So about two weeks ago, I decided that I wanted to make Kels dinner… to surprise her, you know. I picked out a recipe from Farmers Market Magazine that involved Eggplant and mung bean sprouts (first sign that this could go awry for me) and after a couple failed steps on my part, things got ugly. Long story short, we ended up eating the dish that night, and a loaded salad Kels whipped up as a side quickly stepped up to fill the void of my masterpiece gone south.
A few days ago, she found the perfect Eggplant redemption recipe for me in a book titled, “Earth to Table” by Jeff Crump. She texted me from Borders instructing me to find the book and visit page 118. After work, I headed over and she had left a note in the book on page 118 on a couple ingredients to substitute, add, or omit. I typed out the whole list and instructions on the little “notes” section of my iPhone. and left on a prayer. This was just a great experience all the way around.
What’s funny, is that I learned a lot about cooking in between those two experiences. Cooking is all about timing, you really need to think ahead as far as what ingredient needs to be put in when, do we need more oil or water, what does oil and water do to your ingredients if you put too much or not enough into the mix. There’s a lot going on! But it’s fun and rewarding when it all comes together. (Thank goodness Kelsey was willing to lend a hand along the way).
This dish is a veggie-filled bowl of flavor. It takes just a couple to find the different tastes that are hitting your palette. So good.
2 eggplants, chopped into chunks
6 stalks celery, chopped into chunks
1/2 blub fennel, roughly chopped or grated
1 zucchini, with skin – sliced
4 garlic cloves, minced
4 small sweet onions, chopped
3 large heirloom tomatoes, into chunks
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar or white wine vingear
3/4 cup roughly crushed almonds
1 cup minced basil
a few sprigs of fresh thyme
1/2 cup olive oil
2tbsp salt
1/2 cup chopped dates or raisins
1/2 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes
First you want to chop up and dry out eggplant (with salt in strainer).
In a big big pan on medium heat with oil, add the celery and fennel and saute – give about 5 minutes to cook. Add the zucchini, stir, then follow with the strained eggplant.
Remove the veggies into a large bowl and set aside.
In the same pan, sauté the garlic and onion with a little oil. Once the onions are looking golden, add the tomatoes and stir to get the juices goin. Add the rest of ingredients (only half the almonds, though) and stir for about 10 min.
Add the eggplant mixture that you set aside back to the pan and add a little salt. Cover on low heat and let the veg do their magic – serve when you’re ready and sprinkle with the rest of your crushed almonds.
[Kelsey's note: this dish would be great with a side of plain quinoa and a salad greens tossed with lemon and olive oil! Shaun's debut was a total success!]
If not over the past 5 years that we’ve known each other, Shaun should have known that when I whipped up the raw kale salad a few weeks ago it was the point of no return for my green obsession. I was so inspired by the Matcha feature on Tastespotting, that I had to do a little experimenting myself. I set off to Whole Foods where I had a little sticker shock – the smallest amount of matcha powder that they carried (6 oz) was $15! Gulp. I rationalized the purchase because of the following:
Matcha green tea contains higher amounts of vitamins, chlorophyll (a renowned detoxifying agent), amino acids (L-theanine that improves mood and concentration), catechins (like EGCg, a cancer-fighter only found in green tea), polyphenols and other antioxidants (exponentially higher amounts than blueberries and spinach) in comparison to other tea types. Brewed matcha contains antioxidants and polyphenols about 10 times more than the regular teas. In addition, matcha green tea is sugar free and high in fiber content. Therapeutically, matcha is used for stimulating the immune system, aiding in the digestion process, promoting dental health, reducing bad cholesterol, lowering blood pressure and reducing the risk of cancer.
Yes. Definitely worth it.
Later, during yoga sculpt, I had (what I thought was) a great idea of using millet flour for my recipe… “Magic Matcha Millet Muffins.” How’s that for alliteration? I got home, enjoyed a hearty salad for dinner, then got straight to work on my creative masterpiece. An hour and a few crazy looks and jokes with Shaun about algae and guacamole muffins later… we bit into dry, heavy, funky muffins. Thanks to the honey Shaun drowned his in, he thought “they’re not that bad.” I wasn’t satisfied and was not about to call it one for the books. I still had quite a bit of matcha on my hands, and I’ll be darned to let $15 go to waste.
Round 2 – total success. Let’s just say, yoga inspires some amazing creativity but I think using millet flour was a bit of a reach – no pun intended. I changed a few things up, and think that this recipe gets a seal of approval to pass on to you and your families. I will warn, these are not sweet and they have a distinct taste that I might not recommend to the faint of heart. Don’t get me wrong, they’re still enjoyable. Just not in the “carrot cake with cream cheese frosting” way. Give them a whirl, and reap all the amazing benefits of matcha.
2 heaping tsps. high quality Matcha Green Tea Powder
1 tbsp. Incan Macca powder (totally optional)
1 egg
1/3 cup 0% Fage yogurt
3/4 cup almond milk
2 tbsp. grapeseed oil
crushed walnuts or pistachios for topping
Preheat the oven to 375′ and line muffin tins with tin foil liners (I used paper the first time, I think they absorbed too much liquid?). Mix all the dry ingredients together in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, mix together the egg, yogurt, milk, and oil. Slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry using a wooden spoon or spatula, batter will be on the thick side – don’t worry! If you’re feeling extra bold or groovy, maybe fold in a cup of fresh blueberries or zucchini. Fill the tins or molds , sprinkle with a little sugar and nuts, and bake for 14-15 minutes. Enjoy with a little honey, and be happy!
So mush squash, so little time! If you “are what you eat,” then we all should be turning into zucchinis, tomatoes, or peaches… who hears me? This weekend at the farmers market, I made my way over to a tent that is ALWAYS accosted by people. I’ll admit, I purposely avoided the area during my previous visits because I always felt like I would bother shoppers with my bulky hiking backpack that overflowed of carrot greens. There was a break in the action this Sunday though, and my Mom and I meandered over. One word – Wow. I can’t believe what I’ve been missing out on all this time! At least two dozen varieties of homemade pastas, breads, and imported olives. Decisions were tough: chickpea fettuccine, spinach angel hair, sun-dried tomato capellini. We settled on the pappardelle with basil on the chefs recommendation. What’s great about pappardelle pasta is that it can stand up to chunky veggies or sauces yet still let them shine – perfect for this time of year when we’re all trying to include squash in 2-3 meals a day. I’m not sure how crazy creative this dish is, but I think that’s what I love most about it because when the plate or bowl is empty, you feel like you just got a great hug.
I would strongly recommend, if not urge you, to use FRESH pasta. Boxed stuff just won’t be as good – trust me. Making pasta is actually a lot easier than you think, too. Check out Mark Bittman’s recipe via Macheesmo for a great recipe and a few tips that come straight from his book How to Cook Everything.
Here’s what you’ll need:
16 oz fresh pappardelle basil pasta, or another fresh variety
1 large green zucchini
1 large yellow squash
4 small sweet onions
1 large heirloom tomato
1 cup minced basil
1/2 cup pine nuts
1/4 cup olive oil
3-4 tablespoons thyme
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes, sliced
Bring a large pot of water to a boil for the pasta – this should take a while. In the meantime, roughly chop the onions and saute lightly with olive oil and garlic and basil for 3-4 minutes. Add the tomato, sun-dried tomatoes, pine nuts, and thyme and continue to stir for 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat and let rest. In a small pot, bring a cup of water to a boil. Chop unpeeled squash into large-ish chunks and steam for 3-4 minutes until just tender. Add the lightly steamed squash to the sauce mixture and return to low heat and coat. The water should be to a rolling boil by now and your sauce is finished and warming. Fresh pappardelle takes no more than 3 1/2 minutes to cook so if you’re preparing a salad (spinach, I might suggest) now would be the time to finish up because once the pasta is cooked, it’s time to eat! Add the pasta to the water in batches, and after 3 minutes give it a slight rinse and strain and add to the sauce over low heat until all the noodles are cooked. Give it a quick grind of salt and pepper, viola!
I’m not huge on spicy foods. It’s not that I can’t take the heat, it’s just that I genuinely like to um, taste things? Most salsa recipes call for some jalapeno or other hot pepper variation, but this one captures the essence of the tomatillo in all of its glory alongside the crispy Armenian cucumber and fresh sweet onion. Of course, you could give it a kick on your own accord. Some of you might be thinking, wait – what’s a tomatillo again? I did a little digging online and found a great explanation from a site called Vegetarians in Paradise… (cute, right?)
“Tomatillos earn their diminutive name by their petite size that varies from that of a cherry tomato to one of a small tomato. What makes them unique in appearance is their paperlike cellulose husk covering that resembles the shape of a small green lantern that hangs downward from the bushy, annual plant on which it grows. Inside the protective husk is a smooth, plump, firm variety of tomato that is usually picked green. When fully ripened, they are actually yellow, but these are rarely brought to market. The husks turn a greenish brown when the fruit is losing its freshness.With their dense, highly seeded interior, tomatillos burst with a distinctive tart, lemony flavor that makes them the perfect ingredient in Mexican dishes like fresh salsa.
The highly nutritional aspects of tomatillos may surprise you. One medium raw tomatillo contains only 11 calories, yet it packs 91 mg. of potassium. That same little fruit contains 4 mg. of vitamin C, 2.4 mg of calcium, 2.38 mg. of folic acid, and 39 IU of vitamin A. Imagine the benefits if you include several in your recipe.”
This is the perfect time of year to take advantage of tomatoes’ cousin, ask a farmer at your local market if they’re fresh near you yet. This salsa recipe can be used traditionally as a dip for chips, but makes an awesome salad topping and mixes well with cumin black beans, fresh romaine, avocado, and brown rice for a makeshift open-faced burrito of sorts. Make more than you think you’ll need! It keeps well and goes quickly.
Ingredients:
3 cups chopped heirloom tomato, any variety
3 cups tomatillos, sliced through the flat blade attachment on your food processor
1 large Armenian cucumber chopped
1 large sweet onion, finely chopped
1 large handful of cilantro, chopped
2 limes, zest and juice
2-3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
3 or 4 good grinds of sea salt
Combine all the chopped ingredients in a large bowl. Stir in the vinegar, lime juice and zest, and salt and let sit in the fridge for about 20 minutes to marinate before serving.
It’s been a bit since we last met here, though I’m sure you’ve made wonderful use of summers bounty without any of my humble help. My loving, inspiring, and exceptionally fun parents came down to San Diego for a visit this past weekend so Shaun got a break from habitually cutting himself on the vegetable peeler as we enjoyed local eats off some of our favorite menus. Urban Solace on Friday, Alchemy Restaurant on Saturday, and both the Little Italy Mercato and the Hillcrest Farmers Markets. If you haven’t hit up these neighborhood gems before, you’ve been missing out. And while it’s certainly nice to let someone else take the wheel and prepare you a great meal, you miss out on an excellent therapy session when you skip the prepping, stirring, and salt-to-tasting and simply have to decide between the cumin scented vegetable risotto or the spring pea and marscapone tortellini. Plus it’s hard to say no when the fare is that good. And yes, it is that good.
Too much of a good thing does exist…so alas, my stomach is confused. And I didn’t get to chop any crazy purple carrots or craft any muffins from the last of our seasons blueberry crop this weekend, so I’m also muddled with a few other things on the brain that didn’t get sorted on my runs or amazing chats with Mom over coffee from Influx.
I didn’t get hungry after a late lunch today until around 9 pm which I know on all accounts is probably the all-time worst-time to eat or start cooking anything, but I had a gorgeous acorn squash that a great associate at Sage Mountain Farms suggested I pick up today calling to me from the designated “squash bowl.” I got in my peeling and chopping fix and sat down to a nice bowl of steamed squash, heirloom tomatoes, chopped apple, and a bit of slightly wilted spinach – Shaun read me a satire from the New York Times Magazine and I could already feel myself moving back to equilibrium. I’m not saying this simple bowl is the answer to the worlds problems (or a weekend of over-indulgence), but it’s a grounding and nourishing start that may help us attempt just that.
I have a bunch of good summer dishes to show and tell in the coming days that I have “stock-piled” from last week. Until then, bring it down to size with this:
1 medium apple, chopped
1 cup acorn squash, peeled and chopped
1 medium tender heirloom tomato, cut into large chunks
1 cup wilted spinach
2 tsp coarsely ground sea salt
Plain and simple: chop the squash, steam for 7-8 minutes or until soft. Remove from heat, add spinach and cover. Chop apple and cut open the tomato. In a mixing bowl, combine your piles and sprinkle in the salt. Stir and enjoy warm — I was so happy to sit down to something simple and fresh that I forgot to take a picture until a few bites in. Excuse the lack of presentation (smiles).
Another full weekend has come and passed. I attended my first Padres game with the most beautiful kids from the IRC’s First Things First program and watched anxiously (and amusingly) at how cotton candy, ice cream, peanuts, and soda take charge in a tiny 40 pound body. But it was their first time experiencing the Padres too, any professional US sporting event for that matter, so it wasn’t really the time for a nutrition lesson. I think (well, I hope) that little binges like those for excited attendees across the stadium are rendered harmless by the joy, laughter, and companionship of those that joined them. Padres won handily, and I think I’m finally starting to enjoy the sport and the pursuit of the season. I’m a homegrown NBA fan (thanks, dad), but I think my previous conceptions of the in-athleticism of MLB are being softened by Shaun’s love of the Rockies and my desire to root for something again. Plus, as frivolous as the stadiums and the jerseys and the salaries of the players are, the games spread good ‘ju-ju’ which always gets a thumbs up in my book.
I’ve been seeing so many Strawberry Shortcake recipes floating across the food-blog world, and with all due respect, I’m just not so interested in using buttermilk these days. Strawberries are still a’flowin in SD, so I thought I’d get creative with a crumble and hope for the best. I must say, I was a little apprehensive if this concoction would be as nutritious and sweet as I imagined, but the smell of maple and oats crystallizing in the oven abated those doubts. The amount of sweet potato I used was not measured, so use your best judgment based on the notes I jotted while in the baking process.
In a large bowl combine the shredded potatoes, strawberries, sugar, tap. flour, and spices -coat, then let rest. In a medium bowl, combine and stir the dry ingredients first: oats, teff flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and flax. Add the wet ingredients and mix vigorously, adding orange juice or almond milk if your consistency is too dry for your liking. Fill a nice deep dish with the strawberry mixture first, then cover evenly with your crumble crust.
After the oven has pre-heated to 400′, place the baking dish on the middle rack, and bake for 20 minutes. Enjoy warm, or at room temperature. The crumble is sweet enough for my taste, but I’m sure a little vanilla ice cream would be lovely.
Shaun and I took our first stab at integrating some creative media to the cooking process. If you haven’t checked out our short video yet, scroll to the bottom of this post. This recipe was inspired by the two lovely tomatoes that we’ve had on the kitchen table, ripening to perfection, for the past few days and some micro-basil that I picked up at the North Park Farmers Market yesterday. I went looking for ‘regular’ basil, but a friendly representative from Suzie’s Farms encouraged me to try the mini version and I must say, what a treat! I had honestly never tried/seen anything like it before, and I encourage you to be on the look-out!
This recipe is honestly so easy. It has all the qualities of a fancy expensive restaurant entree, but is even better when you have the freedom to stuff it with what you really love.
Here’s what I used for my stuffing, feel free to get creative though and play with the flavors of the season.
1 large heirloom yellow summer squash, grated
1 bunch of rainbow chard, deveined and finely chopped
1/2 of a spring onion, finely minced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 cups micro-basil
1/4 cup chopped kalamata olives
2 tsp. olive oil
2 tsp. balsamic vinegar
4 tablespoons chevre cheese
(optional: 1/4 cup pine nuts)
1 cup plain Israeli cous cous
2 extra beefy tomatoes
This is what you didn’t see on the video:
1. In a medium sized pot, bring 2 cups of water and 1 cup of cous cous to a boil. Reduce heat to low and let simmer uncovered for 8 minutes. Check frequently that the cous cous is not sticking to the bottom of the pan, stirring when necessary. Remove from heat, add a little water and olive oil, and let sit covered for 4 minutes.
2. On low heat, begin to saute the onions and garlic in the olive oil and balsamic vinegar. After a few minutes add the chard, olives, grated squash, basil and pine nuts if you’re using them. Grind in a little salt and pepper. Stir slowly to coat, do not let the contents start to “sizzle.”
3. Add cous cous to the veggie mixture and stir to coat. Cover and let sit over low heat while you prepare the tomatoes.
5. To see a demonstration on how to carve out the tomatoes, see video below.
6. Bring tomatoes and stuffing to the same work surface, and a gently spoon in mix until about 3/4 full. Add a small dollop of the chevre, then add another heaping scoop to fill and cover the top opening.
7. Sprinkle with fresh basil and a little salt. Bake for 10 minutes at 300′ in the middle rack of your oven. Serve immediately, and enjoy! You did it! Go you!
I didn’t know how much I loved figs until I impulsively bought a pound of them at the farmers market on Sunday. Figs have made friends with a lot of other ingredients since then, but oats and figs bonded more than the rest. This cookie recipe is healthy, delicious, and a perfect mid-day pick me up. They remind me a little of the classic “Fig Newton” that we all grew up on, but are considerably more sophisticated and wholesome. I snagged the ingredient list of the original “Fig Newton” straight from the Nabisco website:
Let’s get rid of the nasty, and focus on the beautiful and delicate fruit of the season. These are so easy to make, please do, and enjoy!
2/3 cups Real Maple Syrup or Brown Rice Syrup
1/4 cup Olive oil
2 teaspoons Vanilla extract
1 1/2 cup Kamut Flour (or any other gluten free flour of choice)
1 cup Rolled oats
1/4 cup Chia seeds
1/4 teaspoon Baking soda
1 teaspoon Cinnamon
1 teaspoon Nutmeg
1 pinch salt
1 splash Almond Milk
6 Raw figs, halved
Directions:
Mix olive oil, syrup, and vanilla together in a large bowl
In a separate bowl, combine flour, oats, spices, seeds, and salt.
Slowly combine dry ingredients to wet ingredients, the mixture will be on the drier side. Add just a little almond milk.
Let mixture set for 10-15 min while you preheat the oven to 350 and cut the fresh figs in half.
Roll out dough into 12 medium sized balls and press gently to flatten a bit. Set figs atop the cookie platform, sprinkle with a little cinnamon-sugar and bake for 12-14 minutes.
