Category Archives: F & F Recipes

Friends and Family Recipes

Two Strikes Against Eggplant Curry

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Combining the words Eggplant + Curry = guaranteed dish Hubs will never eat. Despite these two strikes, I forged ahead and gave From Scratch Club’s Eggplant Curry recipe a go.

Sauteed Eggplant with curry seasonings

I put “curry” into the category of dishes that I am better off eating outside of the home. Whenever I have thought about preparing a curry, I usually find that I am missing 1 or more of the spices. I was excited about this From Scratch Club recipe because I actually had all of the necessary spices on hand: tumeric, coriander, cumin and cheyenne. So, between my CSA pick-up and the pantry, I had all the required ingredients on hand. Ok, I was missing cilantro, but I didn’t let that stand in my way.

I sauteed the onions and shredded ginger as instructed, then added in the eggplant. The tumeric made it all turn a pretty pale yellow.  The thought that I don’t use tumeric enough in my cooking also came to mind. I fear I overdid it on the quantity of eggplant. I had hoped to use up 2 eggplants (sad that I’ve come to use that language after a long summer of cooking!), but after dicing up 1 1/2 eggplants, I realized I already had much more than I would ever consume. I knew Sam would help me, but still.

Sauteed Eggplant with fresh tomatoes simmering on the stove

I then added the chopped tomatoes, including a handful of yellow cherry tomatoes, too, simply because I had them on hand, and then added about 1/4 cup of tap water to ensure the mixture would not be too dry. I needn’t have worried because the tomatoes soon broke down and there were plenty of “juices.”

Conclusions: Yummy eggplant dish with mild spices and seasonings. I think I heavied up on the eggplant component and probably needed more spices and garlic to compensate for that. I would have liked a stronger curry flavor, but very tasty nonetheless. I had some for lunch today with crusty bread and loved it. Hubs doesn’t know what he’s missing. Thank you, From Scratch Club, for the inspiration!

Indulgent and delicious: Garlic Soup

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It’s fall and it’s soup season. As I thought about our dinner and recent CSA pick-up, an amazing Garlic Soup came to mind.  Hubs and I had sampled this delectable dish during a wine-tasting trip to Sonoma. On a whim, we indulged in a multi-course tasting meal and wine pairing at J Vineyards  in the Russian River Valley.  J Vineyards is one of the first vineyards founded by a woman in Sonoma (Judy Jordan), and renowned for its sparkling wines.

Creekside at the lovely J Vineyards

The Garlic Soup was served in an espresso cup as the amuse-bouche. The tiny cup packed a powerful punch: creamy, complex, almost toothsome. All that flavor from a pale, cream-colored soup! It was a total shock. We had to know more…after lunch the chef came to chat with us and the other guests. We inquired about the soup, and a few moments later, he produced a print out of the recipe. I have saved the tattered piece of paper and proudly pulled it out on Saturday to prepare it for dinner. But no more espresso cup-sized portions. I wanted a bowl to myself.

I’ve reproduced the recipe below and borrowed a photo for the visual. My only regret is I do not know the chef’s name – he modestly did not share it on the recipe itself. The photo below is from the Smitten Kitchen blog, which posted a similar recipe from “Bon Appetit.”

Creamy Garlic Soup courtesy of the Smitten Kitchen

Creamy Garlic Soup
recipe adapted from the J Vineyards Bubble Room

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons butter
1 cup onions, thinly sliced (1 medium onion)
15 garlic cloves, smashed
1 cup Pinot Gris or other dry white wine
1/4 bunch of fresh thyme, chopped, no stems
1 quart vegetable stock
1 bay leaf
2 cups of French bread, cubed into 2″ pieces
3/4 cup heavy cream
Salt and pepper to taste
Chives for garnish

Instructions:

Heat butter in a large soup pot. Add onion and garlic, cook over medium heat for 10 -12 minutes. The onion and garlic should begin to caramelize. Add the wine and thyme, continue to cook for 10 minutes. Add the stock and bay leaf. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Remove from heat and add bread cubes, allow to sit for 10 minutes. Remove the bay leaf.

Use a hand held blender and puree until smooth. Add the cream and taste for salt and pepper. Serve in a shallow bowl and garnish with chives.

Yield: 4 cups, or 2 bowls.

Warning:  Highly addictive.

And, if you are planning a visit to Napa or Sonoma, go to J Vineyards and reserve a spot for lunch or dinner at the Bubble Room.

Kale Chips Revisited

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Kale Chips are nothing new, but I had yet to master them. Everyone says they’re “so easy to make,” so you can imagine how I felt when my batch last summer turned out south of mediocre. With a beautiful bunch of freshly picked kale from WSF staring at me, I knew it was time to try again. Also, I had to prepare the kale as a stand-alone dish. Despite its elite status as a super food, some people just don’t like it.

So with a clear head and calm mind, I embarked on my kale chip adventure, pushing aside the rest of the madness in my kitchen. I followed this recipe from the White on Rice Couple. In fact, it was very simple. Their blog has great photos, to boot. See below.

Preparing Kale Chips from Whiteonricecouple.com

I washed, rinsed and dried the kale leaves, and removed the spine (the most tedious part, as pictured above on left). I then put the broken up leaves in a large bowl, drizzled some olive oil, a dash of kosher salt and cheyenne pepper. I used my hands to make sure the oil was evenly distributed on the leaves and  so as not to have to use too much.  I prepared 2 cookie sheets with a layer of parchment paper and then laid the kale leaves on the paper in a single layer. Bake at 300 degrees for 12-15 minutes.

Verdict: Big winner. The kale chips are tasty and crunchy, even slightly addictive. It warmed my heart to hear 2 1/2 year old Sam say, “more kale chips, mommy”

Saturday Night Protein

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Not quite Saturday Night Fever, but what can I say. This is a picto-graphic of dinner for 2 at our house on Saturday night. Pick your protein and shared sides:

  • My Pescatarian’s delight dinner: Roasted Arctic Char with Fresh Herbs. I marinated the Arctic Char in a mustard-y vinagrette and then roasted in the oven for about 12 minutes.

Roasted Arctic Char with Fresh Herbs

  • Hubs’s dinner – for the meat-lovers. I think it’s a strip steak – Hubs?

Pan-seared Steak with Red-wine Reduction

  • Served with Smashed WSF Fingerling Potatoes with Rosemary and Garlic – delightful. Must convince Hubs to guest blog and share this recipe.

Smashed Fingerling Potatoes with Rosemary and Garlic

  • And a salad of hyper-local curly endive from our very own veggie patch to cleanse the palate. Dressed with same vinaigrette used to marinate the Arctic Char

Curly Endive Salad

  • Paired with a red Zinfandel we picked up on a trip to Sonoma a few years ago from DaVero, renowned for their delicious olive oils.

2008 DaVero Zinfandel

Yum.

Tabbouli Tabbouli Tabbouli

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I just said it 3X because it’s kind of a dirty word in our house. Some people (who will go unnamed) won’t touch it. So instead of putting it on the menu, I made a delicious quinoa recipe on Saturday with fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, and garlic from our CSA pick-up, along with parsley, chives and mint from our garden, and didn’t utter the 8 letter word. And what do you know? It was roundly enjoyed.

I’ve written about quinoa and its virtues before, so no need to blather on about that. I will say that this recipe from Bon Appetit for Tabbouli-style quinoa was easy to prepare and very enjoyable: crunchy, summery, fresh and healthy. It also lasts a day or two, tasting better on day 2 if you ask me.

Bon Appetit’s Tabbouli Quinoa. My preparation looked the exact same

I prepared the recipe with minimal modifications and it was perfect [used chopped and seeded hothouse tomatoes instead of cherry tomatoes]. Here’s how I know:

  1. Aesthetics: it looked exactly like BA’s photo above (ex the cherry tomatoes)
  2. 2nd Helpings: Served at a casual buffet lunch and discerning guests came back for more (ok, not super scientific, but unless everything else tasted awful…)
  3. The “H” Factor: Hubs liked it

Just call it something else. Chalk up another win for quinoa. I still have to try Rebecca’s recipe before the end of the month.

Baby got Babah

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OK, OK, OK, I know Deblog is back but a promise is a promise. I made some of this from awesome WSF eggplants and it was a huge hit with some very recherché NYC types. You can get the tahini at most major supermarkets. If you are lucky enough to live in Brooklyn Heights or Cobble Hill, you can get it at Sahadi. Up here in the ‘shires. its available at Guidos and the gourmet shop on north Route 7 near the Kmart (no snickering you manhattanites out there) In mahn-hadtdtdun its available here and there. Its an important component so don’t try this at home without it. I’ve pdf’d the page from Claudia Roden’s The New Book Of Middle Eastern Cooking. Click on the word “baba” to see the recipe. Enjoy it with crostini, crackers, pita or on tomatoes.

Baba

Life is Good

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I was fortunate enough to be asked to pickup another great haul from Wolfe Spring Farm this Labor Day weekend. It was a lovely bounty with awesome produce. Unfortunately, our house guests happened to get in the way of me photographing and blogging everything we did with the food. So……It started with a margarita made with fresh watermelon juice and WSF jalapeños. Its a delicious summer drink. After two of those I forgot all about the blog so don’t have any pics of that evening. Then, we made an awesome tomato salad with some fresh mozzarella, WSF tomatoes and some micro greens from Zinks farm down the road. Drizzle some white balsamic vinegar, olive oil, salt, pepper and that’s it! Next, I made an improvised ratatouille with the WSF eggplant, peppers, onions, garlic, tomatoes, basil, and a few other things. It came out really well and will be my lunch for the next few days. Perhaps I’ll add some chick peas.

Watermelon Jalapeño Margarita

Make some fresh watermelon juice. Muddle a jalapeño pepper or two in a cocktail shaker. Add lots of ice. Put in a splash of lime juice (about a half lime per serving) add tequila (we used Patron Silver because its so clean tasting and complements the watermelon but a smokier liquor could be interesting) and watermelon juice to your taste. Shake and serve up or over ice. Since I don’t have a pic, you’ll have to take my word for it – it was gorgeous to behold and drink.

The Haul. Artistic License Disclaimer: The peaches are not WSF and I neglected to put the raspberries in the photo.

Beautiful Sunflowers

It doesn’t get much better than this at the end of the summer………..

Panzanellamania

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I had heard of this Italian dish and it always sounded nice. But we don’t eat a lot of bread so therefore we rarely have stale bread. It never came to be. And it seems silly to buy something just so it could get stale. We’ve made many tomato basil cheese etc salads but the stale, crusty bread hadn’t joined the party. So…..with the perfect storm of house guests last weekend who didn’t eat everything we bought (including a delicious, now hard as a shoe, Berkshire Mountain Bakery baguette), beautiful ripe Wolfe Spring Farm tomatoes bursting with juice, extra roasted WSF garlic sitting around, uneaten boiled WSF corn that was in the fridge for a day or two, fresh parsley, basil, and chives from our garden. I came to understand the true origin and beauty of this dish. Cut it all up, toss it all together with whatever vinegar turns you on (I used white balsamic the first time and it was a little timid. Then, good old supermarket red wine vinegar and it was just right), olive oil, salt and pepper (I also added little bit of minced WSF jalapeño for pizazz and some cubed pressed tofu for protein) let it sit for 10 minutes or so until the bread softens a little in the juices of the tomatoes , vinegar and oil, and BOOM, dinnuh! and lunch, and a snack. I was possessed by this fresh, quick, flavorful assembly of stuff lying around. I ate so much of it. I think it would be great with a little red onion, fresh cheese, anything you have left over that does’t seem too gross to put in. My guess is that the corn is not authentic but I adapted the dish to our region. Even though a dish may be common, tried and true, or part of the popular repertoire, it still feels new and exciting when we discover it, even “invent” it, for ourselves, doesn’t it? I think this is one of the great joys of cooking.

Got Bread?

Parsley, Sage, Rosemary, no Time

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Next, we made an amazing grille-roasted chicken with a Wolfe Springs Farm naturally raised chicken, some WSF fingerling potatoes, some herbs from our garden and some WSF tomatoes.

Slip a few herbs under the chicken’s skin, cram some lemon wedges and whole herbs in the cavity, salt and pepper everything in sight and throw it in a pan (this one was a wedding gift that we dedicated to the grill) cook for a while, add some sliced onions and crushed garlic, cook until done, serve with sliced fresh WSF tomatoes and chopped basil. The whole cooking time was about 1.5 hours – just enough time to have a bloody mary or two. This was a truly sublime feast.

The raw ingredients

“How Easy is That?” Dave at the grill, channeling Ina Garten.

Work in Progress

Add onions and WSF garlic

BOOM! Dinnuh!

Cole Slaw

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OK, so the first thing we did was make a quick cole slaw with the WSF red cabbage, WSF jalapeño and some epazote for our garden. Its super easy and fresh and delicious tasting. Slice up the cabbage, finely chop the jalapeño and the epazote, grind some fresh pepper and salt on top, add a dollop of mayonnaise (we used Hellman’s but if you are more ambitious that we are, make fresh) and a drizzle of white vinegar. Toss, let sit for a few hours in the fridge and enjoy!

The basic ingredients

Cabbage Chopping in process

Blurry pic of the chopped cabbage, jalapeños and mayo.

Tangy…..