red cabbage braised with apples, bacon, maple, and ginger

i have a special reverence for cabbage. i'm not sure what it is, exactly, that has put cabbage on a pedestal for me, but it's certainly perched up high. it's one of the most beautiful vegetables of any season, and the density i always find surprising and impressive. plus, it just feels healthy. raw, cooked, fermented--i simply love cabbage.

the beauty above is from nash's organic farm. isn't it just so pretty? chopped and cooked for an hour with apples and a couple of strips of bacon, this cabbage was as spectacularly delicious as it was stately and gorgeous. the flavor is spicy and fruity, sweet and sour, and thoroughly perfect. i think it would be a lovely addition to a holiday meal.

chopped cabbage is almost as cool as the whole head. i'm always impressed by the intricate, wrinkled growth patterns, how the leaves nest into each other. neat!

red cabbage braised with maple and ginger
from molly stevens' all about braising

1 tsp olive oil or vegetable oil
2 slices bacon, chopped
1 1/2 Tbsp butter
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
1 tart apple, peeled, cored, and thinly sliced
1 tsp grated fresh ginger
1 medium head red cabbage (about 1 3/4 lbs), quartered, cored, and sliced
1/4 apple cider vinegar
2 Tbsp pure maple syrup

preheat oven to 300 degrees.

fry the bacon over medium heat in a large, deep, ovenproof braising pan with a tight-fitting lid until crisp, about 5 minutes. add 1 tsp oil if it seems necessary. remove bacon with slotted spoon and drain in paper towels.

add butter to the pan and stir in the sliced onion. season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring periodically, until soft, about 2 minutes. add apple and ginger and stir to combine. increase heat to medium-high and and add the cabbage, a few handfuls at a time, stirring to cook down until it all fits in the pan. cook about 6 minutes, stirring, until the cabbage begins to wilt. add the cider vinegar, syrup, and cooked bacon. stir to combine and let the liquid come to a boil.

cover the pan and put in oven. braise at a gentle simmer, stirring every 20 minutes, until the cabbage is tender, about 1 hour. serve warm or at room temperature.


sources:

bacon from skagit river ranch
cabbage from nash's organic produce
onion from willie green's organics
apple from collins family orchard

grilled cheese with mozzarella, kale, and proscuitto

i essentially doubled my cookbook collection a couple of weeks ago. food magazine editors are sent a lot  of cookbooks for promotion, and, lucky me, i happen to know one who had acquired enough of them that she'd created a "free" box that i was invited to pilfer. i came home with 11 shiny new cookbooks, and food and gardening books. SCORE. 

one book that seemed at first as though it had no reason to exist is called grilled cheese, please! i wasn't convinced that the humble (and, let's face it, already mastered) grilled cheese needed 148 dedicated pages, but i took it anyway. and it's spectacular. 

the author, laura werlin, states in her forward that grilled cheese has "grown up." certainly, reading through the recipes she offers, i have to agree. she's using a range of rustic to fancy-pants cheeses and breads, and incorporates tons of other ingredients, including meats, fruits, veggies and pickles. some are dipped in jams or topped with relish. there are plenty of exciting, and a few downright weird, combinations. 

we started with the mozzarella with crispy proscuitto and broccoli rabe recipe, substituting kale for the rabe since we have some growing in our backyard. we talked about this sandwich for days! things like, "i can't believe how much i liked that sandwich!" "yeah, i was just thinking that!" use good fresh italian bread and whole milk mozzarella and you can't go wrong. the recipe calls for crisping up the proscuitto in a skillet before assembling the sandwich, but it doesn't seem necessary to me. crunchy, crispy, gooey, salty, creamy yumminess!

grilled cheese with mozzarella, kale and proscuitto

from grilled cheese, please!

makes 2 sandwiches

4 thin slices proscuitto

olive oil

1/2 bunch kale, rough chopped

dash of red pepper flakes

4 sandwich-size slices italian bread

4 ounces mozzarella cheese, drained and sliced if water packed, otherwise coarsely grated.

heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a pan over medium heat. add kale and saute until wilted but still bright green. stir in red pepper flakes, if using. (if your mozzarella is really mild, you may want to add a dash of salt to the kale as well.)

to assemble: brush one side of each bread slice with olive oil. oil side down, add half of kale to two bread slices, then proscuitto, then mozzarella. top with remaining bread. you may need to compress the sandwiches with your hand or spatula if the cheese is piled high.

heat skillet over medium heat for 2 minutes. lower sandwiches in pan, cover, and cook for about 3 minutes. (i know covering it seems weird, but laura insists it's the best way to get the cheese to melt before the bread has a chance to burn.) when browned, flip and cover and cook a minute or so more, until other side browned and cheese is melted. 

kale, sausage and leek gratin--failure avoided!

we stopped by stokesberry farm's booth at the ballard farmers market a couple of weeks ago, hoping to pick up a whole chicken for roasting. janelle told us she didn't have chickens that day, but offered to show us their chicken sausage with sage and garlic just as an fyi. ok, great, good to know, thanks! about 5 minutes later we were back at her booth, money in hand. i'd just bought some gorgeous kale and leeks from anselmos farm, and had a solid vision of a kale and chicken sausage gratin in mind.

i'd wanted to make the sausage and winter greens gratin from edible seattle for months. when i pulled up the recipe, however, i realized that it was calling for more greens than i'd purchased, and it did not use leeks. so my first revision was to leave out the chard and collards, and add the leeks. revision #2--we had breakfast sausage rather than italian, but at this point we were still largely on track. i followed the rest of the recipe as written, got it in the oven, and then *zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz POP*, smoke started coming up through the eyes on the stove. the lower heating element in the oven was aflame. the oven, tragically, was dead. thus, revision #3--i had to cook the gratin on the stove top, stirring occasionally so it didn't burn on the bottom, then add more cheese to the top and finish it under the broiler for a few minutes to get a crunchy top.

this was a damn good gratin! after all the changes i made on the fly, i couldn't possibly type out what the final recipe was. but that's the beauty of a gratin, and of a well-written recipe--you can make substitutions, you can add your personal touch, evidently in some cases you can even cook it without an oven, and it's still going to be great. just start with awesome ingredients, like the chicken sausage with garlic and sage from stokesberry farms, which was, by the way, so totally delicious that we almost ate it all before i could get it mixed in with the greens.

check out the original recipe, sausage and winter greens gratin, and do with it what you will!

sources:
sausage from stokesberry sustainable farm
kale and leeks from anselmos farms

paneer curry with peas. also saag paneer... with peas!

for 3 weeks in a row i had "paneer curry with peas" on the menu list for the week. and for 3 weeks in a row, it went ignored. the reason i never managed to cross "paneer curry with peas" off the list is what the rest of the line said: "-- make the paneer." from what i can tell, paneer is one of the easiest cheeses to make. but somehow, buying a gallon of milk and spending a couple of hours turning it into fresh cheese was enough of a perceived hassle that i simply skipped over it, and added it to the next list, week after week...

then, one magical day at the farmers market as i was wandering aimlessly, $20 still in my pocket and fresh out of ideas for how to spend it, i saw a sign from appel farms-- "Paneer~ $4.75lb." SOLD!

paneer is a fresh cheese (as in unaged, like mozzarella) with a mild flavor and a firm texture which shows up frequently in indian cuisine. one of paneer's qualities is that it doesn't melt, even in a hot pan, so many recipes using it call for frying the cheese in cubes.

i bought one pound and split into two different meals. the first, a curry with peas and tomatoes, was one i wanted to try specifically because my recent freezer inventory let me know that i am still behind schedule, as far as using up all the stuff i put away last fall. the second, a saag paneer, is a recipe sent to me by our friend scot several years ago, and it would use the lovely baby spinach available at the markets right now. (i added peas. had to, gotta use 'em up!)

the verdict-- loved them both. LOVED. the curry with peas was thick and flavorful, and the combination of spices was great. the saag seemed like it would be spicier than it ended up to be, surprisingly. that's just perfect for me, but for those who like a little burn, you may want to spice it up with more pepper and/or ginger. also, while i thoroughly enjoy, even crave, the thick, creamy, gloppy dishes at some indian restaurants, i really appreciated that these are lighter in texture, and chances are in caloric content!

paneer curry with peas
bon appetit, april 2010

1 Tbsp flour
1/2 lb paneer (or tofu) cut into 1" cubes
2 Tbsp ghee, divided (i used peanut oil because i had some and ghee was $8!)
1/2 onion, finely chopped
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 Tbsp fresh ginger, peeled and minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp ground coriander
1/2 jalapeno pepper, minced with seeds (more if you like heat!)
2 cups (or 14 oz) crushed tomatoes with juice
1/4 cup water
3/4 cup shelled peas, fresh or frozen (thawed if frozen)
1/4 tsp garam masala
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
prepared jasmine (or basmati) rice

toss paneer with flour in a bowl to coat. heat ghee or vegetable oil in heavy nonstick skillet over medium to medium-high heat. add cheese to pan in batches if necessary and fry, turning occasionally, until sides are golden brown, about 4 minutes. transfer to plate and set aside.

heat remaining ghee or oil over medium heat. add cumin and stir, cooking about one minute. add chopped onion and cook, stirring, until translucent and softened. add ginger, garlic, coriander, and minced jalapeno and stir one minute. add tomatoes and their juice, 1/4 cup water, and turneric. bring to simmer, cover, and reduce heat to low. cook covered until beginning to thicken, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes.

add peas and fried paneer and stir. cook over medium-low heat another 5 minutes or so, until cheese heats through and peas are tender. stir in cilantro and garam masala. season to taste with salt and pepper and serve with rice.

saag paneer (with peas!)
from scot (my notes in parentheses)

1 1-inch cube ginger, peeled and chopped
2 cloves of garlic, peeled
1/2 to 1 fresh green hot pepper (i used jalapeno)
6 Tbsp vegetable oil
1/2 to 1lb paneer, cubed (scot notes that they have also used mexican queso fresco, the dry crumbly kind rather than the melty kind, when paneer couldn't be found)
1/4 tsp garam masala
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
1/8 tsp salt
2 10-oz boxes of frozen spinach, thawed and drained well (i was using fresh and accidentally bought only 1/4 lb, which, of course, cooked down into almost nothing. a pound might have done it. so i added about a cup of peas leftover from the curry. it was just fine.)
1/2 tsp salt
3 Tbsp heavy cream (scot says they use milk)
jasmine or basmati rice

put ginger, garlic, and chili in a blender or food processor and process into a paste.

heat the oil in a heavy pot over medium heat. add the paneer and fry until they are golden on all sides. remove with a slotted spoon to a plate in a single layer and sprinkle evenly with salt, garam masala, and cayenne. set aside.

put the paste from the food processor into the hot oil in the pan. fry, stirring constantly, for 30 seconds. add spinach and 1/2 tsp salt and stir for about a minute. cover pan, lower heat, and cook gently for 15 minutes. (i added the fresh spinach and cooked until wilted, then stirred in the peas.) add a tablespoon or two of water if it becomes too dry. add paneer and cream, bring to a simmer, and cook covered over low heat for 10 minutes. season to taste, and serve over rice.


sources:
paneer-- appel farms
tomatoes, peas, and onions-- our freezer, from our fall preservation
spinach-- alm hill gardens

it's not fancy, but it is meatball soup.

i've been making this soup for years. i change it up here and there, using whatever is on hand, but the basic formula remains: meatballs, broth, leafy greens, and pasta. it was inspired by escarole and little meatball soup, epicurious oct. 2003, but i've changed up the basic measurements just a bit.

this time i threw in some tomatoes from my freezer. not bad, though i think next time i make it with tomatoes i'll go much further with it. this was more or less a soup with some tomatoes, and i think it should be either a clear broth or a serious tomato base with some italian herbs.

the meatballs take a little time to form, but otherwise this soup comes together really fast. it's the thing i make when i don't feel like cooking, though admittedly that feeling for me may be a little different than it is for some people... :) i use a pound of beef, and freeze half of the meatballs for later use. 'cos, ya know, i like to freeze things... anyway, it's filling, satisfying, and even if your thing is campbell's, this soup will deliver. as i said, not fancy, but meatball soup.

tiny meatball soup

for meatballs:
1 lb ground beef
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1/2 cup grated parmesean cheese
1/4 cup minced onion
1 egg 
salt and pepper

combine all ingredients in bowl until well mixed-- use your hands. shape mixture into tiny meatballs, about the size of one of those small balls you hang on the christmas tree, or a cherry tomato. set half aside for the soup, and freeze the rest for later.

for soup:
2 medium carrots, chopped 
1/2 bunch kale, tough stems removed and chopped (any green works-- spinach, broccoli raab, chard, escarole, bok choy... cooking times vary)
1 leek, white and light green parts only, cleaned and chopped (optional)
2 cups diced tomatoes (optional, or add more)
1 qt (4 cups) chicken or vegetable stock, preferably homemade
1 handful (about 1/2 cup) small pasta
salt and pepper
parmesean cheese to serve

heat stock and tomatoes (if using) over medium heat in soup pot. add carrots, leeks, and kale, and simmer until the carrots are almost tender, about 20-30 minutes. (if using a less hearty green, like spinach, add it with the meatballs.)

add meatballs and pasta and simmer until until the pasta is cooked, 15-20 minutes. alternatively, cook the pasta in a separate pot until al dente, and stir into the soup at the last minute, after the meatballs are cooked through. simmering in the broth, the meatballs cook in no time, but they don't mind simmering longer than they need so timing isn't a big issue.

season with salt and pepper, and serve with grated parmesean and crusty bread.  


sources:
ground beef-- skagit river ranch 
carrots and kale-- nash's organic produce 
eggs-- woodring northwest specialties (caity)
leek-- full circle farm 

winter greens gratin-- you should probably make this right away.

i tried and tried to get this post out yesterday, but i simply could.not.focus. i'd add a link, type three or four words i thought might eventually make it into a sentence, and wander away from the computer. i'd come rushing back thinking, "just write it! just get it done!" and then find myself in the dining room again. this continued until i gave up and did laundry.

rob theorizes my trouble came from having half of a bottle of coke rather than "a good breakfast." i'm sure he's exactly right. this morning i've had a cup of herbal tea and a shower, which is as close as i've really ever come to "breakfast" in the last 36 years, so i'm ready to go!

i've been digging around in the PCC market recipe collection and have found several dishes that will be great for the winter crops now available at the farmers market. we started sunday night with this one-- organic winter greens with caramelized leeks parisienne. basically, a scrumptious kale gratin that will almost certainly make it into the rotation!

there's not a lot to say about this dish. it's a gratin. it scratches a similar itch as would a goopey, cheesy casserole or a mac n' cheese (especially with that buttery crunch on top), yet is much lighter and packed with the some of the heartiest and most healthful greens any season will produce. 


i followed the recipe almost exactly, with these minor changes and observations:


recipe link again: organic winter greens with caramelized leeks parisienne

• i didn't have any chard, so substituted with more kale, using both purple and lacitino kale. (kale from nash's, winter spinach from willie green's organics, and leeks from full circle .)
• the kale was some of the woodiest that i've ever seen, even with the stems removed. i therefore cooked it down closer to 30 minutes than the 3-5 the recipe calls for before adding the cream mixture and baking.
• for the topping, i separated the cheese from the butter and panko, sprinkling the cheese on top of the greens, then topping with the buttered crumbs.
• because i had so much kale, the leek and spinach were completely lost. i'll add more of each next time, and cut back a little on the kale.
• the recipe calls for beecher's flagship which has become one of my favorite all-purpose cheeses of all time. use any cheese you like, anything you'd add to a casserole-- cheddar, mont jack, swiss, gruyere...
• leeks require a thorough cleaning (come to find out)! a good tutorial on leek prep here.

i served the gratin with sweet potato gnocchi from the freezer, tossed with a little butter. and it was DELIGHTFUL!

quillisascut farm's bean, kale, and chevre soup

in desperate need of new reading material a few months ago, i picked up this book. it turns out to be one of the best purchases, desperation or not, i've made in a long time. it chronicles a year in the life of a holistic and integrated goat farm in eastern washington, quillisascut farm. broken down by season, the book beautifully details how each season is dependent on the previous, and contributes to the next, in the garden, in the kitchen, and for the farm residents, both animal and human.

not only is quillisascut a working goat farm and artisanal goat cheese producer, they host the "quillisascut farm school for the domestic arts" where chefs and food staff from all over come to study the life cycles that eventually put food on the table. (seattle chef's collaborative raises money every year for a student chef to attend, so keep an eye out for their fundraisers!)

i knew right away that i would love this book-- i am truly enamored with the subject matter, and the poetic photography of harley soltes perfectly tells the year-long story. (plus, there are tons of photos of goats! just knowing goats exist in the world brings me more delight than perhaps all else. i keep declaring that i want some one day, which i'm sure has rob plotting that we will never live in a place with a piece of land larger than a postage stamp...) but, best of all, quillisascut's book features recipes for each season, using fresh ingredients, and preserving fresh ingredients for the pantry to be used in meals long after their season on the farm has come to an end.

at the ballard farmers market about a month ago i noticed several varieties of totally charming dried organic heirloom beans from full circle farms. i'd never heard of any of them, and selected one variety based solely on it's lovely wine-stained skin-- heirloom cranberry beans.

as luck would have it, the winter chapter of chefs on the farm has recipes using cranberry beans, as well as jacob's cattle beans, a variety also available from full circle farms. quillisascut's cattle bean, kale, and chevre soup sounded like a perfect use for my cranberry beans, though i suppose i should have been prepared for the soup to turn a little pink! no matter-- this is a delicious, hearty soup that definitely belongs on a big ol' farm table. and i'm so glad to learn that goat cheese has a place in bean soup!

jacob's cattle bean* (or cranberry bean), kale, and chevre soup

from chefs on the farm, recipes and inspiration from the quillisascut farm school for the domestic arts

authors shannon borg and lora lea misterly

used here with kind permission from skipstone publishers

serves 8

(their note: canned beans won't work for this recipe because as the dry beans cook, they make their own stock.)

2 cups (12 oz) jacob's cattle beans or other white beans, rinsed and soaked overnight. 3 parts water to 1 part beans, soaking water reserved (i used cranberry beans)

2 Tbsp salt

2 Tbsp (1/4 stick) unsalted butter

1 medium carrot, diced

1 celery stalk, diced

1 medium yellow onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 1/2 cups tomato puree (i used 2 cups of diced tomatoes)

1 cup chopped roasted red peppers

1 bunch kale, about 8-10 leaves stemmed and chopped

2 dried bay leaves

1 Tbps dried thyme

1 tsp red chili flakes

1 cup heavy cream (i used less)

1 1/2 cups (about 3/4 lb) soft goat cheese

salt and freshly ground black pepper

in large stockpot, bring soaked beans and soaking water to a boil over medium-high heat. skim foam. reduce heat, add 2 Tbsp salt, and simmer gently for about 1 hour, until the beans are creamy and soft. add water if necessary to keep the beans covered. (start checking them after 30 minutes to make sure to not overcook. also, beans cooked at anything above a simmer will split and become mushy, so be patient.)

in small saucepan, melt butter and saute carrot, celery, onion, and garlic until softened, but not brown. add the tomato puree, red peppers, and kale, and cook 5 minutes over medium heat. season with salt.

when the beans have finished cooking, add the vegetable mixture , bay leaves, thyme, and chili flakes. simmer soup for about 20 minutes, then stir in cream and goat cheese. taste and season with black pepper and salt.

it's pink, but it's also tangy, warm wonderfulness on a soggy winter night. use tomatoes and roasted peppers from your summer preservation and you can probably find the rest fresh!

* p.s. this is what cattle beans look like, if you're interested.

triticale and fall vegetable salad with kale chips and squash seeds

in cold weather months i often have to remind myself to eat light. summer is easy-- i can eat a tomato with a dollop of cottage cheese and consider it a reasonable lunch. not so as the dark and rain settles in over puget sound. sometimes, though, it feels good to eat something clean, something to atone for all those cheesy casseroles and cream-based soups that i do so enjoy during fall and winter.

i discovered some fun whole grains at the farmers market the other day. nash's organic produce was selling 1 lb bags of wheat berries, rye berries, and triticale (trit-a-kay-lee), a hybrid of wheat and rye. i figured those raw grains would be a good way to have some light and clean meals that were robust enough to stand up to the 50-degree drizzle outside. plus, at $2 a pound, they were a total bargain.

i've only tried the triticale, and i'm sold. it's nutty, chewy, and has a slightly springy texture in your mouth. it is also a significant protein source, so vegetarians take note!

i made an easy salad using fall veg and topped it with very flavorful condiments of toasted squash seed and kale chips. season each layer well and you've got a seriously tasty, hearty salad. the triticale has to soak overnight, so get started on this one the night before. so good!

triticale and fall vegetable salad

(serves 2)

1 cup triticale

2 cups vegetable or chicken stock, or water

1 carrot, chopped into 1" pieces

1 parsnip, chopped into 1" pieces

2 cups acorn squash, peeled and chopped into 1" cubes, seeds reserved

1/2 bunch kale, + 3-4 more leaves, tough stems and ribs removed, leaves chopped

1/2 cup + 1 Tbps balsamic vinegar

2 Tbsp butter

1 tsp honey

spicy roasted acorn squash seeds (recipe follows)

rinse triticale, cover with water and soak overnight. drain and simmer in water or stock and 1/2 tsp salt for 1 hour. (there is no water-to-grain ratio as there is with rice. just cook it until it's done, and drain.)

heat oven to 350. toss the carrot, parsnip, and 3-4 leaves of chopped kale in olive oil, salt and pepper. roast 20 minutes until carrot and parsnip are cooked through and kale is crispy.

toss acorn squash in olive oil, salt and pepper, and roast at 350 for 30-40 minutes, until soft.

tent roasted vegetables to keep warm.

saute the remainder of the kale in olive oil until it begins to wilt. add 2 Tbps water or stock and 1 Tbps balsamic vinegar. cover to steam 2 minutes then cook uncovered, stirring, until wilted but still vibrant green. season with salt and pepper.

for the dressing, melt the butter in a small saucepan and add the honey and 1/2 cup balsamic. cook over medium heat, stirring, until slightly reduced and syrupy.

to serve, divide kale onto two plates and top with drained triticale. pile the squash, carrot, and parsnip on top. spoon some of the dressing over, then top with the roasted kale chips and toasted squash seeds.

spicy toasted acorn squash seeds

1/2 cup fresh squash seeds

1 tsp melted butter

1//8 tsp cinnamon

pinch of salt

fresh cracked pepper

clean and wash the seeds. (a method i heard about on the radio works well-- put seeds in a wire mesh strainer with some kosher salt and scrub. the salt acts as an abrasive as well as seasoning. rinse.)

dry seeds well on kitchen towel.

mix seeds with melted butter, cinnamon, salt, and pepper and move to a small roasting pan in a single layer.

cover with foil (as they cook, they pop out of the roasting pan!) and toast at 375 for 12 minutes.

don't skip the seeds and kale chips! they bring a great texture and salty punch to this salad.

the substitution possibilities are endless. rice, barley, quinoa, or other grains for the triticale, root vegetables, winter squashes or gourds for the roasted veg, any leafy green for the kale... roasted onions or shallots would also be welcomed additions.

spectacular winter minestrone

one january day in college i got it in my head that i wanted to make minestrone. i didn't, however, have a recipe and wasn't sure what to do about that fact. (this was pre-internet-- for me, anyway.) when i arrived home from class that very afternoon i found the apartment complex monthly newsletter hanging on my doorknob. on page 3 was a recipe, presented by a corpulent, cartoon italian chef, for a warm and cozy escape from the january inclemency-- minestrone. sweet!

i headed out to the store immediately with my grocery list of fresh vegetables. carrots, celery, even a whole head of cabbage, for pete's sake-- i was thrilled to get home and make honest-to-god food out of these colorful raw ingredients.

sadly, the recipe was terrible. i wasn't savvy enough to realize it in advance, and was too new to cooking to know how to improve it. (now i know that 11 cups of water, chopped veg, and no seasoning does not a good soup make...) even worse, it was a bad recipe that made an ENORMOUS amount.

still, i've learned when the minestrone itch strikes, it must not be ignored. it can't be ignored. in fact, the universe wants you to have minestrone. i got a craving last weekend and this time i found a fantastic recipe. one thing that makes minestrone such a special soup is that it can always be made with what's in season, and this one, with winter veggies, is phenomenal.

i was able to get almost everything i needed from the stoney plains farm booth at the farmers market, including the cannellini beans. the bacon (the best in the world, as far as i'm concerned) is from skagit river ranch. the tomatoes and chicken stock came from my freezer.

winter minestrone

adapted from gourmet, january 2009

4 slices bacon, chopped

1 cup chopped onion (about 1/2 medium onion)

2 small carrots, chopped

2 small ribs celery, chopped with leaves

1/2 bunch kale

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 Tbsp tomato paste

2 cups (or 14 oz can) diced or whole tomatoes

3-4 cups homemade chicken stock (or water)

1/2 small cabbage, chopped (about 2 cups)

1 rind from a parmesan wedge, about 2x2"

1 cup dried cannellini beans (or 1 14 oz can)

2 cups cooked ditalini pasta

if using dried beans:

sort beans and throw out non-bean material (rocks, sticks...). rinse, and soak overnight. drain, rinse, and cook in plenty of water, simmering until cooked, anywhere from 30 minutes to 1 hour. start checking them after 20 minutes to make sure they don't overcook. drain and set aside.

cook bacon, onions, carrots, and celery over medium heat in a heavy-bottom soup pot until bacon is cooked through. it won't be crispy. (i added no fat to this recipe at all-- the bacon was plenty.)

cut the stems off of the kale and chop. chop and reserve leaves. add kale stems to pot with garlic, and season with salt and pepper. cook, stirring frequently, for 10 minutes or so. (the original recipe calls for a 45 minute cook time here, but i was afraid to burn the garlic.)

push vegetables to one side of the pot and add tomato paste to the cleared area and cook, stirring, for about 2 minutes. (original recipe calls for a browning or caramelizing of the tomato paste, but i was unsure what that exactly meant, so i just cooked it for 2 minutes.)

stir in tomatoes with their juice and cook another 5 to 10 minutes, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot.

add chicken stock, parmesan rind, chopped kale leaves, and chopped cabbage. cover and simmer until greens are tender, about 40 minutes.

add beans to soup, taste, and season with salt and pepper. simmer about 10 minutes longer.

stir cooked ditalini pasta into each bowl and serve with a loaf of fresh bread.

this soup is a bona fide remedy for a cold and rainy day. it's hearty, incredibly flavorful, and the bacon makes it a true comfort dish.

i made my substitutions and tweaks, but you should definitely read the original recipe. it's the kind that you can make over and over, making your own personal improvements on it, until one day you've got a special family recipe that you'll teach your grandkids. seriously.

cauliflower and onion tart

yesterday, i decided i wanted a tart. a cauliflower tart, to be precise. i'd never made one before but felt that the leftover meatball soup in the fridge at least had dinner covered in the event of tart failure. none of the recipes i found were exactly what i had in mind so i took some ideas from different sources and set out on my own. the result was absolutely delicious! the crust was buttery and crispy and the filling was rich but not heavy. exactly what i wanted.

i served with kale sauted with apple and onion. the hint of curry flavor was really nice, though it is easy to get mushy apples so add them late in the cooking time.

our tart was tiny, so these amounts will need to be adjusted for anything larger than a 6" casserole dish!

cauliflower and onion tiny tart for two

for dough (from easy tart crust, bon appetit march 2004):

1 c flour

1/2 tsp salt

6 Tbsp chilled unsalted butter

1 1/2 T ice water (or more)

1/2 T whipping cream

cut butter into 1/2" cubes. add to food processor with flour and salt. using on/off turns, process until mixture resembles coarse meal. add ice water and cream. process just until moist clumps form, adding more ice water by teaspoons if dough is dry. gather dough into a ball, flatten into a disk, wrap in plastic and chill 1 hour. can be made 2 days ahead. keep chilled. soften slightly at room temperature before rolling out. (i ended up using half of the dough and am saving the rest for a pear or apple tart later in the week.)

for filling:

1/2 head cauliflower, chopped into florets

4 medium to small garlic cloves, peeled and left whole

1 small onion, sliced

1/4 cup white wine

1/2 tsp butter

1 tsp whole grain mustard

1 sprig fresh thyme

1/4 cup hard swiss cheese, like gruyere, grated

1/4 cup whipping cream

1/8 cup parmesan cheese, grated

salt and pepper

olive oil

toss cauliflower florets and garlic cloves with a couple of tablespoons of olive oil and season with plenty of salt and pepper. roast uncovered at 400 degrees for 40 minutes or so, stirring occasionally until they are soft, golden, and beginning to char. (incidentally, this is my favorite way to eat cauliflower-- it's as good as potato chips...)

meanwhile, heat small pan with a couple of tablespoons olive oil over low to medium heat. add onions and cook, stirring often, for 40 minutes or until they are caramelized. if they start to crisp or burn, turn down the heat. they should be almost gooey when ready. add white wine and butter to pan and cook until reduced. remove from heat.

roll out dough to fit your pie pan or casserole dish. lay it in, repairing any tears by smushing the dough back together, and trim tops. the dough shrinks down, so trim it a half-inch or so higher than you think you'll need. pierce dough with a fork and line with foil. add pie weights (can use a cup of dried rice or beans) and cook 20 minutes at 350 degrees. remove foil and weights and cook 5 minutes longer.

to assemble, brush bottom of cooked pastry with mustard, then fill with cauliflower and top with onions and thyme. mix gruyere and whipping cream and season with salt and pepper. spoon over the vegetables. top with grated parmesan cheese.

bake at 350, uncovered, until golden and bubbly, about 20 minutes.

kale sauted with apple and onion from gourmet december 2000

• 1 Granny Smith apple
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 medium onion, cut into 1/4-inch wedges
• 1/4 teaspoon curry powder
• 1 lb kale, tough stems and ribs removed and leaves coarsely chopped
• 1/2 cup water

Peel, quarter, and core apple, then cut into 1/4-inch-thick wedges.

Heat oil in a 5-quart pot over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then sauté onion, stirring occasionally, until golden. Add apple and curry powder and sauté, stirring, until apple is almost tender, about 2 minutes.

Add kale and water and cook, covered, stirring occasionally, until kale is tender and most of liquid is evaporated, about minutes.

Season with salt.

this made a great dinner, and i can easily see it as a part of a fall lunch or brunch spread as well. i can also imagine tons of different vegetable and cheese combinations, depending on the whim of the tart maker. so good!

eat the greens!

it was about two years ago that i began to learn that the tops of root vegetables are edible. i grew up eating turnip greens, but as my mother recently pointed out we didn't eat the turnip. so the idea that both the roots and the tops are food came as a bit of a surprise. it started when i got a box of vegetables from a farmer who would bring his goods to our office. there were beets with greens attached in the box, and when i questioned their usefulness two of my colleagues insisted "yes! yes!" and then talked excitedly over each other about how best to enjoy them. i had to experiment for a while before i found my favorite beet greens recipe, which turns out to be roasted beets sliced over the greens which have been wilted in olive oil and a little water, served warm with a lemon vinaigrette and crumbled blue cheese. absolutely delicious.

this past spring i tried radishes for the first time. i'd only really experienced them on salads and was not impressed, but they were one of the first things available in the farmers markets so i decided to give them a go. when i asked the guy working the full circle farm booth what i should be looking for, he mentioned that the greens were edible so i should be checking for healthy looking radishes as well as their tops.

given that my experiences with "the tops are edible" were mounting, i'm not sure why it was such a shock for me to overhear at the market a couple of weeks ago that carrot greens are edible as well. farmers at the market are always asking if they can remove the tops for their carrot-buying customers, and have a huge pile behind them overflowing from a cardboard box. one farmer even asked if i wanted to donate the tops to her chickens. i suppose i assumed, based on those experiences, that the greens are good for chickens or for compost back on the farm, but not for eating. i was wrong! and now, in the interest of my "use the whole beast" sensibilities, i'm looking for ways to use carrot greens in my menus.

i got started by pinching off bits of the greens and tasting them, finding the raw flavor familiar but not quite able to place it. i remembered that i have a rainbow chard plant in the backyard that was never able to produce enough to use before the critters would get to it, but which has steadily had 3-5 small leaves on it since june. i snapped off a leaf of chard and tasted it along with the raw carrot greens-- that was it! they taste like chard, only a little bit milder. if that's the case, they can be used anyplace chard is, or any other green as far as i'm concerned.

my first try was a simple preparation i sometimes use with kale. i wilted them in olive oil with a little salt, a splash of red wine vinegar, and a dash of red pepper flakes. they were okay, but the stems are pretty tough and chewy, and i realized that i need to be more careful with the prep and pull off just the feathery leaves. i also noted that they are hearty and don't cook down and disappear like some greens do.

now that i had the basic texture and flavor down, i wanted to see if i could turn them into a reasonable side dish. i removed more of the stemmy material this time and sauted them with caramelized onions, then added some golden raisins and port. i thought it was delicious, and though rob went for the flavor, he noted that the texture was still chewy. i'll try and remove even more stems on the next go-round.

carrot greens with onions and raisins

(2 servings)

2 cups carrot greens, leaves only, washed and still a little wet

1/2 cup thin sliced onion

2 small garlic cloves

olive oil

1/3 cup golden raisins

1 Tbsp port

1 Tbsp hot water

salt and pepper

saute onions in olive oil over medium low heat until very soft and beginning to caramelize, without browning, about 15 minutes. add garlic and cook about 1 minute. add carrot greens and a pinch of salt and cook until wilted. add a bit of water if necessary.

meanwhile, put raisins in a bowl and add port and hot water. allow to plump up for 5 minutes or so.

add raisins and soak liquid to the carrot greens and onions and cook over medium heat, stirring, until the liquid is reduced. adjust seasonings and serve warm.

i really liked the carrot greens and raisins dish, but wanted to find more ways to get use out of these carrot tops.

i decided to make a soup i'd been curious about, adding a carrot and substituting carrot greens for spinach. between the tahini, cumin and cream, this soup had some curry-like qualities and a really interesting flavor that we both liked a lot.

garlic, chickpea, and carrot green soup

(serves 4)

modified from linda fraser's garlic, chickpea, and spinach soup from the great encyclopedia of vegetarian cooking

1 cup dried chickpeas

olive oil

1/2 onion, chopped

3 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp paprika

4 cups stock (chicken or vegetable)

2 medium waxy potatoes, peeled and cubed

1 large carrot, chopped

1 1/2 cups carrot greens, stems removed

1 Tbsp cornstarch

2/3 cup heavy cream

2 Tbsp tahini (sesame seed paste)

salt and pepper

sort chickpeas and throw out any foreign matter. rinse, and soak overnight in fridge in large pot of water. cook in soak water at a low boil for 45 minutes to an hour, until cooked but not mushy. pour off cooking water and set chickpeas aside.

in soup pot, saute onion and garlic in olive oil over medium heat until soft and translucent. stir in cumin and paprika and cook for a minute longer.

pour in stock, and add chopped potatoes and carrots. bring to a boil and simmer 10 minutes. add chickpeas and simmer 5-10 minutes more until vegetables and chickpeas are tender.

in separate bowl, blend together cornstarch, cream, and tahini. add salt and pepper to mixture to make sure it is well seasoned. stir mixture into soup, and add carrot greens. bring to a boil, stirring, and simmer a few minutes until soup thickens and carrot greens are wilted. taste and season with salt and pepper, adjusting other seasonings as necessary. serve with crusty bread, or perhaps even try with basmati rice?

i'll continue to experiment, but it seems the take-away for now is that carrot greens are a reasonable substitute for others. this is welcome news now that i can save my carrot tops from the compost bin, and even save a few bucks here and there on chasing down some other kind of leafy green. i think they'll be especially useful in soups where their stemmier parts are able to cook down and soften. let me know if you have any ideas!

note: i read in a few places that some people are allergic to the greens of carrots, so anyone who has bad reactions should obviously steer clear!