Swordfish Steaks Slathered with Tapenade

Tapenade is one of my absolute favorite things to make, and probably to eat.  I say make and not cook because, well, there really isn't any cooking involved.  It is definitely one of my go-to recipes if I am having people over for a non-sit down affair.  It goes great with wine and cheese, and is a fantastic use of fresh herbs if you have them lying around.  Over the past few weeks, we have gotten oregano, basil, and thyme from our CSA.  Incidentally, those are three key ingredients in Wolfgang Puck's tapenade, which is the recipe I always use.  When I have time, I'll oven dry tomatoes to put in (but that's another post).  When I don't, I just buy sundried tomatoes packed in olive oil.  For starters, this recipe is good served on fresh baguette or crostini:

You really want to just pulse the food processor until it chopped finely, but I like that you can still make out bits of fresh herbs, pieces of dried tomato, etc.  The capers, anchovies, and garlic really give it a lot of depth of flavor.  I tend to go light on the olive oil, and I like to rinse the olives before I add them.   I feel like it cuts down on salt and lets the herbs shine through.  Don't obsess on finding the right olives, just use some good ones that aren't from a can.

While tapanade is great on just about anything, I think its flavors work really well with swordfish steaks.  I bought a 14 oz steak for this recipe, which is a good amount for two people.  Meghan started this while I was at work by getting the fish in a quick marinade: about 4 TB olive oil and 2 TB balsalmic whisked together with couple crushed garlic gloves added.  The fish should have about 30 minutes in the marinade (flip it half way through), but no more.

I got a well seasoned cast iron skillet really hot, and then seared the fish for about 3-4 minutes on one side.  I then flipped it, and put it the pre-heated 400 degree oven for 10-12 minutes or cooked until or liking.  I like swordfish about medium.  This oven temp is good for roasting sliced summer squash and zucchini (which we got from the CSA again...these things must grow like weeds), and the 10 minutes is about all they took.  Served everything on top of some plain couscous:

This ended up being one of my all-time favorite fish preps.  It is also super-easy if you make the tapenade ahead of time (it will keep in the fridge for at least a week).  There's something elementally good about the combination of swordfish and olives - these ingredients are meant to be with each other.  While I need to start doing more interesting stuff with the squash/zucchini, the timing worked really well with this fish prep.  On the other hand, one thing I like about summer squash is how simple it is to prepare in a pretty tasty manner.

That's about it... I really recommend you try making at least the tapenade if not the whole recipe.  For my regular readers (hi mom), I will probably only post one once or twice more before taking about 10 days off for a trip to Israel!  Not sure if I'll find a way to post from there (202 Kibbutz Review?), but hopefully I'll find a cool ingredient or two to bring back that can clear customs.

Buffalo Hanger Steak with Chimichurri

Hanger steak is one of my favorite cuts - it has tons of beefy flavor, and can be quite tender if it isn't overcooked.  I've heard that it gets its flavor from "hanging out" so to speak by the kidneys and other organs.  I'm not really a huge fan of offal meat, but if tasted like hanger steak I think I could get on board.  I've made beef hanger steak a number of times, but never buffalo.  If I'm cooking buffalo, it is usually in burger form.  In fact, I think turkey and buffalo burgers vastly outnumber the beef burgers consumed in this apartment.

Anyway, I wanted to make a special dinner, because yesterday we were celebrating our 5 year anniversary.  We both like buffalo, and we're both fans of hanger steak.  We finally decided to combine the two, and picked up a nice sized buffalo hanger steak at the Dupont Farmers Market (it probably weighed 1.3 pounds).  Like all un-butchered hanger steaks, there was a line of gristle running down the middle that had to be taken out.

Wanting a more summary prep, Meghan suggested a chimichurri sauce.  Having never actually made one before, we were able to pull up some recipes on my phone at the market.  While every recipe is different, one thing is universal for chimichurri - parsley, and lots of it.  Given the centrality of parsley in the sauce, we splurged and bought some really nice looking farmer's market parsley.  I think chimichurri sauce can pretty much be doctored according to taste; if you like more vinegar, add more vinegar.  If you like lots of garlic, add more garlic.

Here is how I made the sauce.  In a blender, combine:

• one bunch parsley, stems mostly trimmed
• 3 tablespoons packed fresh oregano - I used the rest of CSA oregano from a couple weeks back)
• 6 garlic cloves
• 1 spring onion, green and white parts course chopped
• pinch of salt and pepper (adjust to taste)
• small pinch red pepper flakes

Transfer to a bowl, and stir in about 1/2 cup of olive oil and a 1/4 cup of red wine vinegar (I used sherry).

I marinated the steak in about 1/2 of the sauce for 2-3 hours, and set the rest aside.  I then seared it in a very, very hot cast iron skillet for about 5 minutes per side.  Unfortunately, this took it a little past medium rare.  The steak came out somewhere between medium rare and medium, and ended up a little tough.  Beef hanger steak really can't be cooked past medium rare, and I think the possible toughness is exaggerated with buffalo. The taste was great, and the texture was still passable.

On the side, I roasted some red young potatoes tossed in olive oil with salt and pepper at about 400 degrees for maybe 20-25 minutes.  They were small, so they cooked quickly.  When they came out, I tossed them with some CSA thyme, and topped with more chimichurri.

Finally, I cooked a big pack of trimmed, washed mustard greens.  One thing I really like is that Whole Foods has started carrying a number of varieties of pre-cut, washed greens - collards, mustard greens, beet greens, different mixes.  These are great for weeknight dinners, they save a lot of time and are just as healthy as the huge bunches you'd buy otherwise.  Anyway, I sauteed 3 garlic cloves, chopped coursely, in olive oil until they got blonde.  I then dumped in the greens, and added a cup of homemade vegetable broth.  Then, I covered and cooked for about 6 minutes over medium heat, until most of the liquid was absorbed.  I think cooked uncovered for a minute or two.  These turned out brilliantly; I think the veggie broth was really the key.  I load my broth up with lots of carrots, celery, onions, a parm rind, etc. and it usually turns out pretty dark and with some nice sweetness.  This really mellowed out the flavor of the mustard greens, which can be pungent and even a little bitter.

All in all, everything turned out pretty great:

"Fine Wein" pairing suggestion... We had this with a bottle of wine we'd been saving for a special occasion - a  Jordan Cambernet Sauvignon 2005.

We had tried this winery's cab about 4 years ago, when we went out to my favorite steakhouse in Boston: Grill 23.  It is owned by the same group that owned Excelsior, a really nice high-end place that looked out over the South side of the Common.  Excelsior is no longer in existence, but it is where Meghan and I went out the evening we kind of decided to get serious - five years ago yesterday.  Anyway, we'd been searching for this wine for a while.  When it turned up at Costco for a pretty reasonable price a few months ago, I picked up the bottle.  The pairing was perfect; for a cabernet it is complex, mild, and full of fruit flavors. Buffalo is leaner than beef, and a bigger, ballsier cabernet full of tannins was not what we were looking for here.  I really would recommend this with any lean red meat - it is delightful.  I also claimed credit for picking a wine that was bottled the year we started dating.  This was obviously completely intentional.  

In Praise of the Everona Dairy

I am a huge fan of the Dupont Farmer's Market, which is open Sundays from 9-1 in the summer (and 10-1 in the winter).  One of the reason's I love it is the presence of the Everona Dairy every week.  Their sheep's milk cheese is fantastic - they usually have like 5 or more different varieties every week.  This week we picked up a piece of cracked pepper, which is delicious with a nice, peppery flavor without being overbearing.

Today is Meghan's and my 5th anniversary (if you count dating anniversaries, which it appears we do).  We both enjoy a good breakfast sandwich, whether it is from Dunkin Donuts or a high-brow take prepared with ingredients from the market.  We went with the latter today.

I sliced a few thin pieces of the black pepper cheese, put it on pieces of a halved baguette, and toasted it in the oven for about 7 minutes.  While this was happening, I seared a few thin slices of Everona's Lamb Summer Sausage, and fried two eggs.  I put a layer of the sausage on each baguette, and topped with the fried egg (runny of course).  It made for a great brunch served alongside some CSA blueberries (and other-sourced melon).

And after a few bites with the egg running everywhere:

Asian Swiss Chard with Shrimp

One of the ingredients I was most excited to get this week was rainbow chard.  I love how colorful rainbow chard is, and compared to other greens such as collards or kale, chard cooks super quickly and the stems are great to eat.  Just cut the stems off of the leaves, chop the stems, and cut the leaves into 1 inch ribbons.

Th recipe is based on a Martha Stewart recipe for swiss chard.  I cooked about a pound of shrimp first - pulled off the tails, seasoned with salt and pepper, and cooked on high heat with a little peanut oil.  I then removed them from the heat and set aside.

I minced 2 cloves of garlic, a thumb-sized piece of ginger, and a CSA spring onion.  Finally, against my better judgment, I cut a jalapeno into rings (and didn't really separate out the seeds...more on this later).  I sauteed the aromatics in about a tablespoon of peanut oil (which I like for asian cooking) for about 30 seconds on medium high heat, at which point I added the chopped chard stems.  I love cooking with chiles, and I love hot food.  But let me tell you, if you don't remove the seeds from the peppers, you'll be somewhat uncomfortable.  It wasn't so much my eyes as my lungs - I was coughing entirely too much while the aromatics cooked.  Anyway, if you make this recipe (or anything with hot peppers), it will be much smoother sailing if you just use the flesh of the peppers and not the stems/seeds.

At this point, just cook until the chard is tender but not soft.  Add the chard leaves, and cook until slightly wilted.  Then, add the cooked shrimp, and if you're so inclined, a tablespoon or so of hoisin sauce.  Stir until evenly coated and the shrimp is warm.

Everything was cooked well; cooking the shrimp separately first, and then adding the chard stems before leaves allows you the chance to cook everything to the doneness required of each ingredient.  The final produce ended up too spicy and too saucy.  If I could do this over again, I would have gone a totally different direction; just spring onion and a little garlic for aromatics, and I would have used a little lemon or lime juice instead of the hoisin.  Meghan, who can eat most hot salsas without any problems, didn't have more than a bite or two of this dish.  It really does boil down to the seeds - I've made a similar dish with probably twice as much hot pepper which had just been stemmed and seeded.

Here's the final product, served with some caramelized onion quinoa and topped with the green parts of some CSA spring onions:

Fresh lime juice squeezed on at the end cooled of some of the burn, but not enough really.  Oh well, I guess you can't win 'em all (as the USA soccer team showed us yesterday)... I just hope we get more chard.

CSA Week 4 Haul

I didn't manage to get a shot of what we got last week up, but I wanted to be sure I didn't miss week 4.  As best as I can tell, we are past lettuce season and heading into summer produce.  Here is this week's haul:

Roughly, from left to right, we got: cucumbers, beets with greens, rainbow swiss chard, blueberries, summer squash (including pattypan), peaches, english peas, dill, basil, zucchini, some yellow squash (not sure what kind), broccoli, cauliflower, and spring onions.  We kept the chard and basil and gave the beets and dill to our friends that we're splitting the CSA with.  Everything else we split down the middle.

I'd say this is probably the most impressive week of produce yet.  I've already used the chard (recipe to follow), and I just roasted the broccoli with a little parm on top.  The blueberries are great, and I'm looking forward to having them on top of some homemade ice cream... Meghan got me an ice cream maker as an anniversary present, so I can see a lot of fruit this summer going on top of or in ice cream.  

Iceberg Lettuce Chopped Salad

This recipe is adapted from a Jamie Oliver Chopped Salad recipe - available here.  I used a head of CSA iceberg lettuce instead of the suggested butterhead, and added the white meat from the roasted chicken I made a couple days ago.  I also couldn't find english mustard at Whole Foods, so I just used dijon.  For the sprouts, I used broccoli sprouts because 1) I like their flavor, and 2) they seem to last longer than other microsprouts.  Finally, because they were around, I threw in a couple chopped tomatoes which added some color.  Here is the result:

I feel like I keep using the same adjectives for the recipes I've been making: light, delicate, fresh, etc.  I think it is because of the ingredients I've been using as much as my lack of vocabulary.  Anyway, this salad turned out fantastically, and I will definitely make it again.  The red wine vinagrette was great, and I look forward to making it with an english mustard.  The iceberg lettuce feels almost like a guilty pleasure - dark greens are obviously more healthy and Romaine is about as light as I go for salad greens.  Maybe it is the common pairing with bleu cheese and bacon with a wedge that connotes a lack of healthiness, but there was something strangely indulgent yet still refreshing about a big iceberg salad.  One last thing - if you choose to add chicken, cook it ahead of time so it has time to cool.

Roast Lemon and Thyme Chicken with Squash and Zucchini

Tonight I really wanted to try a roast chicken recipe out of a new Jamie Oliver cookbook, which I recently received as a gift.  I don't know much about Jamie Oliver, other than that he's British and recently tried to teach some mining town to eat food without corn syrup or something along those lines.  Anyway, I didn't really check the cooking time when I chose to make the recipe this week, and I was somewhat surprised that the roasting time was an hour and 20 minutes.  Having walked in the door to the apartment at about 8:30, this prep was out of the question.

I took apart the chicken, something I've gotten pretty decent at doing, and tossed the back and wing tips into the freezer to make stock.  As Alton Brown would say, "but that's another show."  I then started looking for lemon and thyme chicken recipes online (if you do this in the opposite order it saves you a hand washing).  My instinct was to just make a thyme and oregano butter and put it under the skin and roast away.  I probably should have done this, but I figured that if I just found a recipe I could post the link and I'd have to write less.

Two paragraphs later, this is obviously not shaping up as I had planned.  Here is the recipe I used, let's call it Roast Chicken with Lemon and Thyme.  I threw in some extra garlic and some oregano from what I believe was the first week's share, and just used an entire chicken worth of parts instead of just dark meat.  To try to keep the cooking times around the same, I took apart the thighs from the legs, but left the wings on the breasts (white meat cooks faster than dark).  This actually worked well.

During the last 5 minutes of cooking, I threw some 1/3 inch slices of farm share squash and zucchini tossed with olive oil, salt, and pepper spread out on a baking sheet.  The high heat didn't turn the thicker pieces soggy, but I had to be careful to get them out after only 5-6 minutes.  I served it with some boxed pearl basil and herb couscous, which was overly salty (like most packaged everything).

This turned out decently... The chicken was kind of oily.  I should have finished it under the broiler to brown it a little more, and it probably could have benefited from being drained on paper towel or patted off.  The flavor was pretty mild, but it was good chicken so I think this was OK.  I'm not going to rush to make this again, although it was a pretty good use of farm share thyme and oregano, and the zucchini and squash turned out really well.  I'm hoping we get more pattypan squash soon!

Weekend Brunch - Scrambled Eggs Dragged through the Garden

I'm generally a fan of having brunch at home on the weekends.  I'm not big on sweet breakfast stuff, and I think good eggs are pretty easy to make.  Yesterday, I realized we still had a fair amount of produce from last week's share, and it was all still fresh enough to use 9 days later (a benefit of getting fruits and vegetables that were picked that morning).  I essentially made scrambled eggs with spinach, spring onions, garlic scapes, ham, and tomatoes.  I think this is best described as scambled eggs dragged through the garden.  "Dragged though the garden" is the only way to order a hot dog in Chicago; it has tomatoes, relish, a dill pickle, hot peppers, celery salt, onions, and tomatoes.  While these eggs don't have all of that in there, there's a healthy amount of veggies.

First, saute a couple chopped garlic scapes and spring onions (bulbs and green parts) in 1/2 tablespoon of butter.  Season with salt and pepper, and cook until they soften but before they brown.

Add 1-2 chopped tomatoes, and cook over medium high until most of the liquid from the tomatoes cooks off.

Keep over medium high heat, and add 1/2 a bunch of fresh spinach, washed and spun dry with stems trimmed.  Cook until it starts to wilt a little.  Add 5-6 eggs that have been beaten with a tablespoon or two of milk, a pinch of salt, and a dash of the hot sauce of your choosing (if you like it a little spicy).  If you want, you can sear a couple pieces of ham in another skillet, cut into thin strips, and stir in towards the end of cooking the eggs.  Stir occasionally throughout cooking until the eggs are cooked to your liking, and serve with toast, fruit, whatever you like.  Enjoy!

Lemon & Thyme Lamb Chops and Tomato Salad with Red Onion, Dill and Feta

This should be a shorter post, because I can just link to recipes I used.  For the Lemon-Thyme Lamb Chops, I bought double cut chops, and doubled the marinating time. 

To cook them, I heated up a cast iron skillet in the oven at 500 degrees for 20-30 minutes, then moved it to a burner on high.  I cooked the chops for about 90 seconds per side (all four sides b/c the double chops are thick and kind of boxy) on high until they had a nice sear on them, then moved the skillet back to oven at 450 for 3-4 minutes.  This should give you medium rare chops.

On the side, we had couscous and a tomato salad that was a perfect use for the dill from this week's share.  I used 4 different kinds/colors of tomatoes - one from the farm share and three different heirlooms from Whole Foods, a store with which I have a dysfunctional relationship.

I went lighter on the olive oil (1/3 of a cup instead of 1/2) and the feta (about 1/2 a cup instead of a full cup).  The mint and dill together are fantastic, and soaking the red onion in cold water tames the onionyness of the salad.  I kind of wish I'd used less green tomato, because color-wise it is somewhat redundant given the cucumber and all the herbs.  I also used a yellow pepper instead of red for more color and because the flavors are pretty comparable.  The result was terrific - some of the smaller bits of feta become part of the red wine vinegar dressing, and the pepper, cucumber, onion, and olive flavors all meld together in the marinade.  I would definitely make this again.

Here is the final plating, with everything put together:

And finally, what will hopefully become a running bit on this blog, a "Fine Wein" pairing suggestion.  According to Whole Foods, the lamb is from about 57 miles outside of DC, somewhere in Virginia.  Given that the lamb prep is quite French, I was already kind of thinking along the lines of terroir in terms of pairings, when it occurred to me that we had a couple bottles of wine from Chrysalis Vineyards on our wine rack.  We went with their Petit Verdot - Hollin Reserve 2005.

The pairing was great, and I do think there was a common earthiness in the lamb and wine.  Is this because they both hale from a few (or a few dozen) miles apart?  I'd like to think so, but I don't know if my palate is refined enough to really make this call.  That being said, the Petit Verdot was perfect with this lamb prep - its flavor was somewhere between a bordeaux and a cabernet sauvignon.  For a heartier, more wintery prep I would probably want a big cab, but this was ideal with the delicately flavored lamb and bright summer salad.

I think this was a total success, and a great use of the farm share dill (which can be overpowering in some recipes, but not this one) and tomato.

Thai Beef Salad with Red Leaf Lettuce

This is probably my absolute favorite salad in the world, homemade or otherwise.  It is also quite easy to make, and very healthy.  It is from Mark Bittman's Food Matters, a really interesting book that discusses how eating healthier (and vegetarian from when you wake up until dinner) is not just good for you, but is also really good for the planet.  A version of this recipe was published in Runner's World, and I'll reproduce my version of it below.  

8 ounces skirt or hanger steak (both cuts I really like)
1 head red leaf lettuce, torn (or other lettuce)1 cup fresh herbs (I use a mix of basil, mint, and cilantro)
1/4 cup red onion, minced or sliced thin
1 medium cucumber, peeled and diced
Juice of 2 limes
1 tablespoon nam pla (Thai fish sauce) or soy sauce
2 thai or red fresno chilies, minced
1/2 teaspoon sugar

Heat a charcoal or gas grill or a broiler to medium-high; the rack should be about four inches from the heat source. Grill or broil the beef until medium-rare, about five to 10 minutes; set it aside to cool. Toss the lettuce with the herbs, onion, and cucumber. Combine all remaining ingredients with one tablespoon of water—the mixture will be thin—and toss the greens with this dressing. Transfer the greens to a platter, reserving the dressing. Thinly slice the beef, reserving its juice; combine the juice with the remaining dressing. Lay the slices of beef over the salad, drizzle the dressing over all. Serves four.


Notes: This can also be made with chicken or shrimp, but it isn't nearly as good.  Adding the juice of the beef back to the dressing adds another layer of flavor to the salad and really blends all the flavors together.  I really like this salad because it is a pretty small amount of beef over huge piles of fresh, crisp greens.  The steak is best cooked medium rare... as you can probably tell I overdid it this time around and ended up around medium.  I think a skirt steak needs only about 3-4 minutes a side under the broiler to get to medium rare.


At some point, I will make something that isn't a Mark Bittman recipe and doesn't feature citrus.  Probably sooner rather than later, but citrus flavors are pretty great in the spring.

Shrimp Cooked in Lime Juice and Spicy Napa Cabbage Asian Slaw

I wanted to use our napa cabbage quickly, and in a raw application because it is one of my favorite ingredients and I didn't want to let it wilt at all.  Other cabbage will stay for weeks in the fridge, but I think napa doesn't last nearly as long.  I had a package of frozen shrimp that I wanted to do something simple with, and while I thought about a stir fry, I thought a slaw would be the best use for the cabbage so it can keep it's fresh, crisp texture.  The shrimp recipe is adapted from Mark Bittman's The Minimalist Cooks Dinner, and the slaw I made up (with so-so results).

Shrimp Cooked in Lime Juice
Combine juice of 3 limes, 1 tablespoon nam pla (Thai fish sauce), and 1/4 cup of sugar in a bowl.  Heat 2 tablespoons peanut or neutral oil in a skillet over medium high heat.  Add a teaspoon of minced garlic and 1/4 teaspoon of red pepper flakes (or more if you like heat) and cook until the garlic starts to become blondeish.  Restir and add the entire lime juice mixture and cook until it reduces by half and becomes thick and syrupy, about 5 minutes.  

Add one pound shrimp and cook over high heat, stirring occasionally, until pink throughout and curled - probably about 5 minutes depending on their size.  Serve over brown rice and top with chopped cilantro.

Asian Slaw
Veggies: 1/2 head napa cabbage, sliced horizontally into thin strips, 1-2 shredded carrots, 1/2 red or orange bell pepper cut into matchsticks, 1-2 minced spring onions, 1-2 red fresno or thai chilies sliced into thin rounds.
Dressing: 1/4 cup mayo, juice of one lime, 1 tablespoon rice vinegar, 1-2 teaspoon nam pla, 1 teaspoon soy sauce,  1/2 teaspoon sriracha (if you like it spicy), small dash of five spice powder or Penzey's Bangkok Blend.

Mix dressing, and toss veggies in it.  Top with toasted sesame seeds.

All in all, this was not my best work.  I think the mayo made the slaw too heavy; I would just go with more lime juice and maybe a little sesame oil instead of the mayo next time.  Pretty good flavor though, and lots of crunch.  The shrimp was easy, and I thought produced a good result.  Meghan thought they were bitter - probably too much garlic (I put in way more than the teaspoon listed in the recipe), and I might have over-reduced the lime sauce.  That being said, I think it was more sour than bitter, but if mouth-puckeringly sour isn't your thing, I wouldn't try the shrimp recipe.

CSA Week 2 Haul

Another week of great looking stuff, displayed in our tiny kitchen below -

• More massive romaine lettuce
• Red Oak Lettuce
• Spinach
• Arugula
• Dill
• Zucchini
• Summer Squash
• Tomatoes
• Napa Cabbage
• Spring Onions
• Garlic Scapes
• Cherries
• Strawberries

Tonight I made shrimp cooked in lime juice with a napa cabbage slaw on the side... posting the recipe tomorrow!

Greek Romaine Salad and Lamb Meatballs

Having received a huge bunch of fresh oregano from the farm share, I have spent the past few days trying to figure out what to do with it.  The smell of oregano reminds me of the tapenade that I make, which I think is one of my favorite recipes.  Given that I'm not throwing a party and just making dinner, I needed to find another use.

My mom makes a great Greek salad, topped with a tangy dressing packed with fresh oregano.  I decided to make a big Greek salad as the main course, and my gf Meghan made her lamb meatballs to have on the side (or on top).  Neither the salad nor the meatballs really have a recipe per se, but I will try to recreate them below.  I added in farm share radishes because I still had a few sitting around.

For the record, I should say that Meg and her friend Beth came up with the meatball recipe together a few years ago.  Beth is a great cook and an amazing baker.  She spent a summer working at what I think is the best bakery in D.C. - Baked & Wired.  Do yourself a favor and try a strawberry cupcake and an Americano.   If you prefer Georgetown Cupcake after trying Baked & Wired, I question your judgment.

Anyway, on to the recipes:

Greek Salad Base - to make 2 dinner salads

• one head chopped romaine lettuce (or 1/2 a massive head)
• one half small red onion, sliced as thin as possible (note - I didn't have red so I just used a yellow onion)
• 1/2 a medium cucumber, peeled and seeded, chopped
• 15 or so black olives of your choice, chopped very course
• 2 small tomatoes, chopped
• 3 small (farm share) radishes, sliced thin
• 1/2 cup feta cheese crumbes

Greek Salad Dressing

• juice of one lemon
• 2-3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2-3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped oregano
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley
• 1-2 minced garlic cloves
• salt and pepper to taste

Whisk ingredients together before assembling salad or making meatballs - this is better when it has a little while for the flavors to combine.  Any leftovers will store in the fridge for the better part of a week.

Meg and Beth's Lamb Meatballs

• one pound ground lamb
• 1/4 cup couscous soaked briefly in warm water - other grains can be subbed
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• handful finely chopped parsley
• tablespoon of finely chopped oregano (usually don't add this, but it was around)
• 3 minced cloves garlic
• dash of olive oil
• good sized pinch of salt and fresh ground pepper

Mix together with hands, or, if squeamish when it comes to getting your hands dirty (I won't name names here), with a big spoon.  As meatballs go, this recipe is especially healthy because it forgoes egg and breadcrumbs as binding agents for a small amount of grains.  Spread out on a baking sheet, and bake at 400 for about 20 minutes or until cooked through.

Tzatziki Sauce for Meatballs (optional)

• one small container skim greek yogurt (you can also "greekify" normal yogurt if you have the time and patience, as my culinary idol Alton Brown does in this recipe, which is the basis for my tzatziki) - I like skim because it is (counterintuitively) thicker than 2% and has less fat
• other half of the peeled and seeded cucumber, chopped fine
• small dash olive oil - one or two teaspoons
• 1-2 tablespoons red wine vinegar, depending on how tangy you like your tzatziki
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 6+ mint leaves, chopped fine (I like more mint than Alton)

Arrange salad ingredients on top of bed of romaine, and top with mixed dressing.  I served the meatballs on the side, topped with tzatziki, but you could just throw the meatballs on top and forgo the tzatziki.  You could even skip the dressing and use the tzatziki as dressing for a sort of lamb gyro flavor salad.

This turned out really well, and I will definitely make it again.  I think the meatball presentation could be a little better... I think it has kind of a meatball sundae look going for it above.  I also think this would be good with fresh pita bread or pita chips on the side/top.  As I mentioned, this is a work in progress.

Having already made 4 big salads, we still have a good amount of romaine lettuce left from last week's share, as well as some oregano.  That's it though; we've used up the strawberries, garlic scapes, spinach, arugula, and radishes.  Next pickup is Thursday night... I'm looking forward to seeing what we get!

Garlic Scape and Spinach Pesto

Garlic scapes are the immature flower stalks that shoot up from heads of garlic; if you've ignored a head of garlic for a few weeks you might have sprouted some in your own kitchen.  They are generally available in the spring, when they are harvested while the garlic is still young.  This encourages the plants to put their energy toward growing larger bulbs.  The plants' loss is our gain however, as the tender scapes provide lots of fresh, garlicky flavor without the bite of cloves of garlic.  They can also be sauteed, cut into 1-2 inch pieces and added to stir fries as you would asparagus or scallions, or incorporated into a white bean dip.  

I think their flavor is best enjoyed raw, so I used this week's spinach and scapes to make a pesto.

Add these ingredients to a food processor:

• 3-4 full garlic scapes, chopped down into 1 inch pieces
• bunch of spinach, washed and spun dry
• 1/3 cup almond slivers, lightly toasted (in oven or dry pan)
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup grated parm
• pinch of salt
• ground pepper to taste

Pulse in food processor while drizzling in another 1/4 cup of olive oil.  Taste, and add more salt and pepper if necessary.  If the garlic taste is too intense for you, add a little more oil and/or parm.  Pesto freezes very well, so go ahead and use it or freeze until tomatoes are in season.

I served it over whole wheat penne (I think whole wheat pasta works better with pestos and cream sauces than tomato based sauces), with some course chopped heirloom tomatoes and fresh mozzarella.  Made some garlic bread on the side... I figured my breath was going to smell like garlic anyway, might as well just really go for it.  This turned out really well, and it really looks like the Italian flag on a plate.  The garlic taste was more intense than I would have expected, so I added some extra parm.  It made for a slightly thicker sauce, but it clung well to the pasta.  I topped the noodles with the sauce, but next time I think I would just toss everything together.  The spinach was a great addition to the pesto, and i would definitely make this again.

Spring Onion Chicken Piccata

Chicken Piccata is one of my favorite Italian dishes, and I think it is great year round.  The lemon and white wine sauce is bright and full of flavor, and great for the spring.  I usually make this with onions and scallions, but I subbed in 5 spring onions from the farm share for both.  This version also saves some time, because the spring onions cook a lot faster than their full grown counterparts.  I also made quinoa with carmelized onions to serve on the side.  Simply prepped orzo, angel hair pasta, or couscous work well too.  

Chicken Piccata Recipe

Cut two boneless, skinless chicken breast in half to give you 4 pieces of chicken.  Cover with plastic wrap or wax paper, and pound until each piece is more or less uniformly 1/4 inch thick.  Make sure the chicken is quite dry, then season well with salt and pepper and dredge through a medium sized bowl with a cup or so of flour in it.  Shake off excess flour, and repeat with other 3 pieces of chicken.

In a heavy skillet just big enough to hold all the chicken, heat 2 tablespoons canola or other neutral oil (I use grapeseed) with 1-2 tablespoons of butter on medium high.  When the oil and butter stop sizzling, add the chicken and cook without moving it, turning only once, until just brown on both sides (about 4 minutes per side).  Remove chicken to a plate and tent with foil.  Pour off any remaining fat in pan, and add one more tablespoon of butter.

Add 4-6 spring onions, both white and green parts, and saute for about two minutes until softened.  Sprinkle 1 teaspoon of flour over this mixture and toss to combine.  

Deglaze the pan with 3/4 cup of dry white wine (I usually use sauvignon blanc - chardonnay tends to have too much oak flavor) and the juice of 1 large lemon, scraping up any brow bits.  Add the zest of about half of the lemon.  Add 1 tablespoon of rinsed and lightly crushed capers and toss to combine.  Return the chicken to the pan, cover, and reduce heat to low, simmering until the chicken is cooked through (about 4-5 minutes).  Add additional salt/pepper to taste if necessary.  

If you want to work in some extra greens to the meal, serve over arugula or pea shoots, either of which will wilt nicely.  The peppery arugula should complement the bright flavors in the reduced white wine sauce.  Top everything with some chopped parsley and enjoy!

Caramelized Onion Quinoa Recipe

Adapted from Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything Vegetarian.  I highly suggest you pick this cookbook up, whether you're a vegetarian or not.  This is essentially a double recipe, which I suggest because quinoa is cheap and good for you and leftovers are great with just about anything, or just plain.  

Quinoa, besides being a great play in Scrabble, is a versatile and healthy grain that can be used in a similar manner to couscous or rice.  While it is actually a seed and not a grain, that is really neither here nor there in terms of how it tastes beneath chicken piccata.  While it would be fine cooked plain and served with the chicken, I  wanted to try something a little more interesting.

Put 3-4 large onions (yellow, red, or a mix thereof), halved and sliced thin, and about a teaspoon of olive oil in a large skillet with a lid over medium heat.  Cover and cook occasionally for about 25 minutes.  Add 3 tablespoons of olive oil and 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar or molasses and continue cooking for 15 minutes.

Turn the heat up to medium high, and add two cups of quinoa, and a pinch of salt and pepper.  Stir as grains start toasting and popping - this should be about 5 minutes, then add 3 cups of vegetable stock (preferably homemade, you can also use chicken stock, beer, or even water) and bring to a boil.  Stir once again, add any fresh herbs your would like (I used, and recommend about 6 springs of fresh thyme), cover, and set heat to low.  Cook until liquid is absorbed.  Check after 15 minutes.  If the grains are hard (a little toothiness is OK), add a little more liquid and cook for another 5 minutes.  When ready, taste and add salt and pepper if you'd like.  Serve immediately or at room temperature.

The quinoa will be surprisingly sweet from both the sugar and caramelized onions.  I think it works nicely with the tart piccata sauce, but this would be good with just about any grilled meats or veggies.

Arugula and Romaine Salad with Spring Onion Lemon Dressing

After picking up our share last night, we wanted to put it to good use immediately.  I cut up and rinsed off a couple handfuls of arugula and about half a dozen large romaine leaves.  I then spun them dry in my $2 Ikea salad spinner - the only decent kitchen utensil I have even bought from Ikea.  I cut up a farm share radish into thin slices, and a non-farm share carrot into matchstick sized pieces.

Here is the dressing I made:

• juice of 1/2 a large lemon
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 medium spring onion chopped fine, green stalk and white bulb
• salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

Whisk the dressing together, and drizzle over greens, radish, and carrots.  Top with a little shaved parm and some more fresh ground pepper.

Certainly not the most dramatic first recipe to post, but sometimes simplicity is a good thing.  The romaine and arugula were fantastically crisp, and the lemon and pepper of the dressing complement the arugula well.  The spring onions add a delicate and light sweetness that counters the tart lemon to make a well balanced dressing.  The parm-reggiano adds a salty, savory flavor that is good on just about anything.  

When the ingredients are good, it doesn't need to be complicated to taste great.  Farm share ingredient count: 4 (romaine, arugula, radish, spring onion).

CSA Week 1 Haul

I got out of work in time to pick up our first week's share today.  I think this duty will usually fall on the good people I am splitting my share with.  Everything was gorgeous, as I hope you can tell from the photo above.  Clockwise from the top left, we got: romaine lettuce, spinach, bibb lettuce, spring onions, oregano, garlic scapes, strawberries, a basil plant, radishes, arugula, and more strawberries.

Snap observations:

1. These strawberries are some of the best I've ever had, and I hope they don't actually need to be washed because we didn't wait to start eating them.
2. Garlic scapes are really cool looking.  
3. This is the biggest head of romaine lettuce I have seen in my life.  See my gf, Meghan, modeling the lettuce below.

Why I'm Doing This

After finishing college at the University of Michigan (GO BLUE!), where I grilled 95% of the dinners I cooked and 100% of the ones I didn't microwave, I moved to Boston. My apartment didn't have a balcony, and grilling wasn't an option. I realized I would have to learn to use my kitchen. 


I also realized that cooking can be relaxing, creative, and a lot of fun - especially if you listen to great music while doing it. Most importantly, if you are good at cooking, it can be a justification for doing little, if any, cleaning around your apartment if you're in a relationship. 


I moved to D.C. in 2008, and I really love it here. Living around Dupont Circle, I try to take full advantage of the Dupont Circle Farmer's Market on Sundays. Last spring I signed up for a farm share, and loved the variety of farm fresh produce I received every week. I have signed up for another farm share this year, which will run from June through November. This blog will track what I get every week, and what i do with it.


I have volunteered to be a coordinator of the farm share in which I participate, and part (well...most) of my duties is to send out relevant recipe suggestions every week.  Since I'll already be doing this, tracking the results and posting a photo or two seems like a natural extension.


Finally, I am a first time blogger.  While I know the internet is not a big truck and I am aware of all internet traditions, to say this blog is a work in progress is generous.  This includes the name - if anybody has a better one, I am all ears.