This meal was not really local at all, but instead of hiding our non-local . . . → Read More: The Doldrums]]> If local food folks call winter the “Dark Days”, I’m going to call spring the “Doldrums”. Stagnation, indeed! Watch out, strawberries and lettuce! I’m going to snap you up in a couple of weeks. For now, I’m thankful to have several places to by fresh, quality food, and for the skills and time to cook, so I won’t complain too much.

This meal was not really local at all, but instead of hiding our non-local eating and then forgetting to post this recipe later, I’m just going to post it now. I hope you forgive me once you try it. It’s easy peasy and delish, combining several of my favorite things – greens, soft-cooked eggs, yogurt, and butter. Mmmmmmmm! It does take a little more time than your usual egg dish (roughly 30 minutes), because the eggs bake in the oven, but you can just set a timer and then go on with your business.

Look at those yolks!! We only took one photo, because the yogurt and butter totally covered the eggs and greens making for a pretty unappetizing picture. Yummy yummy in my tummy, though!

This recipe is minimally adapted from Plenty to use ingredients we generally have on hand.

Baked Eggs with Arugula and Yogurt

Makes 2 servings

Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 300 degrees.
2. Heat the oil in a large pan over medium heat. I used our 12-inch cast iron skillet. Add the arugula (and maybe spinach) and a pinch of salt and saute for 5-10 minutes or until the greens wilt and there’s a puddle of liquid in the pan.
3. Transfer the greens to a small oven-proof dish using tongs to squeeze some of the water out. Leave that puddle of liquid behind on the pan. Create 2-4 divots in the greens and crack an egg into each. Bake for 15-25 minutes or until the whites are white (not clear). The baking time will depend on the size of your eggs.
4. While the eggs are baking, mix the yogurt and finely minced garlic together with a pinch of salt. Although I don’t love my garlic press, this is a good time to bring it out, so that there aren’t any large pieces of garlic. A good knife job will work just as well, though.
5. After the yogurt is mixed up, melt the butter in a small saucepan. Add the dried chiles, sweet paprika, sage (which I cut with a kitchen scissor right into the pan), and a pinch of salt. Let it all fry for a minute or two, then turn off the heat.
6. Once the eggs are cooked to your liking, remove them from the oven and divide among two plates or bowls. Top with the yogurt and drizzle with the butter sauce. Dig in with a spoon, fork, or generous slice of crusty bread.

Sunday nights are for Game of Thrones in our household. I don’t know about you, but I always want to order dinner on special TV nights. Whatever your show is, there’s something ritualistic about waiting for the doorbell to ring and then curling up on the couch with a fork and a pile of delicious, but kind of bad for you, food. A gigantic salad just doesn’t do it for me while I’m watching . . . → Read More: Why Buy? D-I-Y! Chinese Takeout Edition]]>

Sunday nights are for Game of Thrones in our household. I don’t know about you, but I always want to order dinner on special TV nights. Whatever your show is, there’s something ritualistic about waiting for the doorbell to ring and then curling up on the couch with a fork and a pile of delicious, but kind of bad for you, food. A gigantic salad just doesn’t do it for me while I’m watching intrigue unfurl.

To stay strong against the temptation of the stack of delivery menus this week, I searched through my recipe collection to find something new and tantalizing. Mission accomplished! I LOVE Chinese food, but have been avoiding it due to some migraine issues. I’m also a big fan of scallops – or fishy marshmallows, as Erik calls them. Chinese food + scallops + spicy + some greens (so you don’t feel too bad) = General Tso’s scallops! Delicious enough that I might have to make them again next Sunday. Unless our copy of A Feast of Ice and Fire: The Official Game of Thrones Companion Cookbook arrives by then.

There are two things that might scare you off from this recipe.

First – Shouldn’t we be avoiding seafood? Mercury and overfishing and all? The Environmental Defense Fund says that scallops are low in contaminants, so we can eat more than four meals a month without concern. It recommends bay scallops (the small ones) over sea scallops (the marshmallow-sized ones), because the usual harvesting method is less harmful to the environment. Sea scallops are still “ECO-OK”, though.

Second – You seriously want me to fry those things three times? Yes, I do. Here’s the problem. If you use a low temperature for long enough to cook them through, they’ll be really greasy. If you cook them only at the high temperature, they’ll burn before they finish cooking. This is a worthwhile compromise. I was skeptical too, but it was really much easier than I expected. Just make sure that you have a thermometer that goes up to 400 degrees and everything is ready to go before you start frying. The oil heats up pretty quickly, since it’s not very deep. (If you don’t have a wok, use your widest pot.) Since each cooking time is short, it’s really no more work than stirring a pot for 5 minutes. Things move pretty quickly once you start frying, which you can take advantage of if you’re well-prepared beforehand.

Okay, one more thing. Our recipe calls for kale flowers, which you might not be able to find. They’re just the flower buds from overwintered kale, but we hadn’t seen them before this season. They taste kind of like broccoli rabe, but less bitter. If you can’t find them, feel free to use broccoli (which the original recipe calls for anyway) or broccoli rabe. You could also just leave it out.

Beware! The original recipe from The New York Times calls for marinating the scallops for six to eight hours. We didn’t overlooked that and only did it for three. Still delicious.

General Tso’s Scallops

Serves 4

Directions

1. Make the marinade by mixing the egg, 1 1/2 TBsp of rice wine, 1 tsp of soy sauce, 1 tsp sunflower oil, and 1/4 cup of cornstarch in a medium bowl. Add the scallops; toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate for 3 to 8 hours.
2. When you are ready to cook, make the sauce by combining in a small bowl 1 TBsp of rice wine, 2 TBsp of soy sauce, the chicken stock, sugar, and white vinegar.
3. In another small bowl, mix the arrowroot powder with 1 1/2 TBsp of warm water until it dissolves.
4. Put the remaining 1/2 cup of cornstarch in a wide bowl (I used a small casserole dish). Remove the scallops from the marinade with a fork, giving each a little shake to remove the excess liquid. Toss the scallops in the cornstarch so all sides are coated.
5. Add 4 cups of peanut/safflower oil to your wok or large pot. Set a colander or strainer over a large bowl. You will fry the scallops three times. Start heating the oil on high and check the temperature every few minutes. Once it comes up to the right temperature, carefully put the scallops into the oil and start the timer. After the time has elapsed, remove them with a spider or slotted spoon and allow them to drain in the colander while the oil heats up to the next temperature.

   

   • Stage 1: 280 degrees for 30 seconds (shake off the excess cornstarch before adding the scallops to the oil)

     

   • Stage 2: 350 degrees for 20 seconds

     

   • Stage 3: 375 degrees for 45 seconds

     

6. Once the scallops are fried three times, turn off the heat. Pour the oil into another pot so that it can cool. If you want, you can filter the oil through a coffee filter and reuse it. Wipe any remaining little bits out of the wok with a paper towel. 
7. Get the sauce, dissolved arrowroot powder, dried peppers, garlic, ginger, scallions, balsamic vinegar, and sesame oil ready and near the wok. It’s go time! Be careful about breathing in the aromas coming off of the wok. The spiciness can irritate your nose and lungs, so just don’t hang your head over it.
8. Put the wok back on high heat. Once it’s hot, add 1 TBsp of peanut/safflower oil. Swirl it around the wok and then pour out all but 1 tsp. 
9. Add the chili peppers to the wok. Stir them around until they start to burn. 
10. Add the garlic, ginger, and scallions. Stir for about 10 seconds. 
11. Add the sauce, stirring until it boils (which might be immediately). 
12. Give the dissolved arrowroot powder a stir and then pour it in. Stir until the sauce thickens (which might be immediately). Turn off the heat. 
13. Add the scallops and steamed kale flowers to the wok and toss to coat. Add the balsamic vinegar and sesame oil and stir.

      

14. Serve with rice. Eat on couch. Stare at TV. 

The final week of the Dark Days Challenge is focused on breakfast. We’ve done a bunch of breakfast posts, so we were a bit stumped. I wanted to do another baked good, but didn’t want to split two dozen muffins or a whole coffee cake with Erik over the next two days. Yogurt and granola parfait with strawberries? I just couldn’t decide. So then I forgot all about it… ….until this morning. I was . . . → Read More: Dark Days Challenge: Breakfast]]>

The final week of the Dark Days Challenge is focused on breakfast. We’ve done a bunch of breakfast posts, so we were a bit stumped.

I wanted to do another baked good, but didn’t want to split two dozen muffins or a whole coffee cake with Erik over the next two days.

Yogurt and granola parfait with strawberries? I just couldn’t decide. So then I forgot all about it…

….until this morning. I was out for a run in the beautiful almost-spring weather and remembered. Dang it! So here’s what I had for breakfast – two poached eggs on leftover mixed green salad with sunflower thyme pesto. Completely local, but maybe not breakfast-y enough for some people. It totally hit the spot for me, though. Maybe I’ll have a muffin for lunch to even things out.

About two weeks ago, we ordered a five-pound box of fresh cranberries from Cape Cod Select. Take a look at that . . . → Read More: Dark Days Challenge Week 3: Cranberry-Carrot Muffins]]> Happy Sunday to you all! My parents are visiting for the weekend, so we had a lazy morning. After a huge feast last night of braised chicken and parsnips, a riff on this macaroni and cheese, and a kale salad with toasted almonds and dried cherries, we only needed a nibble for breakfast. Muffins!

About two weeks ago, we ordered a five-pound box of fresh cranberries from Cape Cod Select. Take a look at that great box!

We used most of them for canning – whole berry sauce, relish with oranges and walnuts (no mint), and pickled cranberries…

… but had about 2 cups sitting in the refrigerator. We also had a TON of carrots. Why? I don’t know. I probably planned to use them in some grand scheme, so bought some at the farmers’ market, and then got some more from the CSA, and it just got out of control.

For a random muffin based loosely on a Mark Bittman recipe, these turned out really really well. Just sweet enough, but with a tart bite every now and then. The texture is great, too. I don’t usually like coffee shop muffins, because they’re too dense, but these are moist without being heavy. If I do say so myself…

Cranberry-Carrot Muffins

Makes 12 muffins

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and spray a 12-cup muffin tin with nonstick spray.
2. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.
3. Add the butter pieces to the dry ingredients and use your fingers to rub the butter through the flour mixture. Keep smooshing until the butter is pretty evenly dispersed and all the chunks are pea-sized or smaller.
4. Whisk together the maple syrup and egg.
5. Add the wet ingredients to the flour/butter mixture and whisk until just barely combined.
6. Gently fold in the cranberries and grated carrot. You’ll probably have to switch from the whisk to a spoon or spatula, but use as few strokes as possible to avoid developing gluten, the protein that makes bread nice and chewy, but muffins tough.
7. Fill each muffin cup with a scant (i.e. not quite full) 1/4 cup of batter. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until a thin knife or skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.

To motivate ourselves through the winter, we have joined the Dark Days Challenge, which asks that we cook one meal a week focused on SOLE ingredients (sustainable, organic, local, and ethical). Right up our alley! Each blogger gets to set their own parameters within these guidelines. We’ll be sticking to the following rules for our Dark Days recipes:

I have to admit that I was skeptical of this project. I made Erik try it, because I thought it would be an interesting experiment, but I wasn’t terribly hopeful that this would come close to the commercial dyes. But look! The colors are so vivid! It’s really not much harder than using Paas and the ingredients are pretty common, so you could do this on a whim…like the day before Easter when you . . . → Read More: Take a Pause from Paas and Make Your Own Natural Easter Egg Dye]]>

I have to admit that I was skeptical of this project. I made Erik try it, because I thought it would be an interesting experiment, but I wasn’t terribly hopeful that this would come close to the commercial dyes. But look! The colors are so vivid! It’s really not much harder than using Paas and the ingredients are pretty common, so you could do this on a whim…like the day before Easter when you want colored eggs, but don’t feel like shopping.

There are only three steps.

Cook the eggs. We cover the eggs in cold water then bring it to a boil. Once it’s rolling, turn off the heat, cover the pot, and let the eggs sit for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, run cold water over the eggs until they no longer feel hot.

Make the dye. Place 2 cups of raw material (see list below), 2 cups of water, and 1 tablespoon of white vinegar in a pot and bring it to a boil. Simmer for 15 minutes, then strain out the solids. Let the dye cool slightly.

Dye the eggs. Set out as many tall, narrow containers as you have colors of dye. We used half pint jars, which worked really well. Glass or metal containers are best, because they won’t stain. Place the eggs in the containers and cover with dye.

Go watch TV or make a cake for 15 to 20 minutes, then move the eggs around so that a different part is resting on the container. This will help avoid light spots. Repeat once or twice or until the eggs are the desired color.

That’s it! We tried a few different raw materials, but these worked the best.

Shredded beets = red

Shredded red cabbage = blue (yes, blue!!)

Yellow onion skins = orange

Turmeric = yellow (use 2 to 3 tablespoons and don’t bother to strain out the solids – just stir it up each time you shift the eggs)

Green = 1 part blue + 1 part yellow
Purple = 1 part blue + 1 part red

So pretty!

Clafouti is a fancy word. Technically it’s only supposed to be used to to refer to deserts made with cherries, otherwise the dish is called a flaugnarde (which is even worse). I call it lazy-man’s apple pie. What it actually reminds me of the most is Dutch pannekoeken or “Dutch pancakes”.

Lindsay is still out of town for work, and I overbought on apples, which started to get a bit old and sad. I . . . → Read More: How to Make Apple Clafouti (Lazy Apple Pie)]]>

Clafouti is a fancy word. Technically it’s only supposed to be used to to refer to deserts made with cherries, otherwise the dish is called a flaugnarde (which is even worse). I call it lazy-man’s apple pie. What it actually reminds me of the most is Dutch pannekoeken or “Dutch pancakes”.

Lindsay is still out of town for work, and I overbought on apples, which started to get a bit old and sad. I was also jonesing for something sweet. I turned up Martha Rose Shulman’s NYTimes “Recipes for Health” column with the basic recipe.

Apple Clafouti
Makes 6-8 servings

Ingredients:

Amount	Ingredient	Preparation	Where we bought it (* Union Sq. Greenmarket)
4	Apples (larger is good)	Peeled, cores removed, cut into 1/16ths	Breezy Hill Orchard *
1 TBsp	Lemon juice	Fresh or bottled
1-2 TBsp	Unsalted butter	Use 1 if you want it a little healthier, you will also need a little extra for greasing the pan	Ronnybrook Farm Dairy *
2 TBsp	Brown sugar (light brown preferred)	Again, you could use less, but I wouldn’t
1/2 tsp	Cinnamon
3	Eggs	Whisked	Northshire Farms *
1/2 tsp	Vanilla extract	Use pure extract, or 1/2 of a fresh vanilla bean!
1/3 cup	Sugar
2/3 cup	All-purpose flour	Sifted	Cayuga Pure Organics *
1/2 cup	Plain yogurt		Homemade with milk from Milk Thistle Dairy Farm *
3/4 cup	Lowfat or skim milk		Milk Thistle Dairy Farm *
Pinch	Kosher salt	Or table salt

Directions:

1. Heat the oven to 375 degrees.
2. I find it easier to measure out all of the other ingredients first and then to deal with the apples and then the eggs, but it requires a lot of little measuring dishes. If you want to, you can measure out everything as needed, but who needs to stress? Just make sure your dishwasher is empty!.

   

3. Peel the apples. Cut them into quarters, and cut the core out of each quarter with a knife. I used an apple corer in these pictures and I probably wouldn’t bother with it next time. We just got it, though, so I wanted to try it out. Cut each of the quarters into quarters. Put them into a large bowl and toss immediately with the lemon juice to prevent them from turning brown.

   

4. Melt the 1-2 TBsp of butter (your decision) in skillet over medium-high heat. I used a stainless steel skillet; if you use a well-seasoned cast iron skillet it will probably cook faster and require the lesser amount of butter. Just make sure it is well cleaned so that no undesirable flavors (like garlic) get introduced.
5. Add the apples and stir them for 4-6 minutes, until they begin to soften and appear translucent. Add the brown sugar and cinnamon and mix it in thoroughly. Cook, continuing to stir frequently, for another 6-8 minutes. When the apples are slightly browned and caramelized, they are done.

   

6. While the apples are cooking, whisk together the eggs and vanilla. Add the sugar and salt and stir thoroughly. Add the flour, about 1/3 of it at a time, and mix it in well. At this point it will appear like a paste. Add the yogurt and milk and stir until everything is thoroughly combined. Make sure you start with a large enough bowl. I had to go up one size before I added the liquids.

   

7. Use some additional butter to grease the sides of a glass baking dish, and when the apples are done, spread them evenly in the dish. Pur the egg mixture over the top. Let it sink into all of the nooks and crannies. If necessary, level out the apple slices so that all are submerged.

   

8. Bake in the oven for 35 – 45 minutes, until the top is nicely browned by not burned. I would set a timer for 35 minutes and then 2-4 minute intervals after than just to be on the safe side. When it is done, but the pan on a wire cooling rack. This desert is great warm, lukewarm, or cold, no matter how you want to do it!

   

How to make a Scotch egg (and see below for instructions for a Bloody Mary)

Based on our local, seasonal, and vegetable-heavy eating habits, many people assume that Lindsay and I are vegetarians (or vegans!). This post provides evidence to the contrary. Yesterday, we made brunch by frying up eggs, each wrapped in a quarter-pound of sausage. We also managed to do it all with local ingredients. Mmmm!

We based the recipe on a . . . → Read More: Dark Days Brunch: How to Make a Scotch Egg]]>

How to make a Scotch egg (and see below for instructions for a Bloody Mary)

Based on our local, seasonal, and vegetable-heavy eating habits, many people assume that Lindsay and I are vegetarians (or vegans!). This post provides evidence to the contrary. Yesterday, we made brunch by frying up eggs, each wrapped in a quarter-pound of sausage. We also managed to do it all with local ingredients. Mmmm!

We based the recipe on a recent post in the NY Times, but were really inspired by a nearby restaurant, The Breslin, which serves excellent Scotch eggs. If you want extremely delicious but extremely heavy fare, try out that restaurant! We made 4 Scotch eggs and 2 Bloody Marys, which would cost around $55 after tax and tip. We did it all for under $20.

$20 still sounds expensive, but most of that comes from the sausage. We eat a lot less meat than most people, but when we do we are sure to choose meat that is local, naturally fed, and full-pasture. It’s far more expensive (one of the reasons we eat less of it), but the health and nutrition profile is very different from industrial meat. Cows that eat nothing but corn cause humans cardiovascular problems. Cows raised completely on natural pasture have a profile similar to wild salmon (without the Mercury). For more information, read Michael Pollan.

We got the sausage from Grazin’ Angus Acres (sweet Italian sausage), which, as far as I’m concerned, sells the best beef money can buy.

Also notice how vibrant the yolks in the eggs are compared to the greenish-yellow hue that hard boiled eggs normally have. That’s the difference of naturally-raised and fully pastured chickens.

Ingredients:

Directions:

1. Place 4 of the eggs in a medium pot or saucepan and add cold water until they are submerged. Cover with a lid and bring the water to a boil over hight heat. Turn off the heat and leave covered for 3 minutes. Uncover the pot and let it sit for 10 minutes.
2. Peel each egg under running cold water and pat dry.

   

3. Mince the garlic. Use a mortar and pestle (or the back of a spoon, or a knife) to mash the garlic and the pinch of salt into a paste.

   

4. Peel the horseradish and cut it into manageable pieces. Use a microplane or grater to grate the horseradish as finely as possible. Add a splash of white vinegar to mix the horseradish into a paste similar to prepared horseradish that you can buy in a jar. You are aiming for about 2 tablespoons Alternately, you can skip this step and use 2 tablespoons of prepared horseradish from a jar. But grating it fresh will give you a head start on your Bloody Marys (see below).

   

5. Remove the casing from the sausages. If you can find ground sausage without casings, you can skip this step.

   Begin by cutting off the end of the casing with a meat scissor. Then work the scissor lengthwise into the casing.

   

   Cut the casing along the length of the sausage. Now, you should be able to peel of the casing in one piece.

   

6. Place all of the de-cased sausage into a bowl. Add the garlic paste and horseradish paste and mix thoroughly by hand. Divide the sausage into 4 equal portions.

   

7. Prepare an assembly line of four bowls. The first bowl should contain the flour. The second should be the bowl with the sausage in it. In the third bowl, lightly beat the 2 remaining eggs. The fourth bowl should contain the Panko bread crumbs.
8. Repeat the remaining steps for each egg.

   Roll the egg in the flour. Flatten a 1/4 portion of the sausage into a patty.

   

   Wrap the egg in it and form it into an even ball around the egg. Dredge the sausage-coated egg in the flour.

   

   Shake off the excess flour, then dip it in the beaten eggs. Let the excess drip off. Roll the ball in the Panko to cover it thoroughly.

   

9. Fill a medium pot with oil to 1/2 inch depth and turn the burner on to medium. Heat until it reaches 350 degrees, or if you don’t have a thermometer that you can use for frying (we don’t), until the oil starts to shimmer and bubbles form around the edges of the pot.

   The smaller the pot you use, the less oil you will need. We used a small saucepan, but it meant that we could only fry one egg at a time. The advantage to this, though, is that the first egg is almost guaranteed to come out worse than the rest. The first egg will both get the oil going, and allow you to adjust the temperature. If you fry two eggs at a time, you will have two “first eggs”.

10. Turn the heat down to medium-low. Use a wooden or metal spoon, preferably slotted, lower the first egg into the oil. Do it very slowly and carefully, so as not to splash the hot oil. Set a timer for two minutes. Give the oil a moment to react to the egg. It should sizzle but not go crazy. If it begins to sizzle and pop too energetically, turn the heat down further.

    

11. After the two minutes, use the spoon or tongs to roll the egg over 180 degrees to fry the exposed half.

    

12. After another two minutes, roll the egg to check for any under-fried spots and roll until those are face-down in the oil. After another two minutes, check to make sure that the entire egg is evenly fried. If it is, let it sit for another minute or two while rolling it to evenly re-fry the whole surface. This will also make sure that the sausage it thoroughly cooked through. In total, the frying should take 7 – 8 minutes.

    

13. Place a cooling rack inside of a sheet pan. Turn the oven on to 250 degrees. Use the spoon or tongs to remove the egg from the oil and place it on the rack. Sprinkle with Kosher salt. Put the rack into the oven to keep the egg warm while cooking the rest of the eggs.

    Alternately, to serve immediately after frying you can place the egg onto a plate lined with paper towels and give it a moment to wick away the excess oil.

    Notice the one burnt egg in the picture below. That was our first one, the “sacrifice”. It was still excellent.

    

14. To eat, cut the Scotch egg in half and enjoy. Just for the record, we only had one each for brunch and stored the other two for leftovers. It was a close call, though. I had really had to exercise will power!

    

The Bloody Marys

To supplement the Scotch eggs we made some Bloody Marys which were also prettylocal, thanks to Lindsay’s frantic canning of various tomato products in August / September. One of the things she canned from local tomatoes was Bloody Mary mix. We will be sure to post the recipe and the process next year when canning season rolls around again.

We used 10 oz of the mix per glass, and added:

• 1 oz of vodka
• 5-10 drops of Worcestershire sauce
• 5-10 drops of Tabasco
• A generous pinch of salt
• A healthy grind of fresh pepper
• 1 teaspoon of freshly grated horseradish, which I grated while making the Scotch eggs

Stir well and sip happily.