Our winter CSA gave us SO many potatoes this winter. All sorts of varieties and colors, too. I’m not sure why, but potatoes are never top of mind when I’m meal planning. I’ll be better prepared next winter, but I let too many of them spoil this year. Does anyone have a good method for storing them? We’ve tried lots of things, but without success.

Anyway…we had two paper sacks of potatoes (some purple . . . → Read More: Working Through the Potato Bags: Potato Peanut Curry]]>

Our winter CSA gave us SO many potatoes this winter. All sorts of varieties and colors, too. I’m not sure why, but potatoes are never top of mind when I’m meal planning. I’ll be better prepared next winter, but I let too many of them spoil this year. Does anyone have a good method for storing them? We’ve tried lots of things, but without success.

Anyway…we had two paper sacks of potatoes (some purple and some white) and a couple of random sweet potatoes. The purple ones were starting to sprout and the sweet potatoes were drying out. Never fear! Curry is here! Super delicious, super easy curry, that is.

This recipe is from Wildly Affordable Organic by Linda Watson, the genius behind Cook for Good. Erik and I tried to take the Cook for Good Challenge a couple of years ago, but had to bail due to some unexpected business travel. We got some great recipes out of it, though. This is one of them and I’d definitely recommend it for the night you get home late from work and are tempted by the takeout menu. It only takes about 25 minutes and is made from ingredients you probably have already.

This is filling enough that I don’t think rice is necessary, but put some on before you start the curry if you want it.

Potato Peanut Curry
From the book Wildly Affordable Organic by Linda Watson. Excerpted by arrangement with Da Capo Lifelong, a member of the Perseus Books Group. Copyright © 2011. www.dacapopresscookbooks.com

Serves 4 (or 3 if you’re really hungry)

Directions

1. Dice the potatoes into 1/2 inch cubes.
2. In a medium pot, add the potatoes, tomatoes, water (or water/tomato juice mixture), and salt.
3. Cover the pot and bring it to a boil. Once it boils, turn down the heat so that it simmers gently.

   

4. While the potatoes are cooking, chop the garlic finely. You could also put it through a garlic press, but I prefer to mince it with a knife, since I already have the cutting board out.
5. Put the garlic, vegetable oil, tahini, peanut butter, and cayenne pepper into a microwave-safe bowl. (Note: I accidentally put the turmeric in, too, which I wasn’t supposed to do. It turned out great.) Microwave on medium-high (80%) for two minutes.

   

6. Add the turmeric to the tahini-garlic mixture, if you didn’t already, and stir it into the cooking potatoes.
7. Let the curry continue to simmer until the potatoes are tender. This will take about 15 minutes, if you made the tahini-garlic sauce at an average speed, or 5 minutes, if you, like me, had to run to the store for tahini you though you had, but didn’t.
8. Garnish with a little sprinkle of parsley. I think this would be good with a dollop of yogurt, too.

We will admit, this recipe is a bit of a chore (even for us, and we’re usually the “no, it’s easy!” people). However, it is a great way to use up all the random cabbage and potatoes that you may have gotten as part of a winter CSA. At the very least it is filling, reheats well, and makes a lot (leftovers!).

Although it is vegetarian, it is very rich, since it consists largely . . . → Read More: How to Make Dark Days Cabbage and Potato “Lasagna”]]>

We will admit, this recipe is a bit of a chore (even for us, and we’re usually the “no, it’s easy!” people). However, it is a great way to use up all the random cabbage and potatoes that you may have gotten as part of a winter CSA.  At the very least it is filling, reheats well, and makes a lot (leftovers!).

Although it is vegetarian, it is very rich, since it consists largely of a béchamel sauce (read: butter). Despite the effort, we will make it again when we find ourselves with these ingredients on hand. It is definitely the type of recipe that gets easier and easier the more times you make it, since it is all about timing the steps and coordinating what you do. If you do it correctly you can easily shave 30 minutes off your worst time. Definitely try this one on a Sunday, not a weekday!

Cabbage and Potato “Lasagna”

Makes 6-8 servings

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. The first step is to make a béchamel sauce. Put a saucepan over medium heat. Wait for it to come to temperature then add 6 TBsp of the butter and wait for it to melt. If it begins to spit or bubble, nudge the heat down. We want the butter to melt smoothly not brown or burn.
3. Add the flour, and stir continuously for 3 minutes. You don’t want it to sit still or it will brown.
4. Gradually whisk in the milk and continue whisking until the mixture thickens, about 5 – 8 minutes.
5. Stir in the nutmeg and salt and pepper to taste. Remove it from the heat and allow it to cool.
6. Get out a large glass (Pyrex or similar) baking dish (9×9 is a good size). Remove enough of the outer leaves of the cabbage to cover the bottom of the dish with two layers of cabbage leaves. The larger leaves that you have to work with, the better. Leave these in the dish and take the remaining head of cabbage, cut it into quarters, cut the thick core out of each quarter, and then finely chop the quarters into a cole slaw consistency. Put this chopped cabbage into a bowl with the chopped mushrooms and sage.
7. Put a saute pan or skillet over medium heat and melt 2 TBsp of the butter, then add the onions and garlic, and saute until the onions are translucent.
8. Add the mushrooms, the sage, and the chopped cabbage. Saute for about 10 minutes.
9. Add the wine and saute until the wine is almost entirely evaporated. Then, add the béchamel sauce and simmer for 10 minutes, until it thickens while still maintaining some fluidity. If it gets too thick. thin it out by mixing in a dash of milk or water. Salt and pepper it to taste.
10. While waiting for the simmer, bring a pot of water to a boil. Once at a boil, add the cabbage leaves that you removed and leave them for about 2 minutes to blanch. Then drain them, run cold water over them, and pat them dry. In the process, make sure your simmer is still under control!
11. Use the last TBsp of butter to grease the glass baking dish. Then, assemble the “lasagna” by putting a layer of cabbage leaves on the bottom, then a layer of potatoes (roughly half), then a lawyer of half of the mushroom / cabbage / béchamel sauce. Repeat the same process for a second layer. Top with the grated cheese.

    

12. Cover the baking dish tightly with foil and back for 30 minutes. Then remove the foil and bake for ANOTHER 20 minutes so that it browns nicely on top.
13. Let it rest for about 10 minutes before serving, or else it wil be a runny mess. Allow it to set and solidify a bit (and cool down!)

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:

After six weeks of a relatively meat-heavy diet, Lindsay and I have been eager to get back to more vegetable-based meals. This “meatloaf” turned out to be a great winter vegetable half-way point, and great comfort food as well.

This dish is tasty and texturally pretty close to the real thing. Better yet, this vegetarian “meatloaf” contains quinoa, which is one of those so-called “super-foods”. It looks and tasted like a cereal or grain, . . . → Read More: How to Make Quinoa and Mushroom “Meatloaf”]]>

After six weeks of a relatively meat-heavy diet, Lindsay and I have been eager to get back to more vegetable-based meals. This “meatloaf” turned out to be a great winter vegetable half-way point, and great comfort food as well.

This dish is tasty and texturally pretty close to the real thing. Better yet, this vegetarian “meatloaf” contains quinoa, which is one of those so-called “super-foods”. It looks and tasted like a cereal or grain, but it isn’t. It’s high in nutrients and protein.

Quinoa

We served this “meatloaf” with vegetarian mushroom gravy (see the link for the recipe) and mashed potatoes (see the bottom of this post). Yum.


Quinoa and mushroom “meatloaf”

Ingredients:

Directions:

1. In a sauce pan, bring the 2 cups of water to a boil on high heat. Putting a lid on the pan will make the process faster. Add the quinoa, reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer for about 15 – 20 minutes, until the water is absorbed. Set it aside.
2. While the quinoa is simmering, slice the mushrooms and dice the onion and carrots.

   

3. Heat the 2 TBsp of oil in a skillet or sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add the onions, carrot, and salt and sauté for about 5 minutes until the onions become translucent. Add the mushrooms and continue to sauté, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms release their juices, and then continue until the mixture evaporates most of its moisture, about 10 minutes.

   

4. Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Put a quarter-sized pool of the sunflower or olive oil in the bottom of a loaf pan and rub it around the bottom and sides of the pan with a paper towel.
5. Toast whole walnuts or pieces in a skillet for about 8 minutes. When done, grind the walnuts in a food processor or coffee grinder, or alternately use a knife to chop them very finely.

   

6. Whisk the egg in the bottom of a large bowl. When done, add the wheat germ, breadcrumbs, ground walnuts, ground pepper, and herbs to the bowl.

   

7. Add the sautéed onions, mushrooms, and carrots, as well as the quinoa , to the large bowl containing the other ingredients and mix thoroughly. Use your hands to pack it tightly into the loaf pan. It should all fit into a single loaf pan if you pack it tightly enough.

   

8. Bake for 1 hour, until the top is nicely browned. Let it cool for 10 minutes. Loosen the sides using a spatula. Place the serving plate upside-down on top of the loaf pan and flip it over to release it onto the plate. Carefully lift the load pan off of the “meatloaf”.

   

Mashed potatoes

Ingredients:

Directions:

1. Scrub the potatoes. Remove any eyes and cut out any bad spots.

   

2. Bring a pot full of water to a boil. Add the potatoes and continue the boil for about 30 minutes, or until they are very soft. They are done when you can very easily puncture them with a butter knife, and the skin may crack open when you do so.

   

3. Drain the pot and put the potatoes into a large bowl. Cut them into smaller pieces (quarters). Add the buttermilk, salt, and pepper and use a masher or large fork to thoroughly mash the potatoes. If you want to, you can pull out the skins now, rather than mashing them in.

   

Bringing it all together

You can chop the onions and mushrooms for the gravy at the same time as that for the “meatloaf”. You can prepare the potatoes and the gravy while the “meatloaf” is in the oven. Plate them together for a delicious meal:

We had a lot of leftovers from our party, and otherwise we stuck to simple meals that we’ve already posted about, such as frittata and roasted vegetables.

The picture below is a mix of roasting potatoes, celeriac, . . . → Read More: Leftovers and Tallgrass Burger]]> We’ve had a busy week, so we haven’t had time to do anything really interesting in the kitchen. We are doing a bunch of cooking tomorrow for the Superbowl, so we’ll have some post material after that.

We had a lot of leftovers from our party, and otherwise we stuck to simple meals that we’ve already posted about, such as frittata and roasted vegetables.

The picture below is a mix of roasting potatoes, celeriac, orange and purple carrots, and some sort of purple radish that I can’t remember the name of. It makes for a pretty mix, which we drizzled with some homemade honey mustard vinaigrette.

A very purple roasting mix

For those in NYC, we should also note that we ordered in one night, from Tallgrass Burger. The reviews online are mixed, which is surprising, because we had a great experience. Tallgrass uses only grass-fed local beef (the type we cook with). We both had “The Classic”, which comes with cheese and horseradish-mustard sauce which was both original and tasty. The garlic fries were also great.

Some people online complained about their burgers being overcooked or undercooked vs. their order, but Lindsay and I both commented how they nailed her medium and my well. Others online complained about the price, but we’re willing to pay for better ingredients. At $7 for the Classic, it’s not outrageous. It’s more expensive than McDonalds, but cheaper than a sit-down restaurant.

Plain and simple, the reason we are posting it is that they were the best burgers that we’ve had in a long time. A friend of mine went last night on our recommendation, and she agreed that they reminded her very much of In-n-Out Burger. The style is very similar: not to small, not too huge, thin-patty, reasonable portion size, and high quality. Boo to the naysayers.

Lindsay and I always make sure to have at least half-dozen eggs in the fridge. As an aside, we make sure to buy good eggs from healthy chickens, usually from Knoll Krest, Flying Pigs Farm, or Grazin’ Angus Acres. More about our eggs in a future post. The primary reason that we make sure to keep eggs on hand is that when we have leftover vegetables that are getting long in the tooth, we . . . → Read More: How to Make a Frittata – The Cook’s Leftover Disposal]]>

Lindsay and I always make sure to have at least half-dozen eggs in the fridge. As an aside, we make sure to buy good eggs from healthy chickens, usually from Knoll Krest, Flying Pigs Farm, or Grazin’ Angus Acres. More about our eggs in a future post. The primary reason that we make sure to keep eggs on hand is that when we have leftover vegetables that are getting long in the tooth, we often like to make a frittata.

A frittata is a baked omelet. That’s all it is. Because there is no folding involved it’s actually a lot easier than a “normal” French omelet. And you can pretty much dump the kitchen sink into it.

Frittata isn’t a recipe so much as it is a universal technique. It’s the swiss army knife of leftover disposal.

If we have bell peppers that are getting wrinkled and rubbery and are no longer salad-worthy, we use them in a frittata. If we sauté leafy greens and don’t eat all of them, they don’t reheat well, so we use them in frittata. In today’s photos, we had been getting tired of eating leftovers of my roasted vegetables.

1. Get out a cast iron skillet. If you have more than one cast iron skillet, your choice will depend on how deep the ingredients are that you want to add. In our photos, the roasted vegetables are pretty thick, so we used a smaller pan to get a deeper frittata. If you only have one cast iron skillet, it’ll still be fine. If you don’t have a cast iron skillet, get one.
2. Start by mixing the eggs as if you were making an omelet or scrambled eggs. We use 4 -6 eggs depending on the amount of “leftovers”. In these pictures we used 5 eggs. Crack the eggs into a bowl, add a little milk (optional), and whisk.
3. Put the “leftovers” in the cast iron skillet and space them evenly. Pour in the egg mixture and heat the skillet over medium to medium-high heat.

   

4. Once you have the heat going, add some (Kosher) salt and freshly ground pepper. If you want to mix in cheese, now is the time to do so.

   

5. At this point, you should turn on your broiler. Frittata works best of you have a gas oven with a separate broiler at the bottom, because those literally shoot fire balls straight over the pan. However, it works fine if you simply have an oven that has a “broiler” setting for the main compartment.
6. Leave the pan alone on the stove top for a few minutes. The next step comes when the edges of the eggs start to brown against the side of the skillet:

   

7. If you want to add grated cheese on top of the frittata (as opposed to mixed in), add it now. Remove the skillet from the stove top and put the entire skillet into the broiler / oven. This step is why it is important to use a cast iron skillet. Do not put a non-stick pan in the oven. Set a timer for 3 minutes. Check in on the frittata every minute after that until it is nicely browned but not burned:

   

8. Get out a trivet, because you don’t want to scorch your counter. As a bone-headed man, I have damaged many things. Also remember to use a thick oven mitt or pot holder, because the handle of the pan will be hot. Among the many things I have burned is myself.
9. Let the skillet cool (on the trivet) for a few minutes. This will also give the frittata time to set. Once it is no longer steaming, cut into it with a spatula. If you cut cleanly and straight through, your first slice should come out of the pan quite cleanly.

   

10. Frittata can make a great breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Stocked full of leftover vegetables, it’s a healthy option.

    

If you have leftover frittata (meta-leftovers?), let the pan cool completely, and cut it into individual slices before refrigerating. It reheats well in the microwave.

In order to make our lives easier, Lindsay and I tend to cook in volume so that a meal will stretch a few days. The downside is that repetition eventually gets boring. Frittata makes the old new again. Enjoy!

We already covered the how-to’s of roasting vegetables in our techniques section. Since it’s such an easy meal, I made a winter version last week while Lindsay was away. We had some vegetables that we had neglected and needed to use up. I took some pictures to document some of the atypical winter ingredients and cover a few helpful tips.

Ingredients

I was shocked by how easy and tasty this meal is.

The hardest part is peeling, seeding, and chopping the butternut squash, which isn’t that hard at all. If you can manage that step, you’ve got this meal. It’s also almost impossible to screw up, which is good since I was doing it on my own (see last week’s pasta that needed to be rescued).

Equipment