Tonight we tried Braised cabbage. Recipe found here:
https://stillmansfarm.wordpress.com/
I didn't want to buy a 1/2 gallon of cider, so I bought a 12oz bottle of hard cider.
I didn't buy caraway seeds because Trader Joes didn't have them and I didn't want to stop at another store. I tried cumin instead.
I didn't buy fresh thyme either and used dried instead.
I added my last turnip with the apple. The apple wasn't a Granny Smith. I think it was a Cortland.
I shredded the cabbage by using my mandolin on the julienne setting. That worked really well. All of the skin on my hand is still intact!
Bert melted the butter, added the turnip for two minutes, then the apple for another two minutes, then the cider and spices, waited three minutes, then added the cabbage, covered and simmered for 9 minutes.
This all took about 20 minutes. We served this with roasted potatoes and chicken.
Overall, I am not a fan of cabbage. This dish was edible, and certainly an acceptable way to get rid of some cabbage. I think that it needed more apple flavor, so either I needed to use more cider or buy real cider. I will try the leftovers tomorrow.
Tuesday, September 30, 2014
Sunday, September 28, 2014
No more corn!
Today's box
1 giant head of cabbage
3 tomatoes
3 peaches
2 pears
4 apples
2 peppers
1 onion
1 butternut squash
1 head of lettuce
1 head of cauliflower
2 servings of potato
I am really going to miss having fresh vegetables! We have at least one more week of the CSA, possibly a bonus week depending on how the fields look.
1 giant head of cabbage
3 tomatoes
3 peaches
2 pears
4 apples
2 peppers
1 onion
1 butternut squash
1 head of lettuce
1 head of cauliflower
2 servings of potato
I am really going to miss having fresh vegetables! We have at least one more week of the CSA, possibly a bonus week depending on how the fields look.
butternut squash risotto
I had two butternut squash sitting on my counter, staring at me. Eventually I was going to need to cut them up, so I chose to do that this morning while Bert was golfing. The alternative was take-out for lunch.
Butternut Squash Risotto
1/2 butternut squash, peeled, diced
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon oil
Salt
pepper
Chili powder
1 small onion, diced
2 tablespoon of butter
1 cup Arborio Rice (Risotto)
4 cups chicken stock (probably)
Parmesan cheese
Parsley
I melted the butter and stirred with the olive oil, then added the squash and seasoning. I stirred this until the squash was tender. I put this aside on another plate. You can also prepare the squash by steaming on the stove top. One recipe said to mash the squash once cooked. I kept it in diced form.
I warmed 2 TBS of butter and added my onion. I stirred this for 2 minutes, then added the rice. I stirred the rice for about 1-2 minutes, then I started to add the stock. I had warmed the stock on another burner. I transferred warm stock to my risotto, about two to three ladles worth at a time. Each time I added stock, I stirred until the stock had been absorbed before adding more. After about 3 cups, I was getting hungry so I tasted the rice. It had a good consistency so I stopped there. Yummy!
I turned the heat down and covered until Bert arrived home, about 8 minutes later. You can serve with cheese and parsley. I forgot both but the recipes still tasted good.
Bert thought the recipe had cream in it because it was so creamy! The recipe probably took 90minutes to prepare.
Butternut Squash Risotto
1/2 butternut squash, peeled, diced
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon oil
Salt
pepper
Chili powder
1 small onion, diced
2 tablespoon of butter
1 cup Arborio Rice (Risotto)
4 cups chicken stock (probably)
Parmesan cheese
Parsley
I melted the butter and stirred with the olive oil, then added the squash and seasoning. I stirred this until the squash was tender. I put this aside on another plate. You can also prepare the squash by steaming on the stove top. One recipe said to mash the squash once cooked. I kept it in diced form.
I warmed 2 TBS of butter and added my onion. I stirred this for 2 minutes, then added the rice. I stirred the rice for about 1-2 minutes, then I started to add the stock. I had warmed the stock on another burner. I transferred warm stock to my risotto, about two to three ladles worth at a time. Each time I added stock, I stirred until the stock had been absorbed before adding more. After about 3 cups, I was getting hungry so I tasted the rice. It had a good consistency so I stopped there. Yummy!
I turned the heat down and covered until Bert arrived home, about 8 minutes later. You can serve with cheese and parsley. I forgot both but the recipes still tasted good.
Bert thought the recipe had cream in it because it was so creamy! The recipe probably took 90minutes to prepare.
Sunday, September 21, 2014
Stir fried caulifower
Tonight I tried a new cauliflower recipe. Someone at work suggested it to me when I told them I don't really like cauliflower. We'll call it stir fried cauliflower.
I grated the cauliflower, mostly the florets, less of the stalk. I also diced a small onion,
I warmed oil in a pan then added the cauliflower and onion.
I stirred and stirred and added a little more oil to see if it would get crispy at all. It didn't.
I then added low sodium soy sauce. Now it started to look like fried rice, which was the point.
I liked eating cauliflower this way. Bert did not like it because it had too much soy sauce and he couldn't taste the cauliflower. I liked it because I couldn't taste the cauliflower. I will need to find another recipe that works for both of us.
I grated the cauliflower, mostly the florets, less of the stalk. I also diced a small onion,
I warmed oil in a pan then added the cauliflower and onion.
I stirred and stirred and added a little more oil to see if it would get crispy at all. It didn't.
I then added low sodium soy sauce. Now it started to look like fried rice, which was the point.
I liked eating cauliflower this way. Bert did not like it because it had too much soy sauce and he couldn't taste the cauliflower. I liked it because I couldn't taste the cauliflower. I will need to find another recipe that works for both of us.
Nearing the end of the summer CSA :(
We did a pretty good job this past week eating our vegetables. We weren't around this weekend, but the only thing left from last week was one serving of stuffed pepper and a turnip.
This week's box had:
4 ears of corn
3 tomatoes
2 peppers
Head of cauliflower
3 peaches
4 apples
2 medium potatoes
Head of green leaf leattuce
This week's box had:
4 ears of corn
3 tomatoes
2 peppers
Head of cauliflower
3 peaches
4 apples
2 medium potatoes
Head of green leaf leattuce
Thursday, September 18, 2014
Stuffed Pepper
For stuffed peppers tonight I used:
1 cup 10minute Uncle Ben's Brown Rice
1 head of Asian Greens
8oz V8 low sodium vegetable juice
2 chicken sausage links
2 medium tomatoes
3 peppers
Shredded cheese blend, low fat
I started the water boiling for the peppers. While that was boiling, I cleaned and cut the pepper and greens. The greens taste like cabbage. I also started the rice, which took 10 minutes.
When the large pot of water was boiling I added the greens' stems first, then the peppers (I cut those in half this time so they would fit in the pot). I brought that back to boiling then added the green leaves. After a minute or two I drained off the water and returned it to the large pot so I could add the diced tomato, rice and chicken sausage. Last time I made stuffed peppers, I thought it was dry, so this time I added the vegetable juice. Seasoned with salt and ground peppercorn.
I scooped the filling into the pepper halves and arranged in a baking dish. I sprinkled cheese on top, covered and baked in the oven, convection setting, for 20minutes. It was heated through after 20minutes.
This took about 1.5 hours, cooking on my own. Not sure Bert would have saved me much time since there was time spent waiting for water to boil.
1 cup 10minute Uncle Ben's Brown Rice
1 head of Asian Greens
8oz V8 low sodium vegetable juice
2 chicken sausage links
2 medium tomatoes
3 peppers
Shredded cheese blend, low fat
I started the water boiling for the peppers. While that was boiling, I cleaned and cut the pepper and greens. The greens taste like cabbage. I also started the rice, which took 10 minutes.
When the large pot of water was boiling I added the greens' stems first, then the peppers (I cut those in half this time so they would fit in the pot). I brought that back to boiling then added the green leaves. After a minute or two I drained off the water and returned it to the large pot so I could add the diced tomato, rice and chicken sausage. Last time I made stuffed peppers, I thought it was dry, so this time I added the vegetable juice. Seasoned with salt and ground peppercorn.
I scooped the filling into the pepper halves and arranged in a baking dish. I sprinkled cheese on top, covered and baked in the oven, convection setting, for 20minutes. It was heated through after 20minutes.
This took about 1.5 hours, cooking on my own. Not sure Bert would have saved me much time since there was time spent waiting for water to boil.
Baba Ganouj Take 2
I think I first had Baba Ganouj when I lived in Boston in 2003 and tried Shwarma King. Growing up, I don't think there was anything like Shwarma. I am pretty sure I first had it in a wrap, probably with falafel. The first time I made it myself was for a Grad School International Food Potluck. Yes, the white girl from VT brought Baba ganouj. The recipe I used came from an Eating Well magazine, so I am pretty sure I picked that recipe because I had a free copy of Eating Well lying around and there was the recipe with very few ingredients. Score!
I made another batch of Baba Ganouj Tuesday night. I used eggplant that had been in my fridge for two days, much fresher than the batch I made the other day. This time I cut the eggplant in half, massaged the skin with Olive oil and put it cut side down on a baking sheet. I baked at 350 for 30minutes, cooled it on the counter then scooped out the filling. I ended up eating the skin, it was really tasty!
In the last 15minutes of cooking I tossed a few garlic pieces on the tray to bake. I used one of these in my dip.
I blended 1 tablespoon of Tahini with 1 TBS of lemon juice and 1 clove of the garlic with the eggplant with my hand mixer. Oh boy it was good. Nice a creamy and smooth. Good blend of flavors and not too much garlic this time!
This is tasting really good as a dressing for my tabouleh over romaine lettuce and stuffed in Joseph's low carb pita. I stretched it for lunch all week.
I made another batch of Baba Ganouj Tuesday night. I used eggplant that had been in my fridge for two days, much fresher than the batch I made the other day. This time I cut the eggplant in half, massaged the skin with Olive oil and put it cut side down on a baking sheet. I baked at 350 for 30minutes, cooled it on the counter then scooped out the filling. I ended up eating the skin, it was really tasty!
In the last 15minutes of cooking I tossed a few garlic pieces on the tray to bake. I used one of these in my dip.
I blended 1 tablespoon of Tahini with 1 TBS of lemon juice and 1 clove of the garlic with the eggplant with my hand mixer. Oh boy it was good. Nice a creamy and smooth. Good blend of flavors and not too much garlic this time!
This is tasting really good as a dressing for my tabouleh over romaine lettuce and stuffed in Joseph's low carb pita. I stretched it for lunch all week.
Tuesday, September 16, 2014
Stuffed winter squash
We made stuffed winter squash last night.
Recipe was provided by Stillman's Farm, but they haven't posted the recipe yet.
Yummy squash recipe (makes 4 large servings)
1 winter squash (I used carnival, provided by CSA)
1 small onion
2/3cup apple juice
1/4 cup dried currants
1 tablespoon curry
2 apples, pared, cored, diced (I used Jonamacs which I had on hand, the original recipe calls for Granny Smith).
Soften the onion in a 1 tablespoon of butter. Then add curry, stir for about a minute. Then add currants, apples, and juice. Salt to taste. Stir until liquid is absorbed.
I cut squash into quarters and cleaned out the seeds. The recipe calls for acorn squash, sliced into 1inch rounds. Slicing winter squash into that many pieces sounded dangerous, so I stuck with quarters. Placed these into a 9x13 baking pan with some water in the bottom.
Spooned the apple mixture into the quarters. Covered with foil. Baked for one hour at 350degrees.
By this time, we were starving and ate something different for dinner, so I scooped out the squash into a casserole dish and saved it for later.
When I reheated my portion the next day, I added a little more butter which helped smooth out some of the acidity. Bert added cinnamon to his quarter and really liked it that way.
I figure about 30g of carb per quarter.
Recipe was provided by Stillman's Farm, but they haven't posted the recipe yet.
Yummy squash recipe (makes 4 large servings)
1 winter squash (I used carnival, provided by CSA)
1 small onion
2/3cup apple juice
1/4 cup dried currants
1 tablespoon curry
2 apples, pared, cored, diced (I used Jonamacs which I had on hand, the original recipe calls for Granny Smith).
Soften the onion in a 1 tablespoon of butter. Then add curry, stir for about a minute. Then add currants, apples, and juice. Salt to taste. Stir until liquid is absorbed.
I cut squash into quarters and cleaned out the seeds. The recipe calls for acorn squash, sliced into 1inch rounds. Slicing winter squash into that many pieces sounded dangerous, so I stuck with quarters. Placed these into a 9x13 baking pan with some water in the bottom.
Spooned the apple mixture into the quarters. Covered with foil. Baked for one hour at 350degrees.
By this time, we were starving and ate something different for dinner, so I scooped out the squash into a casserole dish and saved it for later.
When I reheated my portion the next day, I added a little more butter which helped smooth out some of the acidity. Bert added cinnamon to his quarter and really liked it that way.
I figure about 30g of carb per quarter.
Tasty Pork
I got this recipe from Cooking Light. The recipe is for Barbecue Pork, but it isn't "real" barbecue.
The recipe
4 bone-in center cut pork chops (I bought 2 packages at 0.7 pounds each)
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup ketchup
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce (I found low sodium!)
1 tablespoon soy sauce (low sodium)
Season the pork with salt, pepper, garlic powder and thyme.
Put under broiler, about six minutes a side. We added the sauce at 3minutes, then turned at 6minutes, added sauce, and sauced again at 9minutes, take out at 12minutes.
The next night we did this on a grill pan on the stove top. That also worked well (and the condo didn't heat up like an oven with the broiler on).
This was really good and easy. We are going to make this a regular on our table.
The recipe
4 bone-in center cut pork chops (I bought 2 packages at 0.7 pounds each)
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup ketchup
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce (I found low sodium!)
1 tablespoon soy sauce (low sodium)
Season the pork with salt, pepper, garlic powder and thyme.
Put under broiler, about six minutes a side. We added the sauce at 3minutes, then turned at 6minutes, added sauce, and sauced again at 9minutes, take out at 12minutes.
The next night we did this on a grill pan on the stove top. That also worked well (and the condo didn't heat up like an oven with the broiler on).
This was really good and easy. We are going to make this a regular on our table.
Sunday, September 14, 2014
Baba Ganouj or is it Ganoush?
For Baba Ganouj I used
Two small eggplants from last week
1 tablespoon Tahini paste
2 tablespoon lemon juice
2 cloves garlic, chopped fine
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
I peeled the eggplant, cut into 1inch pieces, salted, then tossed in olive oil. I put this in the oven for 30minutes. Tried to toss them once while cooking (that was after 25minutes, would aim for 15minutes next time). I took them out and let them cool.
I put the eggplant into my hand mixer container. Then added the paste, lemon juice, garlic and Olive oil (1-2 tablespoons). Used my new found hand mixer to make it nice and smooth. I think there was too much garlic, but too late to take it out this time.
For lunch, I also made Tabouleh. I used a box of Near East Tabouleh mix. It was ready to expire! Probably would taste better using fresh ingredients. I mixed in one of my tomatoes, some olive oil and lemon juice. I think this will taste good with the eggplant spread on a pita with some romaine lettuce. I hope it does because this is my lunch plan for the week!
Two small eggplants from last week
1 tablespoon Tahini paste
2 tablespoon lemon juice
2 cloves garlic, chopped fine
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
I peeled the eggplant, cut into 1inch pieces, salted, then tossed in olive oil. I put this in the oven for 30minutes. Tried to toss them once while cooking (that was after 25minutes, would aim for 15minutes next time). I took them out and let them cool.
I put the eggplant into my hand mixer container. Then added the paste, lemon juice, garlic and Olive oil (1-2 tablespoons). Used my new found hand mixer to make it nice and smooth. I think there was too much garlic, but too late to take it out this time.
For lunch, I also made Tabouleh. I used a box of Near East Tabouleh mix. It was ready to expire! Probably would taste better using fresh ingredients. I mixed in one of my tomatoes, some olive oil and lemon juice. I think this will taste good with the eggplant spread on a pita with some romaine lettuce. I hope it does because this is my lunch plan for the week!
Asian Greens this week!
We have a few things leftover from last week.
3 Turnips
1 red pepper
Leftover beet hummus (how long is this good for?)
And our neighbor left us a quart of cherry tomatoes since we helped water them this summer
This week's box
4 large ears of corn
Head of cauliflower
1 bunch of Komatsuna, I think
1 red pepper
1 green pepper
1 small onion
2 small eggplant
3 medium tomatoes
4 small pears
I also purchased a 1/2 peck of Jonamac's from Trader Joes
This afternoon I made Baba Ganoush/Ganouj and Tabouleh. I am thinking I'll have tabouleh and hummus in my lunch... and maybe some turnips, since I can eat those raw. The ones I have are very sweet.
3 Turnips
1 red pepper
Leftover beet hummus (how long is this good for?)
And our neighbor left us a quart of cherry tomatoes since we helped water them this summer
This week's box
4 large ears of corn
Head of cauliflower
1 bunch of Komatsuna, I think
1 red pepper
1 green pepper
1 small onion
2 small eggplant
3 medium tomatoes
4 small pears
I also purchased a 1/2 peck of Jonamac's from Trader Joes
This afternoon I made Baba Ganoush/Ganouj and Tabouleh. I am thinking I'll have tabouleh and hummus in my lunch... and maybe some turnips, since I can eat those raw. The ones I have are very sweet.
Trying the turnips
I can't remember the last time I ate turnips, if ever. I checked out allrecipes.com to find a good turnip recipe to start us off on the right foot. I knew if Bert didn't like the first bite of turnip, it would be an uphill battle to get him to eat another.
I used this recipe: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Thanksgiving-Day-Creamed-Turnips/Detail.aspx
I am not sure of the size changes for turnips, but I chose the largest one in my bunch. I should have weighed it out first. I peeled and diced and boiled. I made the roux and blended the turnips with the roux and ate it up! The turnip has a good flavor raw (I ate a few pieces before cooking) and is good in the recipe. The recipe calls for sugar, which I added this time, but will probably leave out next time. There was a lot of sauce, so probably could prepare 1/2 as much sauce next time.
I hear turnips do not reheat well, so Bert and I had to split this recipe... and now we'll have sushi for lunch. Odd combo, I know. But, I wanted to try the turnips before I picked up my next CSA box.
The brookies got rave reviews at the party. Not sure how the middle pieces turned out, but the edge pieces were tasty (and crunchy like a brownie edge).
I also bought a new 9x13 pan yesterday! So next time I can make the brookies without burning the top.
I used this recipe: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Thanksgiving-Day-Creamed-Turnips/Detail.aspx
I am not sure of the size changes for turnips, but I chose the largest one in my bunch. I should have weighed it out first. I peeled and diced and boiled. I made the roux and blended the turnips with the roux and ate it up! The turnip has a good flavor raw (I ate a few pieces before cooking) and is good in the recipe. The recipe calls for sugar, which I added this time, but will probably leave out next time. There was a lot of sauce, so probably could prepare 1/2 as much sauce next time.
I hear turnips do not reheat well, so Bert and I had to split this recipe... and now we'll have sushi for lunch. Odd combo, I know. But, I wanted to try the turnips before I picked up my next CSA box.
The brookies got rave reviews at the party. Not sure how the middle pieces turned out, but the edge pieces were tasty (and crunchy like a brownie edge).
I also bought a new 9x13 pan yesterday! So next time I can make the brookies without burning the top.
Friday, September 12, 2014
Thin Mint Brookie
We are going to a dessert bake-off tomorrow. Since it is with Bert's friends, he picked the recipe.
He loves mint chocolate, so we went with this recipe.
http://beyondfrosting.com/2014/02/09/thin-mint-brookies/
We didn't have any Girl Scout Thin Mints, but Walgreens has "fudge mint" cookies which are not the same as Thin Mints, but still good. I used a 9x13 brownie mix from Betty Crocker and refrigerator cookies by Tollhouse.
Since I don't have real bakeware that is 9x13, and I didn't want to run to the store tonight, we used an aluminum pan. It is really hard to cook with an aluminum pan. The cookies are still raw after 30minutes.
They smell good! Maybe we'll have to eat raw dough. At the very least, I need a new 9x13!!
He loves mint chocolate, so we went with this recipe.
http://beyondfrosting.com/2014/02/09/thin-mint-brookies/
We didn't have any Girl Scout Thin Mints, but Walgreens has "fudge mint" cookies which are not the same as Thin Mints, but still good. I used a 9x13 brownie mix from Betty Crocker and refrigerator cookies by Tollhouse.
Since I don't have real bakeware that is 9x13, and I didn't want to run to the store tonight, we used an aluminum pan. It is really hard to cook with an aluminum pan. The cookies are still raw after 30minutes.
They smell good! Maybe we'll have to eat raw dough. At the very least, I need a new 9x13!!
Wednesday, September 10, 2014
spaghetti squash
I nearly slit my hand open tonight with a giant knife.
First, when I cut off the stem of the spaghetti squash, I noticed that the skin was really tough. This didn't stop me from thrusting the knife blade deep into the center of the squash. Once it was in there, I couldn't really move it... at all. The skin was so hard! As I tried to pull it out, I realized that I was probably going to lose a finger if I continued to try to cut through this squash... and Bert wasn't around to staunch the blood and rush me to the ED. I suffered a quick flashback to the year that I tried to carve a pumpkin by myself as my mom was occupied on the phone. Almost lost my thumb that day. This time, I put the knife down before hurting myself and decided I was not going to cut it in half first. There must be an easier way, and there was.
I turned the oven to 375/convection. I punctured a few more holes into the skin, carefully, then put the whole thing in the oven. I baked it for about 50minutes. When it came out, I was able to easily cut it in half, scoop out the seeds and shred the insides. There was plenty for two nights. I served it with Francisco Ronaldi's heart healthy sauce with added dry basil and oregano. We also bought some turkey meatballs in the refrigerator section, which I heated with the sauce. The meal turned out really good! I could probably also consider heating the frozen eggplant slices for next time. We ate the pasta with crusty French rolls which I wrapped in aluminum foil and warmed in the oven for 4 minutes.
The food this week has been so good! Bert loves spaghetti squash and meatballs.
First, when I cut off the stem of the spaghetti squash, I noticed that the skin was really tough. This didn't stop me from thrusting the knife blade deep into the center of the squash. Once it was in there, I couldn't really move it... at all. The skin was so hard! As I tried to pull it out, I realized that I was probably going to lose a finger if I continued to try to cut through this squash... and Bert wasn't around to staunch the blood and rush me to the ED. I suffered a quick flashback to the year that I tried to carve a pumpkin by myself as my mom was occupied on the phone. Almost lost my thumb that day. This time, I put the knife down before hurting myself and decided I was not going to cut it in half first. There must be an easier way, and there was.
I turned the oven to 375/convection. I punctured a few more holes into the skin, carefully, then put the whole thing in the oven. I baked it for about 50minutes. When it came out, I was able to easily cut it in half, scoop out the seeds and shred the insides. There was plenty for two nights. I served it with Francisco Ronaldi's heart healthy sauce with added dry basil and oregano. We also bought some turkey meatballs in the refrigerator section, which I heated with the sauce. The meal turned out really good! I could probably also consider heating the frozen eggplant slices for next time. We ate the pasta with crusty French rolls which I wrapped in aluminum foil and warmed in the oven for 4 minutes.
The food this week has been so good! Bert loves spaghetti squash and meatballs.
Tuesday, September 9, 2014
Beet hummus
First, the ratatouille is amazing. I just want to eat it all at once! I ate it for lunch today with a French roll, grilled chicken and an apple. I was hungry all afternoon, so maybe tomorrow I'll eat the lentils with my lunch too.
Tonight I made an easy omelet for supper and stirred in some ratatouille and parm cheese. So good!
With a full belly I made beet hummus. I took out my Kitchen Aid Hand mixer. This was a gift from my aunt. I used it for the first time tonight, took off the plastic wrap and everything. The Kitchen Aid has more than one attachment, that's a plus! It was a little tiring to make hummus this way, by hand, but in all, probably easier than doing it with my bad food processor. I could also make it easier next time by cutting the beet pieces smaller I used this recipe:
http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/beet_hummus/
1/2 pound of beets is about 1 medium beet. I used all I had left, which was 1.5 beets (11ounces). I added three TBS of Tahini sauce, 1/4 of fresh squeezed lemon juice, 1 garlic clove, 1 TBS of zest and 1 TBS of cumin. It tastes okay. I think there is too much cumin, and probably needs more lemon juice, which I don't have. All in all, worth bringing to work for lunch.
Tonight I made an easy omelet for supper and stirred in some ratatouille and parm cheese. So good!
With a full belly I made beet hummus. I took out my Kitchen Aid Hand mixer. This was a gift from my aunt. I used it for the first time tonight, took off the plastic wrap and everything. The Kitchen Aid has more than one attachment, that's a plus! It was a little tiring to make hummus this way, by hand, but in all, probably easier than doing it with my bad food processor. I could also make it easier next time by cutting the beet pieces smaller I used this recipe:
http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/beet_hummus/
1/2 pound of beets is about 1 medium beet. I used all I had left, which was 1.5 beets (11ounces). I added three TBS of Tahini sauce, 1/4 of fresh squeezed lemon juice, 1 garlic clove, 1 TBS of zest and 1 TBS of cumin. It tastes okay. I think there is too much cumin, and probably needs more lemon juice, which I don't have. All in all, worth bringing to work for lunch.
Monday, September 8, 2014
My Hamilton Beach Blender and Food Processor
I looked into my issues with the Hamilton Beach processor and I found others with the EXACT same problem. First, I was complaining about the horrible job it does with purée with my friend and she said to me, "don't you have a special attachment for the food processor?" and I'm like, no. I just have the one blade in the food processor and then one blade for the blender." This got me thinking... did I leave the third blade somewhere??
I searched the web for a description of my food processor. I found images that I could match with a model number. I then matched the model number with items for sale on Amazon, and I found the exact same piece of equipment. One of the reviewers specifically said, "the blade pushes the food to the side and cuts absolutely nothing.". OMG it is like she took the words right out of my mouth. Basically the reviews state that it is probably good at chopping ice. Nice. Well, I bought this thing so long ago, that I probably wasn't smart enough to search for reviews on-line before buying it. The days before Amazon started selling stuff other than books or posting reviews of products (or at least before my awareness of these things.) I either received this as a gift (likely) or bought it myself, either senior year in college (maybe not) or my first year in Boston. I definitely remember making cucumber soup in the processor in my second apartment in Boston (2004).
My Aunt bought me a hand mixer, which has a specific chop/purée attachment, so I think I will try using this the next time I make purée beets.... for beet hummus or Baba ganoush.
I searched the web for a description of my food processor. I found images that I could match with a model number. I then matched the model number with items for sale on Amazon, and I found the exact same piece of equipment. One of the reviewers specifically said, "the blade pushes the food to the side and cuts absolutely nothing.". OMG it is like she took the words right out of my mouth. Basically the reviews state that it is probably good at chopping ice. Nice. Well, I bought this thing so long ago, that I probably wasn't smart enough to search for reviews on-line before buying it. The days before Amazon started selling stuff other than books or posting reviews of products (or at least before my awareness of these things.) I either received this as a gift (likely) or bought it myself, either senior year in college (maybe not) or my first year in Boston. I definitely remember making cucumber soup in the processor in my second apartment in Boston (2004).
My Aunt bought me a hand mixer, which has a specific chop/purée attachment, so I think I will try using this the next time I make purée beets.... for beet hummus or Baba ganoush.
Ratatouille
I made ratatouille tonight so I can bring my lunch to work this week. I did have to stop by the store to pick up a summer squash, since I realized just today that I didn't actually get one in my box this week! And so ends the summer squash season. The farms might have some for the Farmer's market, but maybe not enough to put in the CSA boxes. Even the grocery store was almost out of zucchini. There was one left. I didn't take it, but the summer squash looked okay, so I took one of those.
I used
1 large onion
Some garlic cloves
1 green pepper
1 red pepper
The thin eggplant
The summer squash
3 small tomatoes
Salt
Oregano
Basil
I used some suggestions from this recipe: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ratatouille-recipe0.html
I started with the onion and garlic, cooked that a little, then added the eggplant, cooked that a little, then added the rest except tomato and cooked that a little. Then I added the tomatoes, salt, oregano, and basil and covered. It simmered for probably 40minutes. I pulled out an eggplant piece and it was really good! Now it is cooling and then I'll eat it the rest of the week.
I am going to try it with lentils tomorrow, and maybe again for dinner with an egg. I also have crusty French rolls that will taste good with it.
This is before I cooked it down.
Besides the chopping, which I am getting better at, this was fairly quick and easy. Emeril's recipe only cooked it for 5 extra minutes instead of 40minutes, so I could probably save some time there.
I used some of the juice from the ratatouille to flavor my water for the lentils. Should be good!
I used
1 large onion
Some garlic cloves
1 green pepper
1 red pepper
The thin eggplant
The summer squash
3 small tomatoes
Salt
Oregano
Basil
I used some suggestions from this recipe: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ratatouille-recipe0.html
I started with the onion and garlic, cooked that a little, then added the eggplant, cooked that a little, then added the rest except tomato and cooked that a little. Then I added the tomatoes, salt, oregano, and basil and covered. It simmered for probably 40minutes. I pulled out an eggplant piece and it was really good! Now it is cooling and then I'll eat it the rest of the week.
I am going to try it with lentils tomorrow, and maybe again for dinner with an egg. I also have crusty French rolls that will taste good with it.
This is before I cooked it down.
I used some of the juice from the ratatouille to flavor my water for the lentils. Should be good!
Chicken Broccoli Casserole
For this recipe, I took inspiration from a few different recipes on allrecipes.com.
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Broccoli-Chicken-Divan/Detail.aspx
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Chicken-Divan/Detail.aspx
Bert sauteed about 1 pound of chicken tenders, cubed. I steamed 1 medium head of fresh broccoli (cut into pieces) for about 5minutes or so, but I think the "or so" was a little too long. I layered the broccoli into an 11x7 glass Pyrex. The chicken was seasoned with salt and pepper and layered into the dish. Then I mixed 1 can of cream of broccoli soup with about 1/2 can of fat free milk and some curry. I poured/distributed the soup over the chicken and broccoli. I sprinkled low fat Mexican cheese blend on the top, then some breadcrumbs (plain). Maybe I should have mixed melted butter with the breadcrumbs to add some color to the dish. I baked in the oven for 30minutes at 350degrees.
I liked the casserole. Bert did not care for it. He thought there was too much broccoli, but he also didn't realize there was curry in it, which was the most prominent flavor, so we are still not really sure what he didn't like about the dish.
We served this with steamed corn the first night and roasted potatoes the second night. If we didn't have either, you could probably add more water to the dish with instant rice to make a complete casserole.
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Broccoli-Chicken-Divan/Detail.aspx
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Chicken-Divan/Detail.aspx
Bert sauteed about 1 pound of chicken tenders, cubed. I steamed 1 medium head of fresh broccoli (cut into pieces) for about 5minutes or so, but I think the "or so" was a little too long. I layered the broccoli into an 11x7 glass Pyrex. The chicken was seasoned with salt and pepper and layered into the dish. Then I mixed 1 can of cream of broccoli soup with about 1/2 can of fat free milk and some curry. I poured/distributed the soup over the chicken and broccoli. I sprinkled low fat Mexican cheese blend on the top, then some breadcrumbs (plain). Maybe I should have mixed melted butter with the breadcrumbs to add some color to the dish. I baked in the oven for 30minutes at 350degrees.
I liked the casserole. Bert did not care for it. He thought there was too much broccoli, but he also didn't realize there was curry in it, which was the most prominent flavor, so we are still not really sure what he didn't like about the dish.
We served this with steamed corn the first night and roasted potatoes the second night. If we didn't have either, you could probably add more water to the dish with instant rice to make a complete casserole.
Sunday, September 7, 2014
Turnips in the box!
One more post before I go to bed.
Our haul today:
3 tomatoes
1 pear, 2 apples
4 turnips!
2 medium potatoes
1 spaghetti squash
4 thin, small, long eggplant
1 small regular shaped eggplant
3 peppers
4 ears corn
1 medium onion
Dinner details to come, but we made a Chicken Broccoli Casserole.
Our haul today:
3 tomatoes
1 pear, 2 apples
4 turnips!
2 medium potatoes
1 spaghetti squash
4 thin, small, long eggplant
1 small regular shaped eggplant
3 peppers
4 ears corn
1 medium onion
Dinner details to come, but we made a Chicken Broccoli Casserole.
Beet cake
For lunch we finished the stuffed peppers. And then I was hungry/low afternoon, but this was probably related to the Barre class I took in the morning, and partially due to the low calorie meal the stuffed pepper is.
I spent the afternoon making beet cake. Recipe here:
https://stillmansfarm.wordpress.com/2014/08/09/csa-week-7-2014/
Or here: http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/beet-cake
I boiled the beets a few nights ago, so those were ready to go. I used the julienne setting on my mandolin and the safety to hold the beet. I used one GIANT beet and half of a medium beet to get two cups purée. After slicing and dicing (done with one motion on the mandolin) the GIANT beet, I piled those pieces into my food processor. Man I hate that thing. First of all, I don't understand how my processor has like 12 different settings, but uses the same blade. Secondly, every time I use that thing, the food gets flung to the side and makes no progress. Finally after like 20minutes of running that thing, stirring, processing, stirring, processing, it actually started to look like purée. Unfortunately, I was just shy of two cups, so then I had to cut up the 1/2 of the medium beet. The piece was too small for the mandolin so I cut it into chunks and put it in the processor... again it took forever, but maybe I didn't have enough bulk in there to get it working right, so I added back some of the other purée to give more volume... which helped a little. Eventually it was "good enough.".
I eliminated the chocolate as the recipe writer suggested, but I kept the 1/4 stick of butter in the recipe, thinking that the fat from the butter was important (but figured the fat from the chocolate was okay to skip). I creamed the butter with light brown sugar (a little shy of 1.5 packed cups, I used all I had without going to the store). Mixed in the vanilla and then the eggs one at a time. I melted 1/4cup butter (like I was supposed to do to prepare the chocolate, and I did this because melting butter in the microwave can give it a different texture that melting on the stove or using soft butter at room temperature). I blended the beets with the butter, then added that to my sugar. I blended the flour with the salt and soda then added that to my mix slowly. Beet juice was everywhere. My kitchen looked like the scene to a massacre. My clothes were only saved because I wore an apron.
I spent a lot of time online trying to figure out how to bake this without a 10inch fluted pan. Who has one of those things anyway? Probably my grandma because she used to make me angel cake. I should get that from her because she isn't baking anymore! Anyway, I decided to use a 9x13 baking dish (my lovely white one from Martha Stewart, cleans so easy, it didn't know that was the last thing it would ever bake. So sad). I tried to use canola in the Misto and then flour the sides, but that was a big mess, so decided to use parchment paper. This makes the corners ugly, but if you eat the corners, then no one is the wiser. It baked perfect in 50minutes. This makes about 16-20 serving. Each with about 10g of fat, 30g of carb and 200kcal.
It is so tasty! There is a hint of beet. The texture is soft and dare I say moist. Better than any zucchini bread I have ever made. Bert didn't care for it, but he doesn't like beets. We'll see what the girls at work say.
And then I proceeded to break my 9x13 baking dish as I cleaned it. I was putting it back in the sink for one more rinse, when I bumped it into the drain hole. Drat.
I spent the afternoon making beet cake. Recipe here:
https://stillmansfarm.wordpress.com/2014/08/09/csa-week-7-2014/
Or here: http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/beet-cake
I boiled the beets a few nights ago, so those were ready to go. I used the julienne setting on my mandolin and the safety to hold the beet. I used one GIANT beet and half of a medium beet to get two cups purée. After slicing and dicing (done with one motion on the mandolin) the GIANT beet, I piled those pieces into my food processor. Man I hate that thing. First of all, I don't understand how my processor has like 12 different settings, but uses the same blade. Secondly, every time I use that thing, the food gets flung to the side and makes no progress. Finally after like 20minutes of running that thing, stirring, processing, stirring, processing, it actually started to look like purée. Unfortunately, I was just shy of two cups, so then I had to cut up the 1/2 of the medium beet. The piece was too small for the mandolin so I cut it into chunks and put it in the processor... again it took forever, but maybe I didn't have enough bulk in there to get it working right, so I added back some of the other purée to give more volume... which helped a little. Eventually it was "good enough.".
I eliminated the chocolate as the recipe writer suggested, but I kept the 1/4 stick of butter in the recipe, thinking that the fat from the butter was important (but figured the fat from the chocolate was okay to skip). I creamed the butter with light brown sugar (a little shy of 1.5 packed cups, I used all I had without going to the store). Mixed in the vanilla and then the eggs one at a time. I melted 1/4cup butter (like I was supposed to do to prepare the chocolate, and I did this because melting butter in the microwave can give it a different texture that melting on the stove or using soft butter at room temperature). I blended the beets with the butter, then added that to my sugar. I blended the flour with the salt and soda then added that to my mix slowly. Beet juice was everywhere. My kitchen looked like the scene to a massacre. My clothes were only saved because I wore an apron.
I spent a lot of time online trying to figure out how to bake this without a 10inch fluted pan. Who has one of those things anyway? Probably my grandma because she used to make me angel cake. I should get that from her because she isn't baking anymore! Anyway, I decided to use a 9x13 baking dish (my lovely white one from Martha Stewart, cleans so easy, it didn't know that was the last thing it would ever bake. So sad). I tried to use canola in the Misto and then flour the sides, but that was a big mess, so decided to use parchment paper. This makes the corners ugly, but if you eat the corners, then no one is the wiser. It baked perfect in 50minutes. This makes about 16-20 serving. Each with about 10g of fat, 30g of carb and 200kcal.
It is so tasty! There is a hint of beet. The texture is soft and dare I say moist. Better than any zucchini bread I have ever made. Bert didn't care for it, but he doesn't like beets. We'll see what the girls at work say.
And then I proceeded to break my 9x13 baking dish as I cleaned it. I was putting it back in the sink for one more rinse, when I bumped it into the drain hole. Drat.
Saturday, September 6, 2014
Stuffed peppers
Tonight I made a new dish! Stuffed peppers.
I had one medium red bell pepper, 1 large green bell pepper, 1 small red bell pepper. Leftover eggplant and squash from the previous recipe and leftover bulgur, already cooked. We also defrosted two chicken sausage links (Thin and Trim brand).
I boiled the peppers in a large pot of boiling water for like 5 minutes. I diced the squash and eggplant that had already been sauteed and seasoned earlier in the day and cut up a medium tomato. I mixed all of my vegetables with sausage pieces together. I cut the soft peppers in half, then filled them with my stuffing. I then sprinkled cheese on the top and baked it in the oven at 350 for maybe 30minutes, took it out, sprinkled on more cheese, and put it in for another 5 minutes. Done.
Bert didn't have any complaints as he shoveled it into his mouth. I thought the stuffing was kind of dry and maybe would taste better with some tomato sauce to bring everything together.
Made enough for four servings (two nights) for us.
We each ate half of the green pepper. Tomorrow we will share the red peppers since those are smaller we can each eat a whole one (or share the halves since the small pepper is very small).
I had one medium red bell pepper, 1 large green bell pepper, 1 small red bell pepper. Leftover eggplant and squash from the previous recipe and leftover bulgur, already cooked. We also defrosted two chicken sausage links (Thin and Trim brand).
I boiled the peppers in a large pot of boiling water for like 5 minutes. I diced the squash and eggplant that had already been sauteed and seasoned earlier in the day and cut up a medium tomato. I mixed all of my vegetables with sausage pieces together. I cut the soft peppers in half, then filled them with my stuffing. I then sprinkled cheese on the top and baked it in the oven at 350 for maybe 30minutes, took it out, sprinkled on more cheese, and put it in for another 5 minutes. Done.
Bert didn't have any complaints as he shoveled it into his mouth. I thought the stuffing was kind of dry and maybe would taste better with some tomato sauce to bring everything together.
Made enough for four servings (two nights) for us.
We each ate half of the green pepper. Tomorrow we will share the red peppers since those are smaller we can each eat a whole one (or share the halves since the small pepper is very small).
Thursday, September 4, 2014
Bread and butter follow up
I finally got around to trying the last batch of pickles that I made. Honestly, the skin on that cucumber variety is too tough for pickles. I didn't like the stringy onion pieces. The flavor of the brine wasn't quite right either. Maybe I really did need all of that sugar... or I brought out too much flavor of the spices by toasting them a little before adding the vinegar. Need to work on this recipe.
A new dish
Last night I made Summer Tian, recipe here:
https://stillmansfarm.wordpress.com/
This took a little longer to make than I anticipated, probably because I didn't really pay attention to the baking time until I put it in the oven. Oops!
I started making the dish around 6pm and we ate around 7:30pm, a little later than I like.
I sliced the onion and garlic, Bert sauteed it. I then sliced 1 summer squash, 1 skinny eggplant, 2 baby red potatoes, 1 large tomato. It was too much. I had squash and eggplant leftover. I salted the eggplant a little before adding it to the dish.
I baked it for 30minutes, then added the cheese and baked for another 15minutes. The potatoes were still a little hard, so maybe needs 35-40minutes before adding the cheese. The cheese was crispy after 15minutes. While the cheese baked I made tilapia, fresh, from Trader Joes. Used my grill pan to cook the fish. The fish had a little heat and was pretty tasty.
Overall the tian was okay. An acceptable way to eat eggplant.
Tonight we ate leftovers. I rolled the leftovers into a whole wheat wrap to add a few more calories. I also boiled the beets, and used the beet water to make bulgur for lunch tomorrow. I didn't get any greens this week, so I was lazy with packing my lunch. A salad is so easy to bring to work! Without a salad I have to come up with other lunch ideas that don't involve leftovers, because I really don't want to cook every night. It is easier when my lunch can be tossed together in the morning. Tomorrow I'll bring in the beets, bulgur and some cucumber... and call it a salad I guess. The bulgur is 10minute variety from TJ's. Cooks up really easy.
https://stillmansfarm.wordpress.com/
This took a little longer to make than I anticipated, probably because I didn't really pay attention to the baking time until I put it in the oven. Oops!
I started making the dish around 6pm and we ate around 7:30pm, a little later than I like.
I sliced the onion and garlic, Bert sauteed it. I then sliced 1 summer squash, 1 skinny eggplant, 2 baby red potatoes, 1 large tomato. It was too much. I had squash and eggplant leftover. I salted the eggplant a little before adding it to the dish.
I baked it for 30minutes, then added the cheese and baked for another 15minutes. The potatoes were still a little hard, so maybe needs 35-40minutes before adding the cheese. The cheese was crispy after 15minutes. While the cheese baked I made tilapia, fresh, from Trader Joes. Used my grill pan to cook the fish. The fish had a little heat and was pretty tasty.
Overall the tian was okay. An acceptable way to eat eggplant.
Tonight we ate leftovers. I rolled the leftovers into a whole wheat wrap to add a few more calories. I also boiled the beets, and used the beet water to make bulgur for lunch tomorrow. I didn't get any greens this week, so I was lazy with packing my lunch. A salad is so easy to bring to work! Without a salad I have to come up with other lunch ideas that don't involve leftovers, because I really don't want to cook every night. It is easier when my lunch can be tossed together in the morning. Tomorrow I'll bring in the beets, bulgur and some cucumber... and call it a salad I guess. The bulgur is 10minute variety from TJ's. Cooks up really easy.
Wednesday, September 3, 2014
Another bounty
I am a little behind this week, both in eating the veggies and writing here. My excuses 1)I've had a cold that I can't seem to shake 2)I didn't make any new recipes last week 3) I worked this weekend, which was three days. We fell behind with our veggie consumption since 1) I don't bring my lunch to work when it is the weekend because there is no time to waste walking back to my office when the café is right there 2) we ate out Saturday night 2/2 bad planning (still not sure if it was my fault we didn't defrost chicken, or if it was Bert's fault for not thinking about it while I slaved away at work) 3)we ate out Sunday night (he had plans with his friend, and well, I invited myself along so I wasn't stuck cooking for myself 4)Bert always gets takeout for all his meals when I work.
Going into Sunday we still had two cucumbers, a head of broccoli and squash casserole leftovers remaining.
Bert picked up the following
2 tomatoes
2 peaches
Head of broccoli
Bunch of beets
2 eggplant
3 peppers
2 squash
4 cucumbers
4 ears of corn
4 potatoes
1 onion
Bunch of radishes
I think this is the start of a recipe for ratatouille in there... too bad Bert tends to not like tomatoes and eggplant.
Two complaints. 1) Bert didn't pick up this week's newsletter which usually has recipe ideas and the farm is behind in posting the newsletter to the blog, so I am on my own. 2) He tossed the peaches in the giant grocery bag, so by the time he got home they were all bruised!
We finally ate at home on Monday evening, for my birthday! Bert steamed the corn, sauteed the broccoli and chicken, like I asked him to. I brought two cucumbers to work to share. We ate out last night because I needed a drink after working the weekend and here we are, Wednesday, and a long way to go with the veggies.
Going into Sunday we still had two cucumbers, a head of broccoli and squash casserole leftovers remaining.
Bert picked up the following
2 tomatoes
2 peaches
Head of broccoli
Bunch of beets
2 eggplant
3 peppers
2 squash
4 cucumbers
4 ears of corn
4 potatoes
1 onion
Bunch of radishes
I think this is the start of a recipe for ratatouille in there... too bad Bert tends to not like tomatoes and eggplant.
Two complaints. 1) Bert didn't pick up this week's newsletter which usually has recipe ideas and the farm is behind in posting the newsletter to the blog, so I am on my own. 2) He tossed the peaches in the giant grocery bag, so by the time he got home they were all bruised!
We finally ate at home on Monday evening, for my birthday! Bert steamed the corn, sauteed the broccoli and chicken, like I asked him to. I brought two cucumbers to work to share. We ate out last night because I needed a drink after working the weekend and here we are, Wednesday, and a long way to go with the veggies.
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