CSA Creativity

So, this year I decided to buy a share at a local CSA farm. I have wanted to do this for a while and, since this particular farm let me purchase a full share in two easy payments rather then shelling out everything at once, I could finally swing it. The shares aren't cheap but when you consider that you are getting fresh organic produce all summer long it really is a good deal (Provided mother nature cooperates). It is also a great way to support your local farms. This being springtime in New England, I am getting a LOT of greens in our share. More than Husband and I could EVER dream of eating. Thankfully, Mom is right down the street and happy to lend a stomach! Our first weeks share had a bag of spinach and some beautiful rainbow chard in it. Now, I know I like spinach but I have to admit, I never ate chard before. So, for an introductory dish, I decided I would put it in quiche with some bacon and garlic. Seriously, what would NOT taste good in that! My instincts served me proper too because, man, was that the best quiche I ever ate! I made one for Mom too and she devoured it. Trust me, if she didn't like it she would say so. LOL! I sort of followed Thomas Keller's quiche recipe but opted for a refrigerated pie crust as opposed to making one from scratch. Yes, pie crust is simple to make but, you know what, I SUCK AT IT! Even after taking a pie making class I just don't make it enough to have it mastered. Plus, I didn't feel like fucking around with dough. Not when I just finished a 10 hour work day and there is some in a box in the refrigerator waiting for me. If you want to make pie crust then by all means do so, but this tastes just fine with a little help from the Pillsbury dough boy - just sayin'.

Bacon, Chard and Spinach Quiche

2 pie crusts (home made or pre made)

1/2 lb bacon, cut into lardons
2 shallots, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
3 large handfuls of spinach and chard (Mixed), chopped rough, large stems removed
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 C white wine

2 cups whole milk

2 cups heavy cream

6 large eggs
1 tablespoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper

6 gratings fresh nutmeg

3/4 cup grated  Gruyere cheese

Prebake pie crust until lightly browned. Let cool.

In large saute pan, fry bacon until crisp. Remove and set aside. Drain all but 2 Tbs fat from saute pan.
Add shallots and garlic to pan and saute until soft.
Add spinach/chard mix. saute
Add wine and wilt greens and deglaze pan. Remove from heat when greens are soft.

Combine the milk and cream in a large saucepan and heat over medium heat until scalded (meaning a skin begins to form on the surface). Remove from heat and set aside to cool slightly, 10 to 15 minutes.

Put eggs, milk and cream teaspoons salt, pepper and nutmeg in a blender and blend on low speed about 5 seconds to mix thoroughly, then increase the speed to high and blend until the batter is light and foamy, about 30 seconds.

Scatter half of the bacon on bottom of pie crusts, top with greens and 1/2 of Gruyere. pour egg mixture over and then add remaining bacon and top with remaining cheese.

Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes or until set in center. Let cool and enjoy!

I had a LOT of egg custard left over so I baked it into mini crustless cheese quiches using silicone baking cups. YUM!

On a Roll!

Well if you thought this post was going to be about rolls, or bread or baking, I am sorry to disappoint you. What I mean by on a roll is, "Look how many posts I have gotten done lately!!! And with pictures, even!" I really am on a roll this week blogwise and I have to admit it feels good. Today I get my first CSA share so you can expect me to be coming up with a lot of new stuff as the fresh produce comes in each week. This week the share is a lot of greens so don't expect too much with that but I will try to do a few different things if I can. Now on to last night's dinner! Fried pork tenderloins in a honey garlic sauce. YUM! It was something of a production to prepare what with all of the pounding and breading and frying. It also left my kitchen in greater disarray than most dinners I prepare. I don't even remember the last time I fried anything so this was something of a treat, if not a little heavy in the belly. Since the heat has been unbearable this week, yesterdays reprise made for a good day to fry without turning the kitchen into an unbearable inferno. I really liked this dish and I think in the future I will use it with chicken that I bake or grill (breading optional) rather than fry. I hope you enjoy it, too.

Crunchy Honey Garlic Pork Tenderloin

Cut tenderloin into pieces and place 1 piece between 2 sheets of plastic wrap. Using a meat mallet, pound the meat to an even 1/2 inch thickness.

Sift together:

2 cup flour
4 tsp salt
4 tsp black pepper
3 tbsp ground ginger
2 tbsp ground nutmeg
2 tsp ground thyme
2 tsp ground sage
2 tbsp paprika
1 tsp cayenne pepper

Make an egg wash by whisking together:

4 eggs
8 tbsp water

Season the pounded pork fillets with salt and pepper, then dip the meat in the flour and spice mixture. Dip the pork into the eggwash and then a final time into the flour and spice mix, pressing the mix into the meat to get good contact.

Heat a skillet on the stove with about a half inch of canola oil covering the bottom. You will want to carefully regulate the temperature here so that the pork does not brown too quickly.
Drain on a wire rack for a couple of minutes before pouring the Honey Garlic Sauce over the cooked fillets.

Honey Garlic Sauce

In a medium saucepan add:

2 tbsp olive oil
3 – 4 cloves minced garlic

Cook over medium heat to soften the garlic but do not let it brown. Add:

1 cup honey
¼ cup soy sauce
1 tsp ground black pepper

Simmer together for 5-10 minutes, remove from heat and allow to cool for a few minutes. Watch this carefully as it simmers because it can foam up over the pot very easily.

Fun with Leftovers

Wednesday night hubby gets home late so it is typically my night to cook dinner just for me. Although, I don't really enjoy eating alone I have to admit that it is nice to be able to feast on things that I don't get to enjoy as much anymore because he wouldn't eat them. Last night was a little different since hubby said he would eat when he got home rather then picking up something on the fly. So, that changed my dinner plans a little bit. Rather than the curry dish I originally planned to make, I made an Italian frittata that I knew he would like. Either way, I used up a bunch of leftovers and that made me happy. I originally saw this recipe on the "The Galley Goumet" website. I prepared mine almost to the letter (I used fewer eggs and added milk to them. I also used tomatoes with italian seasoning in them) and it was delicious. Hubby didn't eat his serving last night (he ate pizza, the big fibber!) and opted to have it reheated for breakfast this morning. He said it was delicious. So, there you go - a dish thats good any time of day! LOL!

Tuscan Frittata Affogata (adapted from The Galley Gourmet)

10 extra large eggs

1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided

8 ounces (1/2 pound) Italian sausage, casing removed

1 medium yellow onion, diced

1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced

2 medium cloves of garlic, crushed and minced

1 cup crushed tomatoes

6 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced

6-8 fresh basil leaves, torn

Preheat the oven to 350º F. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, Parmigiano-Reggiano, salt and pepper. Set aside.

In a 12-inch non-stick skillet over medium-high heat, warm 1 tablespoon of the oil. Cook the sausage breaking up large pieces until browned, 6-8 minutes. Transfer sausage to a separate bowl. Carefully wipe out the pan with a paper towel. In the same pan over medium high heat, warm the remaining tablespoon of olive oil. Sauté onion and pepper until softened, about 10-15 minutes. Add the garlic and continue to cook for another 2-3 minutes. Add the sausage to the pan; pour in the egg mixture. 

Transfer the pan to the preheated oven and bake for 10-15 minutes or until the eggs are just barely set. Carefully remove the pan from the oven. Turn the broiler on and move the oven rack to the highest position. Spread crushed tomatoes over the eggs and arrange the mozzarella on top. Broil the frittata for 3-5 minutes. Carefully remove the pan from the oven. Slide the frittata onto a serving platter. Sprinkle with the torn basil leaves. Enjoy!

Finally!

Check it out! I finally remembered to take a picture, LOL! I consider this a personal triumph to say the least, LOL! I will also add that this meal was DY-NO-MITE!!! Hubby loved it as well and devoured every last bite. It was especially nice that I had all of the ingredients on hand as they are all pretty much standard stock in my house. I only marinaded the chicken for a few hours so an overnight marinade would probably be even better. our chicken breasts were totally mutant things so we only used one and filleted it into two serving. Even doing so, my portion was a good 5 ounces so it was still a healthy serving. The original recipe had this being prepared on the grill and served over pasta but I did it on the stove and finished it in the oven and served it with zucchini ribbons. It worked out just fine. I hope you enjoy it however you prepare it!

Chicken Bruschetta

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1-2 Cups Italian Salad Dressing

1 large tomato, diced (or 1 basket grape/cherry tomatoes, halved)
2-3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh basil (chiffonade), dried will do if it is all you have
1/4 Cup good balsamic vinegar
1 Cup shredded mozzarella
parmesan cheese

Preheat over to 400F

Marinade the chicken breasts in the Italian dressing for at least 2 hours or overnight.

Mix tomato, garlic, basil, and balsamic vinegar in a nonreactive bowl and set aside

Add a little bit of the chicken marinade to an over proof skillet and heat.
Add chicken breast and sear on each side.
Pour tomato mixture over chicken and transfer pan to hot oven
Roast for about 20 minutes until chicken is almost done and tomatoes are softened
Top chicken and tomatoes with shredded mozzarella and continue roasting until cheese is melted and chicken is cooked.
Serve over anger hair pasta and/or zucchini ribbons and top with Parmesan cheese
ENJOY!

Trying New Things

With Memorial Day just ahead and the idea of actually putting a swimsuit on at the forefront of my mind, I have been frantically trying to reduce my calorie intake. I have been pretty good at keeping up with the running - the gym, not so much. Hey, something is better than nothing, right. So, as a final attempt to shed pounds I am going with calorie trimming. I am still trying to avoid simple carbs (the fistfulls of almond joy pieces I shoved in my mouth last night were an epic failure of this) while upping my intake of vegetables and lean proteins and reducing my consumption of dairy. Now, there are things I still will NOT budge on, for instance morning coffee. I like it with Splenda and half and half. Try to mess with that and I WILL kill you. I also love cheese. I will concede to try to eat lower fat varieties but will not give it up entirely. My happiness is more important to me than the size of my ass (for now, lol). My attempts at breakfast did not pan out well either. I am just not hungry when I wake up. I keep spelt cakes in the office with all natural almond and peanut butters to ward of hunger when it rears its head. Occasionally I bring a banana in with me or some fat free yogurt with rolled oats and chia seeds and fruit juice. I put all that in a mason jar and shake it up. After a while the oats soften and its a pretty satisfying snack. I need to experiment with more flavors - cocoa powder, splenda and almonds come to mind, may some coconut too. YUM! Last nights experiment was with Textured Vegetable Protein or TVP. It is used as a meat substitute. Since I am not a vegetarian I reconstituted mine with beef broth. I have to say it wasn't bad. I mean it didn't taste like meat but it didn't taste gross either and gave a little texture to my meal. I have seen it used as taco filling and with an egg to bind I would bet it would be an ok veggie burger ingredient. I had mine with soy noodles and vegetables (snap peas, carrots and cauliflower) in a jarred yellow curry sauce (Thai Kitchen brand) that I spiced up with a generous dose of sriracha. It was surprisingly good and to date this was the most enjoyable meal I have made with the soy noodles. I am not sure if it is because I am developing a taste for them or because the sauce was really spicy and delicious but whatever the reason, it was a darn good meal and I got to eat a generous portion because the calorie count was so low. Win-Win!

LIFE IS CHAOS

Indeed my life has been chaotic as of late. needless to say the healthy eating aspect of it has had some ups and downs. But I still keep trying. I have made some delicious things lately too that I have neglected to share. As usual, no pictures but I will try to catch up a little. todays recipe is an epiphany for me as my last attempts at making this were so abyssmal that I almost gave up on the idea. What is this recipe of which I speak you ask?? Mashed cauliflower. I know I have posted about this before but I did some homework and realize what I did wrong. 1- do NOT cook the florets in water!!! NO, NO, NO! Cook with no water in the microwave. 2- Ditch the yogurt. If you are worried about fat content use skim milk. 3- Use a good sharp cheddar cheese. this will mask that cauliflower taste. 4- Use a blender not a food processor to produce and silky creamy end product.

Easter Yummy

So this weekend was Easter and we feasted....and feasted..... and feasted. I will admit it was fun and delicious but today I feel like kaka. Boy, you sure do notice when you fall off of the healthy eating wagon. I am hoping i feel a little less sluggish this afternoon and can make It through my scheduled workout because right now I just want to go home and back to bed. For Easter we had roast beef with ALL the fixin's and then some. My contribution was a broccoli casserole. I used a squash casserole recipe that I had for inspiration and made it up from there.

Broccoli Casserole

4 heads broccoli, chopped into florets
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can cheddar cheese soup
1 soup can full of milk
1Tbs garlic powder
1/4 C Parmesan cheese
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
2 Cups shredded Monteray Jack cheese
1 box stuffing mix

Mix stuffing mix, cheeses and broccoli florets into a large bowl.
In a separate bowl mix soups, garlic powder and milk until well blended
Add soup mixture to broccoli and stir to incorporate
Transfer to a large casserole dish and bake covered, at 350 for 1 hour or until cooked through