Inspiration from the Produce Aisle!

Although I enjoy cooking, too often the planning, shopping and preparing, not to mention the cleaning, becomes a chore and is not so enjoyable. Lately, I have felt very uninspired and uncreative, and I've felt like our meals have shown that. This week began not much differently, except that it was so hot on Tuesday when I went shopping that I just went right to the produce area and loaded up on fresh fruits and veggies. Thus, my week was born and we have had a week of salads and sandwiches.

The best part, it has been one of those weeks that I have done well thinking ahead and prepping extra to make the following days a little easier. Yeah. 

Tuesday - Grilled steak, peppers and onions sandwiches with salad
I shopped, came home and prepped fruits and veggies for the week and marinated steak and chicken breast. 

Wednesday - Make Your Own Tacos
I cooked some bacon and grilled some chicken breast first thing in the morning.

Make you own tacos: sliced grilled Chicken breast, avocado, tomato, Corn & Chili Salsa (trader joe's), black beans, sour cream and salad

Thursday: Sandwiches
BLTs (Bacon that I cooked Wed) &/or chicken and apple salad (reserved some chicken breast from Wed), black bean salad (beans, avocado, tomato and corn & chili salsa - all leftover from make your own tacos), roasted baby potatoes

I'm not sure what we are having tomorrow, but I boiled the baby potatoes (white, red and purple - so pretty) and then roasted half for Thursday's dinner. The other half I chopped and put a little olive oil and vinegar on and am planning to turn into a potato salad to accompany something, probably grilled.

Lamb Curry

Last week, a friend and I visited Trader Joe's and I purchased a Curry Simmer Sauce. OH YUM! Made a Lamb Curry the other night, adding in lamb tips, diced onions, potatoes, carrots, raisins and light coconut milk. (I think without the coconut milk it might have been a bit too spicy for the kids, but with it, they did great!)

It was so easy, and so tasty. I love that you could add in whatever you have at home and dinner can be ready in a few minutes (just make sure to cut the potatoes into a really small dice if you are trying to cook quickly so they get soft enough). Can't wait to try it another time with chick peas, spinach and cauliflower.

Does anyone have any other favorite Trader Joe sauces or marinades?

New Veggie Recipes

I went to a CSA yesterday with a friend to share in her bounty and came home with some swiss chard, okra, tomatillos and bok choy. Anyone have any great recipes for these?

Garlic Grilled Tomatoes

I made these last night for George's birthday. We all loved them! The kids could have easily eaten more, next time I will make more than 1 tomato/person! So simple, yet such great flavor.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/garlic-grilled-tomatoes-recipe/index.html

Kale

Brad planted a bunch of Kale in our early spring garden - I've never cooked with it before. Anyone got some recipes or pointers. Some will be ready this week, I think.

Ecclectic Meal

Getting every last bit out of summer vacation!

I asked my family the other day to give me a few final summer meals, things they haven't had enough of, or are at their peak this time of year. My son asked for Grammy's clam chowder (see January 27, 2009 post), my daughter piped in with no corn chowder. Those are similar enough that they can both be on the menu tonight. I had pizza dough in the fridge and frozen caramelized onions, so I tossed those on a pizza with bacon and brie. (I'll report on that creation after we eat.)

A whole family favorite is grilled portabella mushrooms on chiabetta bread with roasted red peppers and mozzarella drizzled with balsamic vinegar. So tomorrow night everyone will be happy with dinner.

Later this week we'll be having grilled sausage and peppers. For the weekend I'm already planning on a BBQ with friends featuring Ribs and steaks. Hopefully we'll get some good summer tomatoes, because with all the rain, they haven't been that great yet. The yellow and white corn has been yummy though:) I also may have to make one more Peach Crisp before it's apple season! Of course, we'll end the BBQ with S'Mores over the chimenea! Enjoy the end of summer!


Corn Chowder (from 365 Quick & Easy Microwave Recipes)
I also just add everything and simmer it on the stove at times.
1/2 pound bacon, diced
3 medium baking potatoes, peeled and cut into 1" chunks
1 medium onion, chopped
1 1/2 cups milk (can use some half and half to make it creamier)
17 ounce can cream-style corn
7 ounce can corn kernels, drained (or 2-3 ears cut off)
1/2 teaspoon pepper
Hot pepper sauce and salt to taste

1. Place bacon in a 4 cup glass measure. Cover with paper towel. Cook on HIGH 5-6 minutes, until crisp. Remove bacon with slotted spoon and set aside. Save 1 T bacon drippings.

2. Place potatoes, onion and I T bacon drippings in a 2 quart casserole. Cover and cook on HIGH 7 minutes, stirring once.

3. stir in milk, cream style corn and corn. Cover and cook on HIGH 10-12 minutes, until potatoes are tender. Add pepper and season with hot sauce and salt to taste.

Serves 4-6

Zuchhini-Wrapped Shrimp with Bacon

I just came across this and thought I'd post it. Katie -- I thought of it for you b/c it is green and orange -- perfect for a St. Pat's Day party. They present the recipe as 4 servings, but I think you could do it on smaller skewers as an appetizer.

3 Tbsp chopped basil

2 T olive oil, plus more for brushing

1 minced garlic clove

1 1/2 lb med shrimp, shelled and deveined

4 med zucchini, halved lengthwise, then cut lengthwise into 1/4 inch thick slices

3/4 lb slab bacon, sliced 1/4 inch thick cut crosswise into 1 1/2 inch squares (For a vegetarian dish, leave the bacon out.)

In a bowl, combine the basil, olive oil and garlic. Lightly season with S&P and add shrimp to coat.

In a shallow bowl, generously brush zucchini slices on both sides with olive oil and season with S&P; let stand for 5 minutes to soften.

In a skillet, cook bacon over mod heat until lightly browned, about 2 minutes per side. Drain.

Working at the tip of the skewer, pierce the very end of the zucchini slice. Swing the zucchini to the side and skewer a shrimp, then loop the zucchini slice around the shrimp and pierce the zucchini slice to secure it around the shrimp. Add another shrimp, wrap the rest of the zucchini slice around it and secure it on the skewer. Add a bacon square.

(I would stop there for appetziers. For 4 servings, add 2 more zucchini slices, 4 more shrimp and 2 more bacon squares.)

Light a grill or preheat a grill pan. Oil the grill and grill over high heat for about 2 minutes per side, or just until the shrimp are cooked through and the zucchini are still crunchy. Serve hot.

Risotto

I want to make Risotto for dinner tomorrow. Anyone have any recipes they love?

Katie here: Something seems to be wrong with Blogger's comment application, but I was able to edit Bridget's query, so I am doing that. I totally love this recipe ... and so do my clients and my family! I make it in the pressure cooker, but you don't have to. And I've even seen some risottos made in a crockpot, but I haven't tried that yet.

Risotto with Butternut Squash and Pancetta

6 cups canned low-salt chicken broth
1 cup dry white wine
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 ounces pancetta, coarsely chopped
1 small roasted butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cubed
1 medium finely chopped onion
2 cups arborio rice
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan
additional grated Parmesan
4-6 sage leaves (fresh)

Sauté pancetta in olive oil in pressure cooker until fat is rendered; add onions, and saut´ until translucent. Add broth, wine, squash, and rice. Lock lid and bring to high pressure over high heat. Maintain pressure for 6 minutes.

Quick release and stir butter, Parmesan, and chopped sage, saving a bit of sage and Parmesan for garnish. Season with salt and pepper.

If you make it in a regular saucepan, you'll need to make the following changes.

1. Keep the broth & wine hot in one pan, while making the risotto in another.


2. Precook the squash.


3. After sautéing pancetta and onions, start with 2 cups of the broth-wine mixture, and the squash and rice. Stir constantly, adding liquid ½ cup at a time until it is all incorporated.


4. Finish by stirring in butter, Parmesan, and sage as above.

WOW!

Friday night my husband and I went to Blue Hill at Stone Barns in Pocantico Hills, NY (where I grew up). It's a combination working farm and restaurant on the beautiful grounds of the Rockefeller Estate. Although the $100 gift certificate barely cover 1/3 of the meal, it was a quite an experience. Look at this review for a write up and photos. http://newyork.seriouseats.com/2008/06/blue-hill-at-stone-barns-pocantico-hills-new-york-dan-barber-working-farm.html In winter about 30% of the food served is from the farm, in Spring and summer it's over 75%. It's not like any other restaurant we've been to, you don't order an entree, you look over the ingredients list and tell the waiter any allergies, food dislikes and preferences.

I'll do my best to describe our meal. I started with a Black Current Cosmopolitan (that can now be legally grown in NY after a ban of many years) made with fresh lime juice, it was amazing:)
They brought out many starters (for lack of the "sophisticated" names). 1st we had the veggies (broccoli, cauliflower, baby carrots, and snow peas) on the stakes as shown in the review photo, they were slightly blanched and perfectly salted. Delicious! Next they brought out a wooden block with dried veggie "chips", paper thin, some purees, others just dried; beets, butternut squash and turnips. They were all very flavorful. Then we had a fingerling potato wedge that was coated in something and then encrusted in sesame seeds on a skewer. Very unique. We had fresh squeezed grapefruit juice to clean our palates. One of our highlights of the evening were the beet sliders: quarter size fresh baked buns with finely chopped beets, topped with goat cheese and a very little green leaf. Very tasty for the minuet bite. (Plus I got in some beets, Kate:) Lastly there were 2 paper thin slices of fennel salami.

The homemade Potato Onion bread (with a rare small piece of cooked potato in it, and a crusty outside was amazing. I could have eaten only that and been happy. It was served with farm churned butter, fresh ricotta, as well as carrot salt and arugula salt. I tried the salts but didn't find them necessary. The bread was good enough without anything, but the fresh ricotta was delicious.
The Fruit and veggie platter was a mix or pickled (cabbage) and salted (broccoli, cauliflower) veggies as well as fruits (sickle pears, apple) and others (another beet, I couldn't identify all on a platter) with pureed sauces. My husband said it was the best vegetables he's ever eaten.
Then they brought out our Smoke Maine Lobster (1 claw and 1 small tail), it was on a bed of winter veggie puree with whole pistachio nuts in it. I really enjoyed it.

After that they brought out 5 mini tortellini, with 3 different fillings, chestnut, cheese and greens, in a pureed green sauce and topped with pea greens. The fillings were hard to differentiate as they were so tiny, but they were all enjoyable.

Finally it was time for the entrees. Manny had Veal cooked in a sauce with these sweet roasted carrots and a parsnip puree. There were about 4-5 slices of meat, not a ton, but probably a serving size. He really enjoyed it. I had Grouper in a green soup base, kind of like a Vegetable bouillabaisse with white beans and pistachios. It was good, not overly salty and very satisfying.

My only disappointment came at dessert, as I forgot to mention that I didn't like chocolate, plus the $5.75 pot of tea for 1. Manny enjoyed the Hazelnut brownie with cocoa bean ice cream as well as the chocolate mousse that was served with a Beer ice cream (made from Beer from Captain Lawrence's a local brewery, Pleasantville, NY). I tasted the ice cream, it really did taste like beer:) I had Linden Tea for the 1st time, it was good, but not worth $5.75, and Manny enjoyed his $4 cup of coffee, as well as the 2 miniature coffee meringues.

It was definitely a worthwhile experience. I would suggest to go in the warmer weather when you can enjoy the grounds and the more plentiful produce. We were glad to have had the opportunity, thanks to my sister in laws:)