1000 pizza doughs

Random Veggies

As much as I love CSA, and the weekly infusion of farm-fresh seasonal local produce, there's a point where it just gets exhausting.  I started a veggie board to remind me what I had on hand, to keep my impulse buys in check at the markets, and help me think of recipe ideas. And I have several crisper-clearing wonder dishes, like corn chowder and vegetarian chili that use TONS of veggies all at once.  But even those aren't keeping the squash (and potatoes and garlic and peppers and tomatoes...) at bay this year.

You see, we've had some schedule changes, and more often than not this CSA season I've just been cooking for myself. (Well, and my child, if you count making PB&Js as cooking.) Thankfully, this change was temporary, and soon we'll be back to dinner as usual.  I liked this post by Mark Bittman on cooking for one.  I've been pretty anti-recipe lately, and have just been cooking things and mixing them in sort of random fashion.

This one, for example. It was a mix of leftover rice, black beans, baked sweet potatoes, pesto, purple basil and toasted pine nuts (which I overdid here, by far).  

I didn't use a recipe for the pesto either, and way overdid the garlic (apologies to coworkers who had to be in close proximity the following day!).

As much as I love discovering fantastic new recipes (including the best squash recipe ever), when it's just me, it doesn't matter if it's perfect. It just needs to use some vegetables and be healthy, filling and edible.  So, I've embraced a new laziness creativity.  

What are your favorite solo meals?

 

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!

Buy Local Challenge Week: Keeping it Simple

This week was the Buy Local Challenge.  The challenge was to eat at least one locally grown food item each day during the week of July 18-26, 2009, which sounds deceptively simple... until you try it. 

As a CSA member, I already had plenty of locally grown vegetables on-hand.  Here's what we got from Summer Creek Farm in week 9. (I love that Farmer Rick includes educational materials, like copies of Edible Chesapeake magazine!) Those cherry tomatoes made great snacks for work.

The challenge was the weekend, when we generally eat lunch out at least one day.  Of course there are restaurants in Frederick that feature local food, and thankfully they are growing in number.  However, taking a 3-year-old to say, Volt... it's just not something I am prepared to do.  (I haven't been there yet, as I am waiting for the chance to eat at Table 21.)

Grocery shopping was also more challenging this week than usual, as I was determined to buy as much locally as I could.  I try to do this every week, but this week I was really thinking about it.  It's  mind-boggling to think how far some food travels before we eat it.  (I could go on a Michael Pollan-inspired rant here, but I'll save that for another day.)

The Common Market, which has been my salvation on more than one occasion, came through nicely with some local peaches and blackberries (woo hoo! see earlier post about my blackberry addiction).  I even splurged on some fresh goat cheese from the Cherry Glen Goat Cheese Co. in Boyds, Md.  (It's worth the $12.99/lb.) 

I kept it simple this week, mostly from necessity, as my husband was on a business trip all week, and I have a picky preschooler to feed.  So we ate lots of pasta, with various vegetables thrown in.  I made this pasta again, with several CSA veggies: yellow squash, zucchini, garlic, basil and uncooked tomatoes.  (Trying to work on my photography skills...)

After a 3-year-old's birthday party on Saturday, where the menu was pizza, cake and sodas, I made simple caprese salad for the grown-ups in my house.  (The not-so-grown-up one insisted on having a second piece of cake at the party... she was the only child of about 30 still eating cake come time to go home.)

I probably don't do this the proper way, if there is such a thing, but I just take Farmer Rick's slicing tomatoes, fresh mozzarella slices and big basil leaves, stack 'em, drizzle with good olive oil and a little sea salt and fresh cracked pepper. 

Currently, I am making plans for that lovely goat cheese (oh yes, I have plans for you my precious) and eating the rest of this basil bread.  (Mine didn't turn out that pretty, but it was good.  Made some open-faced pulled pork sandwiches today with this bread.  It's a keeper!)

Simple Summer CSA Meal - Zucchini Basil Pasta and Tomato Cucumber Salad

CSA veggies used: zucchini, basil, tomato, cucumber, berries (for the not-so-simple pie)

Sometimes in the summer I just eat whatever vegetables and fruits I have on hand as dinner.  Plain and raw, with maybe just a little salt or olive oil.  That's what I did today, for instance (a cucumber and a peach). Today I had an ulterior motive, however, as I was planning to consume a large piece of blackberry pie shortly thereafter.

Generally, at least for me, it's the complicated recipes that tend to go horribly awry.  The simple ones become my go-to dinners for busy nights, or those sweltering days when the last thing anyone wants to do is stand over a flaming gas range.

One of my favorite such meals is a simple zucchini and basil pasta, with tomato and cucumber salad on the side. 

For the pasta (yes I mixed bow ties and small shells, because I didn't have enough of either), I sauteed the zucchini with some sliced garlic in about 1 tbsp of butter mixed with 1 tbsp of olive oil.  then I mixed in the cooked pasta, turned off the heat and added some parm-reggiano and torn basil leaves from my container garden.  Rocket science? No.  Simple, fresh and delicious?  Yep.  (If you're really anti-butter, it would be fine with just olive oil, but I like the flavor a little butter adds here.)

For a side dish I made a recipe my friend Amy taught me in college.  She learned it from her Italian grandmother. The herbs are dried in this recipe, but it works, and I'm sure fresh would be great too.  Here's the approximate ratio:

• 1 large fresh tomato, cut into large dice
• 1 large cucumber, sliced (and peeled, if you wish)
• 1-2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tbsp. oregano
• 1 tsp. garlic powder
• salt and pepper to taste

Just mix it all together and serve immediately.  It's OK the next day, but not the same--all the juices kind of congeal in the bottom with the oil in the fridge.  Best to make only as much as you plan to eat right then.  It's also good with red onion and/or fresh mozzarella chunks.  (We used to make this with pierogies in the dorm... good times.)

My daughter loves this bowl. It has bees, ladybugs and various critters on it.  Now if only that would convince her to eat a cucumber or tomato...

And just for fun, here's my first-ever successful blackberry pie!  (Note, not the first attempt, by far.)  Made the crust (my mother was horrified when I told her I put two sticks of butter in it!), and even pre-baked it with weights (OK, not real pie weights... used some dried orzo of indeterminate age).  Burned my forearms twice in the process... but it was worth it.  (Anyone know where I can get potholders that go to the elbow?) It's not going to win any beauty contests, but it brought back memories of home.

Fajita stacks, and "not just rice and beans"

What to do with green peppers, onions, tomatoes and leftover chicken...

Had some great green peppers, onions and tomatoes from the new Urbana farmer's market this weekend.  (Thrilled to see that it was packed!)  Also had some leftover cooked chicken which, unlike leftover pizza, does not seem to magically disappear in the middle of the night.

Here's what I started with, plus a few staples like shredded cheese, sour cream and canned black beans.  (Bad image quality = me with a not-so-steady hand testing the not-so-great camera on my new Blackberry Bold.  It's no iPhone, but alas, I also did not pay for it, thank you day job...)

Into the (hot baby!) skillet: a little olive oil, chopped garlic and crushed red pepper flakes.  Then, about a minute later, half each of a roughly chopped green pepper and red onion.  Feel the sizzle for about 5 minutes, then add leftover chopped chicken to heat through (douse it with cayenne first, if you dare). 

Meanwhile, toast a small whole wheat tortilla in a medium (dry) skillet until just browned, a minute or two on each side. Remove veggie/chicken mix from heat and pile on top of the toasted tortilla (I cut it first with a pizza cutter, just to make it easier to eat with a fork). 

Garnish with lime juice, fresh diced tomatoes, shredded cheese, chopped cilantro, sour cream and whatever else sounds good.   Voila: a fajita stack.

Confession: I sometimes cook separate meals for my husband.  I really like rice and beans, and could happily live as a vegetarian 99% of the time.  Hubbie?  Well, let's just say  his favorite meal is "anything with bacon."  I suspect he got the idea from his father--a grilling master--that it's not dinner without a hunk of meat.  (Why he could not instead get the do-it-yourself handy gene including the ability to build any piece of furniture known to man, I'll never know...)  So, using most of the same ingredients,  I made some "not just rice and beans" just for me. 

Smaller skillet, medium heat:  olive oil, chopped garlic, crushed red pepper flakes.  Then the other half of the chopped green pepper and red onion.  Cook for about 5 minutes, then drain a can of black beans and dump it in there, along with some ground cumin.  Lower the heat to medium-low and cook for another 5 minutes or so, or until heated through.

Remove from heat and add the juice of half a lime and a handful of chopped cilantro. Serve over cooked brown rice, and garnish with sour cream, chopped fresh tomato and avocado. 

(Confession: I ate a whole one because it was already mushy... and I really like avocados.)  The triangles on the side are the (yet a third) dinner I made for my preschooler, who enjoys her tortillas sandwich-style with cheese, and dipped in sour cream.  (Her fingers were also dipped in sour cream, and her elbows, and I swear she tried to get a knee in there...)

This will also be lunch for the next couple days at work, minus the avocado (all out).  Looking forward to green tomatoes, yukon gold potatoes, and a lot more from Farmer Rick in my CSA box tomorrow! Tomorrow, I might finally become a real Southerner... going to fry those green tomatoes!

When in Doubt, Make Stir Fry (Shrimp and Snow Peas)

I am usually at a loss for what to do with peas and green beans.  Growing up, the only way I ever tasted green beans was boiled for hours with fat back—the Southern way—but I didn’t care for the mushy result, so I haven’t cooked many green beans in my life.  More on green beans later, as I’m sure we’ll have some in the CSA this summer.

I have to confess.  Whenever I say we’re having stir fry for dinner, my husband cringes and says “um, oh…” meaning “why will she not stop beating this poor horse already.”  I’ve had a few (OK, a few dozen) stir fry disasters.  Actually, after several years of intermittent tries, I finally produced the first actually edible one a couple months ago (a simple spicy beef and ginger concoction).  This may seem obvious, but (I think) I figured out what I was doing wrong:  1) I never realized that the pan should be really hot before you add the protein, 2) I didn’t remove the protein before cooking the veggies, and 3) I didn’t realize how quickly a true stir fry should cook.  This, of course, resulted in stir fry (beef, chicken, tofu, pretty much any protein I tried) with the texture of shoe leather. 

Back when I was a Food Network addict, I seriously considered trying to get Tyler Florence to come to my house for a stir fry Food 911.  (Of course, I was merely selflessly trying to help others who may also be stir-fry challenged by inviting the nicest and hottest chef on television to my home… yes, selfless.  Anyway, that show is no more, but TF is still dreamy, I mean an admirable culinary professional.  Ahem… but not as dreamy as my adoring husband of six years, of course.)

My CSA box this week had about 8 ounces of snow peas (I weighed them before trimming the ends), and I have been anxious to use some of that fantastic garlic bulb, so I decided to tempt fate again with a stir fry.  Much to hubbie’s surprise, it tasted great (he even said so)!  This recipe made enough to feed two adults as a main (only) course. 

Here’s what I did:

Heat over medium-high heat in large non-stick skillet or wok until almost smoking:

• 1 tablespoon peanut oil

Add and cook for 30 seconds:

• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper, or more to taste (optional, but good if you like spicy)

Add and cook until pink, 2 to 3 minutes:

• 2/3 pound large raw shrimp, peeled and deveined (about 20 shrimp)

Remove to a clean bowl.

Add to skillet, still over medium-high heat, and cook for 30 seconds:

• 1 tablespoon peanut oil
• 2 big cloves garlic (about 2 tablespoons), finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons fresh ginger, minced

Add to ginger and garlic and cook over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes, until the veggies start to brown a little:

• 8 ounces (about 2 cups) snow peas, ends trimmed
• 1 red bell pepper, sliced (optional)

Once the veggies are nicely cooked, add the shrimp back to the pan, stir to combine and remove from heat.  To finish, add and stir in:

• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• ¼ cup fresh cilantro, chopped
• Juice of ½ lime

Garnish with:

• 2 to 3 tablespoons slivered almonds (optional)

Serve over brown rice or barley.  (I was in a rush so I used pearled barley; it cooks in about 30 minutes, where brown rice takes about an hour.) 

 

Beer... it's what's for dinner

I rarely check the neigborhood online message board where I live because every time I go there (months apart), the same conversations are going on.  Mostly "people are driving too fast" and "where can I find a..." babysitter, drywaller, painter, patio builder, etc.  Although I didn't comment, everyone was complaining about price gouging at our only neighborhood liquor store (since the other nearest--and much cheaper--one burned to the ground recently). 

When we first moved to Maryland, I went to the grocery store and couldn't find the wine section.  When I asked, I first got a blank stare.  Then I explained that I had just moved here and was having some trouble locating the alcohol in the grocery store.  "Well," the nice man explained, "they don't sell that in grocery stores here."  What kind of backwards state is this?  (And I grew up a proper Southern Baptist in a backwoods dry county in North Carolina...)

In Maryland, the liquor stores have a monopoly (though you can get cheap beer and Boone's Farm at some convenience stores, if that's your thing).  I agree that the neighborhood liquor store charges way too much -- at least a dollar or two more than the store 5 miles away, on everything I have bought there so far (which isn't much at those prices).  It's funny that while everyone applauded the idea of boycotting the liquor store, no one even suggested just giving up beer altogether.  Perhaps this isn't such a backward state after all...

Tonight, with our weekly pizzas, we enjoyed one of my favorites, Blue Moon Belgian White (bought 5 miles up the road!).

"Big hunk of meat"

...that's what my husband said he wanted for dinner.  So, I swung by Giant and picked up some steaks (NY strip -- they were on sale) on the way home, along with a do-it-yourself salad from the salad bar and some frozen corn on the cob.  Massive amounts of Montreal steak seasoning helped spice this up a bit.  It's not original, but it was nice to take advantage of the warm(ish) weather.  Come on Spring!

Speaking of spicing it up... I made my first foray to Penzeys this weekend.  I thought I had died and gone to New Delhi (in a good way).  They had more curry powders than I knew existed, and little jars where you can smell everything.  The online catalog is fabulous, but going in-person to this store can transport you instantly to another continent.  I spent more than $40, not including the spiffy new salt and pepper shaker set my husband got for me (because he hates the "rabbit ear" ones -- I used to like them, but after I dropped them in boiling water--oops--they were never the same).  Can't wait to try all my new spices...

I also made brownies tonight, but ran about 4 miles after work, so maybe I'm breaking even...