Memorial Day Crustless Quiche - May 27, 2013

Nick and I were in Madison over Memorial weekend (yay!), celebrating a special anniversary with dear friends (Happy 10th, Matt and Nikki!), but were back home in time for a Monday brunch.  When my sister, Kate, was in town the last couple weeks, she made herself these fun, crustless quiches that she would re-heat for a quick and easy, protein-packed lunch.  Stealing inspiration from wherever I can find it, I decided to do something similar for a holiday brunch.

The great thing about these quiches is that you can use any wild and crazy combination of vegetables and cheese that you have lying around.  I do so love a good "kitchen sink" recipe.  For my egg base, I consulted the ever-useful "How to Cook Everything," and found a suitable recipe.  For our quiche add-ins, we used blanched asparagus, spinach, chopped green garlic, chopped ramps, feta, and ricotta cheese.  It turned out really well, although it did need to bake about a half hour longer than the directions implied.  Oh well, it was worth the wait. I didn't even miss the crust.

Nettle-Phyllo Pie - May 13, 2013

When I was researching recipes for the stinging nettles that arrived in our CSA box last week, I came across the advice to just use nettles in place of other greens in any recipe.  This drastically broadened my cooking options, as you can imagine.  I ended up picking out this recipe from the spinach section of "Asparagus to Zucchini" and it was delicious.

Working with stinging nettles is quite tedious (as is phyllo dough).  I wore gloves to pick the leaves from the stems so I wouldn't get stung.  Once they are cooked, the sting goes away.  I did supplement with a handful of spinach leaves, as well.  For the onions it called for, I used ramps, also from our CSA box.  The only other change I made was using ricotta in place of cottage cheese.

This was a delicious way to use up our nettles, even if it's a bit labor intensive for a weeknight dinner.  It does make a large amount.  I cut the recipe in half and we'll still eat for three nights, so if you average it over three dinners, perhaps it's not such a bad investment of time.

Carrot Soup with Toasted Almonds - Dec 6, 2012

Another recipe from "Sixty-Five Years of Gourmet," this carrot soup made good use of some of our many, many CSA carrots.  Nick and I still have a whole drawer full of carrots to use up this winter, compliments of our abundant CSA share.  This soup was good, boosted in flavor by curry powder and apple cider vinegar.  In addition to the toasted almonds, I garnished this soup with sour cream and thyme leaves.

And, see that glass of dark beer in the background?  That is homemade Imperial Rye Stout, made by Nick and our brother-in-law, Jamie, earlier this year.  Those two brewed ten gallons of this in Jamie's driveway, using an all grain set-up, this fall.  It's fantastic beer, and I want Nick to fill you in on the details.  He's really been getting into this beer brewing thing, despite not being into this blog posting thing.  Perhaps with some gentle prodding, we can get him to share.  That's right, I'm going to try blog peer pressure, since my requests have fallen on deaf ears.  We want more (posts about) beer!

Stuffing with Roasted Winter Squash - Nov 28, 2012

The other downside to never hosting Thanksgiving is that we never have those wonderful leftovers stocking our refrigerator.  The Thanksgiving stuffing is my favorite.  Nick's dad makes great stuffing, but my favorite is the stuffing I grew up with.  I should probably get that recipe from my Mom at some point. 

This was my attempt at recreating my childhood food memory.  I think I may have used a Mark Bittman recipe, but I'm sure that I made enough tweaks to it that he wouldn't recognize it as his.  I know I added a lot more chicken broth than the recipe called for, but my end result was still too dry. 

Yes, I must make it a priority to get Mom's recipe. 

Along with our slightly dry stuffing, I roasted a little winter squash, which Nick and I split between the two of us.  I made it in the pressure cooker, my new favorite way to cook squash (10 minutes!).  Even sub-par stuffing is delicious.

Winter Greens Gratin - Nov 27, 2012

Since Nick and I usually travel for Thanksgiving, I tend to spend the following week cooking things that I would have made for dinner, had I been cooking it.  This recipe caught my eye in the December 2012 issue of Bon Appetit (which I thought was a great issue).  I made it with a motley assortment of greens from our CSA farm and it turned out deliciously.  It was a great use for all those hearty winter greens that show up in our box, that I'm not always sure what to do with.  Thanks to this recipe, I won't have that problem anymore.  This is a rich and satisfying meatless main dish, no turkey needed!

Chickpea and Tomato Stew - Nov 15, 2012

Chickpea and tomato stew, or, a very Americanized version of Chana Masala, if you will.  Nick and I like to follow up our meat-centric meals with a little vegetarian love.  It helps us feel balanced and not overly indulgent.  Our digestive systems thank us, as well.  After that Kima curry, however, I was still craving a bowl of warm, spicy, hearty something over rice.  This is what I came up with.  I searched around a bit online until I found a recipe that sounded good to me, while accommodating what we had stocked in the pantry.  Of course, two months later I can't for the life of me find the one I used.  It's one of the many hazards of delinquent posting, I guess.

It appears to be onions, my home-canned tomatoes, chickpeas, and some fresh green herb (Cilantro?  Parsley? Your guess is as good as mine.), combined with garlic, ginger, and some warm Indian spices (Curry powder? Cinnamon? Tumeric? Garam Masala? I can't rightly say.), and served over the aforementioned bowl of Jasmine rice.  For my own future reference, here are some recipes involving similar ingredients:

Chana Masala from Smitten Kitchen
Chickpea Tomato Stew with Moroccan Flavors from epicurious
Chickpea Tomato Curry from Chowhound*

*this seems closest to the one I used.

Honeynut Squash with Warm Wild Rice and Kale Salad - Nov 1, 2012

Nick and I made a similar dinner last year.  This go around I used my pressure cooker to prepare the squash, so it was cooked in about ten minutes.  These Honeynut squash that we get from our CSA share are so cute I can hardly stand it.  Each is about the size of a large russet potato, and a perfect serving size.  They are also, of course, delicious.

The salad is made of wild rice (also made in the pressure cooker), roasted kale leaves, dried cranberries, and feta cheese crumbles.  I served the salad warm with dinner, but it is equally good at room temperature or even chilled.  Because of this, it makes a nice lunch for packing.

Roasted Poblano "Hot Dish" - Oct 22, 2012

This is what Nick and I did with those Poblano peppers that didn't go into our roasted peppers and onions dinner.  I am having trouble remembering where I found the recipe, but I know there was a recipe.  This did not come out of my brain.  Perhaps I will need to ruminate on my source a bit more and update this when my memory starts behaving again.

What I do remember about this dish is that I roasted the Poblanos over the flames from our gas stove and then sliced them into wide, flat halves.  These were layered into a loaf pan with chopped, canned tomatoes and Cotija cheese, like a lasagna.  The last layer is crumbled corn tortilla chips.  This baked until the cheese melted, which didn't take long.  We topped our servings with sour cream and served it alongside some of the cornbread I made for another dinner.

The dish had great flavor, with a little heat from the peppers, but it was a bit soggy.  If I repeat this, I may layer in some additional tortillas to help absorb some of the liquid from the tomatoes and peppers.

Peppers and Onions over Cornbread - Oct 20, 2012

Nick and I had a large bag of assorted peppers from our CSA deliveries in the refrigerator that needed to be used.  This colorful dish was what we came up with.  We used a recipe from our 'How to Cook Everything' book for sauteed peppers and onions.  Mark Bittman attributes this recipe to his mother and mentions that it was a staple at his house when he was growing up.  I traditionally think of these ingredients being combined with sausage (and there is a recipe for that too), but it was nice to let the peppers shine here.



Here is our colorful pile of peppers and onions ready to go into the pan.  I reserved the dark green poblanos for another use, but all the rest got thrown into the mix.



I also used a cornbread recipe from the same cookbook.  It is, after all, how to cook everything.  It's a very standard cornbread recipe and the only thing I changed was using coconut oil in place of the oil called for.  Nick and I like the slight hint of tropical flavor that coconut oil brings to the table, although I'm sure it's not for everyone. 

This is a fine way to use up a bounty of peppers, and we enjoyed our dinner.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread - Oct 6, 2012

It snowed today in Minneapolis.  SNOW.  You know what I like to do on snowy days?  Bake.  I think I may make some peanut butter cookies later this afternoon.  But for now, let's talk about this pumpkin chocolate chip bread that I love this time of year.  This is my mother-in-law, Nan's, recipe.  I have, of course, made some tweaks to it.  I find it entirely irresistible (as previous posts can attest to). 

Here is how the recipe has evolved:

4 eggs
1 can pumpkin (15 oz)
1 C coconut oil
2/3 C water

Mix these together with an electric mixer

3 1/2 C flour

Mix into above mixture one cup at a time

1/2 t salt
2 t baking soda
1 1/2 t ground cloves
1 1/2 t nutmeg
1 1/2 t cinnamon

Mix into batter

2 C sugar

Mix

1 C chocolate chips
(I use the Pound Plus 72% Dark Chocolate bar from Trader Joe's and pound it into small, roughly chip-sized pieces)

Mix in chocolate and pour batter into two sprayed and lined loaf pans.  Bake at 350 deg F for 45 min.  After initial 45 min, cover pans with foil tent and bake for an additional 40 min, or until toothpick inserted in center pulls out cleanly.




The coconut oil is my addition, and I love the subtle coconut flavor it imparts.  I've also increased the spices a bit to make their contribution richer and deeper.  The chocolate chunk method is extra work, but I love the little surprise the erratically sized "chips" bring to the experience.

Snow, or no, this is a lovely recipe to make on an October afternoon.

Potato Leek Soup with Tarragon and Truffle Oil - Oct 2, 2012

It's been raining most of the day here in Minneapolis, which I'm so grateful for, after our very dry summer.  Rainy days seem made for soup, even if this soup appeared much earlier in the month.  Just because it's long gone from our bowls, doesn't mean it's too late to talk about it here.  This simple soup is one of my go-to recipes* for an easy, but delicious dinner.  When we received potatoes and leeks in our CSA delivery, it was a given that this would show up on our table.  I dressed this version up with some fresh tarragon and a drizzle of luxurious truffle oil.  This was belly-filling and spirit-lifting...just what one needs on a rainy day.

* I omit the yogurt and cream and puree all the other ingredients together for a smooth, creamy texture with no dairy needed.

Fresh Tomato Basil Soup and Grilled Cheese Sandwiches - Sept 12, 2012

This is that same tomato soup that makes an appearance at Chez Jess and Nick every year about this time.  It's a Dinner Club recipe, and by that I mean that this exact recipe made an appearance at an original Dinner Club meeting.  If I have my history right, this was part of the very first dinner, hosted by Jaime.  Oddly enough, neither Nick nor I were present that night, which might be why we make sure to have it once a year at our house.  We don't want to miss out on it ever again!  As I posted last time, I can't find a link for the exact recipe online, but it's from a Martha Stewart Living magazine, circa August 2001.

We made grilled cheese to to with the soup.  I used up some Boursin garlic and herb cheese along with the sharp cheddar and it was delicious.

Broccoli and Cannellini Bean Salad - Sept 4, 2012

While I'm on the topic of cannellin bean salads, here's another one Nick and I made, way back near the beginning of September.  We used a favorite recipe from the book 'How to Eat Supper,' but replaced the wilted spinach with roasted broccoli.  The rest of the ingredients are the same, right up to the topping (which I think is the best part), a mix of toasted breadcrumbs, Parmesan cheese and freshly ground pepper.

Parmesan Celery and Cannellini Bean Salad - Aug 21, 2012

Nick and I enjoyed this salad way back in August. Yikes!  It's been awhile since I've been on a regular blogging schedule, I guess.   It was inspired by the beautiful bunch of celery that arrived in our CSA delivery. The recipe, like so many of my quick, weeknight, vegetarian dinners, is from 101 Cookbooks. Heidi's recipes are healthy, always delicious, and beautifully photographed. She's one of my go-to's for dinner inspiration when I open my refrigerator and all I see are vegetables staring back at me.  We garnished ours with celery leaves and enjoyed the freshness and crunch of this salad.

Another Eggplant Parmesan - August 22, 2012

Jess's post on eggplant parmesan inspired me to try making my own tonight. This version is loosely based on the recipe in Marcella Hazan's Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking, though scaled down dramatically to be just a single serving since I'm dining solo while Richie is out of town.

I've actually not eaten a lot of eggplant parmesan in my life, so I'm not really sure what it should taste like, but this turned out to be delicious. I salted and drained the eggplant slices per Hazan's directions, then dusted them in flour and fried them. I layered the fried slices with some quick cooked sauce from my home grown tomatoes, basil, mozzarella, and of course parmesan. The eggplant did drink up quite a bit of oil in the frying process, but the end result wasn't too greasy.

Eggplant Parmesan - Aug 16, 2012

Minneapolis has had a little hint of fall in the air lately.  Because of this, I've been craving some heartier, autumn fare.  Last week I made a small batch of eggplant Parmesan for Nick and I.  I like to make portions sized for two in my thrifted Nordic Ware loaf pan, although any loaf pan would be the correct size.



Essentially, eggplant Parmesan (this recipe, at least) is a lasagna where battered and fried slices of eggplant stand in for the lasagna noodles.  I actually chose to bake the eggplant, however, because my attempts at frying eggplant have resulted in a soggy, greasy mess.



I used this recipe, but altered the amount of ingredients.  I found that one eggplant and one quart of my canned tomatoes, cooked along with some garlic, basil and oregano while the eggplant baked, worked out pretty well.  Otherwise, I stuck to the recipe and layered my eggplant and sauce with fresh mozzarella slices.  It was delicious, and perfect for the two of us. 

Summer Succotash Salad - July 27, 2012

This is the other salad that came along to my sister's cookout and Opening Ceremonies viewing party.  It's one that I've made and posted about before, so I'll keep this brief.  I used our CSA sweet corn, CSA golden cherry tomatoes plus a tomato from my sister's gardener friend, one of our CSA onions, and some home-grown parsley (yep, that's right.  Even though Nick and I can't seem to grow anything else, our herbs do well out on the deck).  The dressing is a simple olive oil and red wine vinegar affair and everything is seasoned with salt and pepper.  Technically I shouldn't call this succotash because it contains no Lima beans, but I'm going to anyway so you'll just have to deal with it.

Marinated Kale Salad - July 27, 2012

Our neighborhood pizza place inspired me to make this salad, as Nick and I enjoyed their version a couple of weeks ago.  I had never entertained the idea of marinating kale, but once I tasted it, I knew I needed to give it a try.  While my sister, Kate, stayed with us for ten days last month, she made the rounds, catching up with many of her local friends.  Fortuitously, one of those friends is an avid gardener and sent Kate home with some kale, along with other items, after their coffee date.  Things were falling into place.

I did some online research and found something that approximated what we had had at Lola's. My version used kale, shredded carrots, thinly sliced onions and roasted hazelnuts.  My marinade used olive oil, lemon juice, tamari, toasted sesame oil, and salt.  We also topped it with feta cheese right before serving.  This, along with one additional salad, came along to my sister Nat's house for some Olympic Opening Ceremony viewing, accompanied by an All-American grill-out in support of team USA. 

Caprese Salad - July 16, 2012

Ahh, yes.  Tomatoes.  Nick and I didn't grow ours like Jaime, but we've been eating our fair share just the same.  They are especially nice on hot days when I don't feel like turning on the oven or standing outside and grilling.  We have been enjoying this classic combination quite a bit lately.  Especially since we got a big bunch of basil in our CSA delivery, of which there is no picture this week, owing to the fact that heat makes me lazy. Plus,  we got a new refrigerator delivered last Thursday, which kind of threw me off schedule.  As soon as it was in and operational, I put all the vegetables in it as fast as I could without taking the time to photograph.  My apologies.

For this particular rendition of the Italian summer classic, I used cherry tomatoes, ciliegine mozzarella and a lot of fresh basil.  I dressed the bowl with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper.  Simple as pie.

Cold Sesame Noodles with Kohlrabi - July 1, 2012

Nick and I received our latest issue of Bon Appetit last week and promptly found a nice summer salad recipe to make for dinner.  Cold sesame noodles are a perfect dinner during a heat wave, which Minnesota has been experiencing lately.  I changed the recipe pretty significantly, but that should be no surprise to anyone.  What I kept pretty much the same was the dressing.  I had to omit the sriracha because we didn't have any, nor any suitable substitute. 

In our version, I used udon noodles rather than soba.  I really like udon so much better since my soba noodles usually either turn to mush or stick together in huge, inedible masses.  The recipe suggests using any fresh summer vegetables you have on hand.  In our case, that was kohlrabi, which I shredded in our food processor.  I also thinly sliced our remaining green onions and snap peas from CSA delivery #4.  And, rather than the cilantro called for, I added some basil and mint from the back yard.  I omitted the black sesame seeds, but only because I forgot about them until just now looking back over the recipe.  We actually do have those in the cupboard.

The result was delicious and refreshing.  The kohlrabi shreddings all but disappeared within the folds of the udon noodles, since they're nearly the same color, but we could tell they were there by the satisfying crunch in our mouths.  The scallions, along with the fresh herbs, brought excellent flavor to accompany the crunch.  And the dressing, well it would be good on almost any combination of noodles and vegetables I can imagine.