Collard Greens Pesto

 What? Yes, you can pesto anything.  Normally when I make a salad pizza, I'll use an arugula pesto but this week I didn't have any left in the freezer, and I wasn't about to go and buy more greens when I had a bunch of collards, half a bunch of kale and a good amount of lettuce still sitting in the crisper.  And the collards were from the CSA almost 3 weeks ago!  I will say, that's the advantage of CSA/farmer's market produce, it's so generally so fresh that it lasts a long time in the fridge (especially if you clean and package it like this), unlike the bags and boxes of salad you get at the grocery store that seem to turn to slime after a few days. At any rate, I hadn't had a chance to cook the collards, but I had cleaned and chopped them as soon as I got them home (they fit in the fridge much better that way) so they were ready to be turned into my first attempt at collard pesto.  

Collard Pesto (Recipe adapted from Garden & Gun)

Makes about 12 ounces of pesto

• 4 cups chopped collard greens (a small bunch will give you this much)
  
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled
• 2/3 cup EVOO
• 2 oz grated parmesan cheese
• 1/2 tsp grated lemon zest
• 1 1/2 tbs lemon juice 
• 1/2 cup toasted pecan halves
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt (adjust to taste)
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

In a food processor, combine the pecans, garlic, ¼ cup of the oil, the cheese, lemon zest, and lemon juice and blend or pulse several times to combine. Add the greens and pulse a few times to get them started (you can use a spatula to push the greens down between pulses). Add salt and pepper Add the rest of the olive oil slowly through the feed tube while the food processor is running and process to the desired consistiency. Taste and adjust seasoning.  

This will keep several days in the refrigerator and also freezes well.

Here it is going on the pizza dough:

I use the parchment to help me slide the pizza onto the pizza stone, I bake the pizza for 5 minutes at 500°F, then remove the parchment and bake for 5 more minutes. 

The finished product - I drizzled the lettuce with about a tsp of olive oil and lemon juice and grated a bit of parm on it:

 Full salad pizza recipe and process here. Overall collard pesto was a success! 

Crispy broccoli

 I love me some roasted veggies.  This week we got a wonderful 2 lb bag of broccoli in our CSA, and I knew that it was going to get roasted.  Thanks to my girl Deb at Smitten Kitchen, I knew exactly what I needed to do, and it did not dissapoint! You can find the recipe here: https://smittenkitchen.com/2015/04/crispy-broccoli-with-lemon-and-garlic/

First cut up the broccoli into smaller florets, and peel the stems and cut into 1/2 inch chunks. Toss it up with salt, pepper, garlic, lemon zest and and couple of tbs of olive oil and throw it on a sheet pan and roast the heck out of it at 425°F for 20-30 minutes.  Stir it up after 20 min and then check it every 5 minutes after that until it's the amount of crispy you like. Mine was good after 5 more minutes.  Hard not to eat the whole pan when it comes out!

some pics!

stir it all up!

put it on the sheet pan:

Roast it up!

Ugly delicious....

Strawberry Shortcake

 I was out of town for a few weeks in April and May, and then my brain seemed like it was out of town for  few weeks after I got back.  Finally made it to the farmer's markets this week and one of the items I'd been most wanting was fresh strawberries.  Hadn't made it out to Rudd Farms yet, but the folks at Sugar Hill Produce hooked me up.  The berries we delicious out of hand, but I turned the rest of them them into some strawberry shortcake for today.  For my shortcake, I use Deb Perelman's version of Cream Biscuits adapted from James Beard.  They are super simple, and come together quickly.  I use the version with a bit of sugar and usually halve the recipe and get about 5 biscuits.  

Strawberry Shortcake:

• 1 qt fresh strawberries
• 1/2 batch Cream Biscuits (flour, heavy whipping cream, baking powder, butter, salt.  Buy 1 pint heavy whipping cream and use the rest - about 1.25 cups for whipped cream)
  
• Sugar to taste

Components:

Wash strawberries, remove tops and slice thinly.  Toss sliced strawberries with 1 tbs of sugar (or to taste, but you need to use some to pull the liquid out).  Allow to macerate in the fridge for at least 2-3 hours or overnight.

Make cream biscuits.

Whip remaining cream, sweetening lightly with 1 tbs sugar (or to taste).

Assemble

Split warm biscuits down the middle with a serrated knife (they are delicate!).  Put the bottom half on a small plate.  Please a large spoonful of berries and juice on top of the biscuit, followed by a large spoonful of whipped cream.  Place the top half of the bicuit on the whipped cream, add another large spoonful of strawberries followed by a spoonful of whipped cream.  Serve immediately. 

Enjoy:

No thought required breakfast for a week

 "Slab" Frittata (adapted from Smitten Kitchen Every Day)

Ingredients:

•  6 eggs
• 2-2.5 ounces arugula (could also use spinach or other greens, cooks down to about 1/2 cup)
  
• 4 ounces meat (ham sausage, etc)
• 1/2 small yellow onion, finely chopped
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 8 oz white mushrooms (sliced)
• 2 tbs milk (I used whole milk)
  
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• ground black pepper
• 3 oz gruyere or similar melty cheese.

Instructions:

1. Saute arugula until wilted in 1 tsp oil and 1 tbs water - set aside
2. saute onion for 5 minutes on medum high
3. add mushrooms and a bit of salt and saute on medum high for 5 min
4. add garlic and saute until fragrant, take off heat
5. Whisk egg with salt, pepper and nutmeg  until mixed, add the rest of the ingredients
6. Pour into 9*13 cake pan sprayed with pam
7. sprinkle cheese on top
8. Bake for 20-25 minutes
9. Cut into 6 squares, store w/ parchment paper to separate
   

Lamb Burgers with the condiment I can't spell (tzatziki)

 So one of my favorite things to do with ground lamb is lamb burgers.  And instead of the ketchup that usually accompanies a beef burger, I prefer the condiment I have to look up every time I want to write about it, tzatziki.  It's super easy to make, adaptable, and delicious.

Ingredients:

1 medium cucumber, seeded, shredded and squeezed to remove excess moisture (I use a clean towel here to twist and wring out the moisture.

yogurt (I use greek 2%) to equal the amount of cucumber.

1 garlic clove, pressed or grated on a microplane

2-3 tsp lemon juice.

Salt and pepper

Directions

 Mix grated cucumber with yogurt, garlic, lemon juice and spices.  Chill and serve.

Here's a pic of a lamb burger w/ a tzatziki crown.  And tots.  Because tots are always allowed.

https://guilfordcsachallenge.blogspot.com/2021/07/lamb-burgers-with-condiment-i-cant.html

Peanut Chicken Soba Salad

 Adapted from Peanut Chicken Soba Salad Cooking Light 2004

 This is a great idea for a delicious chicken salad when it's hot outside.  I've adapted the original Cooking  Light recipe to work with what you've got and to include more veggies.  Serve 2 generously

•  6-8 oz cooked chicken
  
• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoons sesame oil
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon honey or 1 tablespoon Kotterin Mirin 
• 1 teaspoon chili garlic sauce (such as Lee Kum Kee or Siracha) or more to taste
  
• 2 cups cooked soba noodles (about 4 ounces uncooked)
• 2-3  cups thinly chopped cabbage and/or grated carrot
• ½ cup thinly sliced green onions (oh shoot, I forget these)
• ¼ cup minced red onion (maybe a bit more since I forget the green onions above)
• ¼ cup chopped fresh basil (mint, thai basil and cilantro are great additions here and more of all is ok)
• 2 tbs chopped unsalted, dry-roasted peanuts 

Directions:

Acquire 6-8 oz of cooked chicken.  This could be leftover roast or rotisserie chicken, grilled chicken breast or thighs (my favorite is 9-10 oz of chicken thighs, seasoned w/ salt and pepper and grilled).  I reckon it could also be firm crumbled tofu, though I haven't tried that yet.

Put shredded cooked chicken (by whatever method) in a bowl.  Combine vinegar, oil, soy, Mirin/Honey,  chili sauce in a bowl (add more or less of any of these condiment to taste).  Pour over shredded  chicken and let stand at least 5 minutes.  

Chop cabbage, grate carrot, chop onion and herbs as you are using.

Put peanuts in plastic zip loc bag and smash lightly with meat mallet.

Cook soba noodles according to package directions.  When done, rinse briefly with cold water and add to bowl with chicken.  Add veggies and herbs (shredded cabbage and carrot, basil, mint and onions) and toss to combine). 

Portion between two bowls, garnish with smashed/chopped peanuts.

A pic or two:

When you forget the peanuts:

 

When you remember the peanuts:

Bratwurst Meatballs

 So I'm on a roll today (a meaty one).  As I've mentioned before, I've been getting pork from PTB Farms (If you follow that link you should also check out their instagram at https://www.instagram.com/pinetroughfarm/ as Hailey posts great stories about life on the farm.  In addition to every pork cut you could imagine, they also sell sausage of many flavors including bratwurst.  Thought the bratwurst is tasty, it's not the same as my favorite bratwurst, which was also the first bratwurst I'd ever had.  When I was in graduate school in Texas, there was a local butcher that sold the best brats.  Legend had it that one of the chemistry professors at A&M missed Wisconsin brats when he moved to Texas and took his grandmother's recipe to Readfield's Meats and they ended up being one of their bestselling items, as well as the star of many a GSAC cookout (damn, they have a website now, and merch!  And David and I thought we were so fancy writing the newsletter on his first gen Apple Macintosh).  Anyhow, I've not really had brats like that since leaving Texas.  

A few weeks ago, I watched this video from Sohla El-Waylly on making meatballs.  Her "Sohla Off-Script" videos on Food52 are short and fun, and she teaches you a basic technique that you can take in many different directions.  When she said that "meatballs are just a hand-formed sausage" I had the idea to try a bratwurst meatball.  And it went pretty darn well.

Bratwurst Meatballs

Adapted from: https://food52.com/blog/26252-sohla-off-script-meatballs-guide and https://www.thepauperedchef.com/article/wisconsin-style-bratwurst

Ingredients

2 oz bread (sandwich bread, hamburger buns, etc)

½ cup whole milk

1 lb ground pork

2 tsp kosher salt (I used Diamond Crystal)

1/2 tsp sugar

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/8 tsp ground coriander

1/8 tsp ground marjoram (did not have so substituted a pinch of dried oregano, rubbed between my fingers to crush)

½ tsp freshly ground black pepper

¼ tsp dried ginger

12-oz beer (I used an amber ale)

1 large onion, sliced

1-2 tsp kosher salt

 

Directions

1.     Tear the bread into small pieces, ranging in size from small cornflakes to panko sized crumbs.  Mix with milk until everything is moistened and incorporated but still lumpy.  Let sit at least 5 minutes so all the starches are hydrated.

2.     Add the pork and the rest of the spices (through ginger) to the bread/milk mixture.  Mix in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment at medium speed for about 1 minute until the mixture is well combined and springy.  (if you don’t have a stand mixer, you can knead the mixture with your hands for 3-5 minutes until it is well combined and springy). 

3.     Transfer the mixture to a container and refrigerate overnight (24 hours).

4.     To form meatballs, measure out ¼ cup portions of meat mixture onto a greased sheet pan (lightly sprayed with cooking spray.  Wet your hands with cold water to help prevent sticking and roll each meatball in your palms to get a rounded shape. I got 11 meatballs with this mixture, but #11 was a little runty.

5.     Place the sliced onion, salt and beer in a 10” saute pan (you could also use a 5qt dutch oven).  Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 10 minutes.

6.     Carefully place the meatballs in the poaching liquid, cover and simmer for 6 minutes.  Carefully turn the meatballs over, cover and simmer for 6 minutes.  Meatballs should be fully cooked at this point.

7.     To finish, grill meatballs over medium heat to heat through and get some grill marks on them.  Serve in a hot dog bun with mustard and sauerkraut and some of the onions from the poaching liquid.

 

fFformed and ready to poach:

 

 Served up with oven fries and homemade sauerkraut.