in between vegetables or before the next step...
For the dressing:
2. Chop the garlic in the food processor till it's quite fine. Then add the yolks, lemon juice, and mustards and process till combined.
3. Combine the two oils in a measuring cup. With the processor processing, pour in the oils in a slow, steady stream. This should take almost a minute.
4. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and a little extra lemon if you feel it's necessary.
5. Toss every thing together, add a little more salt and pepper if you like.

PS - my posts have been slowing down, eh? I have 8-10 recipes scrawled out on paper and may get around to posting them. I'll at least try to post the better ones. We'll see.

Citrus and grated beet salad

There's lots of recipes out there for raw, grated beet salad. I don't see how you can go wrong with any of them. They're all super easy, fast, healthy, and tasty. I think the tastes in raw beets go really well with citrus, especially oranges. And this salad was really pretty! I had one yellow beet and one red and white striped beet. Grated together they looked like a party. The picture here doesn't really do justice.

I had been planning on putting some chunks of feta in the salad. But then decided against it in favor of just serving it aside some plain cheddar cheese quesadillas on corn tortillas. I'd also been planning on putting it atop some super fresh, tasty lettuce from the CSA, but in my excitement over the beets, I forgot. I think the salad would be good with cheese in it (what's not?), but actually, the clean, fresh taste of the other ingredients really makes it great without.

A side note - I had forgotten about the pictures I took of 5-green saag paneer and poached fish with lettuce sauce. I just found the pictures on Andy's camera, so those posts are updated with pictures now.

2 medium to large beets (get two different colors if possible!)
2 oranges
1 lime
2 T. olive oil
1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped
1/2 to 1 serrano pepper (or jalepeno, serranos are a little spicier), seeds discarded and chopped very finely
1/3 c. roasted sunflower or pumpkin seeds
salt and pepper to taste
sliced avocado (optional)

1. Peel and grate beets (I used the food processor for the grating.)
2. Juice ONE of the oranges, and the lime. Toss the beets with the juices and olive oil.
3. Peel and cut up the other orange. Toss the beet mixture together with the orange, cilantro, chili pepper, and sunflower or pumpkin seeds. Season with S&P to taste and serve with some sliced avocado on top!

Five-green saag paneer

8/3/10 update - new photo (not a good one though, ha!)

This is based off of a traditional saag paneer recipe from Dance of the Spices by Laxmi Hiremath. "Paneer" is Indian style white cheese, and it's about the most basic cheese you can make. It's really pretty easy, just requires a little planning. It's similar to cottage or ricotta cheese, except that you press out water until it's rather solid, and then cut it into chunks for use in recipes. "Saag" refers to the spinach sauce that the paneer is in. I've made this so many times I feel like it's kind of taken on a life of its own, especially with the CSA coming in strong in the greens category. Saag paneer is basically my catch-all dish to use up any kind of greens, from lettuce to kale, even the radish and beet tops that you might be tempted to just toss (yes! you can eat them!).

A few specifics on the ingredients called for - I'm pretty sure almost any combo of greens would work. So really you should use the ends of whatever you have! Heck, you could even throw in some broccoli or cauliflower probably. But I do like keeping spinach the predominant one just to keep tradition somewhere in the mix. This is a good use of the outer lettuce leaves that are a bit tougher, especially on a head of Romaine. For the paneer, steps 6 and 7 have ** next to them, because I've done very different times for those steps, and it's always worked. I've let it drain in the sink over night, I've pressed it for only 1 hour... last time I made this I skipped the draining over the sink part, only pressed it for maybe 1.5 hours, and it was ready for dinner that night, no foresight required. So bottom line, make the cheese fit your schedule and it'll be fine.

Paneer
1/2 gallon whole milk
4 c. (1 quart) 2% milk
3 c. buttermilk

1. In a very large saucepan, bring the milk to a simmer over medium heat. This will take a while. Stir occasionally.
2. When it just gets to a simmer, add the buttermilk and reduce heat to medium-low. Stir constantly until the curds have separated from the whey. The whey should be pretty clear when this process is done. It will only take a few minutes. This is when it's easiest for the curds to burn, so make sure you are stirring.
3. Turn off the heat, let sit for about 15 minutes.
4. Line a large colander with a double thickness of cheesecloth, with enough excess so that you'll be able to gather the corners after straining. Pour the mixture slowly through the cheesecloth.
5. Gather the corners of the cheesecloth, and twist/tie up with kitchen twine. Use the twine to suspend the cheese bundle from a faucet.
**6. Let the cheese drain into the sink for 3 hours.
**7. Place an upside down small saucer or salad plate on top of a dinner plate or bowl. Place the bundle on the inverted plate. Put something heavy on top of the bundle. You may need to arrange other random heavy things around this setup so the first heavy thing does not fall down. I usually put my cast iron dutch oven atop the cheese, push the setup into a corner and then balance the dutch oven with two heavy canisters. This is probably the hardest part of the process. Let it stand like this for 2-3 hours.
8. Unwrap and slice for immediate use or store in the fridge. I like my slices about 2" by 1" by 0.5".


Saag
About 6 c. packed greens - I probably used about 0.5 c. radish greens, 1 c. ugly Romaine lettuce, 1 c. beet greens, 1 c. kale, and 3 c. spinach.
1 inch piece fresh ginger, peeled
8 cloves garlic, crushed and peeled
3-5 serrano chilis, de-seeded and cut into a few chunks.
about 1 c. water
2-4 T. butter
1 small-medium onion, grated (grate this in the food processor first, before starting the saag)
1 t. ground cumin
1/2 t. turmeric
black pepper
1 t. salt
1-2 t. sugar (optional)
about 1/2 c. heavy cream (optional)
paneer (recipe above, sliced)
shelled pistachios or pine nuts (optional)

1. Place the greens and 1/2 c. water in a very large saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high with a cover. Stir a few times until the greens are very wilted; 6-8 minutes.
2. While the greens are steaming, ready a big bowl of ice water. Transfer the greens to the ice water when they are done steaming. Let sit for at least 5 min.
3. While the greens are steaming and chilling, add the ginger, garlic, chilis, and about 1/2 c. of the ice water (try to avoid the ice cubes) to the work bowl of the food processor or blender. Blend until these ginger, garlic, and chilies are well-chopped.
4. Squeeze some of the excess water out of the greens and add them to the work bowl.
5. Process until everything is very smooth. You may need to add more cold water. It should have the consistency of a thick pancake batter... or maybe a thin hummus (having trouble making a better analogy here, sorry!).
6. Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium. Add the onion. Cook, stirring occasionally until the onion browns a bit.
7. Add cumin, turmeric, salt and pepper and stir for 1 minute.
8. Add the spinach mixture. Bring to a simmer. Add more water if necessary.
9. Add in the paneer and warm it up. This is a good time to add the cream, if desired (I like it a lot more with cream, personally wouldn't skip it). Stir it in, then taste and adjust the seasonings - add the optional sugar (I again always throw in just a small amount), and if you want, more salt and pepper.
10. Serve over jasmine, basmati, or (my favorite) brown basmati rice, with a sprinkling of pistachios or pine nuts on top and some Sriracha on the side.

Poached fish with Emerils lettuce sauce

8/3/10 update - pictures! First one is before I put on the sauce, the second, after.

I've been putting lettuce sauce on my lettuce. That's how much lettuce I have recently. I found this sauce recipe in a Serious Eats column, and it's based off of an Emeril Lagasse recipe. Again I'm kind of breaking my rule for only posting original recipes, but this was so good, and although the sauce recipe recommended serving it on poached fish, I experimented a little with that part of the recipe. The sauce really tastes like lettuce, which you might not think is good, but it's really a new (for me) thing! Turning a whole head of lettuce into a cup and a half of sauce - cool!


Lettuce sauce - makes about 1.5 cups
1 egg yolk
1 small head of Boston Bibb lettuce, cleaned and roughly torn
1 t. capers, rinsed
juice of 1 lemon
up to 1 small handful parsley
2 green onions (whites and greens)
Optional: 1 small clove garlic
Optional: About 1-2 T. fresh basil or dill
0.5 t. dijon mustard (don't be tempted to add any more, or it'll overwhelm the sauce. less would be fine too, but we're taking advantage of the natural emulsifiers in the mustard, put at least a drop in)
1/2 cup olive oil
Salt and pepper

1. Combine everything EXCEPT the olive oil and S&P in the food processor. Process until smooth.
2. While the machine is still running, slowly pour the oil through the feed tube.
3. Season with S&P and chill. It's okay to use right away, but will thicken a little with some time in the fridge.

Poached potatoes, radishes, and cod
6 c. water
1/3 c. white wine
1.5 T. peppercorns
3 California bay leaves
2 t. salt
2-4 potatoes (I used 4 medium red potatoes)
1 bunch (6-10) radishes
3 shallots
1-1.5 lbs. cod fillets
lemon slices and parsley for garnish

1. Slice the potatoes, shallots, and radishes; I used the slicing blade on the food processor, so it was really quick!
2. Combine in a very large pan everything except the fish and the garnish, cover.
3. Bring to a boil.
4. Reduce heat to medium-low, and place the fish fillets on top of the vegetables, submerged in the cooking liquid (you may need to make a little room for the fish.)
5. Simmer for about 7 minutes with the lid on. My fillets were about an inch thick at the thickest, if yours are thinner, check on the fish after 5 minutes.


Make a plate with more lettuce on the side, the veggies, the fish on top of the veggies, a generous amount of lettuce sauce on everything, and lemon and parsey on top of that.

Variations: I think the sauce would also be great with some dill instead/in addition to the parsley. A number of root veggies could be used instead/in addition to what's listed: carrots, turnips, rutabaga, etc. Also I think cauliflower florets would be great in the poach. For the fish, cod works particularly well but I think tilapia, catfish, flounder, halibut would all be good.

Grilled romaine salad two ways

It's certainly greens season at our CSA! We are getting lots and lots of lettuce, and last week, we started getting kale, green onions, beets, and kohlrabi (kohlrabi is a weird vegetable, I don't really love the taste of it raw or cooked, but I love it pickled, have made a few batches using this recipe) ... some other stuff I'm forgetting too.

But anyway, grilling lettuce is really a nice twist on your standard salad. It gets a little smokey flavor to it and wilts a little, but is still crunchy. This makes it even easier to eat large quantities of lettuce, which is kind of necessary right now since we got 4 heads in the this week's delivery (and that's not counting the kale). It also requires using a knife, which I think is a good thing (as I recently noted.) When I say "hearts" of romaine, I mean to take off the outside layer or two of leaves - they are a little tougher, and usually a bit bruised and not as crunchy and falling off the head.

So here's two recipes, made the first a few nights ago, and had it with a pasta dish with sardines similar to what I wrote about here, minus the fennel and raisins, plus some kale. Made the second tonight, had it with the same leftover pasta.


Grilled romaine salad "Mediterranean" style - serves 2
1 heart of romaine lettuce
Olive oil
About 6 canned or jarred artichoke heart quarters
About 8 olives (nice ones, preferably, standard Kalamata do the trick)
About 2 ozs. fresh mozzarella, cut into small bite-sized pieces
1 tomato, chopped
1 T. red wine vinegar
Fresh ground pepper

1. Pre-heat the grill to medium or medium high.
2. Prepare the lettuce as described in the commentary, then slice the head in half, length-wise. If there is a lot of excess in the root area, cut some off, but be sure to leave enough so the half-head stays intact.
3. Rinse the lettuce, make sure the water goes in between the leaves. Gently fan out the leaves to some degree to make sure you get rid of the grit. Gently dry with a clean towel. It's okay if it's a little wet.
4. Brush the cut sides of the half-heads with olive oil.
5. Place on the grill, cut sides down, and grill for about 5 minutes. They should get a little wilted, and have grill marks on them. If some of the outer leaves get burned, that's fine, you can just get rid of them.
6. In the meantime, combine the artichokes, olives, cheese cubes, tomato, and vinegar in a small bowl. Given the oil on the lettuce and that came with the artichokes, I didn't feel it needed much more, but hit it with some more olive oil if you wish!
7. When the lettuce is done, top with the mixture and some fresh ground pepper. I think this is best served warm-room-temperature-ish.


Grilled romaine salad with roasted beets and goat cheese - serves 2
A handful of baby beets, or one larger beet (you may just want to roast as many as you have though and save them for something else!)
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
1 heart of romaine lettuce
Goat cheese to taste
Optional: some toasted pine nuts or walnuts
Balsamic vinegar

1. Pre-heat the grill to medium or medium high.
2. Clean the beets and cut into bite sized pieces (slice in half if using baby beets).
3. Put the beets on a square of aluminum foil, and add olive oil, some salt and pepper. Fold the foil into a packet - not too tight, give the beets some room. Throw the packet on the grill. Cook for about 15-20 minutes, to whatever level of doneness you like.
4. When the beets are cool enough to handle, peel off the skins.
5. Prepare and grill the lettuce as described above.
6. Top the grilled lettuce with the beets, crumbles of goat cheese, and possibly some nuts or croutons. Splash on some balsamic vinegar right before serving, and some more olive oil if you desire.

Bean and chile posole

Posole is Southwestern regional dish - usually, it's a stew with pork, chiles, and the posole itself. Posole is whole, dried corn kernels that have been soaked in lye (calcium hydroxide, so the solution has a high pH). It is the same stuff that is coarsely ground to make typical southern grits, or finely ground to make masa, the basis for corn tortillas. It's also called hominy, but seems to be labeled posole around here. I was looking for a picture to put up here, and in my googling and wikipedia-ing adventures, I learned that hominy is the Powhatan word for corn... the same word that is in Chickahominy, the river and Indian tribe near Williamsburg where Andy grew up. Chickahominy means "the people of coarse ground corn." I hadn't put the two together until just now - learning while blogging!

But anyway, this is a not exactly vegetarian version of the dish. No pork, but I used chicken stock because I like the depth and body stock imparts to simple soups. The roasted chiles came from our farmers market (roasted on site in a giant propane powered rotating drum). I really liked the texture of the posole; they're chewy and hearty. I'll definitely be trying it in the future in other less traditional dishes. I haven't tried canned hominy, but I bet it would be good too.

1 c. dried posole, available in the Mexican section of grocery stores in Colorado, also called hominy
1 c. dried pinto beans (kidneys, black eyed peas, or black turtles would all work, canned would be just as good too)
1 T. oil
1 large onion
4-5 medium carrots
a pinch salt
1 t. ground cumin
8-10 cloves garlic
32 oz. no salt added chicken stock (I use Kitchen Basics brand)
10-14 roasted green chile peppers, peeled and chopped to some degree
1 15 oz. can diced tomatoes
1/3 c. lime juice
cilantro, chopped, to put on top
hot sauce

1. Soak the posole and beans overnight - fill water to about 2" over level. I put them in different pots, cause I wasn't sure if they would take the same amount of time to cook or not. I think this is a good idea cause although they took almost the same amount of time, I used the cooking liquid from the posole in the soup.
2. The next day, bring the posole and bean to a simmer and cook till tender and appealing - this took about an hour 45 for me, but beans can be very fickle. You could also use the 90 minute method on the beans - wonder if it would work on the posole??
3. In the meantime, heat the oil over medium and sautee the onions, carrots, salt, and cumin till they are lightly browned (6-8 min). Add in the garlic, stir for another 2-3 minutes.
4. Add in the stock and stir to release all the stuff on the bottom of the pot. Add the chiles, tomatoes, beans (drained and rinsed), and posole (with cooking liquid). Bring to a simmer and cook for 30-45 minutes, till the tomatoes are cooked and it tastes good.
5. Add lime juice, and then add water, salt, pepper, hot sauce to taste. Put some fresh chopped cilantro on top.

Roasted garlic-chipotle refried beans with poached eggs and beet-carrot slaw

I never made refried beans before tonight - so I'm not going to claim to be an expert on this one, and I haven't done any experimentation so I can't even claim to be a curious cook. But, these are so good I'm sharing anyway! Refried beans definitely fall into the comfort food category. Pairing them with some poached eggs and some nice flavors makes them even better.


Also, I realized that I don't think I've written about any egg dishes. Which is funny, since we eat eggs for dinner or breakfast quite often (thanks to Barack I, Barack II, and Barack III, pictured).

This dinner has everything going for it - it's super easy, healthy and has interesting flavors. It's not quick, but I used the 90 minute no-soak method (seriously!) to speed it up a bit. Still about 2.5 hours start to finish, but most of that time is not active. The beans came from our winter share CSA from Grant Family Farms. I've never been a bean connoisseur before, they usually just taste like beans, but I have to say these are awesome! I think they are just plain old pintos, but that the difference must be freshness. It's the texture that's a little nicer - they cook up really smooth, and seem to take less time to cook as well (by normal or the 90 minute method). Refried beans pair great with chiles, of course, and the smokiness of chipotles makes the combo even better. And roasted garlic ALWAYS makes EVERYTHING better. I served these beans with poached eggs, corn tortillas, sliced avocado, and some beet and carrot slaw (recipe follows) to round out the meal. The avocados were leftover from a few days ago, so unfortunately they are rather ugly.



Roasted garlic-chipotle refried beans
Ingredients
2 c. dried pinto beans
3 bay leaves
1 head of garlic
a little olive oil
3 T. vegetable oil (or some lard if you're into that)
1/2 onion, minced
3/4 t. salt (I used Maldon smoked sea salt)
4 dried chipotle peppers (canned would also be fine, skip the rehydrating step if using)
1 t. vegetable bouillon paste (I really like Better Than Bouillon)
1/2 tomato, chopped

1. Preheat the over to 250 degrees.
2. Rinse the beans. Transfer to a oven-safe pot with a tight fitting lid - like a Dutch oven. Add the bay leaves, and water to cover the beans by 2.5-3 inches or so.
3. Bring to a boil on the stovetop, then put in the preheated oven. Make sure the lid is on tightly at this point. Leave in the oven for 75 minutes. Check on them at this point to see if they're done. If necessary leave in a little longer.
4. Roast the garlic at the same time. Normally I use a hotter oven, but 250 worked just fine! Take the whole head of garlic, and remove any really dry outer layers of skin. Cut the tips of the individual cloves off - you can get the middle ones with one cut; then get any of the outer cloves the first cut missed. Place the garlic on some aluminum foil (cut side up) and drizzle a little olive oil on the cloves. Wrap up the garlic tightly in the foil, and stick in the oven. Leave in for as long as the beans take.
5. While the beans are cooking, you can make the slaw (recipe below), or another side dish if you wish.
6. When they're done, drain the beans and fish out the bay leaves.
7. Heat the oil in the pot you used for the beans, and cook the onion and some salt over medium low heat, till slightly caramelized and thoroughly cooked. Stir occasionally.
8. While the onions are cooking, puree the beans with a little water in a food processor till they are the consistency you like for refried beans. I like them pretty smooth.
9. Transfer the pureed beans back to the pot with the onions, stir. Reduce heat to low. Stir occasionally.
10. Boil some water (1/2 cup, at least) and pour over the chipotles to rehydrate. Let sit for 5 minutes or so.
11. Fish out the chipotles and put them on a cutting board. Add the teaspoon of veggie bouillon base to the water, stir to dissolve, and pour into the pot with the beans. Stir everything really well.
12. Take half the head of roasted garlic, and squeeze the cloves out of their skins one by one (of half the head, reserve the other half for another use). Mince the chipotles and roasted garlic cloves. Add these and the chopped tomatoes to the pot.
13. After you've added everything and the mixture is slowly bubbling (maybe more like burping!), cook for at least half an hour, stirring occasionally. The beans will stick to the bottom of the pot a little, but that's okay. Just keep the heat low enough so they don't really burn, and scrape the bottom when you're stirring. You will probably need to add a little more water at some point, depending on the thickness you prefer.
14. Poach 2 eggs per person. Here's how I poach eggs: Boil water in a large, deep skillet (about 2/3 full of water). Add a splash of vinegar (white, white wine, or apple cider). When the water is at a simmer (not a full rolling boil or the eggs will get shredded), crack the eggs one at a time into a saucer, and gently lower the edge of the saucer into the boiling water so the eggs slides in gently. Cook for about 4 minutes, and remove gently with a slotted spoon or spatula.


Carrot and beet slaw
Ingredients
2-3 medium beets
4-6 medium carrots
1/4 c. parsley (or cilantro)
Juice of one lime
Splash of olive oil
Splash of apple cider vinegar (optional)
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Shred the veggies in the food processor, chop the parsley.
2. Toss with lime juice and olive oil. Taste, and add vinegar or some extra lime juice if you like. Season with salt and pepper. Let sit for an hour or so.

Hints
I used my food processor for nearly everything! And I even managed to avoid washing it in between ingredient processing by processing in this order. 2 through 4 are for the salad.
1- onion (blade)
2- carrots (grating disk), and beets (same)
3- parsley (blade)
4- beans (blade)
5- rehydrated chipotles and garlic (blade)
6- tomato (blade)

Variations
The traditional way to mash the beans is with a potato masher. I don't have one, so I used the food processor! You can certainly vary the the seasonings - chile powder, roasted fresh peppers, cumin, lime juice would all be good! But maybe not all at the same time. Also, I think this would be pretty good with canned beans, but I haven't tried it. I think next time I will make this doubled or tripled and freeze some. (And I will be making it again, cause I have lots of these beans!)

And lastly, just to brag about my pets a little, check out how tall the yolk is on the egg on top in this other shot of dinner! That's what you get with fresh eggs from backyard poultry.

Quick "roasted" squash side dish

I think squash is best roasted, but sometimes, I'm just too hungry to wait that long. This was the case last night after a long day in the lab. The point of roasting a vegetable (or meat for that matter) is to get some browning reactions going. Browning reactions convert simple sugars and proteins into more complex flavors. This 1953 article in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry by John Hodge, one of the great food chemists, identified and integrated some of the early postulated reactions into a unified theory. Quite remarkable considering how much is still not understood about the mechanisms that make grilled steak or roasted veggies so delicious.



But back to the squash at hand... I decided to try to shortcut the research presented above; by first boiling the squash, then dehydrating it a bit, and then broiling, and making up for the lack of browning reactions with peripheral savory, sweet, complex flavors. I had one small, sad acorn squash that had been in the fridge for quite some time, and about 1/4 of a very large butternut, about 1/2 lb in all. Any firm winter squash would work. I left the skin on, cause again, I was hungry! I had picked up some thyme at the store the other day, having remembered how much I like it because Mary and Erin cooked with some at our Estes Park/RMNP mini-vacation last weekend. That along with some smoked sea salt takes care of the savory flavors; brown sugar is a shortcut to the sweet caramelized flavor roasting usually imparts, and the butter brings it all together. The bread crumbs are for a little crunch and visually, for some browning.



Ingredients
~1/2 lb. firm winter squash, sliced into fairly large chunks (peeling is optional)
1 T. butter
1 T. fresh thyme (leaves removed from twigs)
2 T. brown sugar
large pinch smoked sea salt
ground pepper to taste
bread crumbs (optional)

1. Preheat the oven to 400 and boil some water.
2. Cook the squash in the boiling water, till just tender, about 10 minutes.
3. In a casserole or baking dish, toss the squash with the butter, thyme, 1 T. of the brown sugar, and the salt and pepper.
4. Sprinkle the remaining 1 T. of brown sugar, and some bread crumbs on top.
5. Cook for about 10 minutes in the oven (to dehydrate), and then switch to broil. Broil for a few minutes till the bread crumbs and squash are starting to brown.

Variations
I think it would also be great with some parmesan cheese in addition or instead of the bread crumbs. I used some homemade wheat bread crumbs I have stashed in the freezer, but I think the crunch factor would be improved with crunchy Japanese style bread crumbs (panko), which are available in most supermarkets.

Spaghetti (squash) with smoked salmon and creamy tomato sauce

This is a quick and really tasty dinner. The sauce could be served over pasta instead of spaghetti squash. This is a little (okay a lot) like the recipe I wrote about here, but I think I like it better cause it's more filling due to the cream and fish. You might think smoked salmon in a sauce is weird, but the texture changes when heated. It goes from kind of slimy, salty, and soft to firm and flaky, like cooked fish; and the salty, smoky flavor is imparted on the rest of the sauce. It makes sense, since smoked salmon is essentially preserved, uncooked fish: if you heat it, it cooks and loses some of its juice.

I used a jar of tomatoes from MM Local, a small company in Boulder that cans local Colorado fruits (yes, tomatoes are fruits) in the height of the season and sells them all year long. They were awesome!

P.S. - I am very excited to have 6 followers - thanks guys! I apologize for the lack of pictures lately, I keep forgetting to pull out the camera. Usually, it's cause I'm hungry :)

Serve about 3

2 T. olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
a little bit of salt
4-6 cloves garlic, chopped
16 oz. jar tomatoes, preferably MM Local tomatoes with basil (you could also use two small cans or 1 large can, it'll still taste good, maybe add a little more cream and/or double the salmon.)
3 oz. (one package) smoked salmon, roughly chopped
about 1/4 c. heavy cream, or to taste (could substitute half and half)
lots of freshly ground pepper
about 1/3 c. chopped fresh herbs, I used mostly parsley with some mint. Basil, rosemary, tarragon, thyme would all be nice. Maybe sage.
1 small package goat cheese for serving at the table

1 medium spaghetti squash (or in my case, 1/2 of an ENORMOUS spaghetti squash, yes, from the CSA)
1.5 T. butter

1. Heat oil in a non-reactive skillet over medium and cook onions with a pinch of salt (remember, a lot of salt will get into the sauce from the fish, so don't put in as much as you usually might), stirring occasionally.
2. Once the onions are starting to caramelize, add in the garlic. Stir for a minute, then add the tomatoes. If using whole tomatoes (like MM Local), break apart with your wooden spoon. Simmer over low heat for a while, about 15 minutes, or till tomatoes have lost some of their acidity.
3. Add in the salmon, cream, pepper (to taste) and a bit more than half of the chopped herbs. Stir for a minute, then kill the heat.

Meanwhile, while the tomatoes are cooking
4. If using spaghetti squash, slice in half, scoop out seeds and place cut sides down in a microwave safe casserole with 1/4 inch water. Microwave for at least 6 minutes, probably more. It's done when you pretty easily dig in with a fork to separate and pull out the strands. If using pasta, just cook according to the direction on the box.
5. Toss the spaghetti squash with the butter and the remaining chopped herbs. Butter is probably not necessary if using pasta.

6. Serve the sauce over the squash, and mix in some goat cheese at the table.

Stuffed squash

This is a great winter recipe. We’ve been getting a lot of cabbage and squash in the CSA. I’ve written this recipe calling for all fresh ingredients, but when I made it, I actually used about half a recipe of leftover plain sautéed squash in place of the fresh cabbage and brown sugar. If you make it in that manner, just stir in the cooked cabbage in the mixing bowl step and heat the assembled squash a little before broiling, so everything is warm.

Serves 8 as a side or 4 as a main course

4 acorn or kabocha squash – acorn squash has a better shape and I prefer the texture for this application.
oil
1 c. bulgar wheat
2 T. butter
1 onion, chopped
1 apple, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 half head green cabbage, thinly sliced or shredded
1 t. caraway seeds
2 t. brown sugar
salt and pepper, preferably Maldon smoked sea salt
Slices cheddar cheese, preferably Cabot Hunter’s extra sharp, enough to cover the 8 squash halves.

1. Preheat the oven to 375.
2. Cut the squashes in half at their equators. Remove the seeds and dribble some oil onto the cut sides. Use your fingers to coat all the exposed squash flesh with the oil. Place the squash, cut side down, on a foil lined baking sheet. Cook for about one hour, until the skin can be indented with a spoon. If in doubt, cook for extra time… it is difficult to overcook the squash at this step, and no one like undercooked squash.
3. Cook the bulgar: bring 2 cups of water to a boil, add the bulgar, simmer for 15 minutes.
4. Melt the 2 T. butter over medium-low heat, add onions and apples and a few pinches of salt. Cook till thoroughly soft and beginning to caramelize (10-15 minutes), stirring occasionally.
5. Turn the heat up a little and add the garlic, cabbage, and caraway seeds. The goal is to cook the cabbage quickly (hence the thin slices). Since the cabbage is bulky, but cooks down, it is easiest to add it in a few handfuls, stirring the whole time. Cook till the cabbage it is tender, but still has a textural bite to it.
6. Combine the bulgar and the veggie-apple mixture in a mixing bowl, add in brown sugar, and salt and pepper to taste. Undersalt a little, as we’ll add some more in the stuffing stage.
7. Assemble the roasted squash halves cut side up on the same foil covered baking sheet (you may need to pour off the juices liberated during cooking). Fill each one with the stuffing. Sprinkle a little more of the smoked sea salt on top, and finish with some slices of cheddar cheese.
8. Return to the hot over if the ingredients have cooled, otherwise, placed under preheated broiler for 4-5 minutes, or until cheese is melted and bubbly.

Variations – Kind of like the summer grain and veggie salad, this stuffing is very adaptable to varied vegetables and herbs. Cooked sausage or toasted nuts may also be added. A bread crumb topping could be used in place of the cheese (though I think the cheese makes this a winner!)

Plain sauteed cabbage

I’ve made this a lot lately cause we’ve gotten so much cabbage in the CSA! At first I was making a lot of cole slaw, which is okay, but I’ve really been preferring my cabbage cooked lately. This recipe is super simple and adaptable to other flavors… and was conceived when there was little other produce in the fridge! Most recently, I served it alongside roasted carrots and parsnips, and our first elk roast that was the fruit of Andy’s hunting trip in Montana. It is good as written, but can be even better if you cook some onions (substitute for onion powder), garlic, and apples first and toss in some caraway seeds.

I like to quarter the cabbage, core it, and cut it in half across its equator before slicing, so the slices are thin and not too long. The idea with thin slices is to cook it quickly. Long cooking times produce the bitter off-tastes that many people associate with cabbage. This side dish can accompany meats or potato or squash dishes.

Serves 6-8 as a side

2 T. butter
2 t. onion powder
Salt
1 head green cabbage, cored and thinly sliced.
1 T. brown sugar
2 t. soy sauce
Freshly ground black pepper

1. Melt butter over medium heat in a large skillet; add in onion powder.
2. Add in salt and cabbage in handfuls, stirring constantly.
3. Cook for a few minutes till the cabbage is tender but still retains some crunch.
4. Stir in the brown sugar, soy sauce, and pepper to taste.

Use leftovers to make stuffed squash.

Stir-fried Napa cabbage and leeks with noodles

I've developed a new appreciation for cabbage, again thanks to the CSA. Especially the Napa cabbage - it's so crisp and has a really unique taste - I don't think I'd had it before this summer. I've mostly been eating it raw in salads and cole slaws, but I decided it's like bok choy so why not stir fry it? There was also a recent minimalist blog posting that gave me the idea to put this over noodles, but the highlight here is the stir-fry, it should be greater in volume than the noodles. Warning: I ate so much of this (along with some raw Napa salad) that I felt a little sick afterwards - Andy was gone so I ended up eating almost the whole head of cabbage by myself.

Serves 2

4 ozs. soba noobles (Japanese buckwheat noodles that look like short spaghetti) or whole wheat thin spaghetti, broken in half.
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 inch piece of ginger, peeled and minced
2 T. soy sauce
1 T. chilli flavored oil
1 T. vegetable oil
1/2 t. red pepper flakes
4-5 leeks, thinly sliced into half-moons, whites and the lighter green areas, well-rinsed (leeks are usually muddy)
1 head of Napa cabbage - quartered, cored, then sliced in 3/4" slices across the ribs.
1/2 c. washed and chopped cilantro
toasted sesame seeds

1. Boil salted water for cooking noodles. Add in noodles, cook according to package directions.
2. Combine the garlic, ginger, soy sauce, and chili oil.
3. Heat oil in a wok over medium-high with red pepper flakes.
4. Stir-fry leeks, stirring constantly, for a few minutes.
5. Add in garlic-ginger-soy sauce-oil mixture, stir for a minute.
6. Add in the cabbage. Stir frequently for about 4 minutes, till the cabbage is wilted but still crunchy at the ribs.
7. Serve the stir-fry over the drained noodles, top with cilantro and sesame seeds. Splash with additional soy sauce and red pepper flakes if desired.