Dill Dip

Fresh Dill- Several generous handfuls
3 cloves poached garlic
salt and pepper- lots of pepper
1 shallot
small container greek yogurt
tablespoon mayo
1-2 tablespoons sour cream (if desired)
celery and other veggies, cut for dipping

I love cooking things that take only a handful of ingredients and a few minutes in the kitchen, and taste great! This recipe is one of those gems that I can whip up after work for an awesome snack.

Poached garlic:
I recommend poached garlic, rather than raw, to take some of the bite out, but leave the flavor. For the same reason, I prefer shallot to raw onion. To poach the garlic, peel and boil for about 10 minutes. I like to do large batches of this and leave it in the fridge, as well as mix it into butter and mayonnaise. I use it all the time!! Since the garlic will now be soft and mushy, I can spread it on toast, smash it in the bottom of a pan before I saute green beans or garlic, or mix it into mashed potato.

Anyway, to make the dip:

In a food processor, scoop in the yogurt, the mayo and/or sour cream, throw in the garlic, roughly chopped shallot, the dill, and season. Blend, taste, and adjust.

Cut up radish, celery, carrot, etc, and eat! The best part: If you are using lowfat yogurt and only small amounts of mayo and sour cream, this is actually a super healthy, low fat dish!!

Salad Provencale

Ever since our trip to France this past spring, I have been fixated on my new favorite salad- the salad provencale. (The C should have that little squiggly goat beard-shaped line underneath, but I'm not sophisticated enough to know how to create that). Anyhoo, It is delicious, and for me, the equivalent of a power lunch.

Ingredients:
mixed greens
tuna in water
haricots verts (french green beans), steamed
tomato
potatoes, boiled and cooled
cannellini beans
egg, hardboiled
parsley
capers or olives
salt and pepper

Dressing:
I'm sure the french didn't make it this way, but here's my cheat:

1 capful of creamy caesar from Newman's mixed with a dollop of dijon mustard, a little of the water the tuna came in, and the juice from the tomatoes.... Add a tiny bit of olive oil as well.


Directions:
Combine the vegetables and toss in a bowl. Lightly top with dressing.

So I was cleaning out my fridge...

And came up with this doozy of a delicious treat!! I recently attended a cooking workshop that encouraged me to go "off book" and cook with inspiration. So, I had 1 medium onion, a can of artichokes, some leftover goat cheese, and at the way way back of the fridge, some herb butter I made for.... Thanksgiving (It still smelled ok, so no judgment!) And this was my creation:

Ingredients:
goat cheese
herb butter
sauteed onions
artichokes
arugula
salt & pepper
french bread
olive oil

Spread the butter and goat cheese on the bread. Top with the onions, artichokes, and arugula. Put a drop of olive oil and salt and pepper on top. Broil- Just a mere half a minute. (Notice mine is quite black- whoops!)

I served open-faced with a big salad of arugula in a lemony-olive oil vinaigrette.

Delicious!!

Asparagus Soup with Parmesan Crisp

So, my new favorite source for recipes is Vegetarian Times. I also rely on Dean & Deluca, the Joy of Cooking, and AllRecipes.com pretty heavily, but of course, in the end, there are always tweaks. This recipe was really great almost as printed, which makes the magazine now..2 for 2 (See the recipe for Red Pepper Sauce Pizza- yowza yummy!)

We halved the original recipe to yield 3 servings vs. 6, so double it back if you want a larger amount!

1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated
butter, softened
1 tbs. butter
1/2 medium white onion chopped
1 garlic clove
2 1/2 cups vegetable broth
1 bunch fresh asparagus- reserve the tips, split and cut stalks into 1/2 inch pieces
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/6 cup milk
1/2 tbs lemon juice
1 tsp grated lemon zest (We find this a palate killer in large quantities and actually put a little less than 1 tsp, maybe more of a 1/2 tsp? So lemon zest to your taste!)
salt and pepper

For Crisps:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Put dollop of butter on a baking sheet and then a mound of the grated cheese, and flatten with a spoon. Bake 3-4 minutes, until cheese melts into lacy rounds. Cool and remove with a spatula.

Soup:
1. Melt butter in large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and saute until soft, then add in broth, asparagus and thyme, bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, and simmer 15-20 minutes, or until the asparagus is tender.

2. Meanwhile, cook tips in boiling water until just tender, about 2 minutes. (I may have opted to steam these). Drain and rinse under cold water to stop cooking.

3. Puree soup in food processor, return to pan, and stir in lemon juice and zest and milk, Season with salt and pepper to taste, Serve with asparagus tips and crisps!

Food Porn: Garlic Scape Pesto: CSA Week #1

I'd like to start by celebrating today's photos: They are all mine. This is exciting because all my other attempts at photographing our food have turned out looking... er... unappetizing. So I finally got some amazing shots out of our first CSA produce!



Ry & I were so stoked to start our CSA (stands for Community Supported Agriculture). We signed up back in March, and now receive a bi-weekly share of veg, fruit, eggs, and flowers from an organic farm on Long Island. Our first week we received kale, red leaf lettuce, spinach, bok choy, garlic scapes (seen here), rhubarb, raspberries, a bunch of lavender, snow peas, and mesclun greens.



So what exactly are Garlic scapes, you ask? They are the soft tender green shoot that grows out of a garlic bulb early in the planting. Eventually it hardens and becomes inedible- leaving only the bulb. But for a few precious weeks in early summer, these tasty shoots are available to eat. The little hat is cut off, and the green stem is then cut up, much like scallions. The flavor is garlicky for sure, but Ryan and I both found it to have a softer, sweeter flavor, and less of the bite of regular garlic.

We replaced the garlic in our pesto recipe with the stems of 4 scapes, added in a squeeze of lemon, and enjoyed a slightly grainier in texture, yet smoother in taste, version of our pesto.

Hurry and try some before these bad boys vanish from your local farmer's market!!

Brussel Sprouts

Continuing to venture into spring vegetables, we tried brussel sprouts for the first time the other night. Not eating them, I should say, but cooking them at home. I remember my dad cooking and serving them in loads of browned butter and salt when I was a kid, and I actually always liked them. Ryan, on the other hand, has just gotten brave enough to give these bitter yet awesome greens a go. We paired them with sweet potato and a steak (for the boys), to balance out the flavors with some sweet and savory. We decided to boil them, but I can imagine roasting or steaming, or even grilling- would work well. I'm also told that for the meat-eaters out there, bacon is an amazing compliment- I can imagine the flavors of some imported pancetta with the sprouts- and it is enough to turn a veggie-girl back to the other team (almost..)!!

To prepare:

Cut the ends off.
Make an X shape with the knife in the bottom of each sprout.
Boil the crap outta' them in some lightly salted water- I personally like them very soft and with tender leaves that will fall off with a gentle prod. This last time they were a bit firm still, which was tasty, but the best leaves were more cooked.
Then, melt butter in a small pan with a clove (or 2, or 3) of garlic, and herbs, if desired. Pour the garlic-herb-butter over the sprouts, and grate parmesan cheese on top, and fresh black pepper.

My mouth is now salivating.

Enjoy!

Spring Feast: Pesto Pasta and an Apple, Arugula and Cheddar salad

Pesto:

2 large garlic cloves- cut in half- slooowly add to taste!!
handful of pinoli (pine nuts)- don't be shy now! (For those with nut allergies, or who aren't feeling the need to spend $$ on some nuts, a tsp of mayo will also give you the fat you need!!)
1 bunch basil- about 2 cups
handful of arugula- about 1/2 cup
1/2- 1 cup olive oil
1 1/4 cup parmesan
1/2 cup pecorino
Healthy squeeze of lemon juice
salt and pepper- generous, to taste
splash of truffle oil, if you're a baller

1. Clean the basil and pat dry. Pull off stems. Place basil and arugula in food processor and zap a few times. Add in one and a half cloves of garlic, process, and then a handful of pine nuts. Slowly start adding in olive oil, and then the cheeses. Adjust all the flavors to taste, add in additional garlic and salt and pepper.

Salad:
Arugula
cherry tomatoes
cabot cheddar in crumbles (or similar- nice and sharp, splurge!)
green apple (or pear)- ripe!
salt & pepper

Vinaigrette: Rub bowl with garlic. Mix 1 tblsp mustard, 4 tblsp balsamic vinegar, pour in olive oil to taste and whisk, salt and pepper. Drizzle on salad with spoon!

We served this with a bottle of chianti and some fresh direct garlic bread!

Okey-Dokey, Artichoke-y

So, I like artichoke. But I had no clue how to cook these bad boys up. I mean, the thing has spikes.. and I am embarrassed to admit the first time I had a whole one, I tried to eat the entire leaf until a friend pointed out that just the bottom bits were tender. But this classic spring vegetable seemed too good to pass up, and so with a little thanks to an allrecipes.com video and the joy of cooking, I managed to make my first artichoke. Hope this helps you enjoy this delicious vegetable too- this makes a perfect appetizer, and is waaaay healthier to snack on than chips and dip!

Watch the video here: http://allrecipes.com/HowTo/How-to-Cook-an-Artichoke-Video/Detail.aspx

Choose an artichoke that is nice and green, and the leaves should squeak when you touch it.
As you start to prep, set a large pot with about 2 inches of lightly salted water to boil on the stove.
Trim the thorns of each leaf with a scissors, turning the artichoke away from you as you cut.
Cut the stem flush with the ball of the artichoke.
Dip briefly in a bowl of lemon water.
Cut up a clove of garlic. Place a little bit of soft butter under each artichoke leaf, and slide in a piece of garlic.
When ready, place the artichoke standing up in the water. Cover with a lid, and allow to boil about 30-40 minutes. Occasionally check that the water has not evaporated. The artichoke is done when a leaf easily comes off when you pluck it.



The butter and garlic was delicious just as is, but if you want, you can also serve a dipping sauce for the leaves. Once all the leaves have been plucked down, you can get at the heart by removing the fuzzy choke with a spoon. Just scoop it out!! Underneath is the delicious heart, totally worth the effort!!