Beets!

Tonight we had our lovely beets, and I tried a new recipe. Although I always enjoy beets, this recipe took them to a new level.

This recipe is called "Whole Beet Skillet" from the cookbook "Simply In Season", a cookbook of recipes designed for seasonal eating. I found this recipe in the Winter section, although it sure does not feel wintery right now! (All the beet recipes are in the winter section, probably because beets store well).

Delicious Beets

Whole Beet Skillet

4-6 medium-sized beets, including greens

1-2T lemon juice
1-2t honey

1-2t fresh grated ginger root (or 1/4t ground ginger)

Remove greens, and place beet roots in saucepan of water. Cook until tender (15-30min depending on size). Remove skin, and cut into slices.

Chop stems in 1" pieces. Also chop greens, but keep separate. Saute stems in 1-2T butter until tender. Add greens and saute until tender. Add beets back into pan. 

Stir in lemon juice, honey, and ginger. Serve immediately.

Although we didn't have fresh lemon juice or ginger, the recipe still came out delicious. I like beets, but have never loved the greens. The flavour of the glaze really came through on the greens, and just lightly flavoured the beet slices. I think the greens were my favourite part! These beets disappeared very quickly- we all enjoyed them.

Zucchini Season!!

This week we welcomed our first share of zucchini. We LOVE zucchini. It is so versatile, and there are so many ways we enjoy it. In a stir fry, marinated and BBQ'd on a skewer, in a pasta sauce or dish, in veggie lasagna, in a casserole (many different options here!), or as zucchini sticks, zucchini fritters, zucchini muffins, chocolate zucchini loaf... the list of possibilities goes on and on. I am not sure I ever got tired of receiving zucchini in my share last year, although the supply was certainly plentiful. So this week, with our very first share, what were we going to pick? After several discussions about how to prepare our very first zucchini of the season, we agreed on zucchini sticks. They are probably one of our very favourites!

Zucchini Sticks (Adapted from www.acozykitchen.com)

Zucchini, cut in strips

beaten egg with a little water added to thin it out (about 1t per egg)

1c panko bread crumbs

1/4-1/2c grated parmesan cheese

1/8t dried oregano

1/4t garlic powder

1/8t sea salt

a pinch of pepper

Dip zucchini strips into egg wash, then into coating mixture. Place on silicone or parchment paper lined tray. Bake at 425*F for 15-20minutes, turning half way through. They are done when the zucchini is soft, and they are starting to turn golden brown. Enjoy!

Notes: This will cover about 3 zucchini of the size you see in the grocery store and makes 2 cookie sheet's worth of sticks. I usually start off with just one egg, and sometimes need to add a second part way through to have enough to dip all the zucchini. As with all breading, try to keep one hand doing the egg dipping and placing into the crumbs, and the other covering in crumbs and placing on the pan. Try not to handle the zucchini any more than necessary especially once dipped in the coating. :)

We love to eat these with some garlic mayo- mix mayo with minced fresh garlic... as much as you dare! And you know they have to be delicious because although I always have great intentions to take a picture, we gobble them all up before I remember!

Arugula

We finally managed to use the arugula from our very first basket of the season (about time, I know) inspired by a helpful blog comment by lindz660. We made an egg dish of some sort with the sauteed arugula along with some onions, mushrooms, and the young garlic. Yes, my husband used the whole head in one dish! It's so mild though that it was not overpowering at all. Plus this family LOVES garlic.

What would you call it? We just called it "supper" :)

We sauteed the arugula stems, onions, and mushrooms in a bit of butter until softened, and added the garlic and arugula leaves. Once wilted, we added in some beaten eggs and covered until the eggs were set. We also melted some cheese on top, because we seem to be incapable of eating eggs without cheese (and ketchup!) It was a delicious meal that we all enjoyed and I can finally say I've found a way to enjoy arugula. Thanks lindz660!

Venison Stew

Never having cooked venison before, this meal was an experiment! We were given some frozen stew chunks of venison from some hunter-friends, and I was just told to "soak it in apple juice before cooking it- maybe with a little vinegar". Right.

Anyway, I marinated it overnight in some apple juice with a splash of vinegar for good measure,  and searched for a slow cooker venison stew. I found one here and it was a winner! (I used extra apple juice instead of beef stock, and did not save my flour, but otherwise followed the recipe)

delicious stew

I forgot to take a picture of it the first time we had it, but the recipe made lots and I did remember a picture tonight at supper. Tonight I also tried some "Cheese and Potato Scones" which used leftover mashed potatoes, and were delicious!

Cheese and Potato Scones
(from Company's Coming "Recipes for Leftovers")

1+1/2c flour (I used 1c whole wheat, and 1/2c white)

3/4t salt

2+1/4t baking powder

Combine the above, then cut in 1/4c butter. Add 1/3c grated sharp cheddar. (I also added some fresh rosemary and garlic that I had around)

Mix 2/3c leftover mashed potatoes with 1/4c milk. Stir into flour mixture, and continue stirring until a soft dough forms. (I needed to use my hands to help it a bit)

Knead 6 times, then pat into a circle 8" across, and about 1" thick. Place on baking sheet, and score into 6 or 8. (depending on how large you want your scones)

Bake at 425F for 20min. Break or cut apart and serve.

Spaghetti and Meatballs

One thing I particularly enjoy when cooking is to take an "old standby" meal, and veggie-fy it. Tonight, we had spaghetti and meatballs, but not just regular old pasta and meat.

delicious leftovers for lunch another day

I make up turkey meatballs and freeze them (cooked), so that they are available when we need a quick meal. We use whole grain pastas, and store-bought sauce (gasp!) so it really is a fast meal to throw together. Tonight I added a bunch of rainbow chard to the pasta water just before the pasta was cooked. Then I added "Florentine Spinach and Cheese" pasta sauce (although any kind would do), and some fresh garlic. I also made roasted baby eggplants.

For the eggplant, I started off with this recipe, but only did the roasting part. We just scraped them out of their shells (with a grapefruit spoon) and ate them with our pasta. Because I did not really follow the recipe, below is what I did.

Roasted Baby Eggplants

Cut in half, brush with garlic olive oil (a clove of garlic crushed into maybe 1-2T of oil). Bake at 375*F for 15min. Remove from oven, brush with garlic olive oil again, and return to oven. Broil for 3-4 minutes, or until they "look done". They should puff in the middle, and start to get caramelized areas. Sprinkle with salt, and serve. They were delicious- so creamy and smooth. 

Next time, I will salt them earlier, I think, but otherwise they were wonderful.

I greatly enjoyed this meal, and am very excited that I have leftovers for two more lunches.

Zucchini Fries

With all the zucchini we've been getting from our CSA share, we've had to get creative to keep from getting tired of it. I was just thinking today that zucchini is one of my favourite veggies, perhaps because it is SO versatile! It's great roasted, in a stir-fry, grilled on the BBQ, in a pasta sauce, made into fritters, in an omelet, and even baked in muffins and desserts. And I've heard it's good stuffed, but haven't tried that yet.

Tonight for dinner we tried zucchini fries, and they are a new favourite! The coating was perfectly crispy, while the insides were deliciously juicy. And I made some garlic mayo to go with them, which was the perfect creamy accompaniment.

Susannah enjoying her zucchini fries

I used panko breadcrumbs, which I think helped to make them even crispier. I also went very easy on the red pepper flakes, as Susannah and I don't like a lot of heat. Next time, I would add some garlic powder to the breadcrumb mixture, and maybe a little more oregano. Or something. They seemed like they could use a little more flavour, although with the mayo it wasn't noticeable.

all that was left when I remembered to take a picture

I meant to take a picture of them, but we inhaled the first tray, and the second tray disappeared almost as fast. Susannah absolutely loved them- I think she ate at least 10 "fries" which is almost one (small) zucchini's worth! It was hard to know which she loved more though, the fries or the garlic mayo.

playing around

Suggested with the zucchini fries recipe is a roasted garlic aioli, and while I do love garlic, I'm not crazy about it roasted. Plus, I did not have time to roast a head of garlic today. But I did want a dipping sauce for the fries (who doesn't!) so I threw together the easiest dip ever. Garlic mayo. Not that it really needs a recipe, but I know there are some people out there (my mom) who prefer to use a recipe for everything. And I mean everything.

Garlic Mayo
1c mayo
4 cloves garlic 

a sprinkle of pepper 

Press garlic through garlic press. Mix with mayo. Sprinkle with pepper and mix again. Serve.

Egg Bake

Almost every Saturday (or holiday) morning, my husband makes us "special breakfast". In his house growing up, dad was the breakfast chef, and he is happy to carry on that tradition. And Susannah and I are happy to eat it! Often this consists of buttermilk pancakes (Susannah's favourite), omelets, eggs and bacon, waffles, or french toast. Occasionally it is egg bake. I am sure there is some fancy name for a dish like this, but we just know it as egg bake. It's not an "everyday" type of breakfast... but it's a very delicious, all-in-one treat.

Today our egg bake included green onions, red onions, garlic, fresh herbs from our garden (basil, oregano, thyme, parsley), cherry tomatoes, and of course, eggs and cheese!

Here's as much "recipe" as I can pull together...
Choose a baking dish. Sprinkle some grated cheese in the bottom (to loosely cover it). Today we used cheddar and jalapeno havarti. Dice up several slices of bread into cubes (generally speaking half to one slice per person, depending on type of bread), and spread over cheese. Beat together eggs (about 2 per person) and a bit of cream (or milk, but cream makes it fluffy!), then add in your veggies, salt and pepper, herbs and spices. Pour the egg mixture over top of the bread. It should almost cover the bread. If it doesn't, combine more eggs and cream, and add! We sliced the cherry tomatoes and laid them on top of the egg, but you could mix them in just as easily. Then sprinkle with more grated cheese. 

ready to go in the oven

Bake at 350*F until it looks done! It really depends on the size of the dish, but usually 30-60 minutes does it. It will puff up and the egg will look set and golden brown around the edges.

golden brown and puffy- ready to eat

Alternatively, you can make this in individual ramekins and serve in individual portions. This is especially nice for guests!

delicious!

We ate half of this dish for breakfast today, and have leftovers for tomorrow. This used 4 slices of whole wheat bread, and a dozen eggs (although the original plan was 8 eggs!) We used half a red onion, two green onions, several cloves of garlic, and about 10 cherry tomatoes. Also, a handful of herbs... maybe 2-3T when chopped up.

Grape Pie

Last week I made grape jam with Coronation grapes (seedless blue grapes) but had more cooked squished grapes than I needed. I remembered a recipe I'd seen in my "Mennonite Community Cookbook" for Grape Pie. It always intrigued me, but I'd never tried making it. The grapes I had left over were almost exactly what I needed for the pie recipe- it's like it was meant to be! The recipe is designed for grapes with seeds, but since I had seedless grapes I used them instead.

in the oven

Grape Pie

3.5c blue grapes (Concord, etc.)

1c sugar

4T flour

1.5T butter, melted

1T lemon juice

pastry for covered 9" pie, or 9" pie shell plus crumb topping

Wash, drain, and stem grapes. Remove skins and simmer pulp for 5 minutes. While hot, press pulp through seive to remove seeds. Combine strained pulp with skins.

OR

use 2.5c cooked seedless grape mash leftover from making jam!

Combine flour and sugar, and add to grapes. Blend in lemon juice and melted butter. Pour into pie shell. Cover with top crust OR crumb topping (see below).

Bake at 425*F for 10 minutes, then reduce heat to 350*F for 30-40 minutes.

Crumb Topping

3/4c flour

1/2c sugar

1/3c melted butter

Rub flour, sugar, and butter together to form crumbs, and sprinkle on top of pie.

finished product

So, how did it taste? It was excellent. I wasn't sure how the filling would turn out, but it came out smooth and sticky- solid enough that it didn't run all over the place, but definitely not firm. Pretty much exactly how you want a filling to be. The grapey flavour was not as strong as I expected, but it was still delicious. The crumb topping reminded me of a fruit crisp- yum! Definitely a recipe I will make again.

mmm... pie.

Chocolate Zucchini Bread

Ok. You NEED to try this! This is one of the best recipes I have come across in a long time- it is fabulous!

A beautiful moist loaf of the tastiest, chocolatey-ist, most delicious dessert ever. It is equally good eaten by itself, or with some vanilla ice cream.

If you are not drooling yet.... here is a picture.

It is similar to a giant brownie!

I used the recipe found here, and followed it pretty much exactly, but omitted the nuts and used instant coffee instead of instant espresso, since that's what I had. I made a double batch, and even so I had 2c of shredded zucchini I put in the freezer. And that's just from ONE of the "medium-sized" zucchini!

The changes I would make next time include:
- lining the bottom of the pan with parchment paper (the loaf stuck a bit to the bottom and had some "craters")
- use half applesauce instead of "all that oil"
- leave out the coffee and cardamom, and try some orange zest (my husband is not a coffee fan)

I think a good quality cocoa powder is essential to the success of this recipe. I highly recommend the "ruddy red" cocoa powder (from the bulk barn). I have used it many times, and find it superior in taste and quality.

In other news... for dinner tonight we are having chicken skewers. The chicken has been marinating in a teriyaki marinade, and we will add zucchini, onions, and mushrooms to those, and serve with rice.

We've been eating the peas fresh, and also in stirfries, and have enjoyed the cherry tomatoes fresh, and also cut up in sandwiches with turkey bacon. Mmm... yummy.

tzatziki

When I saw we were getting cucumbers in our share this week, I knew exactly what i wanted to do with them- make tzatziki. I've wanted to try making it, cuz it's such a healthy dip and seemed like it should be easy to make. And it's delicious.

I started off with this tzatziki recipe and made my own variations based on what I had on hand. Most recipes call for mint and dill, but I only had dill on hand, so I omitted the mint. (I have seen some recipes that don't include mint too).

Tzatziki

I used 2c of "Astro Balkan-style" plain yogurt, since that is the yogurt we buy most of the time. I also did not drain it overnight, since it is a thicker yogurt to begin with, and I didn't have that much time! Since it's best to allow the tzatziki to sit overnight so the flavours combine, and I wanted to serve it the next day, I let the yogurt drip a couple hours.

While I let my yogurt drain (in a jelly bag!) I peeled and grated my 4 little cucumbers, then put them in another jelly bag and wrung out as much juice as I could. I was surprised at the amount that came out. Then I minced up 3 large cloves of garlic, and a good handful of dill which I did not measure. I also added the juice of half a lemon, which I did not measure either. I don't often measure when I cook.

Smells like tzatziki

While I waited for my yogurt to drip, I combined the rest of the ingredients, and as it sat on my counter, the smell was amazing. It smelled just like tzatziki, and made me very excited to try it.

All mixed up

When I mixed it all up, it looked a lot more green than most tzatzikis I've seen, but that's alright with me. The initial taste test told me that letting it sit overnight was indeed the best choice, as the flavours need a chance to mingle. But it also told me my recipe was a success. (Next-morning taste test says: delicious, but if you are not a huge garlic fan, you may want to use less... a lot less!)

My plan for the tzatziki is to serve it with BBQ'd chicken skewers marinated in the PC Souvlaki marinade. There will also be zucchini, pepper, and onion skewers, to go along with the chicken. And it will be served with whole wheat Greek-style pitas.

I don't often plan a meal to this level of detail so far in advance, but this one has fallen together so well, and we have my parents visiting and having a set plan in advance means anyone can get started when they have a few minutes.

Preserving

Once again, I spent a Saturday acquiring fruit and tucking it away for winter.

Today I stopped in at the Pembroke Farmer's Market (needed more garlic for making pesto) and happened across someone selling harvest apples! I was so excited, as these are the apples my mom made applesauce with when I was a kid, and I've looked for them unsuccessfully for years. They are small, greenish-yellow in colour, and fairly soft and sweet- perfect for making applesauce. I got an approximate half-bushel, which produced 13 pints of applesauce. (I prefer pint jars)

Also on today's agenda was a trip to Hugli's Blueberry Ranch to do some blueberry picking. This was my first time ever picking blueberries, and I enjoyed it. Several other pickers commented on the lack of berries, but I thought the picking was good. It took a little effort, as many of the berries liked to hide within the branches, but I didn't mind. I was fortunate enough to be serenaded by a wedding happening on the grounds.

With some of the blueberries, I made my favourite kind of jam- Blueberry Lime Ginger jam. The basic recipe comes from the Bernardin home canning cookbook, although I've tweaked it a bit.

5c crushed blueberries

zest and juice of 1 large lime (or 2 small ones)

1T fresh grated ginger

1 pkg regular fruit pectin

5c sugar

Combine berries, lime zest and juice, and ginger in a large pot. Add pectin slowly, stirring to dissolve. Bring fruit to a rolling boil. Add sugar all at once and return to a rolling boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Ladle into jars, and process for 10min in boiling water bath.

This time, it produced 8c of jam.


Our meals have not been too exciting lately. Wednesday we had burgers with broccoli. Thursday we had noodle stir fry with hoisin sauce, using broccoli, peas, onions, and chicken. Friday Susannah and I had grilled cheese with carrots (hers cooked, mine raw). Tonight we had turkey burgers with peas. Nothing real inspired, but all of it tasty. At least we've been managing to get our veggies in at each meal.

Raspberries

Alright, so the raspberries are not from RHG, but I did go to a local pick-your-own place today, and picked just over 4 quarts. I was intending to make some jam with them, until my husband started to talk about the "raspberry preserves" his grandmother used to make. It's one of the only ways he likes to eat raspberries. After some discussion and recipe perusal, we concluded that it's not a true "preserve". She actually just canned raspberries, as they were whole berries in a very thin syrup. Easy!

I used a light syrup recipe (1 part sugar to 2 parts water), and gently packed my berries into pint jars. Next I added the hot syrup, and processed for 15min in a hot water bath. I now have 8 pints of summer deliciousness cooling on my counter.

One of my favourite sounds in summer is the musical "pop" of jars sealing after being canned. It makes me happy to hear, as I know I've got little bits of summer tucked away for another day. Oh- just heard my first two pops!

This year, I've already put away two batches of Strawberry Vanilla jam, and a batch of Strawberry Lemon jam as well. I still plan to make some raspberry jam... maybe Monday? And of course blueberry! I can't live this close to a blueberry farm and not go pick some. A few years ago I made a delightful Blueberry-Lime-Ginger jam (which didn't set... long story) and I want to do it again. Except maybe this time I'll get it to set.

Ukrainian Borscht

This is how my husband's grandmother made borscht. His aunt gave me the recipe. I sometimes vary the veggies depending on what I have on hand. Cabbage is a good addition.

Ukrainian Borscht
8 cups water

3 medium beets

2-3 carrots, peeled

3 potatoes, peeled if desired

1 small chopped onion

2-3 chopped stalks of celery

1 can of diced or whole tomatoes

1 tsp salt (or to taste)
pepper to taste

1 can of brown beans

1 T parsley

1/2 cup of fresh dill

 

Boil beets, carrots and potatoes until softened.

 

Sauté onion and celery in a pan with a bit of butter or oil.

Love the pretty purple carrots.

Remove vegetables from water, remove skin from beets and chop beets and carrots, and mash potatoes. Return vegetables to water, add all other ingredients and simmer together until cooked through.

We enjoyed some whole wheat rolls and garlic butter with our borscht.

Serve with a dollop of sour cream on top. You can also add a squeeze of lemon or a bit of vinegar if you prefer a more sour taste.

I don't often add something sour, but tonight I was having trouble achieving the characteristic sour taste since all the veggies were so young and sweet. Adding some fresh lemon juice seemed to do the trick.

experiments

I like to experiment in the kitchen. I usually start off with a recipe, or at least an idea of what I'm going to do, but it often ends up producing something completely different! Sometimes these experiments result in things we want to remember, other times they are quickly forgotten. My one problem is that I don't know what to call my successful creations.

Tonight we had a "throw it together" supper, which turned out to be amazing! I wanted to try the thai noodle and bok choi recipe, but couldn't find miso paste at any of the grocery stores I visited. (Please let me know if you have found it locally!) So I figured I'd just do some other sort of sauce. Then, the store I stopped at after work didn't have wide rice noodles- only the very skinny vermicelli. So I thought we'd try them out. And when I got home, the head of pac choi looked a lot smaller than I remembered, so I decided to add some scapes and zucchini as well.

When I started to cook, I didn't even bother to look at the recipe... instead I decided to experiment on my own.

I diced up the chicken breasts, and stir fried them in the wok along with a little sesame oil, and I added a little salt and pepper. When the chicken was cooked, I removed it, and put in a handful of scapes (chopped in 1" pieces), one zucchini (diced), and 5 cloves of minced garlic. Yes, it is a lot of garlic but we like it! When that was well on its way to cooked, I added in the chopped pac choi.

Meanwhile, I put the vermicelli noodles in hot water for 4 minutes (as directed on the package) and then added them to the mix. I also put the chicken back in.

For a sauce, I used hoisin sauce that I found in my pantry. And I put in the remainder of the cilantro from last week's share. And that's it!

our dinner... not sure what to call it!

Susannah, excited for her dinner

We all very much enjoyed this meal, and the only thing I would do differently would be to add more sauce. These noodles really soak it in, and need a lot more sauce than you might expect. When I first dished it up, it was great, but by the time we took seconds (and thirds!) it was starting to get a little dry. We added a little more sauce, and it was excellent again.

Spinach Casserole

This is a favourite in our family.

Spinach Casserole

2-3 eggs

6T whole wheat flour

2c cottage cheese

2c grated cheddar cheese

1/2t salt

1 lb fresh spinach (which is actually quite a lot!)

3T wheat germ

Beat eggs and flour until smooth. Stir in cheeses and salt. Add spinach (torn up if large leaves).

Pour into greased 9x13 pan. Sprinkle wheat germ over top.

Bake at 350F for 45 minutes.

It is excellent with cooked carrots- the vitamin C will help you absorb the iron from the spinach.

It is also great with some scapes, green onion, and/or regular old onion chopped up and added with the spinach.

last day of the week

Last day of the week... the end of the veggies. Sigh...

The end of the week usually means eating up the veggies we're either less fond of, or don't know what to do with. It's hard to get excited about something you haven't found a way to like yet.

And there is always the question... What's for dinner? This week we have a few green onions and some radishes left. What kind of meal can you make from that? Well, we had radish sandwiches! (Susannah had some leftover turkey burger). Radish sandwiches is something my dad would make when I was a kid. They're still as good as I remember. It's the only way I've ever liked a radish. My husband enjoyed the sandwiches as well.

Radish Sandwich: Two slices of whole wheat bread, butter, thin slices of radish, a bit of salt (and pepper if you wish). That's it! Using the easter egg radishes made them even prettier than usual. I even made a pattern from the purple, pink, and white circles.

The last day of the week is also the day that our CSA posts the produce list for the next day. Maybe they know we need the excitement. This week, there are two "choice" items that I am excited about. We can choose between green peppers or broccoli, and between cilantro or mint. For us, the choices are no-brainers- we're not pepper eaters and we LOVE broccoli (it's one of Susannah's favourite foods), and the only thing I use mint for is tea, but many of our favourite recipes feature cilantro. We're going to see lots of greens coming our way. There are some repeats from last week, as well as some new intros for the season. I can't wait to pick up our veggies tomorrow :)