1000 pizza doughs

Eggplant challenge(d)

The last couple weeks have been crazy busy, and though the CSA baskets are bigger and more colorful at the end of the season, I just haven't been able to dedicate hours to cooking.  So I've been cooking a hodge-podge of mostly quick things, using as many CSA vegetables as I can.  For instance, tacos with Hedgeapple Farm beef and local onions and peppers is one of my weeknight standbys. 

I've cooked some things recently that I've never made before.  Zucchini pancakes, butternut squash pansotti (definitely NOT a quick dish, as it requires making fresh pasta), and this fried chicken:

Fried chicken is not something I would add to the regular line-up, for the sake of our arteries, but I had a craving, and it was really crispy and tasty.  Served it with roasted CSA fingerling potatoes and barley-stuffed green peppers.

I also did something else new recently: I used my iPhone for dinner ideas.  There's an app called AllRecipes; it includes something called a "Dinner Spinner" if you prefer a casino-like approach to meal planning.  I needed to use an eggplant, so I used the search feature instead, and came up with the predictable: eggplant parmesan.  It was also quite simple and promised to be quick, so I decided we had a winner.  (I have to admit, I am a little intimidated by eggplant.  Maybe it's the regal purple color, or the strangely smooth skin.  Or maybe it's just that I never even tasted eggplant until I was well into my 20s.)

I had never made eggplant parm before, but I could tell the recipe was a little off (I don't think it actually said how much eggplant to use).  So I adapted it quite liberally.  The recipe said nothing about salting the eggplant, but after my ratatouille experience, I wanted to make sure the eggplant retained no trace of bitterness, so I sliced and salted it and let it sit in a colander, while I chopped some other local vegetables (red pepper and green and yellow beans) and put them on to roast. 

I rinsed and dried the eggplant slices, then breaded and pan-fried them in olive oil.  Then, I put them in a baking dish (lightly coated with non-stick spray), topped them with tomato sauce, red pepper flakes and mozzarella, and baked at 425 for about 10 minutes.  After removing the other vegetables that had been roasting, I turned on the broiler, and let it brown the cheese for about another minute.  I served the eggplant parm over whole wheat pasta with the roasted vegetables mixed in, and topped it with fresh basil.

While this is not likely to win any creativity challenges, it was a great (vegetarian!) dinner with lots of local ingredients that I put together in a reasonable amount of time on a weeknight.  For those reasons, and because it was darn tasty, I'm going to call it a keeper, "winner" or not. 

And finally, I have to share.  Our house got a new "kitchen" this weekend, for the small chef in the family. So far, she's "cooked" pizza, eggplant(!) and donut soup.

A Zucchini Too Far

Necessity Zucchini is the mother of invention. For weeks now, I've been feeling like the squash are plotting their revenge against me, slowly and nefariously, as I neglect them in the crisper.  Which is packed with huge amounts of fresh vegetables.  Sadly, the rest of the fridge is practically empty, aside from an abundance of Asian condiments (the ghost of stir fries past), and the ever-present "Diego" yogurt (demanded by the kid... already brand loyal at 3... #$%^\@ marketers).

I've been feeling a little rebellious this week.  I started cooking dinner... with no idea what I was actually making.  Usually I have some sort of recipe in mind as a guide.  Not today, although it could have been inspired by this gruel.  Said gruel was a red lentil/zucchini combination that basically turned to mush.  Pretty tasty mush, but still mush. 

Gruel wasn't really what I had in mind, but it had to 1) be basically healthy, and 2) use a lot of squash, and as many other vegetables as possible (fewer for the revenge plotting).  So I started cooking some green lentils (sturdier than the red ones), and chopping some squash, onions and peppers.  Here's what I did:

Curried Zucchini with Green Lentils

• 1 cup dried green lentils
• 1 large onion, chopped - about 1 cup (divided)
• 1 bay leaf

• 1 green pepper, chopped
• 2 to 3 small summer squash, chopped to 1/2-inch dice
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon whole cumin seeds
• 1 to 2 tablespoons curry powder, or to taste (I like Madras curry powder)
• Juice of half a lemon
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 jalapeno, sliced (optional, garnish)
• 2 to 3 tablespoons plain yogurt (optional, garnish)
• Cooked brown rice, for serving

Add lentils, 1/2 the onion and a bay leaf to a medium saucepan, and fill with water to about an inch above the lentils.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium and cook about 30 minutes, or until lentils are tender.

Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add cumin seeds until they become fragrant, about 1 minute.  Add the green pepper and the rest of the onion and cook until they begin to soften, about 8 minutes.  Then add zucchini and cook until tender, about 10 more minutes.  (Lower the heat if the zucchini start to brown.)

When lentils are finished cooking, drain them and remove the bay leaf.  Add lentils to the skillet and reduce heat to low.  Stir in curry powder.  Remove from heat and stir in lemon juice and cilantro.  Serve over brown rice, topped with a jalapeno and plain yogurt, if you wish.

This turned out pretty well; it was especially good the next day as lunch. I also made some fresh naan to go with it, mostly so my husband, who named this blog post, would have something to eat.  (Can you guess his opinion?  Hint: he really doesn't like squash.)  I'm proud of myself, as previous attempts at recipe invention have had, um, less than stellar results.  Me: 1, Squash: 0 (although there are still some in there... the coup is coming...)

Late Summer Veggie Bonanza

I got this beautiful CSA share yesterday.

It's week 16 for the Summer Creek CSA, when everything seems to be in season.  After taking a moment to enjoy the rainbow of colors in this week's box, I started to wonder... how am I ever going to cook, much less eat all these vegetables in a week? 

Some of them may keep a bit longer (the potatoes and garlic, for instance).  But the eggplant, raspberries and basil, not so much.  Here's the thought process, roughly:

Wow, look at those amazing vegetables. I can't wait to cook them.  Oh wait, it's a Wednesday night, and I have to um, work the next two days.  So I can afford to keep buying gorgeous organic produce. That I don't have time to cook.

My husband accuses me of making things too complicated, so tonight I decided to prepare several vegetables in the simplest way I could think of.  I boiled some of the lovely Mountain Rose potatoes (they have red swirls inside!), roasted some green and yellow beans and baby carrots tossed with olive oil, salt and pepper, and made a simple salad of tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, red onion, basil, olive oil and balsamic vinegar.  And, to appease the carnivorous beast (not naming any names, of course), pan-fried a couple chicken breasts.

The result:

This took about 40 minutes start to finish, including scrubbing the dirt from the potatoes and carrots. Not a super-quick meal, but not bad considering the number of fresh ingredients involved.  It was a really nice meal, and (bonus!) it didn't cause me any stress.

Usually, one of the biggest joys of CSA for me is trying new recipes, cooking techniques and flavor combinations.  With this meal, I did none of that, and it was really tasty.  It's easy to forget that such wonderfully fresh produce doesn't need much help to taste good!  

Farmer Rick is trying a new type of potato: the Mountain Rose (photo of a raw one above). It has a thin skin and a delicate flavor, and keeps its reddish-purple swirls inside even after it is cooked.  These were excellent boiled, served with just a little sea salt.  My husband said they remind him of potatoes from the island off the coast of Norway where he spent summers as a (half Norwegian) child.  And where boiled potatoes are served at practically every meal.  So Farmer Rick, these potatoes get a thumbs up from this house.  When a Norwegian compliments your boiled potatoes, that is saying something!

1950s Potato Chowder

As the nights begin to get cooler, I start craving soup.  Have a lot of CSA potatoes, so I decided to make this recipe I modified from a 1957 House & Garden recipe I found online several years ago. This is also about the time of year I start craving things with lots of cream, cheese and/or butter, so this is not the healthiest of my CSA recipes.  But it's darn tasty. 

Ingredients

• 2 cups boiling chicken stock (may need another 1/2 cup to make sure potatoes are covered)
• 2 strips bacon
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 2 cups raw potatoes, peeled and diced (Yukon golds work well)
• 1/2 cup carrots, diced
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon white pepper, ground
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne (optional)
• 2 to 3 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped (optional)
• 1/2 bunch fresh dill, chopped (optional - do NOT use dried dill, unless you are pregnant and craving pickle soup)
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1 1/2 cups whole or 2% milk
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 2 to 3 whole garlic cloves, smashed
• 1 sprig fresh rosemary (optional)

Directions
Heat chicken stock to boiling in a small pot.  Fry bacon in a large soup pot over medium heat until crisp.  Remove and set aside.  Add onion to bacon grease and saute over medium heat until translucent, about 8 minutes.  Add potatoes, carrots, chicken stock, bay leaf and salt.  Cover and cook over medium heat until potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes (longer if you have large potato cubes).

Meanwhile, in a separate smaller pot, mix milk and cream together, and add the garlic cloves and whole rosemary sprig, if using.  Heat through over low heat, taking care not to boil the milk.  Strain out the garlic and rosemary, and blend flour with 1/4 cup of the milk mixture, stirring vigorously to avoid lumps.

Add the 1/4 cup milk/flour mixture to soup pot, stirring constantly for about 1 minute to keep lumps from forming.  Add the remaining milk, and stir thoroughly until well-combined. (This step is when you will see the magic. "Oh, it is chowder!")  Add white pepper, paprika, cayenne, parsley, fresh dill and parsley (or other fresh herbs) to soup pot.  Reduce heat to low, and heat until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes, stirring every couple minutes to prevent scorching.  If the soup starts to develop a skin on top, just stir and it will go away.  Remove bay leaf, and serve soup immediately, topped with crumbled bacon.

Serves 4 in generous portions.

This would be great with whole wheat French country bread. Tonight, I served it alongside a salad with local red onions (from Whitmore Farm), cucumber and CSA tomatoes.  It might also be a good vegetarian chowder without the bacon, but I haven't tried this.  I think the bacon adds the true chowder flavor, so I've never made it without.  (I'd love to hear how it turns out if you try a veggie version.)

As a side note, I have to share... went to Hedgeapple Farm today to celebrate the arrival of my new freezer (nine cubic feet!).  Saw on Twitter that they were having a steak sale for Labor Day (thanks for the alert Beth).  I keep trying to convince my husband Twitter is not pointless... maybe steak will do it?  Ended up with nine pounds of local grass-fed Angus in various cuts.  Can't wait to try it. 

Slowly filling my freezer with local food!  It also currently holds an ice cream cake from Maggie Moos... since they make their own ice cream, does that count as local food?