5 Spice Ginger Pickles

I love love LOVE pickles. And I love love LOVE ginger. And cucumbers go bad fast, so I decided to make some "quickles" aka quick pickles. Basically these are refrigerator pickles. You slice the cucumber (and onion in this case) and then soak them in a brine in the fridge. I don't bother going through the canning process, mostly because I'm lazy and afraid of botulism.

1 cucumber sliced

1 half sweet onion sliced

1/2 cup mirin (sweet rice seasoning)

1/2 cup rice wine vinegar

1 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp grated ginger

1 tsp five spice powder

1/2 tsp salt

combine the liquid in a jar, then layer the pickles and onions and toss in the fridge. The longer they soak the more flavorful they get.

I had a soup, but I ated it

I had a soup, but I ated it
Originally uploaded by kel h

The bulk of our trivia team bowed out this week, so I decided to make soup for dinner for me and my roommate instead. And THEN I invited another member of the trivia team. And that's how I wound up having a small dinner gathering tonight.

We have a surefit of onions from the CSA, and I've been wanting to make vegetarian french onion soup ever since watching Alton Brown make it on Good Eats a while back. And once we went from just me and G (the roommate) to a small dinner party, I thought I should make dessert. I have a bunch of apples from the farmshare too, so I thought a french apple tart would make a good dessert.

It was a local, seasonal, french supper

The soup recipe was taken from Food Network, which cribbed from Julia Child's recipe. I made a few adjustments, and I want to kiss the man who invented the food processor (so much easier to slice onions with the slicing plate). I used less broth (although I probably could have used the whole 8 cups), and I added a teaspoon of herbs de provance and a bay leaf (Alton made his with a bouqet de garni of bay leaf, thyme and parsley, but I didn't have the whole sprigs of herbs).

French Onion Soup

Taken from Food Network, which based their recipe on Julia Child's recipe for French Onion Soup

Ingredients
1/2 stick butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
8 cups thinly sliced onions (about 2-1/2 pounds)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon flour
8 cups homemade beef stock, or good quality store bought stock (I used better than boullion No Beef Base. I LOVE their stuff and ususally have two or three containers in the fridge at any given time)
1/4 cup Cognac, or other good brandy
1 cup dry white wine
1 tsp herbs de provance
8 (1/2-inch) thick slices of French bread, toasted
3/4 pound coarsely grated Gruyere

Directions
Heat a heavy saucepan over moderate heat with the butter and oil. When the butter has melted, stir in the onions, cover, and cook slowly until tender and translucent, about 10 minutes. Blend in the salt and sugar, increase the heat to medium high, and let the onions brown, stirring frequently until they are a dark walnut color, 25 to 30 minutes.

Sprinkle the flour and cook slowly, stirring, for another 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from heat, let cool a moment, then whisk in 2 cups of hot stock. When well blended, bring to the simmer, adding the rest of the stock, Cognac, and wine. Cover loosely, and simmer very slowly 1 1/2 hours, adding a little water if the liquid reduces too much. Taste for seasoning

Divide the soup among 4 ovenproof bowls. Arrange toast on top of soup and sprinkle generously with grated cheese. Place bowls on a cookie sheet and place under a preheated broiler until cheese melts and forms a crust over the tops of the bowls. Serve immediately.

We had a side of salad with homemade balsamic vinaigrette.

For dessert I made an apple tart based on a recipe from Smitten Kitchen. I am pretty sure I used three kinds of apples (Macintosh, Granny Smith, and Golden Delicious). I altered the recipe a bit. Alton reccomends using applejack in apple pie dough instead of water, and I like bourbon in my apple pie so I used some of that in the syrup. Part of the decision was based on the fact that apple tart is traditionally french, part because I had a bunch of apples, and part based on my recent purchase of a new tart pan from Ikea

Based on Smitten Kitchens Simplest Apple Tart recipe

Alice Waters’s Apple Tart
Found buried deeply within my recipe bookmarks folder!

Dough:
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, just softened, cut in 1/2-inch pieces
3 1/2 tablespoons chilled water (I used applejack)

Filling:
2 pounds apples (Golden Delicious or another tart, firm variety), peeled, cored (save peels and cores), and sliced
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
5 tablespoons sugar

Glaze:
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup bourbon

MIX flour, sugar, and salt in a large bowl; add 2 tablespoons of the butter. Blend in a mixer until dough resembles coarse cornmeal. Add remaining butter; mix until biggest pieces look like large peas.

DRIBBLE in water (or applejack), stir, then dribble in more, until dough just holds together. Toss with hands, letting it fall through fingers, until it’s ropy with some dry patches. If dry patches predominate, add another tablespoon water. Keep tossing until you can roll dough into a ball. Flatten into a 4-inch-thick disk; refrigerate. After at least 30 minutes, remove; let soften so it’s malleable but still cold. Smooth cracks at edges. On a lightly floured surface, roll into a 14-inch circle about 1/8 inch thick. Dust excess flour from both sides with a dry pastry brush.

PLACE dough in a lightly greased 9-inch round tart pan, or simply on a parchment-lined baking sheet if you wish to go free-form, or galette-style with it. Heat oven to 400#176;F. (If you have a pizza stone, place it in the center of the rack.)

OVERLAP apples on dough in a ring 2 inches from edge if going galette-style, or up to the sides if using the tart pan. Continue inward until you reach the center. Fold any dough hanging over pan back onto itself; crimp edges at 1-inch intervals.

BRUSH melted butter over apples and onto dough edge. Sprinkle sugar over the crust and apples. I have some vanilla sugar that I used for this (although instead of alton's recipe I just keep a tupperware with white sugar and used vanilla bean pods that I add as I use them)

BAKE in center of oven until apples are soft, with browned edges, and crust has caramelized to a dark golden brown (about 45 minutes), making sure to rotate tart every 15 minutes.

MAKE glaze: Put reserved peels and cores in a large saucepan, along with sugar. Pour in just enough water and bourbon to cover; simmer for 25 minutes. Strain syrup through cheesecloth.

REMOVE tart from oven, and slide off parchment onto cooling rack. Let cool at least 15 minutes.

BRUSH glaze over tart, slice, and serve.

Roasted Tomato Pesto

Roasted Tomato Pesto
Originally uploaded by kel h

I had some tomatoes in my CSA share that were going to go bad, so I thought I would make this. It came out pretty tasty. It's a combo of two recipes. Oven Roasted Tomato Sauce from Earthbound Farms and Tomato Basil Pesto from Smitten Kitchen


Ingredients:
4 large tomatoes cut into quarters
1 large sweet onions cut into wedges
8 cloves garlic
1 bunch basil
1/2-1 cup toasted almond slivers
1 tbsp tomato paste
olive oil
salt
pepper

Directions

Preheat the oven to 475
pour tomatoes, onions and garlic into roasting pan and coat with olive oil
season with salt and pepper
Roast in oven for 10 min
reduce temp to 425 and continue roasting for 40-50 min
let cool and remove tomato skins

toast almond slivers in pan
grind in food processor for a few pulses
add tomatoes, onions and garlic along with leaves from 1 bunch basil and tomato paste. Run until it becomes a paste and drizzle olive oil to desired consistency. Season to taste.

Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic and Apple Onion Butternut Squash Gratin

So, I went to see The Town yesterday with some friends, and before the movie I invited them over for dinner. I had a whole roasting chicken in the freezer from Trader Joe's, so I decided to make Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic from Ina Garten's recipe. For sides we had Butternut Squash, Apple, and Onion Gratain and Mixed Green Salad.

So, it didn't go exactly like that. I DID have to take the chicken apart, which I've never done before. It wasn't to bad, really. I mean, I'm sure I could have done it and gotten a little more meat off the chicken and made it look more professional, but it really was pulling the limbs and cutting where they meet the bird, and then cutting the breast off the breastbone.

The fact that with this recipe it simmers in sauce for half an hour after searing the surface makes the meat really tender, and the sauce was really tasty. I used pre-peeled garlic, but I still blanched them since comments on the website indicate that it was helpful not only in the peeling process, but started getting the garlic soft.

Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic

Ingredients

3 whole heads garlic, about 40 cloves

2 (3 1/2-pound) chickens, cut into eighths

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

2 tablespoons good olive oil

3 tablespoons Cognac, divided

1 1/2 cups dry white wine

1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons heavy cream

Directions

Separate the cloves of garlic and drop them into a pot of boiling water for 60 seconds. Drain the garlic and peel. Set aside.

Dry the chicken with paper towels. Season liberally with salt and pepper on both sides. Heat the butter and oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. In batches, saute the chicken in the fat, skin side down first, until nicely browned, about 3 to 5 minutes on each side. Turn with tongs or a spatula; you don't want to pierce the skin with a fork. If the fat is burning, turn the heat down to medium. When a batch is done, transfer it to a plate and continue to saute all the chicken in batches. Remove the last chicken to the plate and add all of the garlic to the pot. Lower the heat and saute for 5 to 10 minutes, turning often, until evenly browned. Add 2 tablespoons of the Cognac and the wine, return to a boil, and scrape the brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Return the chicken to the pot with the juices and sprinkle with the thyme leaves. Cover and simmer over the lowest heat for about 30 minutes, until all the chicken is done.

Remove the chicken to a platter and cover with aluminum foil to keep warm. In a small bowl, whisk together 1/2 cup of the sauce and the flour and then whisk it back into the sauce in the pot. Raise the heat, add the remaining tablespoon of Cognac and the cream, and boil for 3 minutes. Add salt and pepper, to taste; it should be very flavorful because chicken tends to be bland. Pour the sauce and the garlic over the chicken and serve hot.

The Butternut Squash, Apple, and Onion Gratain is something I have made in the past. I love making it with tart apples, and using thyme in the seasoning.

Butternut Squash, Apple, Onion Gratain

Ingredients

Cooking spray

1/2 cup flour divided

2 teaspoon salt divided

2 pinch nutmeg divided

1 tsp dried thyme divided

1 butternut squash - peeled, seeded and sliced

4 apples - peeled, cored and sliced

1 sweet onion, thinly sliced

1 cup veggie stock

1 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese

Directions

Preheat oven to 350. Spray 9- x 11-inch glass baking pan with cooking spray.

Place half of the flour, salt, nutmeg and thyme into a large plastic bag. Add half the squash, apples, and onions; shake until lightly dusted.

In glass dish, layer the first 1/2 of squash, apples, and sweet onion. Pour 1/2 cup stock over the top, then sprinkle 1/2 of cheese. Repeat step 2 with remaining veggies and add to glass dish. Pour remaining stock over the top, and cover with foil.

Bake in preheated oven for 40 minutes.

Take out and sprinkle with remaining cheese. Return, uncovered, to oven; bake for another 5 minutes. Let sit for 5 minutes before serving.

By the way, The Town was a nice, tight little heist movie that was obviously made by someone from the Boston area who knows and loves the town. Little details like the fact that you could see the Logan Airport tower through the window of Jon Hamm's characters office were really nice, and the car chase was EXCELLENT, especially the ending. Definitely worth seeing on the BIG screen

What's in the Box

Whats in the Box
Originally uploaded by kel h

I love Wednesdays. Not only is it the second to last day in the work week for me (I work Sun-Thurs), but it is also the day that my farm share from Enterprise Farms comes. I always look forward to coming home and opening my box to see what awaits.

Here is today's bounty:

loose beets
Callaloo Greens
Japanese eggplants
cucumber
tomatoes
mixed salad greens
a green pepper
basil
and the worlds cutest watermelon

The one challenge of having a farm share all to myself is cooking all of the food, especially since I have some intestinal issues and occasionally have to go on a low fiber diet. Today while putting my produce back in the fridge, I noticed that I had more green peppers and eggplant than I knew what to do with. Not being in the mood to do anything complicated, I did the following:

cube up the eggplant and two red potatoes (I've become a HUGE fan of the red potato for roasting and boiling because they are waxier and hold their shape better),
cut one tomato and two small onions into wedges
roughly chopped one green pepper.
toss with olive oil, salt and pepper and four large smashed garlic cloves.
Roast for twenty minutes at 400 degrees, then flip and roast another 10-20.
I love eggplant prepared this way. When you bite into it, it's salty on the outside and sweet and silky on the inside

I had about half with two slices of sourdough bread and some shredded italian cheese blend

This is my second post in the blogathon supporting the MA Farmers Market Association. MA farmers markets provide access to fresh and local produce to people around the state, especially in urban areas where it is difficult to find these things. They've even been at the forefront of programs encouraging people to eat more produce, including accepting SNAP bennefits (AKA food stamps) at many markets and making those dollars go further by giving $2 credit for every $1 spent with SNAP, as well as the Produce Prescriptions, where local doctors give families a prescription for fruits and veggies that can be redeemed for produce at a farmers market.

Childhood poverty is an issue that is really important to me in part due to my working with underprivileged kids in the state with mental and behavioral health issues. These programs are addressing the real problems of nutrition and obesity among kids living in poor urban areas, and I'd love to see them get the support they deserve.

Sometimes Simple is Best...italian stir fry

Today I got my farmshare. I got green peppers, lemon cucumbers, tomatoes (OMG, local organic seasonal tomatoes are light years away from other tomato-looking things you may have been eating before), eggplant, cantaloupe, and collard greens. I also got home stupid late from work today. Exhaustion being the mother of invention, I tossed together a simple supper:

1/2 onion diced

1 pepper 1 inch dice

2 cloves garlic minced

1 tomato 1 inch dice

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp butter

6 frozen shrimp

1 pinch red pepper flakes

handful of basil sliced (chiffonade is the fancy word for it)

salt and pepper to taste

1/2 cup leftover rice

brown the onion and garlic

add the pepper and cook until begining to brown

add tomato, rice, red pepper and basil and cook until warmed through

in grill pan, cook shrimp flipping halfway through

add shrimp to onions and peppers and then serve

Om nom nom

ratatouille panzanella

ratatouille panzanella
Originally uploaded by kel h

Ratatouille is a rustic french vegetable dish. Panzanella is a rustic Tuscan bread salad. I saw Bobby Flay make a grilled ratatuille the other day, and when I got a giant eggplant in my CSA share last week, the idea for this recipe was born

Ingredients;
1/2 of one large eggplant cut into 1 inch cubes
1 zucchini cut in half and sliced into one inch half circles
1 summer squash cut in half and sliced into one inch half circles
2 small red onions cut in halves and cut into quarters
4 roma tomatoes cut into four slices each
1 lemon zested and juiced
1/3 to 1/2 olive oil
2 cloves garlic grated
1/2 tsp thyme
I sprig basil sliced into strips
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/2 tsp oregano
salt and pepper
1 small baguette or four small dinner rolls (stale) Should be a type of bread that will hold up to soaking
1 ball fresh mozzarella cut into small cubes

Directions
Make a vinaigrette out of the olive oil, lemon zest and juice, garlic clove, salt, pepper, thyme and oregano.
toss veggies in about half the vinaigrette and either put on skewers and grill or roast in the oven at 400 for half an hour turning once.
cut the bread into cubes and toss into the rest of the vinaigrette.
Add the fresh herbs and cubed cheese
Let the roasted vegetables cool for a bit until they are warm, then toss with the bread and cheese
can be served warm or cold

Bread and Butter Pickles

Bread and Butter Pickles
Originally uploaded by kel h

I have an abundance of cucumbers from my CSA, so I decided to make pickles

taken from AllRecipies.com

Ingredients

2 small onions, sliced
1/4 teaspoon mustard seed
1/8 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/4 teaspoon celery seed
1/8 tsp corriander seed
1 clove garlic
1/4 cup white sugar
3/4 cup distilled white vinegar
1 tablespoon and 3/4 teaspoon coarse salt
2 cucumbers, sliced

pour the spices and sugar in a saucepan with the vinegar. Add onion and garlic and boil. Layer cucumbers and onions in a jar, alternating ever half inch or so. Then pour the liquid over. You may need to squish the cucumbers and onions down a bit. Refrigerate. The longer the better.

If you want to "put them up" you should follow a canning recipe, as this is just a refrigerator pickle recipe and is not suitable for keeping unrefrigerated (mostly this has to do with me being too lazy do sterilize everything, and also liking pickles enough that I'm pretty sure I will eat them within a few weeks)

Greek Caponata

Greek Caponata
Originally uploaded by kel h

I have a bunch of squash and potatoes from my CSA, so I made this: Taken from Giada De Laurentiis
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/greek-caponata-recipe/index.html

Ingredients
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes with their juice
2 zucchini, cut into 1-inch rounds (I used one Magda squash that came in my CSA box, quartered and sliced into 1 inch slices)
2 summer squash, cut into 1-inch rounds
2 tomatoes, cut into wedges (I used a pint of grape tomatoes halved)
1 japanese eggplant cut into 1 inch rounds (I used a regular one quartered and cut into 1 inch slices)
1 red onion, peeled and cut into 1-inch wedges
1 potato, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon dried oregano
4 to 6 slices toasted sourdough bread, optional for main dish
Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Pour the canned tomatoes into a 3 1/2-quart baking dish and spread to cover the bottom. In a large bowl combine the remaining ingredients (excluding the bread). Toss to coat. Pour the vegetables over the canned tomatoes in an even layer. Cover the baking dish with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and bake until the edges of the vegetables are golden, about 30 to 40 minutes.

Serve alone as a side, or over toasted sourdough bread for a main dish.

Onion, Tomato, Mushroom and Thyme Frittata

Onion, Tomato, Mushroom and Thyme Frittata
Originally uploaded by kel h

Mushroom Onion Tomato Thyme Frittata

Ingredients
2.5 c cooked pasta
1 sweet onion halved and sliced
1/2 pt cherry tomatoes halved
1/2 box mushrooms chopped
3 cloves garlic minced
1 tsp dried thyme
6 eggs enough to cover the pasta
2/3 c milk
salt
pepper
1/2 c grated Parmesan cheese
2 tbsp butter

cook and cool the pasta
caramelize the onion with the butter on a low heat
take the onions out of the pan, cook the tomatoes mushrooms and garlic til mushrooms are browned
add thyme
remove from heat and add to cooled pasta along with onions

In separate bowl mix eggs, milk, salt, pepper and cheese

Pour egg mixture into pasta and veggies

Spray a non stick skillet with pam and pour egg and pasta mixture in.

Cook on one side for about 8 minutes, running a thin spatula around the edge periodically to make sure it isn't sticking

when the edges get brown, get a plate slightly smaller than the skillet and put it on top of the skillet upside down

Flip the frittata onto the plate, then slide back into the pan with the browned side up.

Cook for another 8 minutes or so, then flip it back onto the plate

let it sit for a bit and cool a smidge, then slice

The one pictured was made with 3 cups of pasta, and is somewhat structurally unsound because I added more veggies than the recipe I was jumping off from called for. I think reducing the pasta in the frittata will increase the stability as the egg to non egg ratio will be better allowing for more binding.

while structurally questionable, the frittata pictured is undeniably tasty

Red Lentil and rice soup that is not terribly soupy

Red Lentil and rice soup that is not terribly soupy
Originally uploaded by kel h

its one of those "use everything in the pantry" kind of weeks, and i have a ton of red lentils, so I tried to make red lentil soup. Except i accidentally added waaaay too much rice and it became red lentil and rice....stuff. Still tasty, not so soupy

1 c. red lentils
1 med. onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic minced
1/4 c. rice (I accidentally added 1 c which is why it looks less like soup and more like rice with lentils and onions)
1/8 tsp. red pepper flakes
6 c. veggie broth
1 bay leaf
1 cup crushed tomatoes (or a small can if you want more tomatoey goodness)
2 tbsp. olive oil

heat olive oil in bottom of stock pot and cook chopped onion and garlic along with bay leaf until onions soften. Add veggie broth, lentils, rice, tomatoes and pepper flakes and bring to boil, then reduce heat to simmer. Simmer until rice and lentils become soft (start checking after half an hour or so).

Quinoa and Black Beans

Quinoa and Black Beans
Originally uploaded by kel h

Quinoa is a great whole grain, and black beans are full of protien. This is one of my favorite recipes for Quinoa, and it's especially good on a cold day like today.

INGREDIENTS (Nutrition)

* 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
* 1 onion, chopped
* 3 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
* 3/4 cup uncooked quinoa
* 1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
* 1 teaspoon ground cumin
* 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (or replace with 1 chipotle pepper chopped up, but beware because it's a bit spicier this way)
* salt and pepper to taste
* 1 cup frozen corn kernels
* 2 (15 ounce) cans black beans, rinsed and drained
* 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

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DIRECTIONS

1. Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the onion and garlic, and saute until lightly browned.
2. Mix quinoa into the saucepan and cover with vegetable broth. Season with cumin, cayenne pepper, salt, and pepper. Bring the mixture to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes,
3. Stir frozen corn into the saucepan, and continue to simmer about 5 minutes until heated through. Mix in the black beans and cilantro.

pumpkin stew

pumpkin stew
Originally uploaded by kel h

Mmmm. Rachel Ray had a pumpkin pasta recipe, and i thought it would make for a good stew.

Chop an onion, about 5 cloves of garlic and two or three shallots and brown in a stock pot. Add a cup or two of broth and throw in a couple of handfuls of peeled cubed turnips. Let it boil for about 5 minutes or so then throw in three cubed potatoes and cook for another five minutes or so. Then chuck in a bunch of veggies (I added frozen carrots and pearl onions and some left over frozen butternut squash), 1 small can of pumpkin puree, a can of black beans, more broth to the consistency you want and a bay leaf. Cook for a good while (i dunno, maybe 10 min) and add seasonings to taste. I like a tablespoon of cinnamon, a few teaspoons of cyanne pepper, and i added half a pack of sazon cause i had it. My "cooking" recipes tend to be very vauge because i start with a recipe and then just sort of improvise. It's tasty tho! Just be sure to take the bay leaf out before eating.