Week 7: Good Stuff

Last weekend was a bit crazy: good friends of ours got married and we had all sorts of things to do... all fun things, though! However, I did find time to pick up my week seven produce bag from the farmers market. In the bag I found: a HUGE kohlrabi (yes, HUGE... it was about three times as big as the others I've received), a bunch of beets, a bunch of green onions, a spring onion, a bag of red potatoes and the smallest, cutest carrots, ever!

Although I haven't done much with most of it (yeah, I've been putting it all off this week...), I did FINALLY find a new way to enjoy kohlrabi: I roasted it with small yukon gold potatoes and garlic cloves tossed in extra virgin olive oil, a little salt, and a lot more pepper. Set the oven for 450F and roast for 20 minutes, then stir the mixture and roast for another 20 or so minutes, stirring once or twice more. Perfect! I paired that with lemon and dill baked salmon... it was a fantastic meal!

Tonight I think I'll be making buffalo chicken with a crisp lettuce salad... very simple and flavorful. The guys from work taught me how to make buffalo sauce: it's just cayenne pepper sauce, a little butter, and a little whiskey that's been reduced to at least half. Yum!

The rest of the produce will be used in the next couple of days... pickled beets, cooked carrots, onions in the salad and roasted potatoes and kohlrabi again.

Sorry this is so short and to the point... I'm a little distracted today. I start my new job on Monday and am meeting with my mentor this afternoon.

Thanks for reading! Have a delicious day!

Week 6: Getting into a Rut

Well, I can't lie: I'm getting a bit bummed about my produce bags. Maybe I'm just starting to get lazy, too. I think I'm also just too excited for later this summer when the tomatoes and cucumbers and zucchini start coming in. No matter, I'm disappointed in my bag this week. I found another kohlrabi, another bunch of green onions, another bunch of radishes, another bag of spinach, and another bunch of beets. I will say that I'm glad to see the spinach and the beets, although I have no plans for the latter. The green onions, radishes and kohlrabi, though, I'm getting a little tired of. While all are delicious, I really thought I'd be seeing more of a variety, but I suppose it's still early in the season.

All whining aside, I've been really happy with the flavors of all of produce I've received; I'm not sure I'll ever like grocery store produce again (sorry).

So for this week, I honestly don't have any amazing and profound ideas or recipes for my produce. I'm also not entirely sure when I'll be cooking this week: I've got a lot going on! Work tonight, book club tomorrow, my sister comes home from Africa Wednesday, grill out with friends Thursday, then good friends getting married this weekend and things to go to for that both Friday and Saturday. Oofta! I'll just have to find something fun and creative for Thursday.

If any one has any suggestions for ways to use my kohlrabi, please share! It's good raw, don't get me wrong, but I'd like to try it another way before I stop getting it.

Thanks for reading my whining. I'll be more positive next time, and I'll try to have a cool new recipe for you, too.

Have a delicious day!

As Promised: Beer Cheese Soup

Well, after a few weeks of not delivering on my promise, I am now making amends and posting one of manfriend's favorite recipes. I used to host cooking classes at our local grocery store, and one of my chefs made this soup one night... I've made it a number of times since then and have shared it with family and friends: always a great review! If you try it, let me know how it turns out. Enjoy!

Beer Cheese Soup

1/2 lb Andouille Sausage - chopped into 1/2" pieces
1/4 c Olive Oil
3 c Trinity (equal parts red bell pepper, onion and celery)
1/2 c Flour
2 c Beer (Sam Adams, Red Hook, 1554 - something tasty)
6 c Chicken Stock (we use Better Than Bouillon... really delicious and comes in Low Sodium)
1/2 tbsp Pepper
1/2 tbsp Salt
1/2 tbsp Thyme
3 Bay Leaves
3 c Sharp Cheddar Cheese
1 c Bleu Cheese Crumbles

Brown the Andouille over high heat, then add the trinity and oil. Cook until onions are caramelizing. Slowly sift in the flour and cook for 3 minutes or until the starches are burnt off. Add the beer, chicken stock and spices and cook for about 25 minutes. Slowly add the cheeses and simmer for a couple of minutes. Serve and enjoy!

Week 5: Hopefully the Last Week of Rhubarb

Yep, you guessed it: I got more rhubarb in my bag this week. The producer did say, however, that this is the end of its season, so I'm hoping I don't see it in my bag again next week. Alas, I did make some amazing dishes with my rhubarb: manfriend's dad tore his Achilles Tendon, and I promised him that if I got more rhubarb I'd make him a Strawberry Rhubarb Pie, so I did. He seemed to like it, but I suppose he may have just been being nice. I'd never made it before, so it was an experience, but it looked delicious... homemade pie crust and all! I also made a Rhubarb Sauce and put it over pork loin... mmmmmmmm! It was so good! I'll put the recipe at the bottom of this post.

The rest of week 5's bag included another bunch of green onions (which were used in salads and fried rice), another kohlrabi (that hasn't been used yet), a bunch of radishes (which have also been used in salads and for general munching), and a bunch of beets that I turned into pickled beets last night (and the next six weeks they will sit, patiently waiting their turn to be eaten).

I think this week has been the most I've cooked in quite a while, but it's been really fun. I really enjoy spending time in the kitchen, trying new recipes and cooking for others. Last night's meal of Egg Drop Soup and Fried Rice was fantastic! The egg drop soup (ingredients: chicken broth, siracha, soy sauce and eggs. Add eggs after other ingredients have been brought to medium-high heat and have been stirred briskly as to make the eggs swirl in the pot when you add them... tada! Done.) is SUPER easy (obviously), and the Fried Rice was quite simple, as well. I just sauteed whatever veggies I had on hand in Sesame Oil with garlic and ginger, then added Soy Sauce and cooked brown rice and TADA! Done. Simple meal, but really tasty and pretty healthy!

Tuesday night I made Rhubarb Sauce with Pork Loin and Parsley Potatoes... pretty simple, but a little more time consuming. Pork Loin is simple: sprinkle with salt and pepper and then bake. The Parsley Potatoes are also simple: quarter and boil potatoes, drain, add chopped parsley, light butter and a dash of salt. The sauce, however, is easy but lengthy. A customer of mine came in last week and was telling me of a Rhubarb Sauce she had made over the weekend, so I decided to try it but with a few modifications. Here is the recipe I created:

Rhubarb Sauce

1-2 cups rhubarb chopped into 1/2" pieces
water to cover in a pot
1-3 tablespoons sugar, depending on how sweet you like it
1 teaspoon peppercorns
1 bay leaf
1 clove garlic, crushed

Combine all of these ingredients and bring to a boil, then simmer for 60 minutes. After 40 minutes, take out the bay leaf (if desired), and add:

1-2 tablespoons red wine vinegar (to taste)
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper (to taste)

Simmer for 20 minutes longer. Strain and serve over pork or chicken

Thanks for reading! I hope you have a delicious day!