Comfort Food

Well, this happened... 

Which calls for: Comfort Food
*Both recipes found in Bon Appeteti Magazine - November 2012 issue

*Homemade Clam Chowder

*Prosciutto/Provolone Stuffed Chicken

*Served with a Mushroom Sauce

*Final Product 

Farewell, CSA

What's happening?

We picked up our last CSA box today - the season has officially come to a close.  Quarter 1 at school ends on Friday, and we'll be celebrating Brian's 30th birthday the weekend after that.  Lots to look forward to at the moment - we're going to New Orleans for Brian's birthday, then Jersey for Thanksgiving, then California for Christmas.  So, probably a good thing there won't be vegetables waiting for us at home anymore :)

Last night was Todd's Halloween Beer Club.  We went as Todd, of the Juice Hat variety.  Here's a look at how that went...

The Real Todd Juice Hat


What it looks like when a couple of Juice Hats fall in love.

What to make?

*Egg Bake

Ingredients: 
- 4 Eggs
- Bok Choy
- Onion
- Peppers
- Salt and Pepper
- Cayenne Pepper
- Served with Lemon Rosemary Bread, toasted

Directions: This was so good!  We sauteed the greens, onion, and pepper.  Then, put in a baking dish.  Cover with 4 eggs.  Bake at 350 until the eggs come out at your desired temperature.  Would make a great dish for a brunch party - easy and delicious.

*Salsa Verde a la Brian

This couldn't be easier to make, and it's awesome! Just cut green tomatoes in half and broil them until they start to char, then blend them with peppers and seasoning. The CSA has been great for spicy peppers, which were put to good use. We based it loosely on the recipe below:

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/deliciosa-salsa-verde/detail.aspx?event8=1&prop24=SR_Title&e11=salsa%20verde&e8=Quick%20Search&event10=1&e7=Home%20Page

 *Mahi Mahi Tacos with Rice and Beans

So, we thought we did everything right for these tacos - but honestly they just didn't come out right.  We seasoned the fish with lime, tequila, and a fancy chile lime seasoning, then baked it.  We served them on corn tortillas, garnished with cilantro, radishes, green onion, and the salsa verde above.  Served with rice and black beans.  And Corona.  Despite the effort, we were both underwhelmed with the results.  We'll have try this again sometime.  The salsa was good though!

Soup, Scallops, School, and Brewing

What's happening?

First and foremost, Hayden Robert Magovern was born on October 4.  My brother and his family are doing great.  My parents are on their way in to town, and we're going to meet the little guy later today.  I can't wait.

School has been going pretty well.  The kids are great.  Cross Country ends this week, and while we haven't won a match yet, we're looking for a win on Tuesday.  Wish us luck!



Homework board.



Yes!  The difference between a "student" and a "scholar"...
"I am a daughter, sister, niece, cousin, athlete, dog owner, and scholar," says a seventh grader.


Brewing

Brian just wrapped up his third attempt at brewing.  This one was a Brown Ale based on the Dogfish Indian Brown Ale.  It came out with the right flavor, but a little low on carbonation.  The good news is we know why and can fix it for the next batch.  It's been pretty cool to take part in this process - there's a lot of Chemistry involved - and it's given us a newfound respect for what it takes to make a great beer.



Moving the brew from the bucket to the carboy - the beer in its secondary fermentation stage.



Todd-o helped, too.  Here they are with the final product.  You guys look good.


What's on the Menu?

*Butternut squash soup with browned butter
Recipe found in: Joy of Cooking

*Potato leek soup

Recipe: http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/potato_leek_soup/

 *Pistachio rolled scallops
Recipe found in: Bon Appetit (September 2012)

 *Fettucini Alfredo (homemade sauce!) with Chicken and Broccoli
Recipe for Sauce: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/alfredo-sauce-2/

*Roasted acorn squash with butter and brown sugar
Recipe: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/acorn-squash/

Fall is all around

Que pasa...

Fall is all around.  Back to school night was this week.  Punk'n Ale is back on the shelves.  It's the most wonderful time of the year.

Where'd we find these great recipes?

The recipes below are adaptations of recipes found in our favorite CSA cook book, The Farmer's Kitchen, The Ultimate Guide to Enjoying Your CSA and Farmers' Market Foods, by Julia Shanks and Brett Grohsgal (2011-2012).

What to make?

*Beef and Eggplant

Ingredients: 

- 1/2 pound sirloin steak cut into 1/4 inch strips

- 3 teaspoons fresh ginger, chopped

- 1 teaspoon vermouth

- 2 teaspoons salt

- 1 teaspoon canola oil

- 1 tablespoon corn starch

- 2 small eggplants

- 3 garlic cloves, chopped

- canola oil for frying 

- scallions for garnishing

Sauce: 

- 1/2 cup chicken broth

- 3 tablespoons soy sauce

- 2 teaspoons sugar

Directions: 

1. Combine: beef, ginger, vermouth, a shake of salt, 1 teaspoon oil, and corn starch.  Let the beef marinate for 30 minutes.

2. Cut the eggplant into 1/2 inch slices.  Toss with a little salt.  

3. Make the sauce.

4. In a wok, add 1/4 inch of canola oil.  Cook eggplant first - until golden brown - about 10 minutes.  Remove.  Add garlic and ginger to wok - cook for a minute.  Add the beef - cook about 3 minutes.  Add the sauce and cook until it thickens (it will - the corn starch marinade will make this happen).  Stir in the eggplant and scallions.

5. Serve over rice.  

*Pumpkin Bread

Ingredients:
- 1 and 3/4 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon apple pie spice
- 1 and 1/2 cups pumpkin puree (~1 can pumpkin)
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- Pam or butter to grease pans
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon chopped ginger
- made at home buttermilk (3/4 cups milk + juice from 1/4 lemon)
- pepitas (pumpkin seeds)

Directions:
1. Preheat over to 350.  Grease two 9" bread pans.

2. Create the dry mix by combining: flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and apple pie spice.

3. In a separate mixing bowl, create the wet mix by combining: pumpkin, both sugars, oil, eggs, and minced ginger.  Mix with hand mixer until smooth.

4. Gradually add the dry mix to the wet mix - alternatively with buttermilk - in 3 batches.

5. Divide batter between pans, top with pepitas, and bake for approximately 1 hour.


*Apple Sauce

Ingredients:

- 9 apples (variety - red and green)

- 3/4 cups sugar

- 1 and 1/2 cups water

- Apple pie spice, to taste

- 1/4 lemon (for the juice)

Directions: Peel, core, and dice the apples.  Cook apples, sugar, apple pie spice, and water in a sauce pot (medium heat).  Continue cooking - covered - until the apples become very mushy.  Occasionally stir, and mash with a potato masher.  Remove from heat when it looks like apple sauce - you'll know when - but about  20 minutes.  Take the cover off and let the excess liquid cook off (this is an alternative to straining it).  When it's the consistency you're looking for, add a little lemon juice.

Oh, hey - a brief update

Oh, hey.

Here's a brief update on just two things we made this week, using last week farm produce... both delicious.

Apple Crisp with Walnuts

*recipe found at epicurious.com

source: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Apple-Walnut-Crisp-108771

Rosemary Lamb Chops with Mashed Potatoes and Sauteed Green Beans

Lamb Chop Marinade:

- Red Wine (Shiraz)

- Olive Oil

- Rosemary 

- Thyme

- Salt and Pepper

Directions: I marinated the lamb chops for all of 15 minutes (no measuring - just threw it all together by eye), while letting the oven heat to 450.  Once the oven was hot enough, I put them in for 20 minutes.  They came out Medium Well.  I'd go maybe 15 minutes next time for Medium - but they were still really good.

Back to School!

Life

I've officially reached the point where the blog is no longer a weekly effort (see ya later, summer).  Life has been too busy for blogging.  I am back at school - a new school - and the first few weeks have been great.  Really awesome kids - seventh grade is a good match for me.  And, I am going to be coaching cross country, which I am excited about.  I don't really know the rules yet, but I'll learn as I go along.

Anyway, here are a few photos I've been meaning to share...

What's in the Box - Sometime in August #1

- Basil
- Eggplant
- Tomatoes
- Apples
- Peppers
- Onions
- Peaches
- Pears
- Nectarines
- Garlic
- Cantaloupe
- Potatoes
- Rosemary

What's in the Box - September 1



- Potatoes
- Basil
- Nectarine
- Thyme
- Peppers (Mild and Spicy)
- Tomatoes
- Eggplant
- Asian Pears
- Pears
- Apples
- Zucchini (Yellow and Green)
- Onions
- Cucumbers
- Green Beans

A Few of the Things We've Made Recently...

*Prosciutto wrapped Cantaloupe
An appetizer for Jason's birthday Beer Club


*Pot Roast with Mashed Potatoes and Guinness

*Which turned into Beef Stew thereafter

*Tomato Basil Provolone Grilled Cheese



Afterthoughts

1. I didn't take a picture, but I recently learned how to make homemade jam.  It was pretty easy.  I am a jam-maker now.

2. I also made a homemade pumpkin bread from scratch this week (oops - no pic).  It was great to have in the morning the first week of school.  A nice alternative to the usual, boring Nutragrain bar.

3. I am going to make an apple pie out of the apples we've acquired this weekend.  Pictures to come.  Happy Labor Day!

Week #7

The Weekend

This was a very quiet, relaxing weekend at home.  On Sunday, we did make it out for a hike on the Billy Goat trail near Glen Echo park.  It felt pretty great to be out in the woods.  See, the thing about hiking is: it's non-competitive, the scenery is gorgeous, and you get to wear boots that make you feel powerful.

What's in the Box?

- Yellow squash
- Basil
- Peach
- Nectarines
- White onions
- Green peppers
- Zucchini
- Jalepeno
- Garlic
- Cantaloupe
- Okra
- Corn
- Heirloom Tomatoes

What to Make...

*Breakfast!

I didn't capture pictures of everything we made for Breakfast on Saturday and Sunday, but we used a lot of our farm-fresh ingredients in those meals, which included:

- Fruit Salad with: peaches, strawberries, bananas.  And lots of cantaloupe (pictured above).
- Breakfast potatoes (leftover from a previous CSA pick-up) with: white onion, green peppers.    

*Caprese Salad

Ingredients:
- Greens
- Heirloom tomatoes, sliced
- Fresh Mozzarella cheese, sliced
- Basil
- Balsamic Vinaigrette
- Pepper, to taste

Instructions: Pretty simple.  Greens on the bottom of the plate.  Then, layer the slices of tomato, the slices of mozzarella, and the basil leaves.  Top with Balsamic and pepper to taste.

*Rockfish with Yellow Squash Risotto

The Fish: we purchased the WHOLE fish at whole foods.  They cleaned it for us there - head off, cut into the filets.  Brian took the lead on the fish.  He seasoned it with dill, lemon pepper, garlic, some salt and pepper, and slices of lemon.  From there, he wrapped it in tin foil and baked it at 400 for about 20 minutes.  There was a little improvising/winging it with the fish - but it came out great.

*Yellow Squash Risotto

Ingredients:
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 large yellow squash, diced (about 3 cups)
- 2 cups arborio rice
- 6 cups chicken broth, heated
- Splash of white wine
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- Rosemary, to taste
- Parsley, to taste
- Salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions:

1. Heat the olive oil (on high heat) - add the onion, let it sweat for a few minutes.  Then, add the squash.  Let them cook together for about 5 minutes.  Then, add the rice.  Mix everything, ensuring that the rice is covered in oil - there isn't a lot of oil in this, so mix well.

2. Add 3 cups of broth to the rice.  Bring everything to a boil, then reduce the heat to low (think of it as a healthy simmer; there should be just *some* bubbles indicating that the rice is cooking; and you'll see the vapor of the broth cooking off).  Stir A LOT as the liquid cooks off.  From there, add the remaining broth bit by bit, stirring regularly and consistently as the liquid cooks off.  As you're stirring, add in the seasoning: Rosemary, Pepper, Parsley.  I chose to omit the extra salt, since the chicken broth already contained so much.

3. It will take a long time to use up the chicken broth.  Risotto takes a lot of time and attention.  For me, the process of stirring and adding broth took about an hour.  Once the broth liquid had mostly cooked off, I added a splash of white wine, and allowed that to cook off as well.

4. When the liquid is gone and the rice is al dente, add the butter and cheese and mix well.

Lessons Learned


1. Brian plans to gut and clean the fish himself next time.  This is not my thing.  But, I do wish him well in the endeavor.

2. I invented the risotto recipe based on a Pumpkin Risotto recipe I found on epicurious.com (link: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Risotto-of-Almost-Anything-388489).  You'll see there are some major differences between my recipe and that one.  The takeaway, though, is this: You can use my recipe or this epicurious recipe to create ANY type of risotto.  Just sub the vegetable of your choice in for the Squash (my recipe) or Pumpkin (their recipe).  I feel like I have a handle on Risotto now - which is great, because it's one of my favorite foods.  I almost always order it when I see it on a menu.  Now, I can make it at home :)

3. Whole Foods is a magical place.  We also picked up some fine looking steaks yesterday.  We'll probably make that tonight - with our CSA corn on the side.

Cooking between car rides...

The Weekends
We've taken three weeks off from CSA pickups.  July has been pretty busy - first, a weekend at Penn State for Arts Fest... then, a weekend in NY/NJ for a visit with Melissa, a cousin's wedding, and some time at the shore... and then finally, a weekend in Charlottesville for Sara's wedding.  Regular posts will resume following Saturday, August 4.

Here we are, all dressed up at a real live "manor" in NJ.

Cooking between car rides...
That said, we've still managed to do some cooking with CSA produce from boxes past.  Here's what we made over the past few weeks:

*Bruschetta 
Recipe found in "The Farmer's Kitchen - The Ultimate Guide to Enjoying your CSA and Farmers' Market Foods" by Julia Shanks and Brett Grohsgal (2011-2012).  We followed this guide, with some adaptations to meet what we had in our fridge.  Adapted recipe, below.

Ingredients:
- 2 pounds tomatoes, chopped
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 2+ cloves garlic, chopped
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon balsamic vinegar (we used Oliver's traditional 18 year Balsamic - a gift from Aunt Connie - pictured above)
- 2 tablespoons basil, chopped
- Whole wheat baguette, sliced into rounds

Directions: Mix the tomatoes and salt - let sit for 30 minutes.  Drain the juice from the tomatoes - then mix in all of the other ingredients.  Spoon the Bruschetta on top of the rounds of bread.


*Whole Wheat Spaghetti, Homemade Marinara, Homemade Meatballs (with Asparagus)

Homemade Marinara Ingredients:

- 10 vine tomatoes

- 1 pepper (yellow or red)

- 1 onion (white)

- 5 garlic cloves

- 1/4 - 1/2 cup olive oil

- Basil, to taste

- Dry parsley, to taste

- Dry red peppers, to taste

- Salt and pepper, to taste

- 2 small cans of tomato paste

Directions: Heat the olive oil in a sauce pan.  Chop the onion and garlic - those go in first.  Cover the pan.  Chop the tomatoes.  Some recipes suggest peeling them first, but I never do.  Just chop them up and throw them into the pan when they're nice and diced.  Cover.  Next: chop the pepper - in it goes.  Let everything cook - slow and low, and covered, for at least 20 minutes.  Then, mash the ingredients together - I use a potato masher to do this.  Add the herbs, to taste.  Finally, add as much tomato paste as you feel is required to bring the sauce to the consistency you like.  The more paste, the thicker the sauce.  The longer the sauce cooks (slow and low), the better it will taste.

*Note: Brian made the meatballs using the recipe found in Joy of Cooking.

Lessons Learned

1. This isn't so much a "Lesson Learned" as it is a piece of advice.  So, here it is: No two sauces will ever come out the same.  Over the past year, I've learned to really improvise with my Marinara recipe, making it one of my favorite things to make.  In general, though, I tend to go heavy on the Basil and Garlic, since those are the classic Italian ingredients.

2. We plan on making meatball subs with our leftover meatballs and marinara sauce tonight.  It will be a very easy, very satisfying dinner.  And my kitchen will stay clean for an extra day :)

Week #6

The Weekend
It was 106 degrees in DC this weekend.  Being without a pool, we were pretty antsy to get out of town, so we spent Saturday and Sunday in "Virginia Wine Country."

On Saturday, we went to Tarara Winery, where we had a picnic lunch, did a tasting (lots of whites), and then went to a Concert in a field.  Who was playing?  Gonzo's Nose - a 80s/90s/Today Cover Band.  I have had "Hungry Like the Wolf" and "Dancing in the Dark" stuck in my head, on and off, since then.  For the record, Brian does a great "Springsteen".

What's in the Box?

- Basil
- Beets
- Zucchini
- Garlic
- Thyme
- Peaches
- Cantaloupe
- Swiss Chard
- Potatoes


What to Make?


*Scavenger Sangria

- 1/2 glass of red wine (we chose Tarara's Long Bomb - edition 3)
- 1/4 glass of Sierra Mist (this should really be Lemonade + Soda Water, but they didn't have any at the concert... so we scavenged, hence the name)
- Fruit!  (I put Cantaloupe and Peaches into my glass - leftover from our picnic at lunch)


*Egg Drop Soup

- 5 cups Chicken Broth
- 2 carrots
- 1 tomato
- 3 leaves of Swiss Chard
- 2 eggs

Directions: Heat the Chicken Broth, to a boil.  Peel and chop the carrots, then put them in first since they'll take the longest to cook.  Don't add anything else until the carrots are pretty much cooked - everything else will cook really fast.  Dice the tomato - add that next.  Chop the Swiss Chard - in it goes.  Add one egg at a time.  Crack it, then mix the soup immediately so it cooks properly, spread out.  Add the second egg - same thing.


*Pasta Primavera with Lemon Pepper/Thyme Chicken





*Veggie Mix Includes:
- 1 head of broccoli
- 2 green zucchini
- 1 red bell pepper
- 4 carrots, peeled
- 1/2 large white onion
- 5 leaves of swiss chard
- 1/2 bag frozen peas
- Serve with whole wheat pasta
- Add parmesan cheese

*White Wine Sauce Includes:

- 5 cloves garlic, minced

- 1 cup chopped basil
- 3/4 cup olive oil
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 1/4 cup white wine/Vermouth

*Chicken:
- 2 pieces of chicken breast
- thyme
- lemon pepper

Directions: There will be three pots/pans, running pretty much at once.

1. In a Wok: Heat Olive Oil and Butter.  Then, add vegetables in order of how long they will take to cook.  Always start with the Garlic, Onion, Pepper.  Add the White Wine/Vermouth.  Then, we went: carrots, broccoli.  Then: zucchini.  Then: Swiss Chard and Basil.  Lastly: frozen peas.  Keep stirring, cooking until everything is cooked through to your liking.

2. In a Sauce Pan, with Lid: Season the Chicken with thyme and lemon pepper, to taste.  Then, let it roast in the covered sauce pan for about 10 minutes.  No need to add any oil - just let it cook in its own juice.

3. In a pot: make your pasta :)

When it's all good to go: Add the pasta to the Wok, mix it up.  Add as much Parmesan cheese as you wish.  Slice the chicken - serve it on top of the pasta.  Done.


Lessons Learned...
1. We realize we are late to the Bruce Springsteen party, but we're happy to be here.
2. It's hard to be an exclusively red wine drinker outside in 100+ degrees.  Sangria helps.
3. The egg drop soup was awesome - it's a variation on the egg drop soup my favorite NJ Chinese Food restaurant (Hot Wok - Sara, you'll know this) makes.  I just added Swiss Chard in place of Spinach.  And, theirs doesn't have carrots, but it was a good add, too.
4. Gonzo's Nose put on a great show.  They played "Old Apartment" at Brian's request.  We will definitely be seeing them again.

Week #5

The Weekend

Every day is weekend to me now.  The good news: I don't go back to work until August 20th.  This means: I have started watching The Wire.

Rahul and Eric threw June Beer Club on Sunday.  It was BBQ-style at Rock Creek Park.  Here we are, sometime after I decided to play soccer in bare feet.

What's in the Box?

- Lemon Basil

- Regular Basil

- Beets

- Green Onion
- Garlic

- Chives

- Patty Pan Squash

- Green Zucchini

- Swiss Chard

- Radish Greens

- Apricots

- Peaches

What to Make?

*Pre-Beer Club Breakfast

- Scrambled eggs with Chives

- Whole wheat baguette toast

- Fruit Salad: Peaches and Apricots

- Roasted Potatoes (leftover from dinner - see: Week 4)

*Post-Beer Club Snack

- Muesli with Almond Milk and Apricots

*When life gives you 2 types of Basil... Make Pesto.

Credit: Bon Appetit via Epicurious.com

@: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Classic-Pesto-109802

Ingredients: 

4 cups fresh basil leaves (from about 3 large bunches)

1/2 cup olive oil

1/3 cup pine nuts

2 garlic cloves

1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1/4 cup freshly grated pecorino Sardo or Parmesan cheese

1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt

Directions: 

Combine first 4 ingredients in blender. Blend until paste forms, stopping often to push down basil. Add both cheeses and salt; blend until smooth. Transfer to small bowl. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Top with 1/2 inch olive oil and chill.

Sous Chef Notes:

We only used one cheese - Parmesan - so we used 1/2 cup total.  Also: using the blender worked just as well as using a Food Processor, which we don't have.  We ate the pesto over fresh Linguini, topped with a little extra salt and cheese.

Lessons Learned

1. I will never play soccer in bare feet again.  

2. Almond milk > Soy milk.  This is just an opinion.  (But it's also the truth).

3. The pesto was so good.  Next time, we're going to try squeezing a little lemon juice into it, though, because it does start to brown pretty quickly.  Also: I didn't add the "extra" olive oil at the end, because pesto can be pretty high in fat - healthy fat, but still high.  This made the pesto seem a little more paste-like than it probably should... so in the future I will probably just follow Bon Appetit's advice, and add the extra, healthy fat.