Monday, April 26, 2010

cold potato leek soup


Potato Leek Soup

1 lb. potatoes, peeled and cubed
6 1/2 c. homemade stock
4 medium leeks, trimmed and washed
2/3 c. sour cream
salt and pepper

1. Boil potatoes in the stock in a stockpot. Reduce heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes
2. When the potatoes are barely tender, add the leeks. Season with salt and simmer for an additional 10-15 minutes. You can thin the soup with additional stock or water, if desired.
3. Puree the soup with the aid of a hand blender. Add the sour cream to garnish, if desired.

Friday, April 16, 2010

kale raab stirfry

The latest food box came with another vegetable in which I was unfamiliar: kale raab. I found little information about this vegetable, but it is apparently over-wintered kale. The flyer with the box suggested a recipe that involved blanching. I decided to fashion a stir-fry, but blanched the kale first (this is supposed to make it less bitter, but it tasted sweet to me). I used the whole plant: stems, leaves, and flowers. The stir fry was delicious, fresh, and crisp.

Kale Raab stirfry
2 t. oil (high smoke point, I use grapeseed oil)
1 bunch kale raab
5 oz. chicken
1 sm. head broccoli
1-2 spring onions
1 sm. zucchini
1 red bell pepper
2 T. soy sauce
brown rice, to serve

1. Clean and chop all vegetables into bite size pieces. Prepare chicken, or other protein (I used some pre-cooked chicken from a roasted chicken) by chopping and tearing into bite size pieces.
2. Blanch kale raab in boiling water.
3. When kale is in water bath, begin to heat wok. When wok is hot, add oil. Spread around surface and begin to cook/crisp chicken (or other protein). Add broccoli, onions, zucchini, and red bell pepper. Let cook for 1-2 minutes. Add drained kale raab. Mix well. Cook for a few minutes (taste kale raab to determine when it's cooked). Dash with soy sauce.
4. Serve with brown rice.

Yield: 2-4 servings

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Food Budget

Like many people these days, I have a pretty tight budget but I like to eat well. I consider my heavy reliance on staples, buying few processed foods and rarely eating out as part of my savings, but I also prefer organic (although I don't eat 100% organic), higher quality ingredients, and lots of fresh produce might be counter-balancing these cost savings measures. There are many reasons that I prefer organic and un-processed food but my strongest motivation is my belief in its health effects and any cost increase I consider a long term investment in my health. I recently ran across this USDA food plan chart on typical costs based on sex/age/type of plan. I am happy to see my typical budget falls between the thrifty plan and low-cost plan. I guess I'm doing all right after all.

Monday, April 5, 2010

white bean and tomato melange





parmesan, to serve

1. If using dried beans, soak and cook according to standard directions. Add salt and any other desired herbs towards end of cooking. Begin to cook pasta. When pasta is done reserve some water (~1/2 c.) for sauce.

2. Saute onion in olive oil over medium heat until onion is translucent. Add zucchini and stir occasionally until it starts to brown. Add swiss chard and stir until wilted. Add canned tomatoes, garlic, red chili pepper, and any other desired seasonings. Allow to simmer. Add reserved pasta water whenever it is ready.

3. Add beans. Heat through. Add pasta. When steaming, serve with parmesan.

Yield: 6 generous servings.

Friday, April 2, 2010

Good Friday: Hot Cross Buns

Hot cross buns are traditionally served during Lent and especially on Good Friday. Holiday traditions, especially foods, can really be comforting and I love the tradition. My step-mom (who is a very good cook) makes a meal she had every Good Friday of her childhood, although it isn't my favorite food (German and involves wilted lettuce) I still miss not being close enough to take part in the tradition. I thought I might start one of my own and have been making Hot Cross Buns for the last few years. In preparation of this post I looked the buns history up on Wikipedia and discover one of the superstitions is that if you hang one in the kitchen it will "ensure that all breads turn out perfectly". In light of my confession earlier this week, I think I should hang one in my kitchen.

Inspired by Clotilde's post last month I decided to convert this recipe to a sourdough* version. She did warn that breads which include sugar and eggs might not rise and to add some dry yeast to help it rise. I should have probably started with an easier recipe - so I'll post the non-sourdough version here (and stop neglecting my starter!).

Whatever your Easter holiday traditions are (or if you don't celebrate), I hope it's a happy Easter and beautiful early spring weekend!

Hot Cross Buns
1 pkg. dry yeast
1/4 c. warm water
1 c. milk, scalded
1/4 c. sugar
1 t. salt
1 egg, well-beaten
3 1/2 c. flour (420 g) - divided
1/2 t. cinnamon
2/3 c. raisins, soaked

1. Combine the yeast and warm water for a few minutes.

2. Combine milk, sugar, salt and egg in a large bowl. Beat well.

3. Add yeast mixture to large bowl. Add 1 1/2 c. flour (180 g) and cinnamon. Cover and let rest for 1-hour until double in size. (Begin to soak raisins in water).

4. Add the remaining flour, 2 c. (240 g), add more if needed to make dough firm enough to handle. Turn onto a floured surface and knead until smooth + elastic. Drain raisins and dust with flour. Knead in raisins at last minute.

5. Put the dough in a greased bowl and let rise until doubled. Punch the dough down and turn onto floured surface. Roll into rectangle and 1/2" thick. Cut the buns with a cutter (2 1/2" d) and place 1" apart on greased cookie sheet. Let rise, uncovered until doubled.

6. Cut cross in top of buns with floured scissors. Bake in preheated 375 deg. F oven for about 15 minutes, until the tops are golden brown. Remove from oven and transfer to cooling rack.

Yield: 24 buns

* I've been neglecting my starter which also couldn't have helped. Apparently one names their starter so I've been brainstorming and am thinking "June" after my grandmother.