Food Revival

I found some inspiration for all of the eggplant I got in my Jones Valley Urban Farm CSA bag this week:

Roasted Tomato Eggplant Tartine. (I found the recipe on NY Times Diner's Journal and I used as many local ingredients as I could.)

Yield 4 servings
Time 40 minutes
(Adapted from Marc Murphy, the executive chef and the owner of the Landmarc and the Ditch Plains restaurants)

 

 

Ingredients

• For the tomatoes (I used AL tomatoes: in season and local)
•  2 medium tomatoes, thinly sliced

• 1  tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
•  For the tapenade:
• 1/2 cup pitted calamata olives (I used green)
•  2 tablespoons drained capers
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• For assembly
•   3/4 pound eggplant, sliced lengthwise into 4 slices, each about 1/3 inch thick (I used eggplant from my Jones Valley Urban Farm CSA bag)
•  3 tablespoons olive oil
•   Salt and freshly ground black pepper
•  1/2 cup fresh soft goat cheese (I was all out of my Belle Chevre, so I used Wright Dairy Wanda Cheese instead)
•   4 1/2-inch slices country bread (I used V. Richards Multi-Grain Bread and I'm sure any of Continental Bakery's breads would be perfect too)
•  Method
•   1. For the tomatoes: Preheat oven to 300 degrees. In a wide, shallow bowl, toss tomato slices with olive oil, and garlic. Spread on a baking sheet. Roast 20 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
•  2. For the tapenade: Place olives and capers in blender or food processor and chop coarsely. With the motor running, slowly drizzle in olive oil. Puree until smooth; set aside.
• 3. For assembly: Prepare grill for cooking or heat ridged grill pan over moderately high heat. Brush both sides of eggplant slices with olive oil, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Grill, turning as necessary, until slightly charred and soft, about 3 to 4 minutes a side.
•   4. Preheat a broiler. Brush each slice of bread with olive oil and spread thin layer of tapenade on each slice. Top each with an equal portion of eggplant and roasted tomatoes. Sprinkle with grated Wright Dairy Wanda cheese. Broil until cheese is melted and tartine is piping hot, about 5 minutes.
• 5. I sprinkled some fresh basil from my JVUF CSA bag over each piece before serving...

Confession: I know that my recipes almost always incorporate a CSA veggie or (at the very least) a locally-sourced ingredient, but this recipe won't do any of that. My (reasonably good) explanation: I had TONS of bananas left over from our  Healthy Kids, Healthy Communities day at Pepper Place Farmers Market (bananas were used in bike bender smoothies). What to do with ripe, mushy bananas? Muffins! 

Now, don't let this part shock you: i decided to go with a Barefoot Contessa Banana Crunch Muffin recipe and I couldn't have made a better choice. Here's hoping you live in a place where bananas and walnuts are local because these suckers are TOTALLY worth making.

Banana Crunch Muffins (adapted from Barefoot Contessa)
Ingredients
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 pound unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2 extra-large eggs (these were totally local: Wright Dairy)
3/4 cup whole milk (this was too: Wright Dairy)
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 cup mashed ripe bananas (2 bananas)
1 cup medium-diced ripe bananas (1 banana)
1 cup small-diced walnuts
1 cup granola
1 cup sweetened shredded coconut (I did NOT use coconut because quite frankly, coconut freaks me out)
Dried banana chips, granola, or shredded coconut, optional (didn't use any of these either)

nocoupons

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Line 18 large muffin cups with paper liners. Sift the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Add the melted butter and blend. Combine the eggs, milk, vanilla, and mashed bananas, and add them to the flour-and-butter mixture. Scrape the bowl and blend well. Don't overmix.

Fold the diced bananas, walnuts, granola, and coconut into the batter. Spoon the batter into the paper liners, filling each 1 to the top. Top each muffin with dried banana chips, granola, or coconut, if desired (not desired so I didn't use). Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the tops are brown and a toothpick comes out clean. Cool slightly, remove from the pan, and serve.

Note from me: I sort of gave up on the double batch muffin idea because I only had a muffin tin with 12 cups. So...I just poured the rest of the batter in a cake pan, which worked just fine. I'm just saying... you don't have to over muffin yourself here. 

ENJOY! 

I am always overjoyed when I catch a glimpse of okra in my Jones Valley Urban Farm CSA bag. Normally, you'll find me soaking those bad boys in some buttermilk, tossing them in a little flour and cornmeal, and frying them until golden brown and deliciously crisp! The truth is, we don't really need to be eating fried okra every week (No, we don't so don't even try to convince me otherwise). I recently found a recipe for "Roasted Okra" by Chef Scott Peacock and decided to give it a try. First, let's be clear: I abhor okra slime, which means you can imagine my hesitancy when buttermilk, cornmeal, and frying had to exit the cooking process. Nonetheless, I can assure you that this recipe was absolutely delicious and totally avoids the slime factor completely.

Cooking side note: If you are in a hurry, simply slice your okra in half, place on a sheet pan, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle some salt, and bake at 400 degrees for 5-7 minutes. Cooking time varies and depends on your oven and crisp preference. 

Roasted Okra
from "Making Southern Cuisine Healthful" by Chef Scott Peacock presented at University of Arizona Nutrition and Health Conference in Atlanta GA

½ pound okra
1 small (about 6 ounces) onion, preferably red
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
3 tablespoons olive oil
4 mint sprigs
Salt and freshly ground pepper 

Preheat the oven to 375° F.
Rinse the okra under cold running water, and drain.  Trim the tops off the okra by
removing the stems, but don’t cut the whole caps off.  Cut the onion in half from
stem to top, then again in thirds in the same direction. Put the okra, onion and
garlic onto a Silpat pad on a baking sheet, or on an oiled pan, and drizzle the olive
oil over them.  Tuck in the mint sprigs, sprinkle with ¾ teaspoon salt and freshly
ground pepper, toss all together lightly, and let the flavors mingle at least 20
minutes before roasting. 

Place in preheated oven to roast for 5-10 minutes.   Makes enough to serve 4. 

“Okra invariably is deep-fried where I come from – but roasting it makes it crisp yet tender, neither mushy nor slimy, and it takes only 5-10 minutes.” – Scott Peacock

Happy roasting, y'all!

Last week, I intended to write individual entries about *all* of the wonderful meals I made inspired by some really fantastic food websites, but alas...life got in the way. I don't want to make you wait on me, so rather than write individual entries on each recipe, I will just include a brief recap here, a few photos, and direct you to some websites where you will find the complete recipes. Off we go...

PESTO:
My weekly CSA bag from Jones Valley Urban Farm was filled with delicious basil. I decided to whip up a batch of Barefoot Contessa's Pesto so I could use it throughout the week. My intentions were good: the thought would be to add to roasted summer squash and pasta or homemade pizzas. Truth be told, we only used it on the pizzas.

PIZZA:
My husband swears by Easy Pizza Dough from Fine Cooking. He'll make a batch and split the dough for mini-pizzas throughout the week. He's found great success with adding the dough to our cast iron skillet and building the pizza from there. This week we had a roasted vegetable pizza inspired by Le Culinary Creusette and a pesto/tomato pizza with green olives. We had three full days of pizza and all was right in the household.

ROASTED VEGGIES
My Jones Valley Urban Farm CSA bag was also filled with eggplant and summer squash. To get ahead of the week, I simply diced my veggies (rough dice, thick slices), drizzled with olive oil, and sprinkled with salt and pepper. I roasted in the oven at 400 degrees for 30-45 minutes. You want your veggies to be  tender with a little bit of a char on the edges. Once you get the roasting done, you can add them to salads, pizzas, pasta, or anything else your heart desires. Roast the veggies on Sunday so you can save some time during the week. 

SCALLOPED TOMATOES WITH CROUTONS
One of my favorite websites, Smitten Kitchen, posted a recipe inspired by the lurvely Barefoot Contessa: Scalloped tomatoes with croutons. She had me at "tomatoes" (especially as I glanced at the 20 or so tomatoes I had sitting on my window sill). She definitely had me at "croutons" because, well...that's how I roll. I reposted this recipe on *my* facebook page and have already had two folks (you go Susannah and Jami) say that it was a huge hit. For the love of summer, please try this recipe with homegrown tomatoes before our season ends. Hurry, run, GO!  

So as you can see, it was a busy week. I hope some of these recipes help you plan this week's menu or prevents CSA veggies from going bad. Let me know if this format is helpful because there will be less of a wait in between posts if I can update y'all this way. 

Have a great week! 

If ever you need a light, feel-good, delicious, and locally-sourced Summer snack, this Alabama Caprese Salad is super easy to pull off. It doesn't take a lot of time, it is easy to assemble, and it is the perfect nod to Summer (especially when it is...wait for it, wait for it...100 degrees outside). Something about the juicy tomato, cold and creamy mozzarella cheese, burst of brightness from the basil, and the crunch from toast makes this snack an amazing treat. No chef-fy tricks here-- just some seasonal shopping, slicing, drizzling, sprinkling, and eating.

 

Alabama Caprese Salad
1 large heirloom tomato (Jones Valley Urban Farm CSA)
Fresh mozzarella (purchased at V.Richards)

Basil (our garden)
2 slices of toasted bread (I encourage you to source locally: V. Richards, Continental Bakery, etc)
Olive Oil

Salt/Pepper

Simply slice tomato and mozarella and layer on your plate (mozzarella on top of tomatoes). Add in basil leaves as you go. Slice toasted bread and drizzle the entire plate with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Grab a napkin. Wipe chin.

 

Normally, I post recipes that highlight locally-grown ingredients or items from my CSA. Nonetheless, this recipe on Sprouted Kitchen looked TOO good and I simply couldn't pass it up. The local twist? Basil + Mint came from my yard. That counts, right?

Warm Asparagus Salad with Basil + Mint Pistou (reprinted from Sprouted Kitchen)
I love love love the website Sprouted Kitchen. Please visit the website often. Quick Note: the original recipe used a pestle and mortar to make the pistou,  but I used a food processor.
Total Time:45 minutes? Time-saving tips: Get the Quinoa and Lentils cooking while you create the pistou...

2 Cups Cooked Brown Rice (I used Quinoa because I am officially addicted to Quinoa)
1 1/4 Cup Cooked Lentils (I used French Lentils and hello! Where have lentils been all my life? I think I have a crush on lentils now...quinoa should be worried.)
1 lb. Asparagus
1/2 Cup Roughly Chopped, Fresh Chives (oh, these came from our garden too.Yipppee!)

BASIL, MINT + WALNUT PISTOU

2 Cloves Garlic
1 tsp. Sea Salt
1/2 Cup Walnut Pieces
1/3 Cup Fresh Lemon Juice (about one lemon)
1 Cup Fresh Basil Leaves (from our garden)
1/3 Cup Fresh Mint Leaves (from our garden)
1/3 Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Pepper and Red Pepper Flakes to taste

1. In a food processor or blender, add the garlic cloves, salt and walnuts and pulse a few times. Chop or tear the herbs into smaller pieces, and add them to the processor with the lemon juice, pulse until everything is coarsely combined. Add a generous pinch of pepper and red pepper flakes and the extra virgin olive oil. Again, a few more pulses to combine. I like to leave mine a bit chunky. (Ahem... note to self. Should have read a little more closely as I think mine ended up too blended. Needed the chunk factor so will do that next time)

2. Bring a pot of water to a boil. Cut the asparagus spears on a diagonal, about one inch pieces. Add them to a steamer basket (or to the boiling water, but they will only need about 1.5 minutes here) and steam for about 2.5 minutes. Prepare another bowl of ice water. Remove and add the asparagus to the ice water bath to set their color. After a few minutes, drain completely. (I did the steam method and it worked perfectly)

3. Prepare the brown rice (ahem...quinoa...cough) and lentils according to instructions. While warm, mix them together in a large bowl. Add the asparagus and a few big dollops of the pistou (amount based on personal preference and my preference ended up being the whole amount), and fold gently to coat everything in the sauce. Add the chives, fold again. Garnish with fresh chives.

Delcious. RUN (don't walk) over to Sprouted Kitchen for more ideas.

Last week's CSA bag from Jones Valley Urban Farm had some green beans and squash in it. I found a super tasty recipe in the New York Times that used both squash and green beans in one dish. Hallelujah!  I made one small adjustment and added some Saffron. This dish was perfectly light and went really well with ANOTHER delicious dish I found on one of my favorite websites, 101 Cookbooks: Quinoa Skillet Bread. Yep, you heard me right. Go forth Food Revival peeps...this dish is GOOD.

Greek Stewed Green Beans and Yellow Squash With Tomatoes(I'm not sure how the New York Times deals with reprinting their recipes so to be on the safe side, just click on the title above and it will take you RIGHT to the recipe...)

Quick notes: I knocked out three of my JVUF veggies with this ONE dish: green beans, squash, and onions. Woot.

Quinoa Skillet Bread Recipe Savory and sweet, this dish does NOT play. As a courtesy to 101 Cookbooks, I'm linking you to their site for the complete recipe. Here are a few of my adjustments, notes, and additions:
1) Instead of Whole Wheat Pastry Flour (I mean, no offense but WHO has that?), I used spelt flour. Okay, I just outed my nerd self, but I picked up the spelt flour at Pepper Place Market's General Store out of curiosity and have been trying to use it whenever I can. For the record, it worked out just fine.
2) I was VERY excited to use my Wright Dairy milk in the recipe as well.
3) Eggs could (should) be local too, btw...

Super delicious and a whole lotta Alabama love in each dish....

There's really not much to say about this post, but to reiterate how happy I am that tomato season is FINALLY here. That's right folks...there *is* a such thing as a TOMATO SEASON and I'd highly recommend you backing AWAY from the tomato section in the grocery store and head to the market or to a roadside stand just as soon as you can. It is worth it. No, really...I'll wait. Just go. 

This recipe is rather simple (and includes a not-so-local item like... the avocado). Sorry, I couldn't resist. 

The process:
Layer your bread with some mayo
Add bacon (hopefully a local/regional slab)
Sliced Avocado (not so local, but give me a free pass, mmmmk?)
Tomatoes (I got mine from the East Lake Farmers Market)
Salt/Pepper
Eat

Happy Summer y'all! 

I first met Sylvia Crum back in my unemployment days (2009). She was the fearless leader and coordinator of Greater Birmingham Community Food Partners and welcomed me with open arms! Not only did she turn out to be a WEALTH of knowledge and inspiration for me, but she also turned into a very good friend. Sylvia left her postion at GBCFP to be a full-time mama to Lily. As you can see from the photo, Miss. Lily is a dream. I was so very pleased and excited to get an email from Sylvia with her own CSA Challenge. She made the "Orecchiette with Broccoli Rabe" recipe from Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone. Sylvia's farmer is Sandra Simone at Gardens of Huckleberry Hill. I'm so grateful for Sylvia, her husband Teddy, and of course...sweet Lily! 

Orecchiette with Broccoli Rabe

1 bunch broccoli rabe, about 1 ½ lbs (From Sandra Simone at Gardens of Huckleberry Hill)
12 oz orecchiette
Salt
4 T Olive Oil, plus extra virgin to finish
3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
½ t red pepper flakes (from my father-in-law Jim Crum’s garden, dried and had crushed)
Freshly grated Parmesan
Lemon Wedges

While the pasta water is heating, peel the lower stems of the broccoli rabe, then add the whole bunch to the boiling water. Boil 5 minutes, then remove it with a strainer and coarsely chop. Start cooking pasta in boiling salted water.
Meanwhile, warm the oil with the garlic and pepper flakes in a wide skillet over medium heat until fragrant. Add the broccoli rabe and cook gently, occasionally adding a little pasta water to the pan so it doesn’t dry out. Drain the pasta, add it directly to the greens, and toss with a spoonful of the extra virgin olive oil, salt to taste and add a little grated Parmesan. Toss well and serve with additional dusting of cheese and a wedge of lemon on each plate.

My changes:
Additional CSA goodies that I used:
Green onion, sliced
Radish greens, chopped
Oregano, chopped
With the garlic, I also sautéed the green onion.
Before adding the chopped broccoli rabe to the skillet, I wilted the radish greens in the skillet with the sautéed garlic and onion and then added my broccoli rabe.
I used 10 oz of soba noodles instead of the orecchiette, which I cooked for 4 minutes. I pulled these out of the water and placed directly in the sautéed greens pan.
After tossing in the noodles, I grated some Parmesan and sprinkled in the oregano and tossed everything, again.
This was absolutely delicious!!

Thanks Sylvia!!!!

This week's CSA Challenge combines swiss chard with grass-fed beef to get...LASAGNA. I never really ate lasagna as a kid so the whole lasagna thing is something I'm learning as an adult. I like it because I can use plenty of leftovers I have on hand in the fridge, but I also like it because I can get creative with the recipe. I use Ina's Turkey Lasagna recipe as inspiration, but thought I'd highlight my step-by-step process with you here (Note: if you need exact measurements and you are a little nervous with your first lasagna experience, just go on and use Ina's recipe the first time. Then come back to this one):

First, you fill up a stock pot with hot tap water. Drop one package of lasagna noodles in the water and just let them sit. You may have to stir them around a tad once they begin to soften. Let them hang out for like 45 minutes or so. This works like a charm every single time. 

In the meantime, get your homemade sauce going (you can do meat or meatless). In this recipe, I started off by sauteeing a diced onion and then adding some sweet Italian Sausage removed from casings (just 3 or so). You can use grass-fed ground beef or just a bunch of veggies at this stage. 

Once browned, I drained off the fat and added a 28 oz can of whole tomatoes plus juice, a little salt, a little pepper, a smidge of tomato paste, and some crushed garlic. Let all of that cook for at least 30 minutes. Then add in a teaspoon or so of sugar, a few drops of balsamic vinegar, some more tomato sauce if it is too thick, some fresh basil, more salt and pepper (depending on what it tastes like at this point), and... 2 tablespoons of butter. Then just let it all keep simmering and loving each other. 

In a separate, smaller pot -- cook your swiss chard in salted water for just a few minutes and then shock it in an ice water bath. Drain, spin, and let dry. 

In another bowl, combine Belle Chevre goat cheese with Ricotta and stir together. I added an egg (Ina's suggestion) and some fresh parsley to the mix. The goat cheese gives the ricotta the taste it was looking for. ha! 

By now you should be ready to assemble because your sauce is bubbling and your noodles are done sitting in that hot water. Drain noodles and toss with a little bit of olive oil.

Turn on the oven (375 degrees). Take out your casserole dish and let's start layering (or just follow the pictures below):
1. First, put a little sauce on the bottom and spread it around
2. Begin layering your noodles on top of that -- side by side.
3. Add a layer of ricotta/goat cheese (tends to be thick and hard to spread, so I just use my handy dandy fingers for this part.)
4. Add some swiss chard
5. Add tomato sauce
6. Sprinkle with Mozzarella cheese (shredded or fresh)
7. Repeat steps above and end with the shredded Mozzarella
8. I top with some shaved Parmesan too

Cook until it is brown and bubbly (took me about 45 minutes).
Super super good stuff. Just takes some multi-tasking with each of the ingredients. Once you get it down, you'll be whipping up homemade lasagna in no time. Go forth with your bad selves.