the contrarian cook©

Season Two - CSA Week 11

Well, it's been a while. I took a break from the blog because there is just so much going on in my life. We just had our first family reunion on my mom's side, evah! It was a blast and went by way too quickly. So many interesting and fun relatives. I'm also going to be a grandmother in February. That should be fun. Heck, my dogs are already too spoiled, it's time to spoil something else. We have new totes from the CSA (I'm going to miss the waxy cardboard boxes... seriously. I liked them.) And, I'm becoming more and more involved in local and national politics. Whew!

In this week's CSA box, there is summer squash, cucumbers, tomatoes, fennel, fresh garlic, onions, mint, basil (in the bag) and beets. Here we go... I have to be at the state fair tomorrow so, hopefully I will be posting again this weekend.

Carrot and Cranberry Scones...

This is baker daughter filling in for the Contrarian Cook. Baking with vegetables, Part 2.

Carrot and Cranberry Scones.

As I mentioned earlier, in addition to some magazines, I bought both of the Baked cookbooks by Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito and I am glad I did. I can't wait to try out all of these recipes. The first one that caught my eye was Carrot Coconut Scones from Baked Explorations. I don't have any coconut, so I swapped in dried cranberries. So here are my adapted Carrot and Cranberry Scones.

Whisk the following:

2 3/4 cups flour

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup rolled oats

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup dried cranberries

Add 1/2 cup of cubed cold butter (1 stick) and mix until mixture is crumbly.

In a different bowl, whisk the following:

1 egg

3/4 cup buttermilk

1 tablespoon vanilla

3/4 cup carrot puree (microwave sliced carrot with orange juice until tender, then mash)

Add the wet to the dry and stir until just combined. Knead once or twice and shape into a rectangle. Cut out 8 triangles and brush with an egg white. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes at 400^o.

Drizzle with glaze (I used 2 tablespoons lemon juice and 2 tablespoon orange juice with 1 cup powdered sugar) and let it set up.

TA DA! Carrot and Cranberry Scones!

Tomato and Cheddar Pie...

This is baker daughter filling in for the Contrarian Cook. Baking with vegetables, Part 1.

I am actually a little sad that my local Borders book store is closing. That being said, I am rather glad that I just got a good deal on some cookbooks and paid almost nothing for a few cooking magazines. After perusing my discounted plunder, I realized that I wanted to make the tomato and cheddar pie featured in the current issue of bon appétit right now. Unfortunately the dough involved some prep work and I really only had a little over an hour of work time available so I had to think, what would Sandra Lee do?

I compromised and used a Bisquick base and the classy filling that was featured in bon appétit. So here it is.

I sliced the three heirloom tomatoes from the CSA box and laid them out on a baking sheet lined with paper towels to drain (bon appétit says to let them drain for 30 minutes, but I only left them there until everything else was prepped and ready). In one bowl I combined 2 cups of cheddar cheese and about a 1/3 cup of shaved parmesan. In a second bowl I combined 1 spring onion from the CSA box, 1/2 cup olive oil mayonnaise, 2 tablespoons fresh chopped basil (bon appétit said dill but I had CSA basil), 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar, 2 tablespoons sugar and salt and pepper.

For the base I combined 1  1/2 cups Bisquick, 6 oz. skim milk and 2 tablespoons melted butter (just because). I pressed this into a glass pie plate, sprinkled the dough with a little cornmeal and started layering. (cheese mixture, tomatoes, mayonnaise, cheese, tomatoes, mayonnaise, cheese, tomatoes and a little extra cheese on top). Into a 350^o oven for 35 minutes (at 35 minutes I tented the crust with foil and let it go for about 10 more minutes) and I had a tomato and cheddar pie. I tried to follow the directions and let it sit an hour before digging in and I made it to about 25 minutes before serving.

 

Season Two: CSA Week 8

Week 8... I'm late, again. Oh well, better late than never. This week's CSA box included Micro Greens, Lettuce Mix, Head Lettuce, Carrots, Leeks, Summer Squash, Spring Onions, Tomatoes and fresh Garlic. "Baker" daughter will be filling in for me this week.

Fennel and Sausage Risotto...

Risotto is one of those dishes that chefs try to belittle you about if it's not perfect. Watch Top Chef and the judges are nasty and critical when someone makes risotto. They usually get all indignant and say it's not creamy enough. Well, that's nonsense. If you go through the fairly easy but labor intensive act of making risotto for someone, they should just thank you, dry, creamy or whatever, lol. It's a lot of stirring, it's an act of love but it is worth it. I used the spring onions, fennel and basil from the CSA box.

Fennel and Sausage Risotto, inspired by Food and Wine magazine.

3 tablespoons Olive Oil, separated

1 pound bulk Italian Sausage

2 tablespoons fresh Basil, sliced thin

1 Fennel bulb, cored and sliced thin

2 Spring Onions, chopped fine

1 cup + 1/4 cup Arborio Rice

1/2 cup White Wine

pinch Saffron threads, rubbed together in your hand (it gives the risotto a slight golden color)

Salt and Pepper, to taste

6 cups Chicken Stock

1/2 cup Romano, grated

Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet. Cook the sauseage for about 5 minutes, until most of the pink is gone. Add fennel and basil and cook for about 5 - 10 minutes more, until fennel is soft. Remove from burner, cover pan to keep in the heat.

In a medium saucepan, heat the chicken broth to a simmer, then turn down heat to low.

In a large pot, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add the onions and cook for 5 minutes, until translucent. Add in rice and stir for a couple of minutes until well coated with the oil. Add the saffron and wine, cooking until the wine is mostly absorbed. Add 1 cup of the chicken broth, stirring until mostly absorbed. Continue adding chicken broth 1/2 cup at a time, stirring until it is mostly absorbed before adding the next 1/2 cup. For the last 1/2 cup, watch to make sure it doesn't absorb too much, as you want the risotto to have a creamy texture (or Tom Colicchio will snear at you). Add in Sausage and Fennel mixture and grated cheese. Stir and serve with a basil garnish.

It really is delicious, the rice is lighlty "al dente" and the sausage and fennel are very tasty together.

Season Two: CSA Week 7

It is going to be a very, very hot day, today, so I went to the farm a little earlier than normal to avoid the heat. On days like today you realize the farmer and farm workers can't do anything about the weather other than adapt. I saw people wearing wide brimmed hats and bandanas tied loosely around the neck to keep the sun at bay the best they could. I just want to say thank you to all the farmers and growers out there working to bring us food everyday in every kind of weather. Thank you.

Today's CSA box contained, new Eggs, Green Head Lettuce, Spring Onions, Fennel, Micro Greens, Fresh Garlic, Carrots and Basil... sweet Basil, lol. Have I told you how much I love basil?

Pennies from Heaven...

No, not really, lol. It just seemed kinda weird that both dishes I was making tonight had circles or "penny" shaped ingredients.

When I was little, and when my kids were little, a favorite treat was hot dogs cut up in scrambled eggs. I don't know why, but those hot dog pennies made scrambled eggs way more classy, lol. Tonight's dinner reminded me of this.

I still had a dozen of my Howling Hounds eggs on hand so I decided to make a frittatta with cubed yellow potatoes, diced onion and pennied turkey sausage. I melted a tablespoon of butter and added a tablespoon of olive oil to an oven proof skillet and cooked the potatoes for about 5 minutes over medium heat. I added in the onions for another 5 minutes and seasoned it with salt and pepper. I then added in the sausage "pennies," heating it through.

I whisked 12 eggs together and poured the mixture over the potatoes, onion and sausage gently stirring until mostly set up. Then I sprinkled a 1/4 cup of parmesan cheese on top and broiled it until very lightly browned.

 
Spicey Carrots and Kalamata Olives

1 lb Carrots, cut into 1/4" pennies

1/2 teaspoon crushed Red Pepper flakes

1 teaspoon Fenugreek seeds

1 teaspoon dried Cilantro leaves

2 cloves of Garlic, minced

1/2 cup Water

1/2 cup Kalamata Olives, pitted

1 medium Sweet Onion, chopped

2 teaspoons ground Cumin

2 Tablespoons Olive Oil

2 Tablespoons Lemon juice

Put carrots, pepper flakes, fenugreek seeds, cilantro, garlic and water in a medium saucepan. Bring water to a boil and then reduce heat to medium/low. Cook carrots for 15 minutes, stirring until almost all the water is evaporated. Add salt and pepper to taste. Stir in olives and chopped onions. In a small saute pan cook the cumin for about a minute, until fragrant. Add olive oil and lemon juice and stir until combined. Pour over carrot mixture.

This is a very interesting way to serve carrots inspired by this recipe. I served it warm tonight. I still have some extra, so tomorrow, I am going to see what it tastes like cold.

 

 

Martha, Martha, Martha...

Ya know, I love Martha Stewart. She is the original domestic goddess but, there's always a but, I missed a school board meeting due to Martha this evening and I'm a little PO'd at her. I found a menu over at Martha's website that included pasta with chard (got it) and salad with fennel and carrots (got them, too.) I couldn't believe my luck and it would only take me about 25 minutes... I started chopping at 5:45 and we didn't sit down for the meal until 7 pm. The same time that the school board meeting was beginning. Oh well, it was delicious but with all the chopping, it took a lot longer than 25 minutes.

 
Fennel and Carrot Salad

 2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon, Lemon Juice

1 tablespoon White Wine vinegar

1/2 teaspoon Salt

1/2 teaspoon Sugar

1/4 teaspoon White Pepper

1/4 cup Olive Oil

6 - 8 small Carrots, shredded

1 Fennel bulb, thinly sliced

1 medium Shallot, thinly sliced

2 large Oanges, segmented

1 head Lettuce, torn into bite sized pieces

In a large bowl, whisk together lemon juice, vinegar, salt, sugar and pepper. Add a slow stream of olive oil and keep whisking until combined. Stir carrots and fennel into dressing and let sit for at least 15 minutes. Just before serving add in shallots, orange segments and lettuce. Toss to combine. 

Pasta and Chard

 
1 pound Tubular Pasta

2 tablespoons Butter

3 tablespoons Olive Oil

2 Garlic cloves, minced

2  Shallots, finely chopped

1 bunc Rainbow Chard, de-stemmed, cut into 1/2-inch shreds

2 tablespoons lemon zest (2 lemons)

1/2 cup white wine

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1/2 cup fresh ricotta cheese

1 package (about 2 ounces) pine nuts, toasted

Shaved Parmesan cheese, for garnish

 
Cook pasta in a large pot according to directions for al dente. Drain pasta and set aside. In the same pot, add olive oil and butter, when melted, add in garlic and shallots cooking for about 1 - 2 minutes. Add in chard, lemon zest, wine and salt and pepper to taste. Cook until chard wilts. Add in pasta, ricotta and pine nuts. Stir to combine, cooking for about 5 minutes longer until the pasta absorbs all the liquid. Sprinkle with shaved parmesan cheese to serve.

Martha's lucky that it was so delicious...

The Hurrieder I Go, the Behinder I Get...

When I was younger I knew that if you needed something done, you asked a busy person. I used to be that busy person; able to work, run the kids to four different activities, volunteer and make dinner without breaking a sweat. I don't seem able to juggle as well as I used to anymore... Oh well, from last week:

Carrot Ginger Shallot Dressing

3 medium Carrots

1/4 cup fresh Ginger, chopped

1/4 cup Shallots, chopped

1/4 cup Rice Vinegar

1 Tablespoon Soy Sauce

1 Tablespoon Sesame Oil

1 Tablespoon Sugar

1/2 teaspoon Salt

1/2 cup Canola Oil

1/4 cup Water

Pulse carrots until finely chopped.

Add ginger, shallots, vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil, sugar and salt. Pulse.

Slowly add oil until combined and then add water.

I used the dressing over a quick slaw made with the cabbage from the CSA box.

After finely slicing the cabbage I added 3 Hakuri Turnips that I had shredded in the food processor.

I tossed the slaw veggies with about a 1/2 cup of the Carrot Ginger Shallot Dressing and then added a little more dressing on top. It was spicy and amazing. If you don't like strong flavors, the ginger and shallots could be cut back by half and a little more water added but my family liked it strong. I served the dressed slaw with some baked fish.

And, from tonight, I boiled the golden and red beets for about 45 minutes, until soft. Then I peeled them and sliced them about 1/4" thick. I caramelized the red spring onions in a little butter and olive oil until lightly browned. I added the spring mix (loose leaf greens) to each plate. Hubby grilled a steak and then sliced it thinly. I crumbled some blue cheese and then we layered it all together for a quick dinner salad on a hot and muggy night. 

I love goat cheese with beets but the blue cheese was quite good with the beets and the beef, too.

Season Two: CSA Week 6

Oh goodness, I am so behind this week. It started with the power being out Monday and just seemed to go downhill from there. I got halfway to the farm this morning and realized I'd left my CSA box at home so I turned around and went back for it. Grrrrr... It's been that kind of week. On the happy side, this week's box included Fennel. Fennel has such an interesting, lightly licorice flavor and it's great raw or cooked. I also love how it looks, almost like it is braided. Also in the box this week, Chard, Green Head Lettuce, Spring Mix Greens, Spring (Red) Onions, Mint (Peppermint and Spearmint) and Carrots. Things are looking up...