Easy as Pie Test Kitchen

A favorite summer snack at our house

Grape+freezer=cold, refreshing, all-natural treat

Okay, I'm not sure if a freezer could be considered "natural" in the strictest sense of the word, but close enough! I know you're wondering, "But aren't they hard as a rock??" They are a little harder than your typical juice popsicle, but not much. They have a kind of satisfying crunch.

Mousse melon

It's over 100 here in Southern California, and I've been cooling off with some sugar-free treats made with real fruit.

The cantaloupe mousse (above) is moussier, while the watermelon is more like watermelon jello. Both can be served frozen or just chilled.

Cantaloupe Mousse
1/2 cup raspberry liqueur
1 1/2 envelopes unflavored gelatin
1/2 medium canteloupe, seeds removed and scooped out of the rind
2 teaspoons pure stevia extract
1/2 cup plain yogurt

Pour the liqueur into a small sauce pan. Sprinkle the gelatin over it, then bring to a boil, stirring in the gelatin. Boil for about a minute, then set aside to cool. In a blender, mush the melon (sorry, couldn't think of a better term. :) It just needs to be mushy, not melony. What can I say?) Add stevia, yogurt, and gelatin mixture and blend. Pour the mixture into serving-size containers and chill for a few hours. You can either chill it in the refrigerator for a pudding-like consistency, or in the freezer for something more like frozen mousse.

Watermelon Mousse
1/2 cup lime juice
1 sprig mint
1 1/2 envelopes unflavored gelatin
1/2 seedless watermelon, scooped out of the rind
2 teaspoons pure stevia extract
1/2 cup plain yogurt

Pour the lime juice into a small sauce pan. Sprinkle the gelatin over it, then bring to a boil, stirring in the gelatin. Boil for about a minute, then set aside to cool. In a blender, mush the melon. Add stevia, yogurt, and gelatin mixture and blend. Pour the mixture into serving-size containers and chill for a few hours. You can either chill it in the refrigerator for a gelatin-like consistency, or in the freezer for something more like frozen mousse.

Quick cole slaw

There are a few foods I'm not crazy about unless I make them myself. Orange juice is one. (I'm not sure why, since it's not like it has a lot of complex ingredients.) Cole slaw is another. I'm not a huge fan of store-bought or restaurant slaw. Maybe because I know how fatty it is. Here's my slimmer version:

Cole slaw
1/2 head cabbage, thinly sliced
4-5 radishes, thinly sliced
1/2 can crushed pineapple
2 tablespoons pineapple juice (from the can of pineapple)
2 tablespoons mayonnaise (vegan if you're avoiding eggs like me)
1 teaspoon cumin
1/8 teaspoon pure stevia extract

You can chop the cabbage and radishes in a food processor. I got a mandolin for Christmas, and it requires less work to wash the the processor, so I used that instead. Combine the cabbage, radishes, and pineapple in a salad bowl. In another smaller bowl, stir or whisk the pineapple juice, mayonnaise, cumin, and stevia until the mayonnaise is dissolved in the dressing. Pour the dressing over the top of the veggies and toss the salad.

A Favas Day Recipe

For several weeks in a row recently, my fairy food-mother was bringing me fava beans. I'd never even seen a fava bean, let alone eaten one. It was a joke among my co-workers who also get produce from Farm Fresh to You. None of us were quite sure what to do with them at first. I visited the Farm Fresh to You farm today for a picnic and tour, and I mentioned the widespread fava conundrum to my friend who joined me as we drove to the farm. Then, everywhere we went on the farm, we overhead Farm Fresh to You customers talking about fava beans! Yes, they are mysterious. But pretty tasty, and actually not all that hard to prepare. Here's my favorite version of what I did with them in those few weeks:

Fava Beans and Creme Fraiche

1 tablespoon oil or butter
1 cup shelled fava beans
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tablespoons creme fraiche (or sour cream)
1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon capers
1 tablespoon chives, chopped

Heat the oil or butter in a skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the fava beans until golden on both sides, stirring regularly so they don't stick or burn. Add the garlic toward the end. Transfer the beans and garlic to a bowl. Add the creme fraiche, lemon juice, capers, and chives, sprinkle with salt, and stir it all together.

Favalicious!

Broccoli the best way

I adapted a recipe for Broccoli and Roasted Pepper Salad with Tomato Vinaigrette from the best veggie cookbook of all time, Deborah Madison's Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone. I ate an entire head of broccoli myself one evening a few weeks ago because I like it so much prepared this way. Honestly, I always feel like it's a little too crunchy when it's raw, and a little too soft when it's steamed (even steamed carefully). Her recipe called for blanching it (boiling it briefly in salted water) which was just right. My main change from her recipe was to take out the marjoram (who uses marjoram? It's probably better with it, and I actually have some in my cupboard, but I forgot since I never, ever use it.) I also added oregano and chives, since that's what I have in my little garden, and I dramatically reduced the amount of olive oil. I can't wait to try it with the tomatoes I have ripening outside my dining room door...

Ingredients:

1 pound cherry tomatoes, halved
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon dried oregano, or 2-3 leaves fresh oregano, cut in small pieces
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoons chives, chopped
1 bunch broccoli
2 roasted red peppers, peeled and chopped (I buy them canned, in which case they are already peeled)
1 ounce crumbled feta cheese (optional)

Directions:

Put the tomatoes, vinegars, olive oil, oregano, garlic, and chives in a bowl together to let the tomatoes soak up the flavor. Separate the broccoli into small florets and cut up the stalk into small pieces as well. Bring some salted water to boil in a large pot and boil the broccoli in it for 1-2 minutes. Drain the broccoli. You can keep it hot, or cool it. I prefer it cool.

Mix the broccoli, tomato mixture, and red peppers in a large bowl. Serve topped with feta cheese.

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.

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.

Looking for my fairy food-mother.

Since I make most of my food from scratch, getting fresh organic produce delivered every week or so right to my front door sounds like heaven. In theory, I could limit my grocery store trips to one visit to Costco and one to Trader Joe's each month to get meat, cheese, and grains. Since we just moved to a new place, I decided to resume my previously futile attempts to find my fairy food-mother.

I tried out Spud! for awhile. The great thing about their site is that they have a huge selection of products, and you can order as much or as little as you want as often as you like. Or you can just set it up to send you certain things automatically at a set frequency. In practice, the business seems to be having growing pains. They changed my delivery from FedEx to a courier, which saved me money, but they never updated the delivery dates on my online profile. It was a little frustrating when I wasn't sure whether my food would be delivered in time for key holiday meals. I had to wrangle with them to give me the $5 off from the coupon they sent with my order that just said "simply visit www.spud.com and place your next order to get an appreciation discount." They forgot to pick up my old packaging. Things like that. They have friendly customer service people who took care of things quickly, but it was still kind of a pain to have to ask them to in the first place. They have some good ideas, though, so I might try them again in 6 months or so once they've had a chance to get their feet wet.

In the meantime, I'm excited to try Farm Fresh to You in a few weeks. Their claim is that most of what I'll be getting comes from a farm north of here. They don't have as much flexibility as Spud! does, but the service is cheaper, and I've already heard good things about the produce they deliver and the reliability of the service from a couple of co-workers.

Who magically leaves food at your doorstep? What do you like/dislike about the service?

Extreme leftovers

I sometimes write about meals I've made with week-old vegetables. It's time for me to come clean. Sometimes they're even older than that. I have a personal rule that I think of as the "Little House on the Prairie Rule." If I can remember (or imagine) Laura Ingalls Wilder or her sister Mary fetching a piece of food from the root cellar in the winter, I figure it's probably okay to let it age awhile before I cook it.

Earlier this week, it was time to break out the butternut squash I bought in early September. (I won't say how early in September. I have to preserve SOME dignity, folks!) I bought it to make soup, but I made a lot of soup in September. In October, I've just been tired, and I've been nuking spaghetti squash and eating Jack-in-the-Box salad instead. (More on nuking spaghetti squash later. It's great.) I was finally feeling better, and up to the challenge of cutting up squash. Maybe aging helps, because it actually wasn't all that hard to cut. Here's the squash before I prepared it. It has a little character from being on my counter for, um, awhile:

I cut it open, and it seemed a little dry but mostly okay.

To roast:

I cut it in 1" cubes, put them on foil on a baking sheet, sprayed with cooking spray, and roasted at 450 for 25 minutes.

Then I whisked up a quick mustard sauce:

3 tablespoons Dijon mustard, 2 tablespoons olive oil, 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar

And drizzled it over the top. I love mustard with anything sweet.

It was not dry or tough or rotten tasting. In fact, it was very good. So eat old squash without (too much) fear, faithful readers!