Crazy day, Easy Dinner! And, this week's CSA bag is here!

Today was great, but insane.  Between updating (yes, long overdue I know) my real estate blog, finalizing two transactions that just went into contract, getting ready for listing appointments, and chauffeuring my kids around this afternoon, picking up the CSA bags......well I needed fast, so while making the mac n cheese, I prepped the salad....

Salad:

Romaine, chopped (last week's bag)

Cherries, pitted

red onion, sliced

Chevre, crumbled (last week's bag)

Then I just sprinkled with kosher salt and white pepper to taste, and added a few good glugs of champagne (white wine) vinegar, and one glug of extra virgin olive oil....toss and done...on the table. And, really, nothing is better than fresh cherries with goat cheese!

And, I am always looking for ways to get more vegetables into my kids....so I saw this mac n cheese on Healthy Appetite with Ellie Krieger, a show on Cooking Channel....wow, my kids loved it and gobbled it up..... no need to mention the hidden vegetable!

Macaroni and 4 Cheeses

1 pound elbow macaroni 

2 (10 to 12-ounce) packages frozen pureed winter (butternut) squash

1 1/2 cups non-fat milk

1/2 C of whole milk (my adaptation, original recipe calls for 2 C of 1% milk)

4 ounces extra-sharp Cheddar, grated (about 1 1/3 cups)

2 ounces Monterrey jack cheese, grated (about 2/3 cup)

1/2 cup part-skim ricotta cheese

1 teaspoon salt (kosher or sea salt)

1 teaspoon powdered mustard

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

2 tablespoons unseasoned bread crumbs

2 tablespoons grated Parmesan

1 teaspoon olive oil--use to great your baking dish

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Coat a 9 by 13-inch baking pan with olive oil....just smear it around good.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the macaroni and cook until tender but firm, about 5 to 8 minutes. Drain and transfer to a large bowl.

Meanwhile, place the frozen squash and milk into a large saucepan and cook over a low heat, stirring occasionally and breaking up the squash with a spoon until it is defrosted. Turn the heat up to medium and cook until the mixture is almost simmering, stirring occasionally. Remove the pan from heat and stir in the Cheddar, jack cheese, ricotta cheese, salt, mustard and cayenne pepper. Pour cheese mixture over the macaroni and stir to combine. Transfer the macaroni and cheese to the baking dish.

Combine bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese in a small bowl. Sprinkle over the top of the macaroni and cheese. Bake for 20 minutes, then broil for 3 minutes so the top is crisp and nicely browned.

I'm very excited to experiment with this week's CSA bag. It's contents will be showing up in meals soon! If you have any recipes for any ingredients you see listed from my bags, please send them to me...I love to try new recipes-especially those my friends like!

Asparagus from Schacht Farm in Canal Winchester, OH

Spelt Berries from Stutzman Farm in Millersburg, OH (can't wait to try there)

Gretna Grilling Cheese from Blue Jack Dairy in Bellefontaine, OH

Mint from Four Seasons City Farm in Columbus, OH

Peaches from Georgia

Videlia Onions from Balnd Farm in Glenville, GA

Cantaloup from Florida

Rhubarb

Wow, I'd forgotten how much I love Rhubarb! I am gong to get some planted this year! And try to buy more of this yummy stuff! I made Rhubarb Crumble from Organette's blog site. My friend and fellow environmentalist--and overall advocate for healthier practices for people, animals and our world, Carilyn Booker shared this site with me and I found this recipe that really let t he rhubarb shine! And I just LOVE dessert.  




Rhubarb Crumble
(from Organette blog's recipes)

1 ¼ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
¾ cup muscovado (or light brown, if you prefer) sugar
½ cup rolled oats
6-7 Tbs canola oil (I used 6 T of butter melted)
1 lb rhubarb, cut into ¾-inch pieces
Scant ¾ cup granulated sugar
Zest of half an orange (I also squeezed the juice on the rhubarb)
½ tsp ground cinnamon
--In a medium bowl, combine 1 cup flour, muscovado sugar, oats, and oil, mixing well with a spoon or your hands until the mixture holds together in clumps and all the flour is incorporated. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
In another bowl, combine the rhubarb with the granulated sugar, the remaining ¼ cup flour, orange zest, and cinnamon. Transfer the rhubarb mixture to an ovenproof baking dish, and distribute the oat topping evenly over the rhubarb. Bake for 35 minutes, or until golden and bubbly. Serve warm, with good-quality vanilla ice cream.
Serves 4-6


Here are some more recipes shared by a writer as Navicor (Megan Riley), she is one of the CSA participants too! I can't wait to make these, especially the chutney!
Baked Rhubarb (Rhubarb Sauce)Here is classic from James Beard's "American Cookery",
that I am sure that someone in Lake Wobegon would try,
although the sour cream might only be added behind closed doors.. :^)
Ingredients:1-1/2 pounds rhubarb, peeled if necessary, and cut in 3 or 4 inch stalks
1/4 cup water
1 to 1-1/2 cups sugar
Dash of salt
Procedure:Arrange the rhubarb in a 1-1/2-quart casserole with a cover.
Add the water, sugar to taste, and salt. Cover tightly and bake at 350-degrees F.
20 to 25 minutes or until tender. Chill and serve. Cooked rhubarb is good served with
heavy cream or sour cream, with fresh strawberries if you like.
===========================================================
Microwave Rhubarb ChutneyThis has the added advantage of being quite quick to prepare, and won't heat up the kitchen in midsummer.
Ingredients:3 c Rhubarb; sliced
1 c Cider vinegar
1 c Sugar, brown, dark
1/2 ts Ginger, ground
1/2 ts Allspice
1/2 ts Mustard, dry
1/2 ts Cinnamon
1/4 ts Garlic powder
8 oz Dates; chopped
1/2 c Raisins
2 md Apples; peeled & chopped -(3 cups)
Procedure:In 2 quart glass bowl combine rhubarb, vinegar, brown sugar, ginger, allspice, mustard, and microwave
on high for 6 minutes or until boiling. Add dates, raisins, and apples. Do not cover. Microwave on high
6 minutes. Stir and microwave 6 more minutes. Stirring occasionally, let stand till barely warm.
Spoon into jars and refrigerate. Will thicken.

Yield: 5 pints===========================================================
Rhubarb Apple SauceIngredients:4-5 large sweet apples (I like golden delicious which are very sweet)
3 long, thick rhubarb stalks
1/2 pint strawberries
sweetener to taste (I use none)
water
Procedure:Peel and chop rhubarb. Core, peel and chop apple. Pick stems off strawberries.
Dump it all in a pot and add a little water (1/4 cup?) to prevent burning (once the apples start cooking
they will release their own liquid so the water is really needed because of the first minutes of cooking.)

Cook, covered, on a medium flame until boiling then turn heat down and tilt the cover a little
to let steam escape.

Stir occasionally.

Simmer until most of the apples have dissolved and the mix doesn't look too watery - around half and hour.
It's best to turn off the flame while the mix is still a little watery since more water will evaporate while
it is cooling down.
=====================================================

My First Green Grocer CSA BAG!!!! 1st Dinner from the bag...

Wow, other than the chilly, rainy season that seems to have a hold on Central Ohio, it has been a great two days!

My carpets were crazy dirty, and I had Gerlach Carpet Cleaners do an amazing job--I highly recommend them! I've used them for years but time had gotten away from me and my carpet was way over due to be cleaned. What is it that is so inspiring about a clean house--of course I did a good dusting and wiping while the techs did the floors.... Today, I had a client for one final look on a lovely home, my client has been through so much but she has been so wonderful to work with I am so happy to be helping her, and we are ready to offer on a very nice home for her and her kids tomorrow. I spent the afternoon at a special Coldwell Banker session, with my partner Jan, discussing ideas with some really interesting agents from Seattle, WA and Chicago IL. I felt a real connection with a team from Seattle and I think we'll continue to share ideas. It was such a productive afternoon, and when I got back to my office I got some more research done for the next post on my real estate blog! So...after so much I thought I would wait until tomorrow to dig into my first CSA bag....ha! Well, I just couldn't stand it.  Alan got home with the bag and I dug right into it.

1st Week Contents--was rounded out with other states, but all USA :o) so I'm happy:
Asparagus from Schacht Farm in Canal Winchester, OH
Rhubarb from Schacht Farm
Chevre from Lucky Penny Creamery in Garrettsville, OH (goat cheese)
Lavender Honey from Honeyrun Farm in Williamsport, OH
Green Cauliflower from USA
Romaine Lettuce From Cal-Organic Farms, USA
Shallots from USA
Peaches from GA (not quite ripe enough to use tonight)

I had to use some of this tonight! The first dinner was really great and easy. Used some of what I had in the fridge and some fresh herbs from my awesome neighbor Anna...hoping you'll see how easy fresh cooking is is once you get the ball rolling to reuse leftovers and add in new items coming up with healthy meals that are easy and fast to prepare.

We started with Morels...totally organic from the woods right behind our house! Alan (my husband) found them and cooked them. The morels were large, so he cut them in half, dredged them in some all-purpose flour with salt & pepper, then sauteed them in butter over a med-low heat.  Crusty and yummy!
While he prepared the mushrooms, I chopped the romaine and steamed asparagus from the bag. I let the asparagus cool a little, then chopped it into bite size lengths and put on the romaine along with the local chevre and some bread I toasted under the broiler (remember that bread I pulled out from the philly cheesesteaks? Yep, well here I used it in a salad). I had some leftover chili rubbed pork loin I heated for 30 seconds in the microwave, then chopped and tossed into the salad. For the dressing, I chopped one shallot, placed in small bowl, drizzled with the honey, added champagne (or white wine) vinegar-about 1/4 C and then  1/8 C of extra virgin olive oil, salt & freshly ground pepper, then poured on salad and tossed.  Dinner! It was really yummy too!

For dessert I had strawberries, that I cut up, then tossed in some blueberries, and then drizzled with the Lavender Honey...I can't say enough good things about this honey! It was delicious. I'll be contacting Honey Run Farms to see about buying more from them!!!

Amy's Chili Rub: I use this on about anything! Use the amounts to your taste, below is just a jumping off point, as I really just dump this together.
Chili powder, 1/4 C
Paprika, 1/8 C
Garlic Powder, 1/8 C
Ground Cumin, 1/8 C
Ground coffee (preferably espresso) 1-2 Tbsp
1 Tbsp sugar in the raw
2 tsp salt
2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

I rubbed two pork loins with my chili rub, placed on a baking sheet in a 375 degree oven for 25 minutes. Let rest about 10 minutes before cutting. Serve in soft tacos, or just slice and serve with potatoes or rice...whatever sides you like.

Anyway...I couldn't be happier to begin my surprise journey with my CSA bag. This is really going to be fun!

More on Bread....

I am anxiously awaiting my first CSA bag to arrive to really get going on what's fresh for dinner. Our delivery was delayed a day due to first day snags, but I know I'll have my bag tonight and I can get started on my creative journey tomorrow!

Ok, I said bread baking was easy, and below is a great recipe to get your going. Nothing smells or tastes better than fresh bread...with no additives or preservatives--you can feel even better about it. It makes two loaves, one loaf I use with dinner (remember I have two boys!) that night. The other loaf will be used the next night for Philly Cheesesteaks, "cuban" bread pizzas, or some other type of sandwich or used in a bread salad...I have loads of recipes for 2nd day bread--need more...just ask.

Philly Cheesesteaks: I cut the loaf into 4 pieces for the sandwiches, then cut each in half like a sub role.  I pull out the soft bread "filling," tear it into pieces, and place into a ziploc bag (tomorrow I'll pour in a little olive oil, salt and garlic powder, shake the bag, then pour these out onto a sheet pan that I'll place in a 350 degree oven for 10-12 minutes to make croutons for either Italian bread salad, or to top a lentil, bean, barley, or bulgar wheat with vegetables for a side or main dish). After pulling out the soft bread to make room I place cheese (cheddar slices usually, swiss is good too) on all of the bread and place under the broiler until melted.  I saute onions and peppers with salt and pepper until carmelized, then I grill sirloin steak to medium rare, slice thinly.  I place the onions, peppers and steak between the two cheese covered slices...enjoy. Optional spread some pesto on each side of the bread before adding cheese slices and broiling.

Cuban Bread (very similar to Italian, but shorter rise times)
7 tsp of Active Dry Yeast
4 tsp brown sugar
2 C warm water (110-115 degrees F)
5-6 C of Bread Flour or All-Purpose Flour, divided
1 T kosher salt

1 egg beaten with 1 T of water or milk
1 C of boiling water
yellow cornmeal

Combine the yeast, brown sugar, warm water and 2 C of flour. Let stand for 10-15 minutes for the yeast to develop. Stir in salt, and 3 to 4 cups more flour. Add the flour 1 C at a time stirring after each addition until a stiff dough forms.

Knead for 8-10 minutes, when dough is smooth, elastic and not sticky, oil the surface and place in a large bowl to rise about 45-60 minutes, until doubled in bulk.

Punch down dough. Knead lightly and form into two long loaves (like Italian or French Bread). Place on a baking sheet sprinkled with cornmeal and let rise, uncovered, for 10 minutes. (In this time, bring water to a boil).

With the egg wash, brush the loaves then using a sharp knife or razor blade, make 4-5 diagonal slashes in each loaf. Place on the middle shelf of a cold oven, place a glass dish below and add the boiling water. Close the oven door and set the oven temperature to 400 degrees and bake for 30-35 minutes until well browned and the loaves sound hollow when tapped. Remove from oven and let cool on wire racks.

Italian Bread Salad
Toast some day or two old bread tossed with olive oil, garlic powder, and salt. Toast at 350 for 10-12 minutes or until lightly golden.

Cut up tomatoes (don't squeeze out the liquid for this one), red onion or green onions, cucumber, avocado, and red and/or green bell peppers (optional--some people skip the peppers in this dish). Add some shredded parmesan cheese. Toss together with the toasted bread, drizzle with olive oil and toss and serve.

Of course let me know if you have any questions!

Easy Meatless Monday on the patio!

Last night was a gorgeous night on our patio with a really colorful and fresh dinner. Oh, I am really looking forward to that fresh CSA produce bag to start arriving next week! Of course, with the boys in track and Taekwondo (tournament this weekend) I often want easy dinners...and this one was so easy I can hardly call it cooking! I prepared a greek vegetable salad, fresh fettucini with pesto (I had made pesto at the end of last summer and put in the freezer but you can buy wonderful pesto in the refrigerator pasta section of your market by the fresh pastas ), homemade bread--it was a beautiful day for rising bread (What you don't like to make bread??? Really you should give it a try--it is so satisfying and fills the house with wonderful aroma, but if you don't have the time, check out your local grocery's bakery, they have some really nice fresh baked crusty loaves for sale), and a bowlful of fresh berries and mango with amaretto, and whipped cream.

I made the bread in the afternoon while I was here working in my home office.  I had purchased the fresh fettucini, which cooks in 3 minutes, in the refrigerated pasta section at my local grocery. Boil the pasta per package directions, drain but reserve the pasta water, add the pesto toss, then add enough of the pasta water to make the final pasta sauce. Top with grated parmesan cheese.

Amy's Greek Salad

Chop the following (use in the proportions you like--and make as much as you need depending on the number of people):
fennel (anise) and the soft fronds
1/2 red bell pepper
1/2 green bell pepper
1/3 red onion
1 clove of finely chopped garlic
1-2 tomatoes (cut in half & squeeze to remove some liquid and seeds out before chopping)
cucumber (use a spoon to scoop out the seeds before chopping)
variety of olives pitted and rough chopped
feta cheese crumbled on top

Dressing:
(if increasing the amount of vegetables above, just increase the amount of dressing here)
Zest and juice of one to two lemons
1-2 tsp honey
4 T of olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Toss dressing and vegetables together and serve.

Fresh berries and mango:
Cut up mango and strawberries, toss with blueberries, squeeze some honey over the berries, add a pinch of salt and then add 1-2 T of either Amaretto or Chombord liqueur.  Let berries macerate for 5-10 minutes (or longer), for each serving add a dollop of real whipped cream.

Leftover fettucini......doesn't go to waste here! I love recycling food, as my family isn't much on eating leftovers, I recreate them. My friend Cathy and I had a wonderful walk on the Genoa Biking & Hiking Trail this morning, then we made lunch.....such a gorgeous morning & afternoon to play hooky! After walking about 6 miles or so, this really hit the spot!

Amy's Italian Salad:
Washed & dried spinach, romaine, and radicchio; add:

Chop and add the following:

fennel (anise) 

red bell pepper

green bell pepper

red onion

avocado

1-2 tomatoes (cut in half & squeeze to remove some liquid and seeds out before chopping)

cucumber (use a spoon to scoop out the seeds before chopping)

green beans (cook in the microwave for approx 2 minutes on a plate with a little water and covered in plastic wrap, then rinse under cold water to stop cooking, and cut in half if too long).

Add: Some of the cold fettucini noodles with pesto (you can just boil up spaghetti, fettucini or angel hair pasta and rinse in cold water and drain if you don't have leftover pasta).

Toss all with Italian dressing (my favorite is good seasonings mixed with red wine vinegar and olive oil).

Top with shredded parmesan or shavings of parmesan if desired.

Enjoy!

Easy & Safe Cleaning for a Stainless Steel Skillet

It's Mother's Day! My husband and I decided to make Cinnamon Belgium Waffles with strawberries, mangos, blueberries and bananas macerated in amaretto, and sausage for breakfast....and well, the sausage....well this is a bit of a story, you see, we've been revamping our kitchen and our pantry to reflect that we believe the best medicine cabinet is your kitchen.  We've removed the food dyes and preservatives as much as possible, switched to glass storage containers, and removed the non-stick pans from our kitchen due to the recent articles denoting that the chemicals come off and are in your food....I'm also tired of replacing them because the nonstick seems to wear off so quickly and I only hand wash them!!!  Oh, and YES....I did say removed the nonstick pans--I get the "are you crazy?" question a lot. However, after years of cooking classes, I know this to be a positive for cooking many meats and making a pan sauce afterwards as most professionals prefer to use nonstick for the carmelization you get in a good quality stainless steel pan. After having kids I sort of slid over to nonstick because I thought I was making clean up easier--anything to make life easier with small children right? So, with going back to regular stainless skillets, I've had to make a few adjustments....I now make quesadillas in the oven on a silpat because the flour tortillas want to stick and not flip in the pan (these are a staple boy food here). I have to use a little more oil for eggs not to stick. So all in all I am falling in love with some old recipes and cooking techniques again. This morning my husband was in charge of the sausage links......let's just say they really wanted to stick.  The sausages turned out great, but the pan was a mess, and Alan said too bad we don't need gravy...look at all this great flavor! Yes, we could have added an acid (wine or vinegar) then chicken stock and a fat (like cream or butter), and we'd could have had great sausage gravy...and a clean pan...so I thought, well, we don't need to make a pan gravy....BUT what if...so I did....I poured inexpensive white vinegar into the warm pan, enough to cover all of the browned parts and just left it sit while we ate brunch, then cleaned up. Using a pampered chef silicone scraper, the brown carmelized stuck on stuff came mostly right off. Then with a sponge and soapy water it all came clean, easily.  So I already buy white vinegar in the largest size jug because I use it as my primary cleaning agent, along with peroxide, in a spray bottle to clean counters & glass, and I use it to clean my wood floors...so now I know the easiest way to clean my nonstick pans too!  And the great thing is no harsh chemicals needed to keep them looking their best.  Another tip: Have Stainless Steel Appliances?  Buying expensive stainless appliance polish? Just use a microfiber cloth and white vinegar to wipe them down, then a damp microfiber cloth to wipe over them, and they will be sparking--again no harsh chemicals needed.

Getting started and ready for summer!

I joined a CSA in my area, and I am so excited to get my first bag of locally grown and mostly organic produce. In my excitement to get started using the vegetables in my bag I created this recipe out of pantry and items from my refrigerator, and my husband loves it!

Lentils & Barley with Roasted Vegetables
1 Cup of lentils cooked in salted water for about 30 minutes, drain & rinse.
1 Cup of Barely cooked in 1/2 C of white wine and 1 1/2 Cs chicken stock until liquid is almost absorbed, approximately 25 minutes, keep an eye on it so it doesn't cook dry and burn.
 Heat oven to 425 degrees:
--On a sheet pan roast peeled and cubed sweet potatoes, red onion, and yellow onion tossed with olive oil, salt, pepper and cumin for 40 minutes.
--On a second sheet pan roast broccoli and asparagus with olive oil, salt & pepper for 20 minutes.
Combine lentils, barley, and vegetables, add fresh chopped tomato and any herbs you would like (Italian Parsley, Cilantro, Mint, etc.).  After plating a portion, squeeze lemon juice over the mixture...can add avocado at this time or crumbled cheese (feta, chevre, gorgonzola) as well.
Leftover salad keeps well in the refrigerator and is great served cold....by adding lemon juice to each portion on your plate the salad keeps better in the refrigerator, as the acid tends to break it down more quickly.

Of course this is my take....you can roast and add any vegetables that are your favorites!