We’ve eaten summer salads for days. . . . → Read More: Cucurbit Risotto]]> Did you know there’s a name for the veggies overflowing your crisper/garden/CSA box right now? Cucurbitaceae! Zucchini, summer squash, cucumbers, melons…we’re kind of drowning in them over here. Well, not melons, so much, and our little muffin (9 months tomorrow!) devours zucchini and summer squash, so we don’t really have a problem with that, but all the cucumbers are in our refrigerator right now. ALL! So. Many. Cucumbers.

We’ve eaten summer salads for days. I’ve blended them into smoothies. I’ve even baked them into pancakes with questionable success. Pickles? Done. And I don’t even love pickles.

What do I love? Warm smooshy things in bowls that don’t take forever to make. Bonus points if The Muffin likes it. Extra bonus points if he can feed it to himself. Super extra bonus points if leftovers are still tasty. What fits the bill? Cucumber risotto. “EWWWWWWWWWWWWW!”, you say? “Delicious!”, I counter. “EWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!”, you still say. Well, everyone’s entitled to her opinion, but this risotto is sweet and subtle and creamy and lavender/green. If you still don’t trust me, substitute zucchini – I have and it’s great.

Apologies (once again) for the phone photos. We’ll figure out this technology thing, I promise!

Cucurbit Risotto

Adapted from Greene on Greens

Serves 4-6 as a main

Directions

1. Heat the chicken stock (on the stove or in the microwave). Prep your veggies. You don’t have to be too fussy with seeding and peeling the cucumbers. I think it’s easiest to seed cucumbers by cutting them in half the long way and scooping out the seedy middle with a spoon. (See picture above)
2. In a heavy skillet, melt half the butter (1 TBsp) over medium-low heat. Add the red onion and sweat (cook slowly without browning) for 2 minutes; add the garlic and cook for another minute.
3. Thoroughly stir the rice into the onion mixture, so that each grain is coated with butter.
4. Add the cucumbers and crushed red pepper flakes. Stir well, then use your spoon to smooth and level the rice mixture in the pan.
5. Gently pour a generous 1 cup of hot stock evenly over the rice mixture. Don’t stir. Just let the rice absorb the liquid, which should take about 15 minutes.
6. When all the liquid has been absorbed, stir and repeat with another generous cup of stock. Reduce the heat if the last batch was absorbed in less than 15 minutes.
7. Stir in the last 1/2 cup or so of stock. Keep your eye on the risotto this time. It’s done when the rice is tender, but not mushy. If it’s the right consistency, but there’s still liquid in the pan, raise the heat to boil it off. If the rice isn’t ready when all the liquid is gone, add a little hot water and keep cooking.
8. When the rice is perfect, stir in the remaining butter (1 TBsp) and salt, pepper, and herbs to taste.

While sipping said amazing cocktail (and then wanting another), I realized that we never posted our favorite jam recipe. So here it is – blueberry lime jam + blueberry bramble cocktail. It’s also awesome as the filling in a coconut layer cake . . . → Read More: Blueberries for Morning and Night]]> I had planned to post a delicious way to use up all those CSA greens, but then Erik met a friend for a drink last night and I made myself a post-baby-bedtime cocktail.

While sipping said amazing cocktail (and then wanting another), I realized that we never posted our favorite jam recipe. So here it is – blueberry lime jam + blueberry bramble cocktail. It’s also awesome as the filling in a coconut layer cake or stirred into yogurt (especially homemade!). Enjoy.

NOTE: In the interest of brevity, I haven’t included detailed canning instructions. See our post on canning for more details on the canning process and safety. If you haven’t canned before, this is a good one to start with, because it’s just as good as a syrup, so you really can’t mess up on the gelling stage.

Blueberry Lime Jam

Makes about 10 quarter-pint (4 ounce) jars

Directions

1. Prepare your jars, lids, bands, and equipment.
2. Put a couple of small dishes in the freezer. You’ll see why…
3. Put all the ingredients into a big pot – the wider, the better – and boil until gelled, stirring occasionally. A wide pot will help this happen faster than a narrow one, but it could take about 20 minutes of boiling. Be careful to keep the boil under control – stirring more frequently as time goes on will help with this; sugar boils up and out of the pot quickly and can cause nasty burns.

   To test for gelling, put a teaspoon of jam on one of your freezer plates and return to the freezer for a minute or two. If you can draw a clean line through the jam after this short stint in the freezer, it’s ready. (See our vanilla rhubarb jam post for a photo)

4. Fill your jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace
5. Process for 10 minutes.

Now for the fun part – 1 ounce lemon juice, 1-2 ounces vodka or gin, 1 tablespoon jam, and finish with ice and seltzer. Mmmmmm….

First, we no longer let it “yoge” in the oven. After forgetting that it’s in there and baking it once too often, we’ve started culturing it in the microwave. This works great!

Second, we’ve been whisking in the culture once the milk cools to 130 degrees, rather than 120 degrees. This seems to result in a creamier . . . → Read More: Yogurt Update]]> Since we first posted our yogurt recipe (really more of a method), we’ve made a few changes.

First, we no longer let it “yoge” in the oven. After forgetting that it’s in there and baking it once too often, we’ve started culturing it in the microwave. This works great!

Second, we’ve been whisking in the culture once the milk cools to 130 degrees, rather than 120 degrees. This seems to result in a creamier yogurt. I’m not sure why, but it might be because the temperature is kept slightly higher while culturing.

Third, after we melted the lid of our regular yogurt container (see comment number one), we switched to using a quart jar. It works really well, except that you have to start with 3-3/4 cups of milk, rather than an even 4, so that the jar doesn’t overflow.

I hope you’ve at least given the yogurt thing a try. If you need an extra push in that direction, read this short NPR article, which includes a couple of yummy sounding recipes in addition to the author’s own yogurt method. Happy culturing!

Good afternoon!

Now that I’m entering the home stretch of pregnancy, I’m hit with a double whammy. I’m too tired to cook many nights, but I also want to make sure we have a good store of freezer and pantry meals ready for the little one’s arrival in a month or so. This has resulted in a lot of boring, but nutritionally sound, meals that just aren’t that much fun to talk about. Mostly, . . . → Read More: Preparing for Baby with Soup]]>

Good afternoon!

Now that I’m entering the home stretch of pregnancy, I’m hit with a double whammy. I’m too tired to cook many nights, but I also want to make sure we have a good store of freezer and pantry meals ready for the little one’s arrival in a month or so. This has resulted in a lot of boring, but nutritionally sound, meals that just aren’t that much fun to talk about. Mostly, a TON of soup. Since most soup recipes serve 6-8, one batch will yield enough for Erik and I to eat for two meals plus one or two quart jars of soup in the freezer. Not exciting, but very practical.

We finally did hit on a meal that is both. This wild rice soup is based on a recipe from the very “ladies who lunch” River Room at Dayton’s in St. Paul. Yep, Dayton’s. It was hard enough to call it Marshall Fields, although I finally got used to it, but I am NOT calling it Macy’s. Anyway…I digress. We’d sometimes meet my dad there for lunch on special occasions when we didn’t have school, but he had to work. I always felt pretty special and grown up. This is, hands-down, the best wild rice soup out there. It’s not overly rich, but is nonetheless silky and delicious. If you’re feeling very indulgent, make some popovers and have a real River Room experience.

Note I: I’ve tweaked the recipe to use a very unattractive leftover roast chicken.

If you don’t happen to have one sitting in your refrigerator, you can use homemade or canned chicken stock and some sort of pre-cooked chicken – grilled or poached breasts or thighs would work well. You could also pick up a rotisserie chicken for dinner and then make this the next day. The possibilities abound!

Note II: You’ll need to pre-cook the wild rice. My favorite way to do this is to mix 1 cup of wild rice with 3 cups of water in a covered baking dish. Bake at 350 degrees for an hour to an hour-and-a-half or until the rice has absorbed the water and is nice and fluffy. This will give you WAY more rice than you need for this dish, but I happen to like having extra in the refrigerator. It makes a quick side dish or an interesting addition to oatmeal in the morning.

Minnesota Wild Rice Soup

Makes about 6 servings

Directions

1. Pull the remaining meat off of your roast chicken. Aim for about 1-1/2 cups, but more or less won’t ruin anything. Refrigerate until ready to use.
2. Combine the chicken bones and 8 cups of water in a pot or slow cooker and simmer for as long as you can. In the slow cooker, I aim for 8 hours on low. On the stove, I let it go for at least a couple of hours, but it depends on when I have to leave the house or go to bed.
3. Strain the chicken broth through a colander to remove the large bits and then a lint-free towel to catch the smaller pieces. You should end up with about 6 cups of broth. If you have more, hurray! Save it for later. If you have less, just add a bit of water to make up the difference. Refrigerate until ready to use.
4. Chop up all your vegetables.
5. In a large pot, melt the butter and add the onions. Saute over medium heat until the onions have started to soften, 5 minutes or so.
6. Add the scallion, mushrooms, and carrots to the onions and cook until softened, about another 5 minutes.
7. Sprinkle the flour over the veggies and stir until the flour and butter form a paste coating the vegetables, about a minute.
8. While whisking, pour the chicken broth into the pot. The flour will help thicken the broth, but could also make it chunky. Whisking and slow pouring help to create a smooth soup. Simmer for 20 minutes (more or less…this is soup, after all, not wedding cake).
9. Add the remaining ingredients and simmer until warmed through, another 5 minutes or so. Enjoy!

Am I ever glad that fall has arrived! I know that’s a little controversial, but hear me out. First – cooler weather. Maybe not such a big deal to you gestationally normal out there, but, for me as a pregnant lady, it’s huge. Second – food!!! We’re awash in peppers, pears, corn, tomatoes, grapes, even an early pumpkin or two. Third (or maybe second-and-a-half) – cooking is fun again. This one’s obviously linked to . . . → Read More: Early Fall Roasted Chicken]]>

Am I ever glad that fall has arrived! I know that’s a little controversial, but hear me out. First – cooler weather. Maybe not such a big deal to you gestationally normal out there, but, for me as a pregnant lady, it’s huge. Second – food!!! We’re awash in peppers, pears, corn, tomatoes, grapes, even an early pumpkin or two. Third (or maybe second-and-a-half) – cooking is fun again. This one’s obviously linked to points One and Two, but there’s something about the changing seasons that reinvigorates me in the kitchen. So, whether or not you agree, hurray for fall!!

The recipe below does not actually involve any seasonal produce, but it is tasty and certainly easy. I’m not usually a huge fan of chicken dishes. I generally find them a little blah and would rather spend my budget (financial and caloric) on more satisfying fare – like duck or eggplant. However, I was watching the Cooking Channel and caught this show about a woman who has a tiny restaurant in her Parisian kitchen. She made this lavender-lemon roasted chicken and made it seem so effortless and delicious. Maybe it was the British accent and perfect red lipstick…maybe it’s a weird pregnancy craving like the cucumber ice cream, but I opened up my Amazon app in a flash and ordered her cookbook. We’ve since made quite a few recipes out of this book and have been delighted each time.

If you start with a cut-up chicken, it’s definitely a weeknight meal, but the complex tart-sweet-herbaceous flavor is truly dinner party worthy.

Sorry for the lack of photos! Totally forgot.

Lavender-Lemon Roasted Chicken

Makes about 6 servings, but it depends on the size of your chicken and your appetite

Directions

1. Combine all the ingredients except for the chicken and salt in a small bowl and whisk to blend.




2. Arrange the chicken pieces in a container in a (mostly) single layer. Pour the marinade over the top and refrigerate for 30 minutes to 4 hours.




3. Once the chicken has marinated, preheat the oven to 400 degrees.




4. Dump the chicken and marinade into a baking dish and sprinkle with the salt. Bake (uncovered) for 45 minutes, flipping halfway through, or until the temperature at the thickest point is 165 degrees (or the juices run clear when you slice into the thickest part).

This was so tasty, I’d lick my plate, but I don’t have my licker license. I love you and miss you already, Grandpa!

We’ve posted before about how a frittata is our go-to dish for getting vegetables out of the refrigerator. In the late summer we have a second play out of that same playbook to use up vegetables that, quite frankly, aren’t our favorites.

I’m talking about eggplants, summer squash, and those bitter purple peppers. We have good recipes for all of them (maybe not the purple peppers), but sometimes out CSA just drops too . . . → Read More: How to Make Ratatouille: The Late Summer CSA Leftover Disposal]]>

We’ve posted before about how a frittata is our go-to dish for getting vegetables out of the refrigerator. In the late summer we have a second play out of that same playbook to use up vegetables that, quite frankly, aren’t our favorites.

I’m talking about eggplants, summer squash, and those bitter purple peppers. We have good recipes for all of them (maybe not the purple peppers), but sometimes out CSA just drops too many on us at one time, and by the end of the week the squash are getting rubbery and the eggplant feels leathery… you get the picture. Take a look at the picture about to see all that this recipe used up!

This ratatouille uses them up in quantity and although it doesn’t look like much that you’d be dying to eat (I asked Lindsay “are you sure you want me to take pictures?”), it’s actually pretty delicious and incredibly healthy to boot. Did I mention that it’s also easy?

There are a million variations on ratatouille, since it’s a common peasant stew that everybody’s mother makes in France. This one is very stew-like, and because the veggies are cut in thin strips, they take on a noodly quality. Other variations call for cubes, etc. Use your imagination. You can also control how watery you make it by adding fewer or more tomatoes. They provide most of the juice.

Rataouille

Makes 4 servings as a main or more as as side

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mash the garlic into a paste if you like (it distributes better throughout the dish), or just mince it. I used a mortar and pestle so that I didn’t have to clean the food processor for a single clove. Chop the onion and slice the eggplant. For this dish we don’t peel anything in order to make it as easy as possible.

   

3. Heat 2 TBsp of olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, and thyme. Once the onions are translucent, add the eggplant and cook for about 5-8 minutes until the eggplant has thoroughly changed color.
4. As the eggplant cooks in the pan, start slicing the rest of the vegetables. It’s OK if you have to turn off the burner and let the eggplant sit for a bit; it will be cooked more. I you like it watery, add more tomatoes. If you want it dryer, add fewer.
5. Add everything to a large roasting pan and mix around with 1 TBsp of olive oil. We usually use a big Pyrex (pictured), but it’s probably best to use something ceramic because at the end it needs to go under the broiler and Pyrex is not rated for that and could fracture. We always forge tab out the broiler with this one until it’s already almost done. Don’t be like us!

   

6. Cover the roasting pan with tented tin foil or a sheet of parchment paper. Try to prevent it from sitting directly on the vegetables. Bake for 1 hour.
7. Remove it from the oven. Turn on the broiler (to high, if your oven has the option). Remove the foil / parchment paper. Add the pinch of sugar and salt to your tasting. Stir thoroughly. Place it directly under the broiler, uncovered, for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, check to see if the top is starting to singe. If so, you’re done. If not, put it back for 2 minutes at a time until the top is as caramelized as you can get it without burning.



]]> http://eatlocal365.com/2013/08/28/how-to-make-ratatouille-the-late-summer-csa-leftover-disposal/feed/ 0 http://eatlocal365.com/2013/08/08/getting-creative-with-cucumbers/ http://eatlocal365.com/2013/08/08/getting-creative-with-cucumbers/#comments Thu, 08 Aug 2013 12:20:08 +0000 Lindsay http://eatlocal365.com/?p=6509 Hi folks! I am so happy that our heat wave has finally broken. It has been miserable here! Given the weather (and my pregnancy…have we mentioned that?), I’ve been eating a LOT of ice cream. A LOT of ice cream. But not nearly enough to make me sick of it, unfortunately. In an attempt to avoid strange ingredients and unnatural dyes (green mint chocolate chip, anyone?), I’ve been making a lot of it at home. . . . → Read More: Getting Creative with Cucumbers]]> Hi folks! I am so happy that our heat wave has finally broken. It has been miserable here! Given the weather (and my pregnancy…have we mentioned that?), I’ve been eating a LOT of ice cream. A LOT of ice cream. But not nearly enough to make me sick of it, unfortunately. In an attempt to avoid strange ingredients and unnatural dyes (green mint chocolate chip, anyone?), I’ve been making a lot of it at home. It’s really not all that difficult, but it does take a little planning if you’re planning to use eggs, since they have to be cooked and then cooled. I’ve been making a basic base and then adding whatever looks good at the farmer’s market or bits we’ve got hanging around in the pantry.

The most recent batch, cucumber, sounds wacky, but really works, in my humble (and admittedly possibly skewed) opinion, was inspired by two events. First, a fantastic dinner we had with some friends in Paris last month that was capped off by a sort of sundae with cucumber ice cream, strawberries, and crumbled meringue. We were all a little hesitant at first, but the combo really worked. Second, a crisper full of cucumbers on Wednesday night, less than 24 hours before our weekly CSA pick up. With refrigerator space at a premium, they had to go. I think it’s delicious just as it is, but Erik prefers some accoutrements so he can forget he’s eating vegetable ice cream. Either way, it’s not terribly difficult and it’s something different to try at least once!

I’m really sorry for the equipment heavy recipe this time. If you don’t have a juicer, you could just blend or food process the cucumbers. Either use the mush directly in the ice cream or strain it either through a fine mesh sieve or cheesecloth. I don’t have a tried and true method for freezing the ice cream without a machine, but I’ve seen a couple of methods on the internet, so it’s worth a try. Alternately, I think you could use the base in ice pop molds, perhaps with a few chopped up strawberries.

I didn’t take any pictures of the process, because I thought it was a weird pregnancy thing and wouldn’t be worth posting. Here’s a bad cell phone photo of of the ice cream with a tasty piece of blueberry walnut cake. Mmmmmm!





Cucumber Ice Cream

Makes about 1 1/2 quarts
Note: Ice cream base needs to chill overnight (or 8 hours).

Amount	Ingredient	Preparation	Notes
2 cups	Whole milk		Shaw Farm
1 cup	Cream		Shaw Farm
4	Egg yolks		Red Fire Farm
1/2 cup	Sugar
Pinch	Salt
1 cup	Cucumber juice	See intro for alternatives	Red Fire Farm
Juice of 1	Lemon	About 3 TBsp

Directions

1. Pour the milk and cream into a small saucepan and heat over medium until it starts to steam and tiny bubbles appear on the edges.
2. While the milk and cream are heating, give the yolks, sugar, and salt a good whisking until they’re lighter yellow.
3. Once the milk and cream are warm, SLOWLY pour about a cup into the yolk mixture, while whisking. This will warm up the yolks without scrambling them. After that portion of warm milk has been thoroughly incorporated, dump the lot back into the pan and whisk it up.
4. Heat the milk and yolks over low heat, stirring frequently, until the mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon. This will take somewhere between 5 and 10 minutes. Make sure to scrape into the corners to avoid burning.
5. While the base is thickening, get out two large bowls and a fine mesh sieve or cheesecloth. Fill one bowl with ice and set the second inside it.
6. Once the mixture has thickened, pour it through the sieve or cheesecloth into the second bowl. Straining the base will remove any scrambled bits of egg. Letting it sit over a bowl of ice water will help cool it down faster, so that you can get it into the refrigerator. Stir the mixture every once in a while until it is room temperature. Chill in the refrigerator overnight.
7. After its overnight chill down, add the cucumber and lemon juice to the base and freeze according to the directions for your machine. Eat as is or top with strawberries and crumbled meringue cookies.

]]> http://eatlocal365.com/2013/08/08/getting-creative-with-cucumbers/feed/ 1 http://eatlocal365.com/2013/07/15/how-to-make-warm-fava-bean-salad-with-shallots-and-parmesan/ http://eatlocal365.com/2013/07/15/how-to-make-warm-fava-bean-salad-with-shallots-and-parmesan/#comments Mon, 15 Jul 2013 20:32:57 +0000 Erik http://eatlocal365.com/?p=6487

Despite the extra effort they require, fave beans are a welcome addition to our rotation for the brief period that they are in season. This recipe is our favorite way to make them because it’s about as quick as easy as you can get with fava beans, and it’s relatively light and summery in addition to being rich and delicious. (Yes it can be all those things at the same time!)

When purchasing the . . . → Read More: How to Make Warm Fava Bean Salad with Shallots and Parmesan]]>

Despite the extra effort they require, fave beans are a welcome addition to our rotation for the brief period that they are in season. This recipe is our favorite way to make them because it’s about as quick as easy as you can get with fava beans, and it’s relatively light and summery in addition to being rich and delicious. (Yes it can be all those things at the same time!)

When purchasing the fava beans, if you don’t remember the 2 pound target, just be sure to buy a lot. Buy at least 2-3 times the amount that you THINK you’ll need, because by the time they are fully shelled the volume decreases markedly.

This also goes well with crostinis made from baking thinly sliced french bread brushed with olive oil (cheese topping optional).


Warm Fava Bean Salad with Shallots and Parmesan

Makes 2 servings as a main or more as as side

Amount	Ingredient	Preparation	Notes
2 pounds	Fava Beans	In the pod	Kimbell’s Farm (USQ Market)
2	Shallolts	(or 1 small red onion), thinly sliced	Red Fire Farm CSA
0.5 tsp	Sherry Vinegar
2 TBsp	Fresh mint or basil	Chopped	Drumlin Farm, USQ Market
0.25 cup	Parmesan	Grated
2 TBsp	Unsalted Butter
2.25 tsp	Kosher Salt

Directions

1. First, add 2 TBsp of salt to a medium-size pot of water and set it on high and bring it to a rolling boil. While you are waiting, go on to step 2.
2. Remove the beans from the outer pod by twisting one end and getting the seam to split (if you can). Sometimes the seam will pull off like a little zipper, other times it will just crack open. Run your thumb down the gap to split it and remove the beans. Other pods are less cooperative and require you to break the pod apart piece by piece. Discard the pods.

   

   

3. Fill a large bowl with cold water and ice. Once the beans are out of their pods and the water in the pot is at a rolling boil, boil the beans for 3 minutes. Once the 3 minutes are up, remove the beans from the boiling water all at once with a fry spider or drain through a colander. The points, get all the beans out of the water as quickly as possible so that none over-cook.

   Immediately put the beans into the ice water. Then, one by one, squeeze each bean out of its protective outer sheath and place them all in a medium bowl. Notice how much smaller of a bowl you will now need! This is where it can get a bit tedious. The inner bean should be a much more vibrant green.

   

4. Melt the butter in a medium skillet or sauté pan over medium heat. Add the shallots or onions and wilt them for about 2 minutes.

   

5. Add the fava beans and the rest of the salt (0.25 tsp) and cook while stirring for about 2 minutes. Add the sherry vinegar and give everything a good toss.
6. Turn off the heat and add most of the mint or basil and 2.5 TBsp of the cheese. Stir to melt and mix.
7. Plate it and garnish with the remaining mint and cheese. Enjoy!
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