Sweet Potatoes and Kale
February 8, 2012 - Written by Diana
I love sweet potatoes and kale, such a great healthy combination. How are your winter stores holding up? The sweet potatoes were in our basement cold storage and holding up really well. These were potatoes we grew from slips in our garden, so I’m thrilled to have them in such good shape in February.
We have been picking up a market bag from a grocer. Each week is a surprise, but usually contains greens, fruit (apples, pears, oranges) some sort of grain, and usually bread and veggies. Most of it is organic, and as much as possible local – not easy to do this time of year. Last week we received some dinosaur kale. Lovely bright and green dinosaur kale.
Recently I saw an episode of The Chew where Michael Symon attempted a 5 in 5 – which he failed to complete on time, but it had the ingredients I love together – sweet potatoes and swiss chard. I took his idea of grilling the sweet potatoes and sauteeing the chard, but substituted kale. …
Red Pepper Lentil Dip
February 5, 2012 - Written by Diana
Here’s a really fast and I think pretty healthy dip. Unlike sour cream dips, legume dips fill you up faster so you’ll eat a little less of the not so good stuff. My suggestion is to start with the bean dip with veggies to leave a little less room for those fattening things. You can revisit last years dip suggestions to see healthier alternatives for your gatherings.
Lentils – are a type of legume, and are very high in proteins. They cook relatively quickly and when mashed are similar to chickpeas used for hummus. You can substitute lentils for chickpeas in your hummus, or use it instead of refried beans in your bean dip. The red lentils have more of a mild flavor and aren’t as high in protein as the dark green, but I used them because I thought they would go well with the red peppers. Use this dip for crackers, raw veggies, pita or just chips. Serve warm or cold and to keep from drying out you can pour a thin layer of oil over top …
A Tale of Two Soups
January 31, 2012 - Written by DianaCold season is here – and we were bit. Two soups this week. I made Chicken soup for my husband on Sunday and he returned the favor on Tuesday. I returned home from work feeling clogged and gunky. My handsome knight in shining armor, the one who is slowly adding to his cooking repetoire, made some chicken soup for me. We’re big believers in those natural remedies. What about you? What do you do when you are feeling all clogged?
Sunday’s Chicken Soup…
Tuesday’s Chicken Soup…
Albondigas (Mexican Meatball) Soup
January 28, 2012 - Written by DianaWe were supposed to go to our friends house for a potluck dinner last weekend. Then there was an ice storm, and the dog was ill and didn’t eat for days. The dog also injured her spine and had much difficulty sitting and walking. Plus I was had a rumbly tummy on Friday night, and by the time Saturday came around my stomach muscles were too sore and not into food too much. Before you ask – the dog is fine. She is on a little medicine for her spine and an infection, but many vet visits later, she is doing well. I’m fine too. But we were very sad to miss out on a friendly gathering.
Anyway, these really cool friends sent a batch of this incredible Albondigas meatball soup home from work with my husband. So for a few evenings we reheated the soup, plus I took some to work for lunch. What didn’t I do? I didn’t take any photos darn it. My friend was cool enough to share her recipe with us. I think this would make a great superbowl entree. It’s not finger food, but the meatball and the peppers …
Apple-Cabbage Slaw with Kumquat Dressing
January 20, 2012 - Written by Diana
You knew I was going to do something with that kumquat ginger syrup didn’t you? I made another chicken roast, with a side of winter vegetables and a really cool tasty Apple-Cabbage Slaw with Kumquat Dressing. A little sweet, a little vinegary, but all good. In fact, my daughter ate it and then stopped and said – “Wait, this is slaw, you tricked me.” I asked if she liked it and she said she did, but it was still slaw.
We had a full house – both of the kids were home and the fiancee was at dinner too, so I brought out the leftover kumquats for a tasting. My daughter died laughing over the name and then refused at first to eat it. She wanted to peel the skin which I said was the best part. My son and the fiance popped them in their mouths without a second thought, but my daughter really had to get herself ready. Then she was fine until the tart juice squirted in her mouth making her pucker. Later I thanked …
Chicken, Penne and Broccolini – Leftover Remix
January 11, 2012 - Written by Diana
Sometimes I am at odds with my son about dinner. If it takes too long, he won’t bother. If he has to read directions, he won’t bother. If it takes too many pots and pans, he won’t bother. This isn’t to say he’s hopeless or can’t cook. Slowly we are building up his repetoire and the meals he does cook are very delicious. My method with him is to encourage him to try to experiment by adding different vegetables and herbs to a basic recipe.
This time we took some chicken from our roast chicken the other night and added pasta, some broccolini, a few herbs, smash some galic and voila – dinner is served. This is a good college kid meal, you can change up the pasta, the veggies, substitute the oil with broth to make it a little lighter. Swap the lemon with white or red wine vinegar for a little different. We stood side by side at the stove cooking this dish. When we were done, I asked my son if he thought he …
Lemon Rosemary Roasted Chicken
January 8, 2012 - Written by Diana
Tonight’s chicken was lemony goodness and very easy to prepare. I’m a fan of just a few steps to great food, the oven does most of the work here, slowly roasting to perfection. My husband is a big poultry fan. When we go to restaurants, often I will order a steak and my husband some chicken or turkey. It never fails that the server will swap our plates and give my husband the steak and me the chicken. We taste off of each other’s plates though, so in the end it doesn’t matter. He won’t swap this though. I had to let him chew the bones a little before I put them in the freezer so that he could pick off every morsel of chicken left behind.
Today’s chicken we bought fresh from the market yesterday. You tell them what you want and they will bag it and even skin, bone and cut it up for you all in a few minutes. They’re really fast. I bought two whole chickens and a couple of whole breasts split along with some sausage. The …
Merry Christmas & Ginger Applesauce
December 25, 2011 - Written by DianaThere’s always one last thing to make , one more dish to prepare. Here’s a quick pretty fail safe delicious one we made this morning. It was all hands on deck. The kids peeled and cored an put the apples into lemon water. My husband helped remove the rough spots.
We put it into my new dutch oven and I poured a little apple cider over top. For the piece de resistance We grated fresh ginger and gave it all a toss.
Heat it up giving it a stir every few minutes until its mostly melted into sauce. Yummy.
I hope every one enjoys their day and thanks to all those working today to make our lives easier. My daughter is a working waitress. Be extra nice to your waitress today if you eat out. She’s missing the family dinner, but needs the money for school. We miss her, but we understand. God bless us everyone. Happy Holidays to all, from Winter solstice through Happy New Years and every holiday in between.
Brussels Sprouts with Pancetta and Pine Nuts
December 18, 2011 - Written by Diana
The last couple of weeks I’ve been eating brussels sprouts every other night. Rhoads Farm still had brussels sprouts at North Market this week, and we bought another quart. The vendor told me that they get their seeds from Europe, that give them a less bitter brussels sprout. I can tell you that ours are delicious and not bitter at all. My kids aren’t fans because I traumatized them with frozen and then boiled brussels sprouts. I think there’s no competition – now is the time to get brussels sprouts and cook them up the best way from fresh.
For a brighter brussels sprout, give it a quick blanch, really quick so they don’t get soggy. You can skip that step, but it does brighten up the plate. I like the pancetta, sliced thinly and less grease than the thick cut bacon. I also add pine nuts because I think they go well, and some garlic. The white wine vinegar lightens it up a little and will get all the carmelized bits from the bottom of the pan. This is pretty darn tasty. …
Potato, Celery Root and Broccolini Soup
December 16, 2011 - Written by Diana
This is a great farm market soup using vegetables that are still growing in the area as the choices get smaller and smaller at the farm markets. The number of stalls at some of the farm markets are dwindling, but trying to buy and use local as long as possible also means trying to be seasonal in your recipes.
There are a lot of nice late fall veggies in this potato soup hopefully making it nutritionally filling as well as warming you up on a cold day. I cut the broccolini into thirds. The bottom third of the stalk, I put away in the freezer for when I am making vegetable broth. The middle third I used for the soup and the top third I stir into the pot after steaming in white whine vinegar. I love having the whole veggie to bite into a nice morsel in the mostly smashed potatoes and celeriac broth. The celeriac I peeled and diced into bite size pieces to fill about 2 cups. I rough peeled the potatoes – because I’m a fan of skin and had …
