Brooklyn, Brooklyn Bound

 

So excited for my trip back east. Food, family and fun. Not necessarily in that order. Be back soon!

Listening to the Avett Brothers to get in the mood.....

Summer's Bounty

Sometimes I think I am nuts because I get such joy in going to the Farmer's Market and ogling over how perfect all the vegetables look in their baskets and bins. All the work the local farmers do to bring it to use each week- yes it costs more but this is a labor of love. To me, if it was my last dollar, I would give it for the taste of an apple, peach or a juicy ripe tomato straight from a local farm anyday!

When I look at this bounty I don't just see picture perfect produce- I see a ratatouille with zukes, eggplant, tomatoes and fresh herbs- I see a juicy sweet plum, peach and raspberry crisp. I see a Swiss Chard and potato tart......I see my body saying thank you for feeding me all this healthy food. I see people gathered round the table sharing stories, sharing this great food- staying healthy. There is nothing better than that and that's why I hope you will try to get out and support you local Farmers Markets. It's a great community of people and they are all bound by one single thread- to bring you fresh, delicious produce straight from the farm to your table. Don't be afraid to try something you never have before- there are a million recipes out there for you to try. Enjoy!

 teeny tomatoes about to go in a salad

colorful plums at Seedlings farm stand at Green City Market

Simple Quinoa Salad

If you haven't yet discovered the wonders of quinoa, I am about to give you a delicious recipe for you to put into your side dish repertoire.

Quinoa (pronounced "keen-wah") is a great source of protein with a slightly crunchy texture. It is available now in most grocery stores and of course health food stores as well. Make sure you always rinse it before cooking and strain it in a fine mesh sieve. What I find is that it's very adaptable to whatever ingredients you want to mix in with it. You can do something as simple as adding a little butter and fresh herbs or really get creative with combinations of flavors and ingredients. Any way you make it, you will start to wonder what you did without it! Here is the recipe:

 Quinoa Salad with Asparagus, Pesto and Sun-dried Tomatoes

1 cup white quinoa, rinsed well
2 cups water
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 white or yellow onion, diced small 
1 clove garlic, minced
2 small carrots, diced
1/2 red or orange pepper, diced
6 stalks of asparagus, sliced in 1/4 discs
1/2 of a zucchini, diced
4-6 sundried tomatoes, sliced thin
olive oil for sauteing
2 tablespoons fresh pesto sauce (can be store bought!)
1/4 fresh parsley, chopped
handful of walnuts, or pine nuts, toasted
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste

Cook quinoa in salted water until tender.  This can be anywhere from 15-20 minutes depending. Drain off any excess liquid and set aside to cool.
Next, saute onion in a little olive oil until soft, add the the carrots and saute for 5 minutes. Add remaining vegetables, and cook until soft but not mushy. Cool.

Transfer the quinoa to a bowl. Add the vegetables, pesto, parsley and salt and pepper to taste. Gently fold to incorporate all ingredients. Top with toasted nuts. This makes enough for 4 healthy servings.

 
 It's funny because my sister and I were having a conversation about quinoa salads just the other night so she just sent me a recipe she tried and liked. I am going to make her version next and maybe I'll post it here! Hope it's good MB! :) I am sure it is!

What to do with all that zucchini you ask?

 

Zucchini or as the Brits refer to them, courgettes, seem to be overflowing this time of year at local farmer's markets, grocery stores or perhaps out in your own vegetable garden.

That is probably why, when you google zucchini, you will find a ton of recipes from breads and muffins to gratins, pizzas and pastas (yes you can turn these green gems into fine strands of "spaghetti" if you have the right tool.)  My all time favorite way to eat these little beauties is in the form of fritters. I know what you are saying: that can't be healthy if it's fried, but the way I justify it is that they are "lightly" fried in just a smidge of olive oil and if you use a non-stick pan, you will need even less!

The recipe I loosely based this weekend's fritters on comes from Nigella Lawson- I added and subtracted a few things to make it my own- which is what I highly recommend you do as well- using any combo of fresh herbs that suite your own taste. If you want to, you can omit the cheese (although it does give it a nice salty bite!) Get the recipe here.

 photo via marthastewart.com

For instance, I used shallots, red pepper and cilantro as my base and omitted the feta cheese-I also used GF flour to make them gluten free but feel free to use regular all-purpose flour if that's the way you roll. ( I ate mine so quickly I forgot to snap a photo. The one above is borrowed to give you a visual of how they look.)

I like to make a side of yogurt sauce to layer on more flavor and some tartness- all you need to do is repeat some of the herbs and add some lemon juice salt and pepper to some plain yogurt. It's that simple!

Serve these alongside any meat, chicken or fish dish or have them alone with a salad. It's a nice way to pay homage to one of the summer's most abundant vegetable!

Balcony Garden

My city garden is doing pretty well this year! Must be all the freakin' rain! It's good for nature in reasonable amounts as long as we're not floating away which was the case with this last wacky storm! At least it relieved the steamy weather we had this week......here's hoping everyone's power is back and running!

 love this succulent- it's actually sprouting a couple of flowers

 teeny green tomatoes

 big fan of coleus especially for shady areas

 beautiful basil

 lemon thyme

 tender rosemary

delicate succulent in a vintage planter~love the chartreuse color!

Easy and Healthy Dog Treats

My dogs love these sweet potato chips. In fact one of them adores anything in the vegetable kingdom! You name it he will try it- green beans, zuchini, carrots. I've got my very own food adventurer on four legs. If Jackson doesn't like it, then it must not be good!

 You might ask why sweet potatoes? Well, for one thing they are loaded with vitamins and minerals, and are a great supplement to a grain free diet should your dog be on one.

These treats couldn't be easier- all I do is scrub a large sweet potato and slice it really thin on my mandoline. You lay them out so they are not touching, on a couple of sheet pans lined with parchment or a silpat and bake for an hour or so in a very low oven set to 225°F. Turn them about midway through. What you are doing is dehydrating them so that you can store them- mine don't last long as they are eaten pretty quickly! Just make sure to put them in an airtight container once they have cooled. If you do make these for your fur babies, I  guarantee they will become fans for life!



Enough talking...can we have our treats now?

Herb Omlettes

herb omelettes from Plenty

 I have always had a love affair with cookbooks. I love to sit and read the recipes, drool over the photos and imagine the end product and how it will taste after I fidget with it.

After waiting for what seemed to be an eternity, my copy of Plenty  arrived last week. I quickly set to work scouring, reading and taking in all the lovely photos of what I had hoped would be delicious vegetarian recipes. After all, this book has gotten a lot of press. It was sold out for a while and I wanted to see if it would lived up to my now lofty expectations.

Ok- first the good news: after only a week of experimenting and making several of the dishes in this book, I can already declare that I have a favorite and I have even made it three times already! A definite winner in my book for sure.

This is the best omelette I have ever made hands down. I believe the appeal lies in the whisper thin and herb packed "wrapper".  I made the filling according to the recipe, which was Swiss chard, potato and saffron. Yum. Not too heavy and packed with "good for you" ingredients (click on the link above to get the recipe).  I did substitute goat milk yogurt for the creme fraîche that he calls for.  I used a combination of fresh parsley, dill, chives and tarragon for the herbs, but any combo you like will due just fine. I imagine all kinds of other fillings you could create with this. Imagination is limitless.

The not so great news (at least for me) is that there are a lot of recipes which include wheat and dairy-  that is tough because I try to eliminate both of these ingredients in my cooking mainly for the fact that I am highly sensitive to these food allergens.

But, still and all, with some creativity, I know I will be able to "tweak" those pesky ingredients into something I can eat without fear. Take for instance his recipe for "Socca" which translates into a kind of variation on pissaladière ( a Provençal type pizza).  And this is gluten free! Made with garbanzo bean flour. This is my second runner up and will be a great meal all summer long. It was so good in fact, that I ate it before I could take a pic of it! I look forward to making this again when the local tomatoes appear- maybe add some summer squash to it as well?

Socca by Ottolenghi, photo via tastespotting.com

I will spend this summer trying more of these wonderful recipes and putting my own personal spin on them. I highly recommend you try getting a copy. Your stomach will thank you!