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.

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!

Yam Shepherd's Pie

I was going to use these yams to make soup, but I've been making a lot of soup lately and I'm a little tired of it. This is easier and sticks to your ribs a little more. :)

Yam Shepherd's Pie--$7.13

2 lbs. yams, cooked and mashed ($2.40) or 1 can ($3.55)

1 lb. ground beef ($2.99)

1 onion ($.74)

1 lb. frozen mixed vegetables ($1)

Brown the ground beef in a large skillet. Once it's browned, remove to a small casserole dish, leaving some of the grease in the pan. Add the onions and vegetables to the skillet and heat, stirring periodically, until the vegetables are heated through and the onions start to brown. Add to the casserole and mix with the meat. Spoon the potatoes evenly over the top and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Heat the pie under a broiler until it is a little crisp and browned on the top.

Sprouted stuff=healthy stuff, right?

I would like to say that I let my sweet potatoes sprout on purpose. Sprouted things are extra healthy, aren't they? Sprouted flax seed oil, sprouted rice, you name it. But, once again, I let some fresh food go to waste because I didn't cook it soon enough. The perils of trying to do my shopping once a month, I guess. I know this is in my blog category where I suggest what to do with stuff you bought at the farmers market last week that isn't good for much. I don't really have any suggestions for this one, except maybe take a photo. The sprouts are pretty.