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. 

Here’s one more root vegetable recipe before we switch over to asparagus and salad greens. I clipped this out of a New York Magazine while we still lived in NYC, because we occasionally shopped at Windfall Farms. I also don’t really have any good rutabaga recipes, other than our standard roast-everything-in-a-pan method. “Hold on there, Lindsay”, you might say, “The title of this post says ‘turnip’ not ‘rutabaga’.” Yes, observant reader, it is actually . . . → Read More: Gilfeather Turnip Casserole]]>

Here’s one more root vegetable recipe before we switch over to asparagus and salad greens. I clipped this out of a New York Magazine while we still lived in NYC, because we occasionally shopped at Windfall Farms. I also don’t really have any good rutabaga recipes, other than our standard roast-everything-in-a-pan method. “Hold on there, Lindsay”, you might say, “The title of this post says ‘turnip’ not ‘rutabaga’.” Yes, observant reader, it is actually a rutabaga, but Mr. John Gilfeather thought it was a turnip. Also, Jerusalem artichokes are neither Israeli nor artichokes. What can I say? Vegetable identity crisis.

The Gilfeather turnip is a Slow Food Ark of Taste product, which makes it worth seeking out. The Ark of Taste program finds and protects endangered flavors – those beloved by old-timers, but threatened by industrial agriculture. Just for fun, here are some other Ark of Taste products from the Northeast.

• Bay scallops
• Boiled cider (used as a sweetener)
• “Old-Type” Rhode Island Red chicken
• Shrub (okay, not technically a Northeast thing, but a new favorite of mine)
• True Red Cranberry bean

Kind of makes me want to make an Ark of Taste bingo game…

Back the to rutabaga! It looks like a big white turnip, but is a little milder with less of a bite. Originating in southern Vermont, it’s even more local to us now that we’ve moved to Boston, so I was delighted to find one in one of our last CSA pick-ups.

This would make a great light lunch, but we cooked up some sausages to make a more substantial meal. It was nice and fluffy, like mashed potatoes, but with a more complex flavor – just enough peppery-ness.

Gilfeather Turnip Casserole

Serves 4 as a side or 2 as an entrée

Directions

1. Peel the rutabagas and chop them into cubes. Try to make the chunks close in size, so that they all cook in the same amount of time.
2. In a medium pot, add the rutabagas, a pinch of salt, and enough water to cover. Boil until the rutabagas are soft, about 30 minutes.
3. Once the rutabagas are soft, drain them and allow them to cool for a few minutes.
4. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
5. Put the rutabagas, eggs, milk, salt, spices, and flour into a food processor and process until smooth. If you don’t have a food processor, you can mash everything by hand, but I’d recommend mashing the rutabagas until they’re smooth first, then the eggs (one at a time), then the rest. This will help you get all the chunks out.
6. Rub just a little of the butter on the bottom and sides of a 1-quart soufflé dish. Pour the mixture into the prepared dish.
7. Use a fork to mash the remaining butter into the bread crumbs and sprinkle it over the top of the rutabaga mash.
8. Bake for an hour or until the buttery crumbs are nicely browned.

Looking at that photo, I think that it would be a really pretty side for dinner guests if it were baked in individual ramekins. It’s not terribly attractive sunk down in that big soufflé dish (we don’t have a 1-quart one, so I used what we had).

There’s a great restaurant near where we used to live in NYC called Northern Spy. Definitely give it a try if you’re in the area – it was one of our favorites. They make a kale salad for dinner that’s really simple, but almost perfect. . . . → Read More: Is this the best kale salad ever?]]> It’s a bold statement. I’m not shy about it. It could be the best salad salad ever. I’ll leave it up to you, dear reader, to decide for yourself.

There’s a great restaurant near where we used to live in NYC called Northern Spy. Definitely give it a try if you’re in the area – it was one of our favorites. They make a kale salad for dinner that’s really simple, but almost perfect. For brunch, they add a poached egg and make it perfect. Yum yum yum. Erik and I have been eating a lot of kale salads with poached eggs lately. It sounds kind of strange, but give it a shot. It makes a quick, filling, and nutrious meal any time of day. Two nights ago, I was HANGRY (so hungry I was angry) and Erik soothed me with one. Before I had time to protest, BAM! it was on the table and calming me down.

Perfect Kale Salad

Makes 4 servings

Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
2. Cut the squash in half and place, cut side down, in a small baking dish. Bake the squash until soft, about an hour, depending on the size of your squash. Remove from the oven and let cool.
3. Lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees.
4. Spread the almonds on a baking sheet (or pizza pan) and bake for about 15 minutes or until browned. Watch them carefully, because they’ll go from nicely browned to burnt very quickly. You can do all these steps a few days ahead, if you want.
5. Once the squash is cooled, remove the skin and chop into bite-sized, but small pieces. Reserve about 1 cup for the salad. Refrigerate the rest for a quick side dish another time.
6. Start a pot of water boiling to poach the eggs.
7. Pour the lemon juice into a large salad bowl. While whisking, add the olive oil in a thin stream to help it emulsify. Whisk in the salt and pepper.
8. Prep the kale, following these instructions, but slicing the ribbons only about 1/4 inch wide. As you finish the kale, toss it into the bowl with the dressing.
9. Toss the kale in the dressing, making sure to coat all the leaves. I usually just use my (clean) hands, because I seem to be unable to keep salad in a bowl any other way. It also gives me a chance to give the kale a little tenderizing massage.
10. Once the water is at a rolling boil and the kale is dressed, poach the eggs. Only make as many as you want to eat that meal. This salad keeps well in the refrigerator, so you can make a quick meal of the leftover tossed salad and a newly poached egg. We use nifty egg poachers, like these, and cook our eggs for two and a half to three minutes for a cooked, but runny, egg. You could also just crack them gently into the boiling water and then fish them out with a slotted spoon. It takes a little practice, but works.
11. Put a pile of kale on each plate. Top with the squash, cheddar, almonds, and a poached egg (or 2).
]]> http://eatlocal365.com/2011/12/13/is-this-the-best-kale-salad-ever/feed/ 3 http://eatlocal365.com/2011/12/06/dark-days-challenge-week-1-how-to-make-potato-gnocchi/ http://eatlocal365.com/2011/12/06/dark-days-challenge-week-1-how-to-make-potato-gnocchi/#comments Tue, 06 Dec 2011 14:25:06 +0000 Erik http://eatlocal365.com/?p=4660

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:

Our primary sources for ingredients will be our CSA through Red Fire Farm, the Somerville Winter . . . → Read More: Dark Days Challenge Week 1: How to Make Potato Gnocchi]]>

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:

• Our primary sources for ingredients will be our CSA through Red Fire Farm, the Somerville Winter Farmers Market, and our canned/dried/frozen stores from the summer.
• If we need to supplement, we’ll use ingredients from within 150 miles of home or those that we get from the NYC Greenmarket system while visiting friends and family there.
• Salt, dried herbs and spices, baking soda/powder, and vinegar are fair game, but we’ll try to find local sources.

I sort of feel like relying on the Greenmarket is cheating, but we’re still figuring things out here and will be spending a time in NYC for holidays, so I’m giving us a pass. On to the recipe!

This is actually two recipes, one for the gnocchi and another for the sauce. Both are variations on recipes from Lidia’s Family Table, which is a phenomenal resource.


Potato Gnocchi

Makes 4 servings

Amount	Ingredient	Preparation	Where we bought it
1.5 lbs	Potatoes		Red Fire Farm CSA
1	Egg	Beaten	Red Fire Farm CSA
2 cups	All purpose flour		Cayuga Pure Organics (NYC Greenmarket)
0.75 TBsp	Salt

Directions

1. Clean the whole potatoes and place them in a large pot. Fill with enough water to cover the potatoes plus a little headroom. Place on high heat, cover, and allow to boil for about 45 minutes, or until they are tender when poked with a fork but not yet falling apart. Drain the potatoes and let them cool enough to handle.
2. Rice the potatoes. This can be done either by peeling them and using a potato ricer, or by using a food mill (which will automatically remove and separate the skins). We used the attachment to our Kitchenaid stand mixer, which is actually two attachments, both the food mill attachmentand parts from the meat grinder attachment. It’s kind of complicated to put together, but it’s a real labor and time-saver. I wish we had taken pictures of the milling process (and construction), but we had just gotten back from Thanksgiving and were cooking for company coming over, so we were in a bit of a time pinch. Next time!
3. Rice / mill the potatoes on a sheet pan. Using a rubber spatula, mush and spread them out over the pan. Sprinkle the salt over the layer of potato. Let it cool and dry for lat least 20 minutes (up to however long you feel like it!).
4. Pour the beaten egg over the potato and then layer on the flour. [At this point in our timeline I finished the unpacking and cleaning up and made it to the kitchen to help, with the camera!] Start with about 1 cup of flour.

   

5. Using the rubber spatula, fold the bottom layer of the potato over the top around the edges. Repeat (gently) a few times until it begins to resemble a loose dough. Gradually add more flour until you have a kneadable dough. If you don’t add enough flough, the gnocchi will fall apart when cooked…but they’ll still be tasty!

   

6. Using your hands, finish the kneading process by making the dough slightly more consistent. Sprinkle on more flour if necessary and knead it in. It should feel more like a dough than mashed potatoes. Shape it into a ball and cut it into quarters.

   

7. Clean and lightly flour a work surface. (Up until now you could do it all on the sheet pan.) Roll out each quarter of the dough in an 18 inch rope. Cut each rope in half to make them easier to work with.

   

8. Cut each portion into pieces between 2/3 of an inch to 1 inch. Have a floury sheet pan nearby to start collecting the shaped gnocchi.

   

9. To give the gnocchi its classic shape, hold a fork so that the tines are facing downwards and push each piece onto the fork near where the tines join. The tines will make an impression on the one side and your finger will create a slight indentation on the other side. Then, roll the gnocchi off the end of the fork to make it more cylindrical and to create the tine impressions all around. Rumor is that eventually you can do this in one motion. I’m not there yet.

   

10. Once all of the gnocchi are shaped and on the sheet pan, toss lightly in the flour to avoid sticking and cover them with a towel. They should be boiled immediately at this point or frozen. They don’t sit around well in this form. Bring a large pot of water to boil (get this started in advance if you remember).
11. Using a kitchen skimmer / spider or slotted spoon, drop 5 or 6 gnocchi in the boiling water at a time. This is important because the water needs to be at the boiling temperature to form the “skin” that will hold the gnocchi together. The more gnocchi pieces are added to the water at one time, the more the temperature will drop and the longer it will take to recover. Limiting the number of pieces is annoying but in the end it will be easier and you will get better results.
12. Leave each batch in the water for 2 – 3 minutes, until they plump up a bit a float to the surface. Fish them out with your skimmer, but be gentle with them! Cooking for too long will lead to mush, so don’t be afraid to pull them out a few at a time as they float.



Simple Tomato Sauce

Makes a lot

Amount	Ingredient	Preparation	Where we bought it
2 quarts	San Marzano / plum tomatoes	Previously canned (2 quart jars)	Cherry Lane Farms
1	Large onion	Diced (about 1.5 – 2 cups)	Red Fire Farm CSA
1	Medium celeriac	Diced (about 1.5 – 2 cups)	Enterprise Farm (Somerville Winter Farmers Market)
3 TBsp	Olive oil
2 cups	Water
2	Dried bay leaves
1	Dried chile	Crumbled (substitute 1-2 tsp red pepper flakes)	Northshire Farm chiles dried last summer
1 tsp	Kosher salt

Directions

1. Place the oil in a Dutch oven or large pot over medium-high heat. Once it’s heated, add the diced onion and celeriac (or you can substitute carrot, celery, etc.). Cook, stirring frequently, for 3-4 mintes. You want them to soften but not brown. [Note: we made this sauce using our own canned tomotoes. You can use store-bought canned San Marzanos, if you must.]

   

2. Add the tomatoes, salt, bay leaves, and red pepper flakes. Swish the water around the tomato jar or can to get out the last bits and dump it into the pot. Turn up the heat, cover, and bring the sauce to a boil. Check on it and stir frequently.
3. Once it boils, turn the heat down to medium / medium-high to maintain a bubbling simmer. Cover and cook for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. At this point you can continue simmering and cooking down for as long as you like, up to an hour. When the sauce is as thick as you want, remove the bay leaves, blend with a hand mixer to your desired consistency, and add salt to taste

We served our gnocchi and sauce with another round of our arugula, beet, and peach salad. We quenched our thirst with some delicious cider from Eve’s Cidery and capped it off with little parfaits of home-canned cherries in wine and whipped cream. Yum! Nothing better than an impromptu Sunday dinner with good friends.





]]> http://eatlocal365.com/2011/12/06/dark-days-challenge-week-1-how-to-make-potato-gnocchi/feed/ 5 http://eatlocal365.com/2011/07/30/market-day-13/ http://eatlocal365.com/2011/07/30/market-day-13/#comments Sat, 30 Jul 2011 20:05:03 +0000 Erik http://eatlocal365.com/?p=4231 We went to the greenmarket today with our friends Brian and Mary (and their baby daughter, Ellie). We only have a few pictures, but here they are.

Cayuga Pure Organics began putting their wares in bulk buckets a few weeks (months?) ago, and the system seems to be working well to scoop your own. Here is also a pile of lovely peaches.

The market today was overwhelmed by TONS of tomatoes. We saw . . . → Read More: Market Day!]]> We went to the greenmarket today with our friends Brian and Mary (and their baby daughter, Ellie). We only have a few pictures, but here they are.

Cayuga Pure Organics began putting their wares in bulk buckets a few weeks (months?) ago, and the system seems to be working well to scoop your own. Here is also a pile of lovely peaches.


The market today was overwhelmed by TONS of tomatoes. We saw San Marzanos (although I didn’t get a picture), and a HUGE variety of beefsteak, heirloom, and cherry tomatoes.


There were also plenty of good-looking eggplants, include the Glen Quagmire of eggplants… giggity!


]]> http://eatlocal365.com/2011/07/30/market-day-13/feed/ 0 http://eatlocal365.com/2011/07/02/market-day-11/ http://eatlocal365.com/2011/07/02/market-day-11/#comments Sat, 02 Jul 2011 18:16:31 +0000 Erik http://eatlocal365.com/?p=3970

Today was a great day at the greenmarket because there are so many items just coming out. They are still all small and young, but it’s great to see all these things that have been missing from the market for 9-10 months.

Fairytale eggplants are the best, and great for grilling (Monday!). These are still tiny and they are the first that we’ve seen, but we can’t wait. Also, we saw fresh chickpeas, which . . . → Read More: Market Day!]]>

Today was a great day at the greenmarket because there are so many items just coming out. They are still all small and young, but it’s great to see all these things that have been missing from the market for 9-10 months.

Fairytale eggplants are the best, and great for grilling (Monday!). These are still tiny and they are the first that we’ve seen, but we can’t wait. Also, we saw fresh chickpeas, which are rare. Yes, those fuzzy grape-looking things are chickpeas! Both of these are from Lani’s Farm.



This is also the first of the fennel, and it’s still so young that there are no real “bulbs” on it; it looks like celery. (Non hot-house) bell peppers are also back.



We saw baby kohlrabi, of both the green and purple varieties. Kohlrabi will eventually be available that are the size of softballs, but for now it’s closer to golf balls. But these are tender and great to eat raw with dip.



We are also getting the first of the peaches, apricots, and plums. All of these are a little bit early, but from what we hear the early heat this year is causing everything to appear a few weeks early.



Sour cherries are in full swing, and Lindsay has elaborate plans to can some pie filling. We’ve been buying blueberries to snack on for a few weeks, but they haven’t been perfect until this week. Now they are plump, juicy, sweet, and at their finest. We’ve heard that they will still be around for a few weeks. Also, we saw almost no strawberries this week, but heard that they are in a harvesting lull and will be back again in coming weeks. The farmers rotate their planting and harvests and somehow it all seemed to line up this week.



Cherry tomatoes are here, including the very first Golden / Sweet 100s. In a few weeks those will be as sweet as a berry.



Keith’s Farm is selling whole garlic, meaning the bulb (which is finally full grown) with the stalk and the scape attached! We just got into garlic scapes this year (trying cooking them the ways you would cook asparagus). They are so good. It’s nice getting the various growth stages of garlic, because that something that you don’t see in the supermarket. The garlic you buy there (even at Whole Foods) is static an unchanging. We also noticed that Migliorelli had corn, the that (we think) we have seen, although it doesn’t seem to be at peak yet, because when it is, it will be everywhere.



Northshire Farm had quail and duck eggs. We also bought some honey. They carry a few different types, each made from a different type of pollen. Sp = Spring Flowers, F = Fall Flowers, L = Linden, G = Goldenrod, and I forget what SF stands for. We like the spring flower variety.



I like the Canuco Farm sign, “100% uncertified organic”. Our type of people! Lindsay is also expanding our fire escape garden. It now includes basil, thyme, cilantro, and parsley. We needed to get some potting soil. We drop off our compost every time we visit the greenmarket, and today we got to buy it back in the form of the potting soil that they sell. Buying back our own garbage?!



]]> http://eatlocal365.com/2011/07/02/market-day-11/feed/ 2 http://eatlocal365.com/2011/06/26/market-day-10/ http://eatlocal365.com/2011/06/26/market-day-10/#comments Sun, 26 Jun 2011 15:38:43 +0000 Erik http://eatlocal365.com/?p=3937 Here are our market pictures from the past two weeks. There are a lot of fresh new things in season.

First, the berries:

Spring onions and spring garlic. Over the past few weeks we have seen garlic and onions sold in various stages of growth. A few weeks ago they looked like scallions with a slightly bigger bulb on the end. Now they look like onions and garlic, but with fresh scallion-like greens sticking . . . → Read More: Market Day!]]> Here are our market pictures from the past two weeks. There are a lot of fresh new things in season.

First, the berries:



Spring onions and spring garlic. Over the past few weeks we have seen garlic and onions sold in various stages of growth. A few weeks ago they looked like scallions with a slightly bigger bulb on the end. Now they look like onions and garlic, but with fresh scallion-like greens sticking out of the top. This week we began to see the first garlic with the green dried into more of a husk. Fresh garlic is interesting to work with before it gets dried. Very flavorful!



Young beets and young carrots, with the greens still attached. We use beet greens like any other bitter leafy green. We don’t use the carrot greens.



Summer squash, which we will be posting a lot about in the coming weeks. This was a summer staple last year!



Fresh lavender:



S&SO always has such a nice haul of root vegetables and onions, and they set it up in such a pretty way. Same with Norwich Meadows and leafy greens.



Snap peas and purple string beans.



By the time we were done yesterday, out basket looked like it was exploding with green. Several people on the street commented (including a woman on Park Avenue S. who was stunned by how pretty it was). When we got home we rewarded ourselves with a snack made up of a thin slice of Cato Corner cheese and Lindsay’s homemade Cranbanerro Jelly. Yum!



]]> http://eatlocal365.com/2011/06/26/market-day-10/feed/ 0 http://eatlocal365.com/2011/05/10/greens-are-back-mixed-green-salad-with-sunflower-thyme-pesto/ http://eatlocal365.com/2011/05/10/greens-are-back-mixed-green-salad-with-sunflower-thyme-pesto/#comments Wed, 11 May 2011 00:05:19 +0000 Lindsay http://eatlocal365.com/?p=3493

Greens, I have missed you! After a winter of cabbage and root vegetables, I was DYING for a big green salad. Armenia has great tomatoes and cucumbers already, but they don’t really have a green salad tradition. I knew the first thing I would make once home would be a ridiculously huge salad.

We weren’t able to go to the market on Saturday because of a wedding (congratulations!!), so we went to the much . . . → Read More: Greens are back! Mixed Green Salad with Sunflower Thyme Pesto]]>

Greens, I have missed you! After a winter of cabbage and root vegetables, I was DYING for a big green salad. Armenia has great tomatoes and cucumbers already, but they don’t really have a green salad tradition. I knew the first thing I would make once home would be a ridiculously huge salad.

We weren’t able to go to the market on Saturday because of a wedding (congratulations!!), so we went to the much smaller Monday market yesterday. Luckily, there was still a great selection of beautiful dark leafy greens and herbs and we bought a lot – two bunches of Swiss chard, one of red Russian kale, one of collard greens, one of komatsuna, and a bag each of spinach and arugula. This is pretty typical of us in the summer, but does take a little advanced planning. To minimize waste, we try to stick to the following rules:

1. When we get home, we wash and dry the greens before we put them away. We wrap them in big tea towels and then pack them in special reusable plastic bags, but you could use paper towels and regular plastic bags as long as they’re clean and dry. We also prep them by picking out any less than perfect leaves and removing stems and chopping, if necessary. This does take some time on Saturday morning, but it saves a lot of time during the week and makes it more likely that we’ll cook at home instead of ordering take out.
2. If we’re planning to eat any of the greens raw, e.g. in a salad, we do it early in the week. As greens age, they get more bitter and less tender.
3. If we’re planning any recipes where cooked greens are the star of the show, we make those by mid-week. The greens can wait a little longer, since they’re cooked.
4. Finally, if we have any greens left at the end of the week, we cook them and use them as an accent, e.g. pizza topping or frittata.

As an example, here’s our meal plan for the week:

• Mixed green salad with sunflower thyme pesto (Monday)
• Swiss chard with pinenuts and grain (Tuesday)
• Herb salad with curry dressing (Wednesday)
• Asparagus with “cheezy” sauce (Thursday)
• Mashed sweet potatoes with ribbons of collard greens (Friday)

This salad is based on a recipe from Ani’s Raw Food Kitchen and definitely hit the spot last night. It’s hearty enough for dinner and a great introduction to raw dark leafy greens, if you’re a little hesitant. We used olive oil in the dressing, but realized right after we poured it in that we should have used our local sunflower oil. Next time! The recipe makes 4 large servings, but only dress what you plan to eat right away to avoid soggy greens. Don’t be too worried about the exact proportion of the greens. We used about the same amount of each type, but it’s not an exact science. It’s okay if a bunch of kale is smaller than a box/bag of arugula or whatever.

Mixed Green Salad with Sunflower Thyme Pesto
Makes 4 large servings

Amount	Ingredient	Preparation	Where we bought it (* Union Sq. Greenmarket)
1 bunch	Kale	Use red russian kale if you can find it, otherwise Tuscan/dinosaur/lacinato kale	Lani’s Farm *
1 bunch	Mustard greens	We used komatsuna, which was very tender.	Lani’s Farm *
1 bunch	Spinach	Or several handfuls, if loose	Lani’s Farm *
1 bunch	Arugla	Or several handfuls, if loose	Lani’s Farm *
4 TBsp	Fresh thyme	Strip the leaves off the stem by pinching your fingers around the stem and gently pulling down	Lani’s Farm *
2 cloves	Garlic	Finely chopped	Keith’s Farm *
1 cup	Oil	We used olive oil, but would use sunflower oil next time
1 cup	Sunflower seeds
1/4 cup	Apple cider vinegar
1/2 tsp	Kosher salt




Directions:

1. Remove the stems and ribs from the mustard greens and chop both the mustard greens and kale into 1/2-inch ribbons (see directions here).
2. Tear the spinach and arugula into bite-sized pieces and remove the stems, if they’re thick or annoy you (as they do Erik).

   

3. Put the greens into a big mixing bowl and toss to distribute everything evenly. If you don’t plan to eat the whole salad, put the amount you want to save back in the refrigerator.

   

4. Add all the dressing ingredients to a blender or food processor and process until it is as smooth as you’d like. I like it a little chunky. It will be thick like pesto.

   
   

5. Pour the dressing over the greens, remembering to save some of the dressing if you’ve saved some of the greens, and toss thoroughly. You might need to spread it around a little bit, because the dressing with want to clump in the middle of the salad. Refrigerate any extra dressing for up to four days.

   

6. Let the salad sit for about 10 minutes to allow the greens to soften a bit. Then chow down!

   

After eating this, I felt like my body was reset after all the travel and restaurant food of my business trip. Bring on summer!!

]]> http://eatlocal365.com/2011/05/10/greens-are-back-mixed-green-salad-with-sunflower-thyme-pesto/feed/ 0 http://eatlocal365.com/2011/01/19/how-to-make-vegetable-broth/ http://eatlocal365.com/2011/01/19/how-to-make-vegetable-broth/#comments Wed, 19 Jan 2011 17:07:07 +0000 Lindsay http://eatlocal365.com/?p=1445 This is an incredibly simple, mindless vegetable broth. It mimics the boxed or canned brands, but is salt-free (a standard 1-cup serving contains 20-25% of your daily sodium allowance!) and allows you to control the quality of the ingredients. It also takes advantage of my favorite appliance, the slow cooker, so you can throw it together with about 15 minutes of hands-on time.

We’ve been making this about every two weeks, but that’s kind of . . . → Read More: How to Make Vegetable Broth]]> This is an incredibly simple, mindless vegetable broth. It mimics the boxed or canned brands, but is salt-free (a standard 1-cup serving contains 20-25% of your daily sodium allowance!) and allows you to control the quality of the ingredients. It also takes advantage of my favorite appliance, the slow cooker, so you can throw it together with about 15 minutes of hands-on time.

We’ve been making this about every two weeks, but that’s kind of atypical. If you don’t use it up all at once, I recommend freezing it in zip-top bags in 2- or 4-cup servings. You could also freeze it in a muffin pan for smaller (~1/4 cup) servings. Pop out the portions once they’re frozen and store them in a large zip-top bag.

Basic Vegetable Broth
Makes 10-12 cups, depending on the size of your slow cooker

Ingredients:

• 1 pound of carrots, scrubbed and chopped into big chunks
• 1 large celeriac (10-12 ounces), peeled and chopped into big chunks (see this post for directions)
• 1 pound of onions (about 3), quartered but not peeled
• 3-4 cloves of garlic, coarsely chopped
• 6 whole sprigs of parsley or 2 TBsp chopped parsley – We chopped and froze a ton of parsley in ice cubes at the end of the summer, so that we could have local parsley all winter.
• 3 bay leaves
• 10 black peppercorns
• 1 tsp dried thyme

Directions:

1. Dump everything into the slow cooker and fill it up with water. My slow cooker can handle 10-12 cups of water, depending on how bulky the veggies are.

   

2. Cook on high for 4 to 6 hours or low for 8 to 10. It really won’t be hurt by extra time, so don’t worry if you leave to have brunch with a friend, have an second cup of coffee, and get home late.

   

3. Put a colander on top of a large bowl (make sure it’s big enough to hold all the stock. Wet a piece of cheesecloth and wring it out well. Lay the cheese cloth over the colander. Use a ladle to transfer the contents of the slow cooker to the colander.

   

4. You can let it drain just like that or bundle up the cheesecloth and hang it over the bowl. We use this little set up to let broth and jelly strain hanging from the cabinet. Give it a little squeeze every now and then to get all the liquid out.

   

5. Once the dripping has stopped (probably in less than an hour), store the broth in the refrigerator or freezer or use it right away.
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