Fresh Salsa September 14, 2008

A few weeks ago my CSA offered bulk tomatoes for an extra payment. I jumped at the opportunity for 10 pounds of fresh, beautiful tomatoes. I’ve been seeing recipes for slow roasted tomatoes that I really wanted to try. I’ll post the recipes and pictures for that tomorrow.

While I was excited for the slow roasted tomatoes, I knew that I had to use several fresh tomatoes for something simple and fresh. This simple fresh salsa recipe was perfect for one of the final warm afternoons grilling at Emily/Ted/Kim’s apartment.

• two large fresh tomatoes – diced
• 1/2 onion – diced
• 3 cloves garlic – diced
• 1 large bunch cilantro – chopped
• juice from 1 lime
• salt and pepper

After chopping and dicing all ingredients, mix together and taste for flavor. Feel free to add a diced jalapeno if you want spicy salsa.

Notes: I didn’t have time to drain the salsa, so it had lots of the tomato juice at the bottom. This didn’t bother me too much.

Servings: Many appetizers

Roasted Tomato Soup with Leeks and Basil September 12, 2008

Roasted tomato and leek soup with basil. Do you see it? Do you see all the pretty red tomatoes and the specks of green basil and the crispy leeks on top? Since I do not own a blender or an immersion blender, my soup doesn’t look like The Kitchen Sink’s pictures. While my soup came out less smooth and more chunky, it’s the best tomato soup I’ve ever had. I could have left out the leeks and or basil and it still would have been my favorite, and I’m a big fan of a can of condensed tomato soup.

• 1 T. butter
• 1 T. olive oil
• 3 leeks – sliced and cleaned well
• 3 cloves garlic – smashed
• 2 cans fire roasted (or slow roasted) tomatoes
• 1 C. water
• 1/2 C. whole milk
• 1 T. sugar
• 1/4 t. crushed red pepper
• 1/4 t. celery seed
• 1/4 C. basil – chopped a bit
• Salt and Pepper

In a large soup pot, heat the butter and oil. Toss in the leeks but save a hand full or two to top your soup at the end. Add the garlic and cook for about 5 minutes. Add the tomato and juice, water, milk, and seasonings. Bring to a boil and then reduce the soup to simmer for 10 minutes.

Transfer the soup to a food processor, maybe in two batches (I am a bit crazy and poured it all in). Use a blender to make the soup smooth and creamy. Pour back into the pot and warm. In a skillet, saute the left over leeks and cook until crispy.

Serve soup with crispy leeks on top along with grilled cheese or a quesadilla on whole wheat tortilla.

Notes: I’ll still eat many cans of condensed tomato soup, but I’ll be making this again as well.

Servings: 4-5 bowls

Baked Eggplant September 11, 2008

I came across this recipe on Lucullian Delights’ blog and made a healthier (less oil) version a few weeks ago. Eggplant sometimes can be a bit… much. It can get too mushy or have too many seeds or be kind of bland. I really liked this simple recipe and it made a great snack.

• 1 eggplant
• olive oil
• salt
• parsley

Slice the eggplant thinly after cutting off the top and cutting in half. Put them in one layer on 2 large cookie sheets (spray the bottom first with oil). Spray the tops with a little olive oil, sprinkle with salt and bake at 300 degrees for 30ish minutes, until they start to get some color. When done, spray with more oil and toss on chopped up fresh parsley. Enjoy.

Servings: Many snacks

GUEST CHEF: Kent’s Venison with Mushroom Sauce September 9, 2008

My brother-in-law, Kent, hunts. I think I teased him about this at my sister’s wedding, but I must say that I benefit greatly from Kent’s hunting trips. Venison. Ground venison, venison steaks, vension sausage, venison jerky (*drool*), venison chops and venison loins. It’s far healthier than beef as it’s much leaner, it’s not a product of the big industrialized beef/pork industry, and it’s plentiful. The trick is cooking venison. Ground venison can replace any recipe for ground beef, but the other varieties (steak, chops, loins) require a little more thought. Use marinades and don’t over cook! While talking to Kent about what to do with some venison loins in the freezer, he told me about this mushroom sauce and sent it my way. He’s made it many times, but as he’s the father of two of the most adorable boys in the world, he doesn’t have much time to photograph his food. Instead, I made and enjoyed it and here’s the proof:

• 4 Venison loin steaks – grilled

• 1 package fresh mushrooms – thinly sliced

• 1/2 C. vidalia onions – thinly sliced (I used red onion since that’s what I had on hand)

• 3 T. margarine (I used butter.)

• 1 T. cornstarch

• 1/2 C. water *

• 1/4 C. red wine

• 1 T. beef bouillon*  (I used beef broth instead of the water and beef bouillon since I didn’t have any.)

• 1 t. tomato paste

• several dashes Worcestershire sauce

• salt and pepper to taste

“Saute mushrooms and onions in butter.  Dissolve cornstarch in water and add to mushrooms and onions along with remaining ingredients.  Simmer until mixture thickens.  Serve warm over venison steaks.  Makes 4 servings.

I usually marinade the steaks or loins in red wine, onions, fresh garlic, and ground pepper overnight.  I usually grill the steaks or loins too.  It’s usually about 4-5 minutes per side and keep them rare.”

Notes: Thanks Kent! Chris and I enjoyed this recipe and will definitely be making it again.

Arugula, Mozzarella and Artichoke Heart Salad September 8, 2008

I’ve got a backlog of recipes waiting to be posted. I’m going to try to catch up this week, since many of them are more summer than fall, and fall is on its way. The first is this simple, filling and very flavorful salad. The arugula and tomatoes came from our CSA box, the marinated artichokes and fresh mozzarella from our local Harvestime.

• 1 bunch arugula – washed
• 1 fresh tomato – sliced and cut into quarters
• marinated artichoke hearts
• fresh mozzarella

This recipe is so easy. Plate the arugula and top with tomatoes, mozzarella and artichoke hearts. Eat.

Notes: The arugula we had was so peppery, the tomatoes at their ripest and the artichoke hearts added a little oil from their marinade, meaning this salad didn’t need any dressing. Perfect.

Servings: 2 dinner servings

Beans and Swiss Chard September 4, 2008

When I first started this blog, one of the first food blogs I fell in love with is Heidi Swanson’s 101cookbooks.com. I’ve cooked so many things from her blog, including the best tofu recipe ever. Her pictures are beautiful, her natural cooking is inspirational, and her recies are almost always amazing. I’d mentioned her cookbook, Super Natural Cooking, to Chris when it came out and he surprised me with it. This recipe came from that cookbook.

• 1/2 pound medium white beans – cooked from dried beans, not canned
• 3 T. butter
• 1 onion – chopped
• 4 cloves garlic – diced
• 7 big leaves chard – cut int ribbons and 1 or 2 stems cut into 1/2 inch pieces
• Salt and Pepper
• Parmesan – shredded

To cook the beans: Pick out any pebbles or clumps of dirt and rinse. Soak the beans overnight or early the morning of the day you cook them. Drain and rinse the beans and add fresh water (double or triple the volume of the beans). Bring pot to simmer and cook until tender, from 45 minutes to a couple hours. Heat the butter over meadium heat in a wide skillet you’ve got. Add the beans in a single layer. Stir to coat with butter and let them sit long enugh to brown on one side, 3 to 4 minutes. You want to cook the beans so they are golden and a bit crunchy on the outside but soft and creamy on the inside. Salt to taste. Add the onion and garlic and cook for a minute or two before adding the chard. Stir until it starts to wilt. Season with salt and pepper and sprinkle with freshly grated parmesan. Notes: I’ve made this twice and I’ve loved it both times. Don’t try using canned beans as they just turn to mush. Rainbow chard makes this dish even better. Servings: 2 dinner servings plus leftovers

Corn Chowder September 3, 2008

I know there is still sweet corn in your grocery store. Go out now and buy some.  Grab some potatoes as well (along with all the other ingredients) and make this soup. If you are in Chicago, the weather is just turning from gross, sticky 90+ degrees to  the 60’s and 70’s for the rest of this  week. Perfect weather for this corn chowder! I found and make this recipe off of The Kitchen Sink’s blog.  The recipe may look long at first, but remember, this is a soup and everything just gets tossed into one big pot. God I love soup.

• 5 strips of bacon – sliced into small pieces
• 1 T. olive oil
• 1 large onion – diced
• 5 celery ribs – diced
• 1 t. herbes de Provence
• 1/2 t. smoked paprika
• 1 t. ground cumin
• 1/2 t. ground chipotle chili powder
• 1/4 t. sea salt (or more to taste)
• 1/4 t. fresh-cracked black pepper
• 8 small new potatoes – quartered or smaller
• 4 T. flour
• 4 C. chicken stock (low-sodium)
• 2 C. water
• 4 ears of corn – kernels shaved from the cob and one shaved cob reserved
• Greek yogurt – for garnish

In a big soup pot, fry the bacon until crispy. Remove bacon to a paper towel and pour out bacon grease but don’t clean the pot. Add olive oil to the pot on medium heat and cook the onion, celery and herbs/seasonings.  After the onion becomes translucent, add the potatoes and cook for five minutes. Turn the heat down and add the flour. Stir and cover all the vegetables and cook for a couple more minutes.

Add the stock, water and bacon to the pot along with the corn kernels. Also add in the reserved corn cob which will add flavor to the soup (you will take it out before serving). Bring to a boil and then turn down to simmer for 30 minutes.

Before serving, remove cob, taste and adjust seasoning if needed. Serve with a dollop of Greek yogurt on top.

Notes: We enjoyed our soup with toasted pita bread. I sprayed with olive oil, tossed on some salt and toasted in the oven on 350 for 5ish minutes. Delish. I enjoyed everything about this soup, especially the chipolte chili powder.

Servings: 6-7 large bowls

Pistachio Gelato September 2, 2008

Ah gelato. I far prefer gelato to ice cream. When Chris and I were in London, we stopped at a little gelato shop every single night to get a scoop. I came across this pistachio gelato recipe on Chocolate & Zucchini and it’s been on my list, waiting for me to find unsalted, shelled pistachios. The Whole Foods in Chicago is hard to get to and I knew it was the only place I could find them, so I  asked my brother to run my errands for me and he stopped at the store in Evanston. Success! This recipe is VERY pistachio-y and really not very sweet. But I’ve almost finished it all by now, so it’s clearly still tasty.

• 1 1/2 C. unsalted, shelled pistachios
• 1/3 C. sugar
• 2 C. whole milk
• 2 T. cornstarch
• 1 T + 2 t. agave syrup

In a food processor, combine the pistachios and the sugar and process until the mixture is turned into a fine powder. Set aside.

In a small bowl, mix 1/4 cup of milk with the cornstarch and set aside. Combine the rest of the milk (1 3/4 cup) with the pistachio/sugar mixture in a medium saucepan. Heat over medium heat and bring just to a simmer, stirring regularly with a wooden spoon. Add the cornstarch mixture and stir, cooking until the mixture thickens. It’s ready when it coats the wooden spoon. This just took about a minute for me.

Remove from heat and let cool a few minutes. The original recipe says that you can strain the custard at this point through a fine-mesh sieve if you prefer a smooth texture. I did not and the mixture was almost… chewy with all the pistachios in it. Be forewarned!

Stir in the agave syrup and whisk with a fork to blend. Let cool at room temperature, whisking from time to time to prevent a skin from forming. Cover and refrigerate until completely chilled then mix in your ice cream maker.

Notes: At this point, I don’t think this is my ideal pistachio gelato recipe. I’ll keep looking and try again.

Servings: Many