Easy as Pie Test Kitchen

This is why it’s called the test kitchen—one not to try at home

I had some magnificent organic beets from my fairy food-mother that needed to get from raw to delicious stat. I was hungry. I found a website that said I could roast a beet in the microwave. The first one was fine. The second one literally caught fire. I stepped away from the kitchen for a minute and came back to a cracked plate and a microwave full of smoke. So, the first beet is the lovely photogenic one you see pictured here. I suggest using the canned stuff if you don’t have time to let your beet roast in the oven for an hour.

Chicken salad with beets and horseradish dressing

2 cups cooked, cubed chicken breasts (I used leftovers)

4 cups bok choy, chopped

1 cup lettuce, shredded

4 green onions, sliced

1/2 cup crumbled gorgonzola

1 large beet, roasted, peeled, and sliced (or a small can)

 

Dressing

1/2 cup sesame seed oil

2 tablespoons horseradish

1/3 cup rice wine vinegar

1 tablespoon maple syrup

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

 

This leek in the kitchen doesn't need to be fixed

I’ve been getting a ton of leeks from my fairy food-mother. They’re best in soup, but they work well in baked dishes, too. Photos courtesy of Photo Nouveau.
 

 

Baked Leek & Sweet Potato Gratin

1 1/2 tablespoons oil

3 leeks, chopped--white parts only

3 cloves garlic, minced

3 tablespoons fresh rosemary, chopped

2 sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced

1/2 cup chicken broth

3 tablespoons rice flour, or bread crumbs

2 tablespoons soy cheese, or grated cow or crumbled goat cheese

 

Directions:

 

Preheat oven to 450. Coat casserole dish with cooking spray. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in skillet over medium-high heat. Add leeks, garlic, and 1 1/2 tablespoons rosemary. Saute 5 minutes until leeks have softened.

Okay, I couldn't really get enough of the sesame oil and spinach last time

I like spinach almost as much as I like chocolate. Weird, I know. But it's so crisp when it's fresh and so melty when it's cooked... And it's good with almost anything. I just throw it in with whatever else I'm eating sometimes. Spaghetti, fajitas, sandwiches, you name it. It's so much better than lettuce. One of these days, my biceps will suddenly bulge out and sprout anchor tattoos. Don't worry, though. I know not everyone shares my spinach obsession, so I don't just add random spinach to the recipes I post here! It goes particularly well with garbanzos and, of course, garlic. This is a great side dish or light meal on its own.

 

Garbanzos & Spinach

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon sesame seed oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 onion, chopped
1 bag spinach (6 ounces)
1 can garbanzo beans (12 ounces), drained
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon chile powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2-3 sun-dried tomatoes, chopped (optional)

Directions:
Heat oil in a skillet over medium low heat. Saute the garlic and onion in the oil until onion is tender. Stir in the spinach, garbanzo beans, cumin, chile powder, and salt. Cook until thoroughly heated. Serve topped with chopped sun-dried tomatoes.

Getting some sage advice

A few weeks back, I got an email from a woman named Heather who has food issues similar to mine, who also loves to cook (and is probably way better at it than I am). Turns out she went to college in my home town AND she lives right down the street from our new place. We got together for tea last week, and she showed me some neat little places in town that I never would have found on my own. She also brought me some pineapple sage from Heavenly Acres Farm. I'd heard of pineapple sage, but I'd never actually tried it. I always thought of sage as kind of a savory seasoning that I just couldn't imagine with pineapple. Well, one whiff of the herbs told me I was in for a pleasant surprise. To get the old creative juices flowing, I've been trying to cook with what I have in the kitchen instead of planning my meals. I basically had pork, some two-buck-chuck white zinfandel, and the usual kitchen staples, so I decided to make some breaded pork with pineapple sage and wine sauce. It turned out fabulously, getting a rare "this is REALLY great" from my husband not once, but twice. The sauce went pretty well on rice, too. I'm now a huge fan of pineapple sage. I even saved a cutting so I can try to plant it in my container herb garden. Heather also informed me that ghee (a prepared butter from India) doesn't have the milk protein in it that bugs my tummy, so I'll be trying that soon and blogging about it, too.

 

Breaded Pork Loin with Pineapple Sage Sauce

1 pound pork loin, sliced in 1/2" thick pieces
1/4 cup flour, (wheat or rice depending on your diet)
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 cup white zinfandel
3 sprigs pineapple sage, chopped
1 teaspoon rosemary
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Directions:

Heat butter in a large skillet over medium high heat. Seal pork in a ziploc bag and pound it to tenderize it. Add flour, salt and pepper to the bag and shake until the pork is coated with a thin layer of flour. Once the butter has melted, add the pork to the pan and cook until it is golden brown on both sides, about 4-5 minutes on each side. Remove pork to a plate and cover it to keep it warm. Keep the burner on medium high. Add the sage, rosemary, and wine to the remaining butter in the pan and scrape the remnants of the pork from the bottom of the pan. Cook about 3-minutes, then add the lemon juice. Cook one minute more. Pour the sauce over the pork to serve.

Why ask why?

Today is my mom's birthday, so this post is dedicated to her. I grew up learning how to do all kinds of things you would normally think of the Pilgrims doing, like making butter in a jar, crafting oil lamps out of milk jug lids (okay, maybe the Pilgrims didn't do that), and making applesauce by squeezing apples through a giant metal grinder. We grew our own pumpkins and popcorn in the back yard a few times. As a result, I often have an irresistible urge to do things myself. I see something at the store and think, "Psh. I could do that better myself. And cheaper, too." This inclination has been proven wrong more often than not, but for some reason I feel more satisfied when it's done anyway. Maybe the reason is as simple as enjoying working with my hands. As part of this inclination, I have inherited my mother's love of gardening, as well as what she calls her "black thumb" talent for it. In spite of our black thumbs, we have both managed to grow some passable edibles. I have always had some kind of herbs growing on my porch, they just tend to have a shorter life expectancy than they might have elsewhere.

Since we have a nice big new porch, I'm getting really ambitious. Today I planted about a dozen varieties of seeds to germinate, including some stevia. Faithful readers will remember that I blogged about growing my own stevia, oh, well, awhile ago. I'm finally doing it. Or trying to. Here's my box o' seeds, soon to be a box o' plants. I put them in a box in case we have more cold weather or torrential downpours, so I can bring them inside.

The box says gifts because that's what it used to hold, not because I am getting some kind of unrealistic, grand view of my gardening capabilities.

I also have a compost bin complete with worms, and I get a kick out of thinking of myself as a worm wrangler. (Thanks, Miranda, for the worms! See below.) I have some pots, some dirt, and a spreadsheet for keeping track of all of the soil, sun, and water needs of my plants. Wish me luck!