Making the Meal

I seem to struggle with creating a full meal menu using disciplinary foods, keeping the cost down and meal excitement up.  Lately, I feel good about meeting my meal challenges.  However, I haven't been very good about blogging!  So here are three evening meals that work with our mile high seasonal fruit and veggie bounty.

For the next blog, I would love to hear suggestions for beets.  We are starting to tire of roasted beets and I tried Chocolate Beet Brownies...not really a fan.  Perhaps it was the altitude.  Anyway, have any great beet recipes that you would like to share?  Leave me a comment!

So, no real story this time, just a lot of recipes:

The Disciplinary Food:  Potatoes
The Meal:  A Brussels Sprouts Salad, Roasted Asparagus, and Potato Gnocchi with a Creamy Sage Sauce

Potato Gnocchi
2 cups hot mashed potatoes (without milk or seasonings)
1 cup sifted four
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon white pepper (I used black.)
Pinch nutmeg (I used a bit more!)

Mix all ingredients and put into a pastry bag, fitted with a large, plain tube.  Bring 5 quarts salted water to a boil and heat to a gentle boil.  Squeeze out gnocchi into the pot, cutting every inch, and letting dough fall into water.  Simmer uncovered until gnocchi float and cook one minute more.

Or on a floured surface, make long ropes of dough and cut into 1 inch lengths and imprint lightly with the back of a fork.  Cook as directed.

Source:  The New Doubleday Cookbook.

Creamy Sage Sauce
1 1/2 cup heavy Cream
3 tablespoons minced shallots
1/3 cup finely chopped sweet red pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon coarsely chopped fresh sage

Simmer all ingredients in a saute pan for 5 to 7 minutes until slightly thickened.  Pour over cooked gnocchi.

Source:  The New Doubleday Cookbook.

Roasted Asparagus
 1/2 a bunch of asparagus
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
1 Lemon

Cut off ends of asparagus and place on a toaster over cooking sheet.  Sprinkle olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper over the stems.  Set toaster oven on toast or 400 and cook for 5 to 8 minutes until roasted to liking.

Brussels Sprouts Salad as noted in the last blog post.

The Disciplinary Food:  Asparagus (from the night before!), Spinach, Carrots, Onion and Spaghetti Squash

The Meal: Roasted Carrots, Parsnips, and Asparagus with Spaghetti Squash and Spinach, as well as homemade Whole Wheat Bread with Herb Goat Cheese

Roasted Carrots and Parsnips
A few Carrots
A Few Parsnips
Olive Oil
Salt and pepper

In a small baking dish, chop carrots and parsnips.  Drizzle olive oil and add salt and pepper to taste.  Gently mix and put on a high over rack for 30 to 45 minutes at 425.

Roasted Asparagus (See above.)

Spaghetti Squash and Spinach
1 Spaghetti Squash
A few handfuls of Spinach
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
Olive Oil
2 cloves of garlic
1 chopped onion

Cut the Spaghetti Squash in half, clean out the seeds, then place in a baking pan, cut sides down, in about 1 to 2 inches of water.  Roast the Spaghetti Squash at 350 degrees for about an hour or until the skin gives to the touch and the squash is cooked.

Scrap the squash out into a pull and mix in the cheese.  Put aside.

Heat and cook Olive Oil, garlic and chopped onion in a saute pan.  Once onions are translucent, add in the spinach.  Cook on Medium until the leaves begin to wilt.  Add squash and stir.  It is ready to serve.

Source:  Loosely borrowed from a friend's dinner idea.

The Disciplinary Food:  Beets, Apples, and Hazelnuts

The Meal: Green Beans with Blacken Sage and Hazelnuts, and a Beet/Goat Cheese Salad (Please note:  there was an item that just didn't turn out too well!)

Green Beans With Blackened Sage and Hazelnuts
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup chopped fresh sage
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 lb green beans, trimmed
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup hazelnuts, chopped

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Heat butter and oil, then cook sage until it begins to blacken, 1 to 2 minutes. Add garlic and cook until golden, about 2 minutes. Add beans and salt; toss to coat. Carefully add 1 cup water. Steam until beans are fork-tender and most of the water has evaporated, 3 to 4 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle hazelnuts on top and serve.

Source:  Self.com

Beet/Goat Cheese Salad
Beets
Apple
Walnuts
Goat Cheese
Mixed Greens
Balsamic Vinegear
Olive Oil

Using roasted beets, julianed apple, chopped walnuts, crumbled goat cheese and mixing with a mixed greens, drizzle some balsamic vinegar and olive oil to finish it off.

Tools of the Trade

When I think about monumental tools of the cooking trade, I know my list is probably quite unique compared to most other people's.  The below are my top five tools, all of which are very important in my kitchen and each come with a good story!

On my 28th birthday, we went crazy and bought a super discounted nice set of pots and pans.  There is no denying it...that was the moment I realized I was an adult.   I was just too happy to rid our kitchen of the random pot or pan bought here or there.  One of the best birthday presents ever!

And then there was our wedding registry day!  The day of all days, knowing you will soon be upgrading everything!  The best gift ever from that day:  the five dollar garlic peeler tube.  Who knew it would be so useful?  I highly recommend this great tool! 

That day was also when we bought our first and only “As Seen on TV” product.  While my husband did not want an “As Seen on TV” item on our registry, we walked home with our very own Magic Bullet in the free “Wedding Registry” tote bag.  To think you can puree about anything, whether beets for a Chocolate Beet Brownie mix or part of a soup to make it a bit more creamy.  While I was always revert to a thirteen year old boy and giggle when I think of it’s name, it really has been very useful when we have least expected it!

For Christmas this year, Santa brought me a new red Kitchen Aid.  Apparently, Santa knew that the CSA was going to be supplying us with some serious flour in the near future.  I have to admit at first I was a bit timid around this new, bright and shiny toy.  My brother, who happened to be visiting, broke it in with a batch of pizza dough and then some “too healthy” muffins.  A little flour on the base was all it took for my kitchen to quickly fill with baking supplies.  Who would have thought that I would soon be the proud owner of four different kinds of flour:  Whole Wheat, All Purpose, Bread, and 00 Baking flours.

While the Kitchen Aid has recently transformed our baking, the most exciting and dangerous tool of the trade has been our new mandolin.  It has always been one of those things that both my husband and I have stopped and stared at when wandering in and out of Williams Sonoma.  To slice and julian so quickly....amazing! 

We recently moved to the Mile High City.  And with any great move comes a great yard sale.  I remember standing with my yard sale cash box in hand when a gentlemen (who ended up buying quite a bit) looked into a bag of random kitchen items for sale, smiled, and said, “Wow, you guys like to slice and grate a lot!”  I sheepishly smiled back,  “Don’t worry, we do too!” he said with a grin.

Flash forward three months to our new kitchen and new, very sharp mandolin.  It was a Monday evening and I was making dinner for the family.  We recently tried a Brussels Sprouts salad and fell head over heels in love.  I making it for the second time when...opps....a little to much off of that sprout and my finger.  I felt so silly, sitting on the couch with my dinner half made, holding my finger with a tissue.  My husband took over and within three minutes...opps...I didn’t feel so silly anymore!  Long story, short:  be very careful with this tool!  While I now use it often, I use it with much care! 

This brings me to our current “go to” salad:

Today’s Disciplinary Foods:  Red Onion, Apples, and Cabbage

Brussels Sprout Salad with a Lemon Dressing
Salad:
1 small red onion
3 cups Brussels sprouts (use larger sprouts if possible)
1 Apple
Half of a Cabbage (red or green)
1 handful of cranberries
1/2 cup finely grated pecorino romano

Dressing: 
Juice of 1 lemon
1 teaspoon honey
1 teaspoon whole grain mustard
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil

1. Soak the onion slices in a small bowl of cold water for 15 to 20 minutes while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, honey, mustard and a pinch of salt and pepper. Whisk in the olive oil until the dressing is emulsified. Set aside.
3. Trim all of the Brussels sprouts, cutting off any bruised outer leaves and slicing off a good portion of the hard root end. Using a mandolin, shave the sprouts one at a time. When you're done, use your fingers to gently separate the leaves so that the shredded sprouts resemble a very fine slaw. Do the same with the cabbage.
4. Julian the apple using the mandolin.
5. Put the sprouts in a serving bowl and toss gently with the onions (which you've now drained) and the dressing. Fold in the pecorino, taste and adjust seasonings if necessary. Serve immediately, before it starts to wilt!

Notes:  Having made this many times, a quick time saver tip:  make a quick lemon vinaigrette with lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper.  It can be made with the Magic Bullet and saved for later use in the fridge.  It is especially great on a spinach or arugula salad! 

Source:  The main aspect of the salad came from www.food52.com.  It's a great site for food specific recipes.

What to do with all this food?

The other day, I found myself standing at the kitchen counter shaving thin slices of brussel sprouts for a salad, while a loaf of Pumpkin/Squash Christmas Bread loaf baked in the oven and an Apple Crisp was waiting it's turn.  Meanwhile, I knew that I had over 10 lbs. of beets, another two bags of apples, and two more Hubbard Squash ripening on the counter next to a bag of onions.  Realizing I was in the mix of something much bigger than two adults and a toddler could even begin to eat, I knew I needed to think  fast! What to do with all of this great fresh fruit and veggies we received from our CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) Winter share?  I mean really, how many Apple Crisps and variations on baked potatoes could I possibly make? 

Watching the faucet shake as the disposal ran for the fifth time that afternoon, an idea hit me:  Why not use a blog to share and document all of the gathered seasonal recipes?   I was sure that there were other people out there trying to figure out another way to utilize those last few red onions or leeks found at the bottom of their CSA box.  Truly, a win-win for all...at the end of a season or a year, this site will have a documented cookbook of sorts based on seasonal goodies straight from the farm! 

So, I find myself blogging, while Cooking Seasonally at a Mile High! 

Today's Disciplinary Food*:  Apples

Low Fat Apple Crisp
7 c. sliced peeled apples
1/3 c. granulated sugar
2 tbsp. flour
2 tsp. cinnamon

TOPPING:
1 c. quick rolled oats
1/4 c. brown sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 c. soft butter

In 2 quart baking dish put apples on bottom. In small bowl combine sugar, flour and cinnamon. Add to fruit and toss.

Topping: Combine oats, sugar and cinnamon. With 2 knives cut in butter until crumbly. Sprinkle over fruit. Bake at 350 degrees for 55 minutes or microwave at high for 15 minutes. 8 servings.

Notes:  I have made this a few different times, once with pomegranates mixed in.  A time saving trick:  Make (without topping), cover, and place in the fridge.  Before going in the oven, put on the topping.  This goes great with Salted Carmel Ice Cream from Sweet Action Ice Cream on Broadway!

Source:  Can't remember!

*Disciplinary Food:   Coined by my brother, it is a food item that must be used immediately and until it is gone before it goes bad.