W7/Meal 2: Stuffed green peppers

or How to Get the Recipe You Need by Stalking a Stranger

I've mentioned before that I loved stuffed vegetables. You're going to see a lot more of that. Considering I'm more than two weeks behind in posting these meals, consider that a teaser. There will be stuffed vegetables.

Awhile ago, when my mother-in-law gifted me with a life-changing hand-me-down slow cooker, I was on a hunt for a good crockpot stuffed pepper recipe and found a great one-- delicious, nontraditional, easy, and so healthy.

Upon setting out to make it again, I followed the link I had saved, only to discover that it had disappeared entirely from the interweb.

FOR. SHAME.

I was convinced that it must still be out there somewhere, and began searching with every trick I could think of-- cache searching, modifying URLs, looking for the related images. The only thing I could find was a discussion of the recipe on a Weight Watchers message board. The woman mentioned that she had the book that it came from --which I recognized as the source of the online version-- so I knew for sure it was the same one.

She had a Weight Watchers member profile, which linked to her Etsy page.

And I'm an Etsy member, so I contacted her.

I watch enough crime dramas to believe that this type of detective work falls under the category of "clever problem solving" rather than "creepy stalking".

But yes, it's a fine line.

The kind woman not only replied, but she actually SCANNED THE RECIPE for me. I have restored faith in humanity and dangerously high confidence in contacting strangers on the internet. Maybe I should forward this act of kindness by giving those friendly Nigerians my bank account number.



Slow Cooker Stuffed Peppers




***

This recipe is perfect as-is so I made no adjustments, other than omitting that pesky cilantro. I just tossed some frozen peas in for the last 20 minutes or so to round it out as complete meal. Otherwise, a side salad would work just fine.

I only used two peppers and put the remaining stuffing into a scooped-out zucchini, which then went straight into the freezer (with the sauce in a separate container) for a lazy cooking day.

Verdict: This is now officially my go-to recipe for stuffed peppers. It's just so flavorful and satisfying. And considering I saved the scanned image on my hard drive, in my email, and on Etsy-- I'll never be without it again.

Thanks again, kind stranger! Many happy, delicious, stuffed returns.

Wk 7/Meal 1: Fixing Leeks

It seems like chicken and leeks are flavor friends. There are a lot of recipes out there that use the same basic principle: chicken sauteed with leeks and white wine. I also saw a lot of recipes for "cockaleekie", but a) at this point I don't care enough about soup to spend a lot of time making it, and b) that name makes me cringe and I want to pretend I never saw it.

Rachael Ray (more cringing) has a good chicken recipe and the name isn't even that horrible.

She serves it over couscous but I still had zucchini left and was interested in trying a suggestion from my dear sister-in-law: using thin strips of zucchini in place of pasta.

My brother is sensitive to gluten and my sister has Celiac disease, so I've become aware of the risks of a high-gluten diet and try to use wheat-free alternatives when I can.

Leek-y Chicken

Ingredients
1-1/2 cups chicken broth
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1-1/2 pounds chicken, cut into bite-size pieces
Salt and freshly ground pepper
2 medium leeks or 1 large leek
1 cup dry white wine

Directions
1] Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the EVOO, 2 turns of the pan. Add the chicken in a single layer, season with salt and pepper, and cook, turning occasionally, until browned all over, 3 to 4 minutes.
2] While the chicken works, trim the tough tops and root ends from the leeks. Cut the remaining white and tender green parts in half lengthwise, then cut the leek into 1-inch half-moons. Place the leeks in a colander and run cold water over them. Separate the layers to release the dirt and grit. Rinse the leeks well, then drain.
3] Stir the leeks into the chicken and wilt for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the wine and let it cook down by half, 3 to 4 minutes. The leeks should be tender, with some bright green color, and the chicken should be cooked through.

Zucchini Pasta

One large zucchini (serves two)

Directions:
1] Using a vegetable peeler, peel the zucchini into long, flat noodles
2] Boil some salted water, and add the noodles to the water to cook for about 1 minute.
3] Take out and immediately blanch in cold water, or cold running water, to prevent overcooking

***

Verdict: While each of the two elements had its own merit, I'm not sure it was a good pairing.

I should have anticipated that the sauce of the chicken would be a thin, clear broth-- better suited for a side that would soak it up, like couscous or rice (+1 Rachael).

The zucchini pasta was easy and fun and pretty good. I think I overcooked it and it was sorta slimy and clumped together and lukewarm. If it was tossed with a heavy sauce --like a hearty marinara-- this would have prevented the clumping and sufficiently warmed it.

I'd make both recipes again... just not together. Cockaleekizucchi will not go down in recipe history.

Fourth share! July 26

Another hot Monday, another exciting share.

Zucchini:

Potatoes, which I was particularly excited about. I guess I forgot that potatoes grew on farms...?

Chives:

More leeks:

Corn!

Shiny, happy peppers:

Bonkers beets:

... And cabbage: I have big plans for you.

W6/Meal 2: OMGPIZZA

It's no secret that pizza is my favorite food. I'm not unlike a nine year old boy in that regard. When my good buddy Rick drove me out to Di Fara last fall, I had a private moment wherein I held back tears of joy. Seriously. Nothing gets me talking with wild animation quite like discussing pizza. Except maybe the topic of comfort footwear.

I tend to be a purist and believe that the best pies have tomato sauce, mozzarella, a bubbly crust, a little olive oil, a pinch of herbs and salt... nothing more, nothing less. And it was always my staunch position that a pie must have red sauce in order to be satisfying. White pizza belonged at a sad little party with decaf coffee, white chocolate and O'Douls.

A humble bunch of rosemary was the inspiration for the triumphant culinary breakthrough that follows. That's what I'm really loving about this farm share: letting the ingredients lead me down new and interesting paths.

Potato, Zucchini, Rosemary and Sage Pizza

Adapted from this recipe.

Ingredients
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
12 ounces unpeeled small Yukon Gold potatoes, sliced into very thin rounds
One small zucchini, thinly sliced
1 package of Trader Joe's whole wheat pizza dough
2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary
2 teaspoons chopped fresh sage
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1/4 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
1 cup (packed) grated low-fat mozzarella cheese
About 2 oz. of chevre goat cheese, divided

Directions
1] Preheat oven to 400°F.
2] Heat oil in heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add potato slices in single layer, sauté until just tender, about 5 minutes. Cool briefly.
3] In the meantime, unroll dough on rimmed baking sheet. Bake about 5-6 minutes, until dough is golden brown.
4] Remove from oven. Scatter potato and zucchini slices over dough, leaving 3/4-inch plain border. Sprinkle with rosemary, sage, garlic, and crushed red pepper. Sprinkle with cheeses to cover.
3] Bake pizza until crust is crisp and cheeses melt, about 10 minutes. Using metal spatula, loosen crust from sheet. Slide out onto platter or board and serve.

***

I used a small bag of multi-colored potatoes from Trader Joe's for added intrigue. Maybe a pop of purple could distract me from the glaring lack of red sauce? I also rubbed olive oil and La Baleine sea salt on the crust, taking a cue from the focaccia I enjoyed in Cinque Terre.

The method for cooking the crust is something I devised after many attempts with Trader Joe's dough. I find that cooking it first without toppings ensures a nice crisp.

Verdict: OMG. (Hence the name.) Easily the tastiest savory dish to ever come out of my oven. So sophisticated, so successful. Not to go all Iron-Chef-guest-judge on you, but there was definitely a party of flavors happening there. A big, happy party. The original recipe did not call for the zucchini and the goat cheese --that was my invention-- so I have to give myself a pat on the back for making this recipe extra-special.

I like to imagine that Mr. DeMarco --old man Di Fara himself-- would have tasted this and wept. Probably not, but he at least would have given me a hearty high-five.

W6/Meal 1: A Lesson in Lemongrass

What a lovely surprise, to get a bunch of these exotic and delicious-smelling leaves!

It's not often that I attempt to cook a dish with dominant Asian flavors, so this was an exciting challenge for me.

The first step was to find a recipe that used poultry or just vegetables. I was a little fished out and needed to lower my mercury levels. Also, out of respect for my dining buddy, the recipe couldn't contain curry or coconut milk.

This one looked like a big winner.


Chicken in Lemongrass Sauce

Recommended ingredients (see my notes for my various omissions/substitutions)
12 ounces green Chinese long beans or green beans, trimmed, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
2 tablespoons peanut oil
1 1/2 pounds skinless boneless chicken breast halves, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch-wide strips
1 medium onion, sliced
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/3 cup minced lemongrass*
3 tablespoons Thai fish sauce (nam pla)*
3 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons ground coriander
1 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 cup chicken stock or canned low-salt chicken broth
2 tablespoons spicy oyster sauce*

*Available at Asian markets and in some supermarkets.

Directions
1] Cook beans in large saucepan of boiling salted water just until crisp-tender, about 2 minutes. Drain.
2] Heat oil in heavy large skillet over high heat. Add chicken, onion and garlic; stir-fry until chicken is partially cooked, about 4 minutes.
3] Add lemongrass and next 4 ingredients; stir 2 minutes.
4] Add beans, stock and oyster sauce; reduce heat and simmer until sauce thickens and chicken is cooked through, about 4 minutes longer.
5] Season with salt and pepper.

***

I made so many changes to the ingredients that it's worth creating a separate list:

Ingredients
Fresh, plain old string beans
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 medium onion, sliced
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/3 cup minced lemongrass leaves (chopped in my food processor)
3 tablespoons Thai fish sauce (nam pla)
1/2 cup chicken stock
2 tablespoons regular oyster sauce
A dash of Sriracha sauce
Serve over white rice

I charged into this recipe, getting the beans started and then moving on to chopping the lemongrass. First I tried to use a knife. It didn't work so well. Then I put the cut leaves into my food processor. I processed. And processed. And processed. It took forever to turn the leaves into something that resembled a fine chop, and when I a piece in my mouth, it was like a sharp blade of grass and impossible to chew. When I tried to swallow it, it sort of clung to the back of my throat like a burr.

Perhaps the lemongrass would soften as it simmered? I moved on with the recipe.

In the meantime, though, I did a little Googling (maybe I should have done this first? Ah, hindsight) and found this:

To use fresh lemongrass, always cut off the lower bulb and remove tough, outer leaves. The main stalk (the yellow section) is mainly what is used in cooking.

Huh. Interesting. I had no such stalk. Just a bevy of those tough, outer leaves.

At this point, I figured this meal was D.O.A. and would be flavorful, perhaps, but entirely inedible.

Verdict: Turns out, the sauce was so good and the chicken so tender that the unchewable grass was almost a non-issue. We finished our plates. My husband even remarked that he liked the idea of the grass "cleaning his insides" ... a benefit I had not considered.

I wouldn't recommend cooking this meal the way I did, but I can imagine it would be excellent with the right ingredients.

Not a total failure. Just a lesson learned.

W5/Meal 1, Part 2: Fattoush

My husband's family is Lebanese and Syrian, and over the years I've grown to regard Middle Eastern food as my all-around favorite cuisine. Or maybe Mexican. Or Indian. But it's up there.

Middle Eastern main entrees tend to be pretty beef- and lamb-centric, but the side dishes (think hummus, tabouleh, baba ganoush) are heaven for someone who doesn't eat red meat.

One of my favorites is fattoush-- a light and healthy salad that's so simple but so perfect.

There are lots of variations, but most of them usually contain lettuce, tomato, cucumber, onion, toasted pita, sumac, mint, salt, olive oil, and lemon juice.

This was a perfect use for fresh mint, so I made a simple version to go with my pasta.

Easy fattoush
(pictured below with the salmon pasta)

Ingredients
Red leaf lettuce
Grape tomatoes
Onion
Celery (what was left of it...)
Cucumber
Mint
Sea salt
Lemon juice
Olive Oil

Directions
Chop vegetables and mint and toss together in a large bowl. Top with olive oil and a generous amount of fresh squeezed lemon juice. Add salt to taste.

... See? Simple and perfect.

W5/Meal 1, Part 1: Pasta with Smoked Salmon, Goat Cheese, Leeks and Zucchini

The first thing to strike my fancy in this share was the leek. It was also the first thing to look a little worse for the wear (thanks to the wilt-inducing heat that would soon annihilate the celery) so I hurried to find a recipe.

This sounded perfect for a hot summer night-- minimal cooking time and flavors that I love.

Have I mentioned yet how much I love goat cheese? I love goat cheese SO MUCH. And goat's milk yogurt. My dream is to someday live in an actual house with an actual yard and have an actual goat. Well, not a full-sized one but a pygmy one. Same milk, cuter packaging. Except... I hear that they're assholes.

I digress.


Pasta with Smoked Salmon, Goat Cheese, Leeks and Zucchini

Ingredients
1/4 cup olive oil
4 medium leeks (white and light green parts), halved lengthwise, sliced
2 zucchini, halved lengthwise, sliced crosswise
1 cup half and half
5 ounces soft milk goat cheese (such as Montrachet), crumbled
1 pound fettuccine
1/4 pound smoked salmon, chopped

Directions
1] Heat 1/4 cup olive oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add sliced leeks and sauté until golden and tender, about 10 minutes.
2] Add sliced zucchini and sauté until beginning to soften, about 3 minutes.
3] Add 1 cup half and half and crumbled goat cheese and stir until goat cheese melts. Remove sauce from heat. Season sauce with salt and generous amount of pepper.
4] Meanwhile, cook fettuccine in large pot of rapidly boiling salted water until pasta is just tender.
5] Drain fettuccine and return to pot. Add sauce to fettuccine and toss until thoroughly coated. :: Transfer fettuccine to large bowl. Top pasta with smoked salmon and serve immediately.

***

The original recipe can be found here. I followed it pretty closely, other than using whole milk instead of half and half and gluten-free penne instead of fettucine. Per the reviewers' suggestions, I mixed the salmon in with the sauce instead of putting it on top and added some red pepper flakes.

Verdict: Awesome. Can I say that again? I say that a lot. But really, it was awesome. I loved the contrast of the creamy sauce and the smoky salmon. It was sort of like taking all of the flavors of a lox platter and putting them in a sophisticated pasta dish. The colors were beautiful, too. This would be great for a spring-time dinner party.

Third share! July 12

Although picking it up required swimming through 80% humidity, my third installment of treats from Mimomex farm proved to be another exciting assortment.

A luscious leek:
(Which, incidentally, was always my vegetable of choice when I had to play that game where you say your name plus a fruit or vegetable starting with the same letter... even though at that age I had no idea what a leek actually was. There are surprisingly few 'L' options.)

Zucchini:

More kale:


Onions:


Celery... which I stored incorrectly and somehow managed to kill within 24 hours.
Celery, I hardly knew ye.

The anti-plastic-storage hippies led me astray on this one: putting the stalk in a shallow bowl of water on my counter was a fast track to cellular meltdown. Maybe it would have worked better in an air-conditioned apartment? Bendy vegetables are interesting and fun to play with but they do not taste very good.

RIP celery:

Red leaf lettuce:


This week's herbs-- rosemary and mint:


And this week's superfun surprise, lemongrass!

W4/Meal 2: Beet his ass, Seabass!

Mike named this post and evidently it has something to do with Dumb & Dumber, a quality film I have not yet had the pleasure of viewing. He chuckled quietly to himself for about four blocks after coming up with this, though, so we'll go with it.

It seems like every meal that uses beets involves roasting them first, and since we're (still!) in the middle of a heatwave, I was not so excited about firing up my oven for an hour. I learned my lesson with the zucchini.

So 10 days later, those magnificent beets were starting to look a little --um-- beat, and the ziplock bag full of beet greens was still unused.

I found this intriguing recipe that would make use of both ingredients, but, of course, the first step was to roast the beets. Desperate for an alternative, I did a little poking around on the interweb and was delighted to find this-- a handy guide for roasting beets in the slowcooker.

I used an appliance timer to turn my slowcooker on at about 5pm, so that when I finished my knife skills class at Brooklyn Kitchen Labs (note: totally awesome), I arrived home to find perfectly cooked, hot, squishy beets, and I was ready to proceed with my recipe.


Pan-Seared Sea Bass with Beet Sauce and Beet Greens

Ingredients:
1 pound red beets with greens (about 3 medium)
1 cup water
1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 teaspoon minced peeled fresh gingerroot
4 sea bass fillets (about 1/2 pound each)
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander

Directions:
1] Slip off skins and stems of roasted beets
2] In a blender or food processor puree beets with water, soy sauce, vinegar, and salt and pepper to taste until smooth. Transfer sauce to a small saucepan and keep warm, covered
3] Cut greens into 1/2-inch-wide slices and chop stems. In a 12-inch nonstick skillet heat 1 1/2 tablespoons butter over moderate heat until foam subsides and cook gingerroot, stirring, 30 seconds. Add greens and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 10 minutes. Season greens with salt and pepper and keep warm, covered.
4] Pat sea bass fillets dry. Sprinkle fillets with coriander and season with salt and pepper. In a large nonstick skillet heat remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons butter over moderately high heat until foam subsides and sauté fillets, skin sides down, pressing gently with a spatula if fillets curl, until skin is golden, about 3 minutes. Turn fish over and sauté about 2 minutes more, or until just cooked through.
5] Serve sea bass with beet greens and sauce.

***

I omitted the coriander (obvs) and used two giant steaks of seabass-- a good three inches thick. To compensate, I increased the cooking time to about 5 minutes on the first side and 4 minutes on the second. I served the fish over the greens on a bed of jasmine rice, all topped with the technicolor sauce.

Verdict: Smash success... for me, anyway. The flavors, textures, and colors were so interesting that I danced in my chair with my delight. Mike didn't care for the taste of the greens, which I should have seen coming-- he's generally not a fan of ginger. We both agreed that the seabass was "restaurant good"-- cooked perfectly and sooo flavorful-- and the sauce was beautiful. The beets didn't seem to lend that strong of a flavor to the dish, but the color more than made up for it. This would be a perfect entree for a dinner party-- simple, easy to time correctly, and impressively gorgeous.

W4/Meal 1: Pickled Radish FAIL

I made pickled radishes and carrots and they smell like a garbage truck.

The process was fun. The colors are neat. They even taste OK... like bread and butter pickles. They have an interesting sweet/sour thing going on.

But every time I open the jar, Mike starts searching the apartment like there might be a dead hooker lying around.

I used this recipe, but I wouldn't recommend it.

Verdict: Fail.

W3/Meal 2: Zucchini with Quinoa Stuffing

I'm a big fan of stuffed vegetables. My Italian mother makes a mean stuffed green pepper, and my Lebanese mother-in-law has an amazing recipe for stuffed squash called Koosa. Really, I just like things that are stuffed with other things.

Despite the intense heatwave, I decided to forge ahead and bake my own version using zucchini and quinoa. I considered "Could it be any hotter in our apartment?" to be a challenge, not a complaint.



Zucchini with Quinoa Stuffing

The original recipe can be found here, but I tweaked it a bit by excluding the almonds and adding fresh oregano from this week's share.

Ingredients
1/2 cup quinoa, rinsed
4 medium zucchini (I used two large)
1 15-ounce can cannellini beans, rinsed
1 cup grape or cherry tomatoes, quartered
2 cloves garlic, chopped
3/4 cup grated Parmesan (3 ounces)
4 tablespoons olive oil
+ about 1 Tb chopped fresh oregano

Directions
1] Heat oven to 400° F. In a large saucepan, combine the quinoa and 1 cup water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the quinoa is tender and the water is absorbed, 12 to 15 minutes.
2] Meanwhile, cut the zucchini in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds. Arrange in a large baking dish, cut-side up.
3] Fluff the quinoa and fold in the beans, tomatoes, almonds, garlic, ½ cup of the Parmesan, and 3 tablespoons of the oil.
4] Spoon the mixture into the zucchini. Top with the remaining tablespoon of oil and ¼ cup Parmesan. Cover with foil and bake until the zucchini is tender, 25 to 30 minutes. Remove the foil and bake until golden, 8 to 10 minutes.

Verdict: The stuffing itself was delicious, even before it was baked. I had a little leftover and plan to eat it cold, like a bean salad with a hefty garlic kick. The finished project was yummy-- so healthy and tasty-- but admittedly dry. Made me think it could use some kind of sauce.

All in all, an easy and complete meal with quick preparation.... but next time I'll think twice before running a 400 degree oven for an hour when it's 100 degrees outside.

The answer was: yes, my apartment could get hotter. Much, much hotter.