Organic Cucumber in a Summer Cocktail

Check out my post extolling the virtues of gin over at sisboomblog.com. Be sure to check out my recipe for a cucumber gin and tonic which makes use of the cucumbers we received in this week's share box!

Ramblings: Food With Soul

This blog wasn't really conceived to be your regular food and recipe blog. Sure, we wanted a place to share recipes but we also wanted a place to describe the ways in which joining a CSA (Community Supported Agrigulture program) influenced or changed aspects of our lives or our thinking about food. Clearly, the excitement (and novelty) of a weekly fruit/veggie delivery has us all focused on the many great dishes we are cooking! As a result there has been very little commentary on the CSA itself. I do hope the rest of our team will share their thoughts soon.

Speaking for myself, I've always enjoyed food and cooking. Joining a CSA has not brought any additional enjoyment to the act itself although I am finding that I cook a lot more often and "just because". Perhaps it is the pressure to use everything up or perhaps, more likely, I am just expanding my notion of why I like to cook in the first place? I learned my way around the kitchen as a little boy watching my mother cook for the many small, intimate dinner parties she would throw and become 'famous' for. She used to get and enjoy a lot of attention for it and, if I am to be honest, I probably picked it up for the same reasons. Nearly every dish I've made since joining the CSA, both posted and unposted, is something I've made before and yet the preparation feels different. This leads me to feel that the change taking place has been more in terms of my relationship with the food and the skills themselves. Whereas before cooking was for company and special occasions, (to get noticed?), now it is just for me. The dishes I'm cooking are intended to be eaten more "routinely" by me and mine and not saved for others.

The title of this Sunday's New York Times Op-Ed by Nicholas Kristoff was "Food for the Soul". He writes about today's farming methods that, while efficient, also tend create a food output that is, to put it blunly, unhealthy. He describes how the food producers of today have no emotional connection to what they are producing. To gain efficency in production, assembly line produced food has lost its soul (and may even contain pathogens!) Its definitly worth a read. He doesn't tackle the issue of how it is probably impossible to feed the planet using only the small organic farms her prefers but he does make the point that there is a value in the output of small farms beyond the price and health relationship. While reading his column I realized that food producers, in this regard, have set a bad example for the rest of us: they have pushed down this lack of food "connection" to the end users, those of us who are doing the eating and cooking. For the most part, we are not cooks anymore, we have become food assemblers. Putting together meals from preportioned ingredients. Even in the produce aisle! How is it possible to have any kind of connection to a bag of prewashed lettuce or fruit that has been cut and made ready to eat in a container? By extention, how do we feel connected to anything we make from them?
Read more after the jump:

Everyone seems to find value in 'home cooking' and there are many hallmarks of this 'attribute' but I doubt any of them involve opening up packages and assembling food. That's what the cafeteria ladies in high school did. The people in your life might appreciate it when you buy them lunch or otherwise provide food but when you make the exact same thing 'from scratch', using fresh ingredients, the food is always valued higher than the equal item purchased elsewhere. Quite simply, the value of the truly home cooked meal is larger than the sum of its parts. This intrinsic increase in value is probably what allows us to be more forgiving of cooking's imperfections than we would be if we were dining in a restaurant. The patched together pie crust is a marker of a good home cooked pie, made with love, and not a flaw that spoils it. It is precisely the imperfection gives the pie its soul!

I really think we have to apply this same value to the produce we are getting in our CSA. So what if the zucchini aren't all the same size or you get a tomato with a brown mark? So what if you don't get to pick what is in the box each week? Yes, I know you can go to Whole Foods and get perfectly sized organic produce and you can get exactly the items you want. But will you? Or will you, like I used to do, just swing by Ralphs and pick up another souless bag of lettuce or worse, get take-out Chinese because nothing better is waiting for you in your refrigerator at home? I find that I am now not only embracing the pressure this box is putting on my cooking skills but I am also embracing the irregularity of the food inside!

This food may not be perfect but it sure has soul!

Basil Cherry Tomatoes

I started life as someone who did not like tomatoes and ended up quite the fan. I eat at least a pint of cherry tomatoes a week, mostly in my lunch salads. They are so convenient and when I add them to the salad I take for lunch to work every day I know they won't get all watery on my afternoon meal. When they are especially abundant I like to cook them up as a side dish for anything I might be grilling for the evening. My preferred method is a 'recipe' I picked up from my good friend Gary. Gary probably got it from the doyenne of roasting, Barbara Kafka and it became a staple in both our daily fares. Barbara has an easy method for roasting. No matter what it is, roast it at 500 degrees. Whether it is your Thanksgiving turkey, pork tenderloin or veggies, foat it at 500 degrees. Any less and you are just steaming your food and missing out on all that roasting has to offer.

Back to the cherry tomatoes:

2 pints cherry tomatoes or grape tomatoes
2 TBS Olive Oil
Garlic Salt
Salt
Pepper
2 TBS fresh basil, cut into a chiffonade

Put the cherry tomatoes in a heavy roasting pan with the olive oil and shake to cover tomatoes. Liberally season tomatoes with garlic salt, salt, and pepper and shake again to distribute. Put tomatoes in oven and keep an eye on them until they cook through and 'burst', about 10 minutes. if tomatoes start to brown, shake the pan until desired doneness is achieved. i like to pull them out JUST as they start to brown but if they go brown, they are still going to be quite tasty! Add basil and mix to distribute then serve.

Keeping Herbs Fresh

Many of us in the office have been gossiping about Herb. I mean herbs. As in how to keep them fresh. Our CSA boxes from Morningsong Farm have been arriving with more than generous amounts of fresh herbs: Chives, basil, rosemary, mint, parsley and dill have all been abundant. Frankly, I'm not used to so much fresh herbs in the house. I've grown used to going out and buying any herbs I need from the supermarket where they come in those tiny little plastic boxes and cost way too much. At least with those small boxes there isn't much left over to go bad. Check out this great idea from overthehillandonaroll.com. I will definitly be doing this as the herbs (especially the chives and basil) do not do well in the fridge.

Cherry Tomato Tarts for Lunch

The picture doesn't do these justice. Inspired by two boxes of cherry tomatoes in last week's Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) box and the discovery of two mini-tart pans in our semi-annual weekend garage cleanout, I set out to make a savory tart for lunch. As good as these were, I have to say that I defintiely traded some 'specialness' for 'ease' with this recipe adapted from Cook's Illustrated. I used a frozen pie crust when a home made buttermilk or buttermilk/herb crust would have been much better. The mustard was a bit strong for the effect here as well and needed to be countered with something else. Not sure what though. Perhaps more of a dairy base for the tart than just a cheese? I added Bulgarian Feta to the mozzarella for flavor and that was a good move. Or perhaps its just that cherry tomatoes, halved, didn't provide as much 'flesh' as sliced tomatoes spiraled in a tart would have. These weren't bad, but I know I can do better! Hopefully we'll be getting more tomatoes!

P.S. Be sure to sprinkle the fresh basil on the tart AFTER you cook it. Duh. I can't believe I forgot about that.

White Bean and Pesto Dip

Somewhat inpired by Michelle's hummus dip but with no chickpeas and no tahini on hand and a bunch of pesto left over from last week's CSA basil-fest, I set out to make some white bean and pesto dip to go with the potato chips I shouldn't have in my cupboard but I do. Here is the result, all ready in a to-go container to go to a pot luck this evening:

White Bean and Pesto Dip:

• 1 can white beans, rinsed
• Olive oil to desired consistency
• 1/2 cup pesto
• 4 TBS lemon juice
• Pepper to taste
• Walnuts and lemon zest for garnish.

Puree white beans in food processor with a little bit of the olive oil to get get it going. Add pesto and pulse processor. Add more olive oil if necessary being careful not to over process. Add lemon juice and pepper to taste. Garnish with crushed walnuts and lemon zest.

Sugar-Free Virgin Mojito

This easy recipe yields a mighty refreshing guilt-free mojito on a warm summer day!!

• 1 can Diet Hansen's Tangerine Lime soda
• Fresh Mint Leaves (thanks CSA!!)
• Ice

Pour soda over ice and mint leaves. The longer it sets, the mintier it gets!! Mmmmm! But don't let it set too long or it will lose its fizz.

Maybe later tonight I'll add the white rum...:)

Hummus Recipe

After thinking we have nothing in the house to eat, I Googled hummus recipes. This is what I found out how to do; a very impressive hummus recipe sure to please guests. I didn't have a food processor, so I used my Vita-Mix machine. I am a big fan of Vita-Mix!!


Ingredients (add all to food processor):

1. 1 can garbonzo beans (or chick peas) (drain and rinse)


2. 1/4c to 1/2c of tahini (mix it in the jar before pouring out to merge the oil with the sesame)


3. 1/2c to 1/4c greek style plain lowfat yogurt (find at Wholesome Choice, Super Irvine, middle eastern food stores)


4. 3 or 4 mint leaves (I used the fresh mint leaves from my CSA basket. Thanks Farmer Donna!)


5. Juice of 1 lemon


6. 2 tsp ready to use minced garlic with 1/2 tsp. salt

Process all the above ingredients in your food processor or Vita-Mix. Use rubber spatula to check consistency. I saw that it was pretty think, so I added 2 tbsp of water and mixed again until smooth. At this point, you can add more lemon (in the form of citric acid - which I do not have). Just use 1/2 tsp.

Plate it!!! It looks fancier and more inviting to dipping chips in (see picture).
Spread on plate with spatula. Sprinkle chopped parsley (thanks CSA!!), sliced black olives, and paprika. Drizzle some extra virgin olive oil on it. I tasted it and decided it needed grounded Cayenne Pepper which I lightly dusted it with to give it some heat. Whala!! Perfecto delicious!!!

I might even make a veggie sandwich and use this hummus as the spread!! Or you can just dip chips or pita chips in it. Or dip veggies in it like broccoli, cherry tomatoes or cauliflower.

Fruit Smoothie

I love my daily fruit smoothie so much I had to share the recipe with you all.

Must include:
Sliced Apple (with peel on)
Peeled Kiwi
crushed ice
liquid (see below)

Any of the following:
scooped out passion fruit (no seeds)
Berries (blueberries, strawberries, and/or raspberries)

Must have some liquid:
Use water and lemon juice or squeeze an orange
Or use fresh (not frozen)grapes (best to use red and green grapes together) with orange juice

Put all ingredients in magic bullet and blend for 1-2 minutes until smooth. It tastes like a drinkable fancy apple sauce. Perfect to get your after lunch fiber fix!

Things to do with Basil.

Basil is abundant now. We all know that means pesto time. Pesto is a cook's way of preserving the goodness of basil for use at a later time. As long as you have a food processor there is never a reason to let any pesto go to waste. Gillian and Caitie made pesto as did I when we were fortunate enough to get it in our CSA box. That very same week my good friend Cindy made pesto and blogged about it and kindly revealed her secret pesto ingredient, lemon juice. I scoffed at first because, like all cooks, I thought nobody could beat my pesto recipe but Cindy was right. In the blind taste test it was the addition of just a bit of lemon juice that took my recipe to a new height.

I was lucky enough to get two bundles with my CSA because somebody put a bunch in the exchange basket. I snapped it up! With most of it I made pesto (of course) because I needed a cup of it for a Pasta Pesto and Peas salad I had on the menu for a family picnic last weekend. Like most of my "secret recipes" this one was Ina Garten's first and it has become a 'go to' recipe for me for picnics and potlucks year after year. I had plenty of pesto left over so in addition to using it on some broiled tomatoes I used some for a pizza sauce when I had to find a way to use up the rest of last week's basket!

I don't think that there is anything that isn't made better with a little pesto on it. This past week pesto found its way onto grilled and roasted veggies, into a turkey sandwich, and even into a salad dressing. Fresh basil itself, however, is just as easy to use on its own. In fact, the many Persians I know eat it just as is, fresh, as a palatte cleanser with other fresh herbs like tarragon. Its actually quite good. I was at a party at my friend Meshia's house and look what she did with fresh basil: Mini caprese salads! They were so pretty on the platter that I had to take a picture of them.

Just thread the marinaided mozzarella balls on a toothpick with a basil leaf and a cherry tomato. Serve with a dipping sauce of olive oil and balsamic vinegar. How easy is that? Have a few sprigs left? I made a simple syrup with lemon zest and a handful of basil leaves for these lemon basil cakes. In fact, the syrup is now in my refridgerator begging to be used for some new invention. Any ideas?

Lemon Cakes with Lemon Basil Syrup:

For cakes:
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened, plus 1 1/2 tablespoons, melted
3/4 cup matzo cake flour plus additional for dusting
2/3 cup plus 1/4 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs, separated, at room temperature for 30 minutes
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest

For syrup:
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups water
1 (4- by 1-inch) strip fresh lemon zest
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
8 large fresh basil sprigs For whipped cream
1 cup chilled heavy cream

Make cakes:Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly brush 8 muffin cups with some of melted butter and chill 2 minutes, then butter again and chill 1 minute more. Dust cups with matzo cake flour, knocking out excess.
Beat together softened butter, 2/3 cup sugar, and 1/8 teaspoon salt in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, then add egg yolks, 1 at a time, beating until well blended. Beat in lemon juice and 2 teaspoons zest until combined. Add flour and mix at low speed until just combined.

Beat whites with remaining 1/8 teaspoon salt in another bowl with cleaned beaters until they hold soft peaks. Add 2 tablespoons sugar, a little at a time, beating, then beat until whites just hold stiff peaks. Stir one fourth of whites into yolk mixture to lighten, then fold in remaining whites gently but thoroughly. Spoon batter into 8 prepared muffin cups.
Blend remaining 2 tablespoons sugar and 1 teaspoon zest with your fingertips and sprinkle over batter, then bake until cakes are puffed, edges are golden, and a wooden pick or skewer inserted in center of cake comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool cakes in pan on a rack 15 minutes, then lift out cakes carefully (tops will break easily) and cool completely on rack.

Make syrup:Bring all syrup ingredients to a boil, covered, in a 3-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, then remove lid and boil 10 minutes. Pour syrup through a sieve into a bowl, pressing on and then discarding solids. Cool to room temperature. Syrup can be made ahead of time and stored in the refridgerator.

Assemble dessert:Beat cream in a bowl with cleaned beaters until it just holds stiff peaks.
Spoon 1/4 cup syrup into each of 8 shallow bowls and top with cakes. Spoon whipped cream on top of cakes.

Will we get any more basil this week?

Misguided Study

Organic food is sometimes in the news! Some geniuses at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (huh?) have released a study concluding:


"there is currently no evidence to support the selection of organically over conventionally produced foods on the basis of nutritional superiority."Times UK reports the obvious response that Yahoo News left off:


"[The study] had not looked at pesticide and herbicide residues in food produced by organic and conventional farming methods. The study also did not seek to compare the taste of the products. So other than the fact that organic food might taste better and be free of pesticides and herbicide residues, there is no nutritional reason for buying it? Uh huh, ok.

Keeping It Simple: Grapefruit

I had forgotten how good a grapefruit can be. Perhaps it was because the last I had from the grocery store were too bitter or perhaps my brain just hasn't been thinking about simple cooking the last few months. The last two weeks baskets had grapefruit that was just amazing. While grapefruit makes a great ingredient in salad dressings and you won't get any argument from me on how great citrus for cooking with fish, but to my way of thinking there are only two things to do with a fresh, sweet, juicy grapefruit like these:

The first, of course, is to slice, segment, and eat it for breakfast. Grapefruit is served "classic style" when it is eaten with a slice of toast and coffee. But if the work day is complete or you are otherwise enjoying a Sunday afternoon. and have a juicy grapefruit available, make a Greyhound!

It is a criminal waste of vodka to make a greyhound with canned or bottled grapefruit juice so I only enjoy this classic cocktail when I have a grapefruit on hand. Fill a highball to the rim with ice. Add 2 oz. vodka (or your preference) and then add the juice of one grapefruit (including just enough pulp to your own taste. ) Pour contents of glass into shaker and back into the glass to mix well. Garnish with lime. This is one of the most refreshing drinks there is. (If you salt the rim of the glass and you have a "salty dog". Get it?)

Beautiful Basil

When our CSA boxes came last week, I had a hard time extracting my nose from the sweet, pungent basil bouquet we received. It was big enough to cradle like an armful of beauty pageant roses, and cradle it I did...briefly. Then I got to work on making some delicious pesto with both basil and arugula.

Basil Arugula Pesto

I like to do all of this in my Cuisinart in the interest of time. All the pesto can be done to taste, depending on what you want to pair it with. A dipping sauce might be a little lighter whereas the pesto I like to use for my pasta and chicken has a bit of heat from the garlic and arugula.

2 cloves of garlic
1 tsp sea salt
1 cup lightly packed basil leaves plus 5-6 arugula leaves
¼ cup + lightly toasted pine nuts
¼ cup + freshly grated Parmesan-Reggiano
½ cup good tasting olive oil

Combine garlic and salt in a food processor until finely chopped. Add the basil and pine nuts and pulse until finely minced, then add the parmesan and do the same. Use your spatula and scrape all the goodies off the side of the bowl before adding the olive oil. While the blade is moving, slowly pour in the olive oil and just run the food processor until the pesto is to your desired consistency.

Pesto Pasta

Prepare your pasta to al dente and reserve some of your pasta water (a ½ cup or so). Put your strained pasta back in the pot and pour in your reserved pasta water. This will keep the noodles from sticking. Add in ¾ c to a cup of your fresh pesto and toss the pasta.

I grilled chicken breasts, cut them up and then finished them on the stove with a little pesto as well.


I topped the fettuccini and pesto chicken with some of those beautiful little tomatoes from our CSA shares. Voila!

Banana Zucchini Blackberry Bread

Another delicious use for all that zucchini lying around the house...

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup salted butter, room temperature
1 egg
2 large ripe bananas
1 cup shredded zucchini
1/4 cup milk or almond milk
1 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
3/4 cup chopped walnuts
6-8 blackberries, cut into thirds

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease a standard muffin tin or line cups with paper liners.
2. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg and mix in completely.
3. Mash bananas in separate bowl and mix in milk and cinnamon. Add in zucchini.
4. Whisk together flour, baking soda and baking powder in separate bowl.
5. Starting and ending with flour mixture, alternate adding flour and bananas to butter and sugar. Only mix until just incorporated.
6. Fold in walnuts and then gently fold in the blackberries
7. Fill muffin cups with batter and sprinkle tops with demerara sugar.
8. Bake 18-20 minutes.

*I made little breads instead of muffins so drop the temp down to 350 and bake for 35-40 minutes. Yummy!

We Are Not Alone

Someone else has the same CSA pressure to use up all remaining veggies at the end of the week. Check out this post at mykitchenaddiction.com for "CSA Pizza". And it features zucchini! Surprise!