A Good Appetite: July 2011

Friday, July 29, 2011

Sweet Corn and Bacon Pizza

We picked up the first of the sweet corn at the farmers market this weekend. That night we grilled some up to have with steak and Matt suggested we grill a few extra to use on pizza later in the week. We had also bought some hickory-smoked bacon from the Sunshine Farms, so we decided to pair them.

This is a sauceless pizza, which is actually they type I prefer. Sometimes I feel like the sauce can overpower all the other flavors and if I want tomatoes I'll just add sliced fresh one. Back to this pizza, it is a wonderful combination of sweet and salty and seems lighter than your regular pizza despite all the cheese. Matt added a peppercorn dressing base as a seasoning on top which gave it a nice peppery bite.

Sweet Corn and Bacon Pizza

2 ears of sweet corn
4 strips of smoked bacon
crust for one pizza
olive oil
1/4 c buttermilk (Don't have buttermilk? Mix about 3/4 t of lemon juice into 1/4 c milk. Let sit 5 minutes and you have buttermilk.)
2 c grated monterey jack cheese
1 small onion sliced thin (we used a Walla Walla Onion)
1/4 - 1/2 t Penzeys Creamy Peppercorn Dressing Base (or freshly ground black pepper)

Cook the sweet corn until crisp tender. You can just boil it or do what we did and brush it with a little olive oil and grill it. Let cool and cut the kernels from the cob. Set aside.

Roughly chop the bacon slices. Cook until crisp. Drain on a paper towel. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 450F. Lightly grease a baking sheet with olive oil. (If you have a pizza stone you can skip the baking sheet and cook the pizza right on there.)

Spread out your dough to the desired thickness. Brush all over with the buttermilk, you may not use it all. Top with cheese. Sprinkle the corn kernels, bacon and onion on top. Season with the peppercorn dressing base.

Bake for 13 minutes until the cheese is melted and bubbly and the crust is golden brown.

Makes 3 servings

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Monday, July 25, 2011

Weekly Menu and Farmers Market Finds 7/24 - 7/30/11

Small trip to the farmers market this week as I am heading up North and Matt will be home alone. With his right arm in a cast still, Matt isn't doing much serious cooking these days.

Sun Street Sourdough Bread
Eggs
Walla Walla Onions
Sweet Corn - First of the season & it was so tasty on the grill last night!
Cucumbers

I did remember to take picture of Bogart Loves luscious donuts this week though.

I think Matt is addicted to that Maple Bacon one. My favorite remains the Brioche and Brown Butter. Just looking at these pictures makes me want one now!

On to Menu Planning Monday...

Tonight - We are out to dinner
Tues - Wed - I'm up North probably eating Walleye and Matt is probably getting a burrito somewhere
Thursday - Sweet Corn and Bacon Pizza
Friday - Saturday - I'm thinking ribs on the smoker one day and perhaps out to eat the other.

Friday, July 22, 2011

Blueberry Lime Donuts

Since I got my donut pan I've been thinking about making blueberry donuts. It's been so hot though I haven't wanted to turn on the oven even for a little bit. Yesterday though, the heat and humidity dropped, so I had my chance.

The thing that got me thinking about blueberry donuts was this Swedish Blueberry Drink Concentrate I had picked up at Ikea.

We'd used it to make blueberry soda in our Soda Stream and have ideas for cocktails, but I thought it might be a good baking ingredient too. I went back and forth about whether to make a citrus donut with blueberry glaze or a blueberry donut with a citrus glaze. Since I had fresh blueberry from the farmers market I thought I'd mix it up and put whole blueberries in a citrus donut with a blueberry glaze.

I would say the results are about 80% there. The donut tasted lot like a blueberry muffin, though it was a little denser. Matt really liked them. One of them had way too many blueberries in it and sort of fell apart. I was planning on doing lemon as my citrus, but had a lime in the fridge so went with that. It was a little old, so the zest was kind of dried out and didn't give the flavor kick I had hoped for. The glaze was stunning, but watch out that blueberry concentrate will stain anything!

I share the recipe as I made it as a starting point for someone else who might be interested in trying it or improving on it.

Blueberry Lime Donuts

3/4 c flour
1/4 c sugar
3/4 t baking powder
pinch of salt
2 T fresh lime juice
zest from half a lime
2 - 3 T milk
1/2 t vanilla
1 egg
1 t shortening
handful of frozen blueberries (just enough for a couple per donut) (I think you could also use fresh)
1/3 c powdered sugar
3 T blueberry drink concentrate

Preheat oven to 325F. Lightly grease three mold in a donut pan.

In a small bowl stir to together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Add in the lime zest, lime juice, 2 tablespoons of milk, vanilla, egg and shortening. Combine until just blended. If it seems dry add the rest of the milk. Fold in the blueberries.

Fill the donut molds about 3/4 full. Bake for 11 - 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into a donut comes out clean (They will probably cook quicker if you use fresh instead of frozen blueberries). Let cool in the pan for a few minutes and then move to a rack to finish cooling.

Mix the powdered sugar and blueberry concentrate together until smooth in a shallow bowl. Dip the cooled donuts in the glaze. Put back on the rack for a few minutes to let the glaze dry. I recommend putting a paper towel or something until the rack to catch the drips of glaze.

Makes 3 donuts

Thursday, July 21, 2011

Chive Blossom Vinegar and Räksmörgås

I had planned on having a post for you today showing off my beautiful handmade mayonnaise flavored with homemade chive vinegar. Um yeah, planned is the important world there. I started a batch of mayonnaise and after adding about one fourth of the vinegar it broke. Sigh. So, I tried again and broke a second at almost the same point. With only on egg left it was time to give up. Oh well, I can still show you my pretty pink Chive Blossom Vinegar.

I got the idea from Cooking With Anne. I was pulling out a bunch of chive plants that were in bloom, so I threw some together. It couldn't be simpler. I just threw about twelve blossoms into a cup of white vinegar in a sealed container, then let is sit in a cupboard. Anne let her's sit for two weeks, but I let mine go a whole month. When it was time to use it, I strained it through a sieve lined with a paper towel. The result is a vinegar that smells and tastes of chives. It's a really great combo.

Since I couldn't use it in homemade mayonnaise like planned, I just mixed it in with some prepared mayonnaise to use on Räksmörgås, a perfect dinner for a hot night.

Our homemade Räksmörgås

Räksmörgås is a Swedish open-faced sandwich that we saw on every menu on our trip earlier this year. Matt really took a shine to it, so we've started making it at home.

So, what is in a Räksmörgås? You start with a dark rye bread (tonight we used Sun Street Breads Wheat Beer Rye and Sunflower Seed). Top that with a very generous smear of mayonnaise. I mixed about half a cup of mayonnaise with the chive blossom vinegar which made a sort of oniony mayo sauce. Then you add a layer of sliced hard boiled eggs. Small, cold cooked shrimp goes on top of the egg. We found the prefect size precooked frozen shrimp at IKEA, all we have to do is thaw some under cold running water and it's ready to use. Finally, you add the classic Scandinavian herb, fresh dill. Sometimes the sandwich was served with lettuce, some tomato, or a few slices of cucmber. We also had it topped one day with a little chopped red onion and some roe.

Räksmörgås at a restaurant in Stockholm

This is a really filling sandwich. There is a creamy, richness from the mayo and eggs which compliments the shrimp really well. We think the dill is really important and find it a little bland without it. (I actually heard a Scandinavian chef on TV once say you can never add too much dill.)

So, any other ideas for ways to use my Chive Blossom Vinegar?

Monday, July 18, 2011

Weekly Menu and Farmers Market Finds 7/17 - 7/23/11

So, I read today that the only place more humid than Minneapolis right now is the Amazon rain forest. I don't know if that is true or not but it certainly feels like it. These heat indexes of 117F really take away our desire to cook, eat or do much of anything. All I can say is, thank goodness for air conditioning!

We did manage a quick trip through the Kingfield Farmers Market yesterday. I felt for those vendors in the heat, they were all thanking us for actually coming out on a day like that. Here's what we picked up.

Kohlrabi - for slaw
Sun Street Rye and Sunflower Seed Bread - made with a wheat beer
Beez Kneez Honey - she'll deliver it right to your house on a bike if you want!
Purple Broccoli
Hickory Smoked Bacon - also for the slaw
Cucumbers
Fresh Garlic
5 pints of blueberries - I froze these until it gets to be a little cooler to make jam.
Carrots
New York Strip Steaks
Not shown are a Maple Bacon Donut and a Brioche Brown Butter Donut from Bogart Loves (because we ate them before we got home!)

On to Menu Planning Monday...

Brats with Kohlrabi Slaw and Potatoes

Swedish Shrimp Sandwiches

Chicken Pita Sandwiches

Thursday we'll be going to Eat Ramen, Help Japan

Beef and Broccoli Stir-Fry

Grilled Steaks - if it ever cools down, enough

Thursday, July 14, 2011

Getting Ready for Winter

That might seem like an odd title for a post when the forecast is for five days with heat indexes over 100F, but in northern climes like Minnesota winter is never that far away.

So, like squirrels we started stashing aways fruits and vegetables at their peak to eat when the fields are covered with snow. Since we try to eat locally and seasonably where we can, putting local food away for the winter is important to us. Freezing and canning our are two main ways of preserving summer's bounty. One of the first things we bought when we moved into a house in Minnesota was a freezer. We filled that first little one up so quickly that we had to buy a bigger one pretty quickly. (Don't worry that old freezer didn't go to waste, it's now a cask temperature beer fridge and will someday be a kegerator for homebrew.) As for canning, don't let it scare you. It's really not the hard, just takes some time and the right equipment. We also highly recommend Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving. Check out this post for our tips on getting started in canning.

Here's some of the main things we are doing this time of year to prepare for the dark days ahead...

Strawberries and Blueberries
We turn a bulk of the berries we get into jam (here are some good strawberry and blueberry jam recipes).

We haven't bought jam in almost three years. The rest get cleaned and hulled for the strawberries then frozen in a single layer on a cookie sheet.

Once frozen I put them into small freezer bags. The frozen berries are good in smoothies or I can make more jam if needed. Really thought the best is having strawberry shortcake in the middle of February.

Kale, Chard, and Spinach
All three of these dark leafy greens get processed the same way. We wash them and put 8oz amounts into freezer bags. Each bag get microwaved for one minute unsealed, this does the blanching. We let the bags cool open then seal them and put them in the freezer. The spinach is perfect for things like lasagna while the chard an kale get thrown into all sorts of soups and stews.

Last year we processed a ton of kale, way more than I ever thought we'd use, but we ran out before winter was over. This year we are growing twice as much in our garden.

Sweet Corn
There is nothing like sweet corn when it is in season, so we always buy extra. We blanch the cobs in boiling water and then cut off the kernels.

I then freeze it in one cup and to cup quantities. This is another thing that goes fast in the winter in chowders and chilies.

We also can a corn relish that is amazing with pork!

Peppers
We preserve peppers in a couple of different ways.

Hot peppers get used in salsa which we can, but we also slice an freeze them in small amounts to throw in chilies. Pepper jams are a favorite around here as an appetizer with cheese.

I make a plain pepper jam, but the fig and jalapeno I made last year was a huge hit. This year I'm going to try a hotter pepper in the jam. Sweet peppers we tend to roast, slice, and then freeze. We've also pickled peppers, but found we didn't have enough uses for them.

Tomatoes
We mainly can tomatoes.

My cousin and I will spend a whole day in the fall can jars of crushed tomatoes. We got through a ton in the winter and its so much better than those in metal cans. I also can tomato sauce, pizza sauce and salsa.

Last year I also made my own oven dried tomatoes which we keep in the freezer, taking one or two out when needed.

Zucchini and Carrots
Our first year here I froze a ton of grated carrots and zucchini to use in cakes and bread, but barely touched any of it. I also froze blanched carrot rounds, but thought they cam out a little soggy. Our zucchini pickles weren't a big hit either.

Green Beans
These are quickly blanched and frozen. I like these in soups, but find they are a little to mushy to just eat as a side.

Chicken
Ok, this one may seem totally out there, but most of the farms we by chicken from stop butchering them at the end of the summer. We try to fill out freezer with as many whole chicken as need to last the winter since we eat almost one roast chicken a week.

Bonus, we have chicken bones to make stock all winter.

Garlic Scapes, Green Garlic and Other Herbs
The easiest way to preserve these items is through pesto. I prefer garlic scape or green garlic pesto over basil myself. Heck, I've even made pesto with pea tendrils.

Pesto can be frozen in small amounts to use all year long. A lot of herbs can just be frozen, but you can also do other things with them like flavor homemade mustards such as this Champagne and Thyme Mustard.

Apples
Kept in a cool, dark place apple can actually last for awhile into winter to eat fresh, but we also like to can apple sauce.

It's good just dolloped on some oatmeal for breakfast, but it also makes for a great filling for turnovers or a side with pork.

I hope we've inspired you to started putting things away for winter if you haven't started yet. If you are already a preserver, share some of your favorite ways of saving the best of summer with us.

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Spicy Tomato Butter

Matt is in charge of meat in our house which means, unless it's in a soup, stew or stir-fry, he's in charge of the seasoning and cooking. He just seems to have the touch, whipping up amazing spice rubs on the fly and cooking things to perfection without a thermometer. Last night he had two beautiful New York Strip Steaks from the farmers market to play with.

He started with a basic rub of chipotle, salt and smoked paprika which would have been good enough on its own, but then he decided to go the extra step and make a compound butter to melt over the finished steaks. Oh, was that butter good, smoky, spicy (but not too hot), garlicy, just darn good. It is quite bold, but these grass fed steaks stood up to it easily.

The butter was also tasty on the roasted potatoes and Matt was dreaming about just smearing it on some good bread.

Spicy Tomato Compound Butter

1/2 t smoked paprika
pinch chipotle powder
pinch of kosher salt
3 sundried tomatoes, the dry kind not the kind in oil
1 clove garlic
2 T unsalted butter

Purée all the ingredients until the tomatoes and garlic are well chopped and everything is blended.

Makes about 3 Tablespoons (you can freeze any butter you don't use for another time)

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Sweet Pea and Tuna Pasta

We seem to have a very full fridge right now, so this week's meals are an attempt to eat our way to clearing it out a bit. First thing was a bag of sweet peas that were over a week old and really needed to be eaten. Matt suggested pairing them with some tuna and I've been loving them in pasta, so this quick dish came about.

This is by no means a tuna casserole. It is surprisingly light for a creamy pasta which is good for this time of year. What we both really loved was the tang in the sauce from the sour cream, lemon and capers. That tang really brightens this pasta. You could use shelled or frozen peas in this pasta, but you wouldn't get the same crunch that the pods provide.

Sweet Pea and Tuna Pasta
This pasta comes together in about 15 minutes making it perfect for a busy night.

4 oz penne pasta (or shape of choice)
1/2 T olive oil
6 - 7 oz sweet or sugar snap peas, trimmed & strings removed, slice in half if large
1/2 T all-purpose flour
1/2 c milk
1/4 c sour cream
1 T lemon juice
1 T capers, roughly chopped
6.4 oz package of tuna packed in water
salt
pepper

Cook pasta according to the directions.

While the pasta is cooking, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet. Add the peas and sauté until crisp tender, 3 - 4 minutes. Reduce heat to medium. Sprinkle with the flour. Cook while stirring for another minute. Stir in the milk and sour cream. It should thicken slightly. Stir in the lemon juice and capers. Add the tuna. Season generously with fresh pepper and salt to taste. Keep warm until the pasta is done.

When the pasta is done, drain it completely. Stir the pasta into the sauce.

Makes 2 servings.

Monday, July 11, 2011

Weekly Menu and Farmers Market Finds 7/10 - 7/16/11

Whew, last week was a blur. Lots of family was in town so, we cooked for eleven people on the 4th and then twelve people on Wednesday. We kept it all to pretty easy barbecues, but we were still pretty exhausted by the time the weekend came around. I was actually exhausted enough to get sick. That's ok though, it was hot and humid outside, so I relaxed on the couch in the AC watching a Harry Potter marathon preparing for the new movie this week.

We did make it to the farmers market on Sunday, but we didn't need much as we still had a lot from last week.

New Your Strip Steaks - To throw on the grill this week with green beans and potatoes
Cucumbers - I just can't seem to get enough cukes this summer
Shortcakes - How pretty are these little flower shaped cakes from Sun Street Breads? We'll be topping them with strawberries and whipped cream tonight.

It was too hot to eat at the market as we usually do, so we stopped in to try out the breakfast at Corner Table. It's so great to have another great breakfast place in town, especially a place that brings the creativity and quality to breakfast that they do to dinner. Have you tried it yet?

On to Menu Planning Monday...
Kind of a short week of eating at home.

Italian Green Bean Pizza

Grilled New York Strip - A classic meat, veg and potato dinner

Sweet Pea and Tuna Pasta

Thursday we get to go to a screening of the last Harry Potter movie (Thanks Delta Amex!), so we'll be eating out near the theater

Friday we'll be having a barbecue at my cousin's with more family that is in town.

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Creamy Strawberry Pie

Strawberries are in season here in Minnesota so, I knew I wanted to use them my Fourth of July dessert. Since I had a lot of things to cook that day, it had to be pretty simple dessert. This pie was just the ticket, easy and quick to make plus fresh and cool for a hot summer night.

The only thing baked here is the crust which, ok shoot me, I bought at the store. The base is made just by whipping together cream cheese and mascarpone with vanilla, sugar and lemon juice (oh, that lemon juice really brightens the whole thing). Then it's just a matter of adding some sliced strawberries and a little melted jam. It firms up a bit with chilling but remains really creamy. I can't believe how much it tasted like a cheese cake without the baking, water bath or worrying about cracking. This is one we'll have all summer with different fruits as they come into season.

Creamy Strawberry Pie
I used a store bought pastry pie shell for this pie, it would also be fantastic with a graham cracker or shortbread crust.

9-inch pie shell
8 oz cream cheese, softened at room temp
8 oz mascarpone cheese, softened at room temp
1 t vanilla
3 T heavy cream
1/4 c white sugar
2 t lemon juice
strawberries, hulled and halved (amount will depend on the size of your berries)
1/4 - 1/2 c red jam such as currant or strawberry (I used my homemade strawberry vanilla jam.)

Cook your pie shell according to directions. Let cool.

Whip the cream cheese, marscarpone, vanilla, heavy cream, sugar and lemon juice together until blended and light. Spoon into the cooled crust and spread into an even layer. Let chill in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes.

Top the chilled pie with halved strawberries. Put the jam into a small microwavable bowl. Microwave until the jam in warmed and slightly liquid, about 30 seconds. Brush all over the top of the berries letting it fill in the spaces between berries.

Chill for at least another hour before serving. We actually thought it was better after being in the fridge overnight.

Makes 1 pie

Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Weekly Menu and Farmers Market Finds 7/3 - 7/9/11

I hope everyone had a fabulous holiday weekend (well, holidays in the States and Canada anyway). We had a bit of a busy one. Our friends Susi & Rob visited us for San Francisco and got to experience the fun that is Kingfield Farmers Market. Their daughter, A, enjoyed a puppet show while Mom, Susi, got to blend her own smoothie on the Foxy Falafel Blender Bike.

Photo courtesy of Rob

The produce is really picking up at the market right now too!

Here's what we got this week...
Eggs - most were hard boiled & turned into deviled eggs for the 4th.
Strawberries - for a Creamy Strawberry Pie I'll share tomorrow
Broccoli - for the relish tray yesterday
Salad Greens - those will go with fajitas tomorrow
Beets - my dad asked for beet donuts this week
Green Beans
IPA Brat Buns - we bought out all Sun Street Breads had for the 4th
Love Tree Farm's Gabrielson Lake Cheese - on the Best Local Foods List
Vanilla Bean Macaroons
Potatoes

The only down point to the day was Matt ended up in splint with what looks like a broken wrist from a fall two weeks ago.

Yes, it took us two weeks to have it looked at. Today we'll see whether he needs surgery or just a cast. The poor guy is having a time learning how to do everything with his left hand.

Our backyard was full of lots of family and friends for the Fourth. We had a pretty classic midwestern BBQ menu, cole slaw, deviled eggs, homemade baked beans, Wisconsin brats, hotdogs, ice cream and pie. Of course, there were also sparklers and fireworks.

Finally, on to Menu Planning Monday (um, Tuesday)...

Green bean and leftover steak stir-fry

Salmon Fajitas for twelve - also chicken fajitas for the non-fish eaters

Gabrielson Lake Cheeseburgers with roasted potatoes

Think we'll eat out on Friday

Rotisserie Chicken which will leave us with lots of good leftovers.

Friday, July 1, 2011

Warm Lentil and Beet Salad

When we picked up beets at the farmers markets, I take them home and cut the beets from the greens before storing them since this will help them last longer. But, I don't throw away those greens. To us, those dark, leafy greens are as much a treat as the red jewel at their roots. Did you know they are basically the same thing as rainbow chard? We like then sautéed as a side dish, thrown in soups and stews and stir-fried.

This is an earthy, hearty salad with a hint of smokiness from the cheese which makes it perfect for a vegetarian main course. It's colorful with lots of textures. I especially liked how the cubes of smoked mozzarella became just a little runny and stringy from the heat of the rest of the ingredients. It would also make a a wonderful side dish with a grill steak.

We used lentils du puy when we made this salad because we love their texture and flavor. They can be rather expensive and harder to find here in the States. We picked up a few pounds in Sweden because they are so much cheaper in Europe. They'll be one of those things we pick up every time we travel. Anyway, You can use any lentils you like.

Warm Lentil and Beet Salad
We used beets that were roasted ahead of time for this salad so, keep that in mind when making it.

6 oz lentils
1/2 T olive oil
3 - 4 chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 c roughly chopped beets greens and tender stems
1 c chopped, roasted beets
4 oz smoked mozzarella, cut into 1/2" cubes

Dressing

1/2 t kosher salt
generous amount of fresh ground pepper
1/2 t Dijon mustard
1 T white wine vinegar
3 T olive oil

Cook the lentils according to their directions, drain and set aside.

In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the onions and garlic and sauté until the onions are tender. Add the beet greens and stems. Sauté until the greens are very wilted, they will reduce in size a lot. Stir in the roasted beets until heated through.

Whisk all the dressing ingredients together until the salt in dissolved.

Mix the cooked lentil into the vegetables. Dress with as much dressing as you like. Stir in the mozzarella cubes.

Makes 2 main dish servings or 4 side dish servings.