'Tis the Season for Salad

Fresh greens.  I have been craving them all winter, ever since I had greenhouse grown greens at the NOFA-NY conference in January.  Knowing our NY farmers could grow something so delectable in the snow made me crave it all the more.  In the winter we enjoy the heartier greens - kales, arugula, certain leaf lettuces, but come late spring it is time for the tender greens - sans Butterhead Lettuce.  Like it's name it melts in your mouth.  This is the lettuce that to me spells summer, in salad, on top of a burger, however you like to sneak in your greens this is one to make sure you have either in your garden or can get from your local farmers market. 

Saturday was my food shopping tour day.  As I've mentioned before these Saturday's occur about once a month when I head out to stock up on our meat and seafood.  Meat from Duink Farm and Seafood from Exclusively Alaskan Goods.  Only this time of year Duink's has extra treats - like Butterhead lettuce and cucumbers, and broccoli and cauliflower.  It was like the heavens opened and the angels sang when I walked into their on farm market on Saturday.  I was in awe.  I found myself rationing the cucumber after day 1 to see if we can extend it's life until the next time they are open.  I'm sending Dann back for more cucumbers and lettuce tomorrow (they are only open Wednesday's and Saturday's).  This is NOT the time of year to be rationing cucumbers, THIS is the time of year to embrace them!

So this weeks recipe is to celebrate the veggies of the season - Butterhead Lettuce (Duink Farm) topped with Radish (Miller Farms), Green Onion (Miller Farms), Cucumber (Duink Farm) and Ham (Duink Farm).  I also made a blue cheese dressing using Roquefort, Buttermilk, Mayonnaise, Greek Yogurt, dash of Rice Vinegar, garlic and pepper.  Simply Divine.  Simply makes me feel like it is almost summer, but alas my salad was missing the gem of the summer...still no dirt grown tomatoes, though I can buy locally grown Hydro tomatoes, it just doesn't seem right for some reason, knowing the real thing is only mere moments away from showing up at the markets!

Dinner: Cod and Creamed Spinach Casserole; Dessert: Honey-Rhubarb Crumble

OH MY!  I just finished eating the recipe I’m about to write about.  I want to eat the rest, but I can’t.  Something that tastes that good is best consumed in moderation to better appreciate the simple flavors.  I was originally convinced I would be sharing Sunday night’s dinner with you, but alas Monday nights was OUT OF THIS WORLD!  Don’t get me wrong, Sunday’s was delicious too, but this week you will get a combo…Sunday night’s dessert and Monday night’s main event.

We’ll start with dessert first.  As I wrote on Saturday, I bought rhubarb for the first time on Saturday.  In an attempt to embrace the first fruit of this new season I thought … crumble!  Dann and I enjoy fruit crumbles all year long.  I found a recipe at myrecipes.com and was mildly impressed.  I say mildly because the recipe called for lime and we had lemon, I think we would have been better to go the lime path, the dish was a bit on the tart side, but was nicely complimented by vanilla ice cream.

Honey-Rhubarb Crumble - By Linda West Eckhardt, Cooking Light, APRIL 1995

5 ½ cups sliced rhubarb (1/2 inch slices)

¼ Honey (local of course!)

1 teaspoon grated lime rind (not local of course…)

Cooking spray

1/3 cup regular oats

1/3 cup all purpose flour (I used wheat)

¼ firmly packed brown sugar

3 tablespoons margarine cut into small pieces (I use butter)

Combine the first 3 ingredients in a bowl, and toss well. Spoon into an 8-inch square baking dish coated with cooking spray.

Place oats, flour, and sugar in food processor, and pulse 2 to 3 times. Add chilled margarine, and process until mixture resembles coarse meal; sprinkle over rhubarb mixture. Bake at 375° for 40 minutes or until rhubarb is tender. Serve with frozen yogurt.

Now to the piece de resistance… Cod and Creamed Spinach Casserole.   I do not have a picture for some reason, but you can find one at myrecipes.com – it is one of my go-to recipe sites.  The combination of the freshness of the creamed spinach and the cod (from Exclusively Alaskan Goods in Eden, NY) was just amazing.  Was it the cod?  Was it the spinach?  Was it the heavy cream?  the butter?  It was the perfect combination of the all of the above with just a touch of nutmeg!  My mouth is still watering…

 Cod and Creamed Spinach Casserole,  Coastal Living OCTOBER 2006

2 (6-ounce) bags baby spinach

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 shallot, minced

2/3 cup heavy cream

1 teaspoon fine sea salt or kosher salt, divided

3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided

Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg

1 (2 1/4-pound) cod, hake, or haddock fillet (1 1/2 inches thick), pin bones removed

1/2 cup Japanese breadcrumbs (panko)

1/3 cup finely shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Preparation

Cook spinach according to package directions (I removed the stems, washed and steamed mine by covering the dish in the microwave for about 1 1/2 minutes. Let stand until cool enough to handle. Drain spinach in colander; squeeze out as much liquid as possible. Transfer spinach to a cutting board, and chop with a large knife.

Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add shallot; cook 2 minutes. Add cream, and bring to a boil. Stir in spinach, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and nutmeg. Cook 5 minutes, stirring constantly, until mixture has thickened.

Season cod with remaining 1/2 teaspoon each of salt and pepper, and place in a lightly buttered 2 1/2-quart baking dish. Spread creamed spinach over fillet to cover. Combine breadcrumbs and cheese until well blended; sprinkle over top of fillet.

Bake at 400° for 28 to 30 minutes, or until fish is just opaque in thickest part. Cut into 6 portions, and transfer to plates, spooning any creamed spinach and juices from sides of dish over portions. Serve immediately.

Don't cook fish until it flakes easily-- by that point, the fish has given up all of its juices, rendering it dry and leaving a lot of water in the dish. If this occurs, spoon the juices back over the fish when serving.

Remember, the casserole will continue cooking once it's pulled from the oven, so it's better to take it out sooner rather than later.

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This recipe was even delicious reheated which is not typical of seafood.  it was about 45 minutes start to finish, but 30 minutes of that was not in the kitchen while the dish baked - so plenty of time to spend with the family, take a walk, or plant some vegetables.

Rain or Shine... No, just Rain this weekend

What  a weekend!  Saturday morning I jumped up when Dann’s alarm went off forgetting it was Saturday and he had to work, not me.  Since I was wide awake I got up and started my day just after 6am.  After returning from the EA Farmers Market I headed outdoors and worked in the back garden area.  I weeded one of the beds and then transplanted Dinosaur Kale and Red Basil, with Dill Seed disbursed throughout the bed.  The dill seed is from seed bought for the 2010 planting season that I accidentally stored right under our dryer vent hose in the garage over the winter – I’m curious what that may have done to the germination of the seed.  It was raining pretty steady while I was outside so I came in to warm up and get some seedlings transplanted into larger pots (I’ve been starting my seed in egg cartons, so a second planting is required before moving them outdoors).  I transplanted the remainder of my San Marzano, cucumber seedlings and started transplanting my heirloom tomatoes.  Dann came home from work to his favorite scene -  me on the sofa with a bucket of soil and a bucket of water to my left, and a table full of seedlings in front of me on the coffee table in our living room.  I was watching PBS cooking shows while transplanting.

After lunch the rain had slowed/stopped sort of so we headed outside at the sound of our neighbors mower and Dann started to mow our yard.  This is quite the process as we have a push mower, our grass is just shy of knee high, and I want all the clippings bagged for use in composting.  Oh, and did I mention it’d been raining since Friday evening?  Fun times.  While Dann mowed I busied myself with other yard projects that didn’t take me too far from lending a hand when the wagon got full enough for a compost run.  Dann found us a new friend while mowing - meet Toadie:

Since Dann was mowing when he "came across" Toadie, I requested he pull him out to ensure he was not injured.  Fortunately there was no cause for concern.  A few hours later Dann looked up at the sky and declared we had better start to clean up and take care of the ladies.  While Dann’s timing was good, he was about 3 minutes late and we got caught in a downpour as we finished up with the ladies and grabbed the last of the garden tools that were out in the yard.

Sunday morning  I was downstairs putting heat to the teapot at exactly 5:06am according to our stove clock.  I’m really not sure why I woke so early, but I am glad I did.  After spending some quiet time reading the bible I pondered what farm like things I could do on a drizzly morning.  I started by getting the fingerling seed potatoes from the basement.  I cut the Red Finn Apple Fingerling Potatoes into planting size and set them out to dry for planting. 

The seeds definitely need to dry as we are having a very wet spring and I don’t want them to rot within the first week because I rushed things.  After cutting I realized with my one 2.5lbs of seed potatoes I have enough cuttings for four 4x4 beds.  I only have one made…so that needs to happen quick now too!  And I have another 2.5lbs of fingerlings to plant.  Plus the other 50lbs of Red and Russet potatoes in the basement, oh my!

After cutting the seedlings and setting them about to dry I headed outside.  I started by raking the soil where the ladies have been playing the most lately - their favorite bathing spot right behind our garage.  They did a fabulous job turning the soil for me even with all the rain we have had it was very fine and was not clumping on me.  I put shovel after shovel into Magilla (yes we named our yard wagon) to use in the larger garden bed.   Last year the area behind our garage was our Friendship Tomato Garden – filled with tomato plants from the Colligan’s and the Hill’s.  This year I’ve planted spinach (seed), and transplanted butterhead, Red Russian Kale and Rocket in this garden bed. 

After finishing the transplanting I took Magilla and headed to the larger garden.  We had moved about half of our compost pile to our new composting center several weeks ago leaving half behind for use this year in the main garden.  I spread out the compost into a large planting bed and added the soil from where the Friendship Tomato Garden had been.  I now have an area about 10 feet long and 5 feet wide for my Three Sisters Garden (Corn, Beans and Pumpkin).  As I was finishing up Dann came wondering back and let me know that I was covered in mud…I’d been outside since about 6am and it had been drizzling the entire time.  The good thing is I have the best garden gloves ever – Mud Gloves – and my gloves were all sorts of muddy which I had apparently gotten on my face while trying to keep stray hairs out of my mouth.  But with the Mud Glove you don’t feel the damp or cold, but you can grip just about anything as they “fit like a glove” (unlike OJ’s).

While at church the heavens opened and the rain started coming down steady – too steady for more yard work so we tackled the garage.  While cleaning the garage we uncovered a sink that Dann had gotten from work for me to use for washing vegetables.  I encouraged (ok pleaded) with him to build it for me today as we had the time and couldn’t be outside anyway with the added bonus of using up some of the materials we are storing in our garage.  He did of course and I am now the proud owner of an outdoor sink and counter area that is portable should I decide to move the hose and set up shop anywhere in the yard!  How cool is that!  It will also serve as a great drink and serving table for events in the back yard!  Very cool!

Once we were finished in the garage I came in to make a fabulous dinner and dessert, but you’ll have to wait until Wednesday to hear more about them….

Saturday at the Market

With visions of fresh vegetables dancing in my head, there was no rain stopping me from being an early bird at the farmers market today!  Last week my haul was pretty much green...asparagus, spinach, bok choy...this week we introduced some red - Radishes and Rhubarb!!

I've actually never cooked or even bought rhubarb before but I'm looking forward to experimenting.  I've heard such rave reviews about it for years now and I know the Strawberry Rhubarb pie was a big seller at Duffield's in NJ where I worked during college breaks.

Radishes on the other hand I have tried and I really do think Dann would love them, their crispness with a little heat/bite seems right up his alley.  Now I need to find the right recipe to entice Dann....

Now I'm off to don my yellow rain suit and try to get some of the seedlings planted, after hours farming is far more stressful than I had imagined.  We are way behind on tilling, installing irrigation and planting than I had hoped for, but alas, I know it will all work out and we will have a wonderful harvest!  I'm off to play in the mud!!

Loco about Local - A sandwhich and a crustless quiche

After the farmers market on Saturday my head was spinning with recipe ideas. So I patiently awaited Dann's return from work...ok maybe not so patient as I had a kitchen full of fresh seasonal veggies.  When he called to say he was on the way I jumped into the kitchen. 

The first order of business was to slice and toast 4 slices of Welcome Farm Bakehouse Potato Bread purchased on Thursday at the East Aurora Cooperative Market Bake Sale.

While the bread was toasting I sauteed some spinach and green onions that I had picked up at the East Aurora Farmers Market and started cooking bacon from Duink Farms in Hamburg.  When the spinach and green onions were done I put the asparagus from the farmers market in the same pan for a quick heat (about a minute).  After I removed the asparagus I added 2 eggs provided by our ladies out back to the pan.  When all was ready I started to stack the sandwiches...

1st Layer, Spinach & Green Onions



2nd Layer, Bacon



3rd Layer, Asparagus

4th Layer, Egg

Result = The Perfect Sandwich


While the sandwich was perfect, I still had more recipes up my sleeve and eggs to use anyway we possibly can...so the next recipe to tackle was a crustless quiche inspired by a recent Clean Eating Cookbook recipe, but altered, because that's just what I do...

Ingredients
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 onion (farmers market of course), sliced into rings
1 cup asparagus (farmers market of course), cut into 1 inch pieces, tops saved for decoration
4 eggs (from our ladies of course)
1 cup milk
2-3 ounces Roquefort Cheese
salt/pepper to taste
ground nutmeg to taste

Add oil to a large oven proof pan and heat over medium heat.  Add onion and saute until caramelized (about 20 minutes) - add dash of salt & pepper.
At this time preheat oven to 400 degrees
Add asparagus bottoms to the pan with the onion and heat until the oven reaches 400.  Turn off the heat to the onion/asparagus mixture.
Meanwhile whisk together eggs & milk in a small bowl
Spread the asparagus/onion mixture into a thin layer on the bottom of the pan.  Break up the cheese and spread around the pan.  Pour the egg mixture in the pan and bake for 25 minutes or until cooked (ensure the pan has a good pit of oil still on the bottom and around the edges so the egg does not stick.

Farmers Markets

Dann and I make up a lot of little songs.  So here's one for Baby Bok Choy.  Baby Bok Choy, and I don't care, Baby Bok Choy, and I don't Care...to the tune of Jimmy Crack Corn.  I'm not really sure where these diddies come from, but we've got to look a little odd as we sing them and dance around the kitchen while cooking.

All sorts of diddies were floating through my head as I strolled the East Aurora Farmer's Market this morning on opening day.  First I see lettuce and tomato plants that make my indoor greenhouse attempt look like I started 4 months after the professionals (ok...I might have...), but then I see bok choy on a table and that's when the smile starts getting big.  Next to the bok choy are leeks, 2 new favorites in our house.  Following the stand with the leeks is a stand with...hold on....let me build up the suspense here....just wait...my face can not contain the smile it is so big...Ta-Da!

Asparagus.  That there friends is a picture of EA Farmers Market Fresh Asparagus purchased at the market around 7:30 this morning!  I also purchased onions, green onions and spinach.  I have so many recipe ideas floating in my head at the moment I can hardly contain myself! But honestly, this first bunch of tender asparagus I just want to eat plain, to enjoy it just as it is, as God gave it to the farmer and the farmer sold to me, no heat, no steam, no oil, no salt. 

And if you haven't met Jerry Miller yet of Miller Farms in Elma, you need to, but more importantly you need to meet his granddaughter Grace.  She was in charge of selling the vegetables and eggs and helping cash patrons out on the greenhouse plants as well.  What a little saleswoman!  I'm not good with guessing ages, but if I had to I'd put her in the middle school genre.  With each sale it was "And how many _____ (leeks, bok choy) would you like?" followed by "Would you like a dozen eggs with that?"

If you are not sure where farmers markets are in your area please check out Local Harvest to find one near you, or ask around.  Nothing beats the joy of shopping for your meats and vegetables from the farmers that take care of the animals and fields.  Get to know them, and their grandchildren, and support your local economy!

Pizza Night!

What says Buffalo more than pizza, ok maybe Pizza and wings, but this week the focus is just going to cover the pizza part. 

My first memory of homemade pizza dough was a winter break I spent in Speculator NY during my senior year in college.  I was visiting with a friend and she taught me how to crochet and make homemade pizza dough all in the same evening!  What else would one do with 5 feet of snow on the ground on a dark winter evening in the Adirondack’s waiting for pizza dough to rise? It was the best pizza I had up until that point in my life.

I took my love for homemade pizza with me to Silver Spring MD where I would host gatherings on Thursday evenings for watching Friends and Seinfeld with the added benefit of making your own pizza/calzone.  Our first slumber party with the Buffalo nieces and nephews after our move in 2009 included make your own pizza dinners some 15 years later.

I’ve since added the bread machine in to the repertoire and we half the flour 50% white/50% wheat, though I do think we are ready to take the wheat up to 75%, it just doesn’t seem hearty enough to me anymore.  I'm not really sure why we use the bread machine other than because we have it and I can dump and walk away...It doesn't taste like the dough I remember from that first evening in the Adirondack's.

Why do I love homemade pizza?  Because you put whatever YOU want on it!  Dann is a traditional pizza kind of guy – sauce, meat, cheese.  Me, not so much.  I don’t care for the sauce part and prefer some Olive Oil, veggies and cheese, or fruit, cinnamon sugar and butter…just depends on my mood.   Most recently I’ve started topping my pizza with my new favorite pasta topping because Dann does not care for the pasta dish and I adore it.  Here’s my topping of choice as of late:

1 small head cauliflower, cut into pieces

1 small leek or onion, cut into pieces

¼ cup Greek Olives, sliced

1 clove garlic, minced

Toss in olive oil and roast at 400 for about 20 minutes (it will cook more on top of the pizza).  Could top about 4 pizza’s

The pizza recipe we've been using comes from the cookbook that came with our breadman pro, we get 4 personal pizza's out of this recipe:

1 2/3 cups warm water

2 Tbl Oil

2 Tbl Sugar

2 tsp Sugar (or honey)

2 Tbl dry milk

4 1/2 Cups Flour (try blending different flours like we have to get a dough that works for you and your family and friends)

2 tsp Active Dry Yeast

Set on Pizza Dough Course on your machine and walk away for about 50 minutes.

Coat a round of uncooked pizza dough with Olive Oil, top with cauliflower mixture, slivers of Parmesan Reggiano cheese and bake at 425 for 18 minutes.

So why not make some pizza tonight?  Find toppings your family loves, let the kids make their own, and enjoy some time together!