More greens

Better Blueberry Pancakes

This was from Cook's Illustrated, and I've been wanting to try it for a while, since I haven't been that happy with pancakes from the Joy of Cooking (they're a little rubbery, and don't cook evenly in my cast iron pan). Cook's Illustrated isn't freely available online, but I found the recipe on someone's random food blog via Google.

The pancakes were pretty good, though they didn't cook as evenly as I would have liked either. Much more tender that Joy's, but I'm not sure I see the point of sprinkling the blueberries on after the pancake hits the skillet. I'm not afraid of swirly blue batter. They would probably cook better in a big teflon pan, but we don't have one these days.

Ingredients
1 tbl. lemon juice from 1 lemon
2 cups milk
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (10 ounces)
2 tbl. granulated sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. table salt
1 large egg
3 tbl. unsalted butter , melted and cooled slightly
2 tsp. vegetable oil
1 cup fresh blueberries or frozen blueberries, preferably wild, rinsed and dried

Preparation

1. Whisk lemon juice and milk in medium bowl or large measuring cup; set aside to thicken while preparing other ingredients. Whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in medium bowl to combine.
2. Whisk egg and melted butter into milk until combined. Make well in center of dry ingredients in bowl; pour in milk mixture and whisk very gently until just combined (a few lumps should remain). Do not over mix.
3. Heat 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat for 3 to 5 minutes; add 1 teaspoon oil and brush to coat skillet bottom evenly. Pour 1/4 cup batter onto 3 spots on skillet; sprinkle 1 tablespoon blueberries over each pancake. Cook pancakes until large bubbles begin to appear, 1 1/2 to 2 minutes. Using thin, wide spatula, flip pancakes and cook until golden brown on second side, 1 to 1 1/2 minutes longer. Serve immediately, and repeat with remaining batter, using remaining vegetable oil only if necessary.

Lettuce again

• Chard
• Cilantro
• Cucumbers
  
• Dill
• Eggplant
• Garlic
• Lettuce
• Peppers
  
• Potatoes
• Scallions
• Shallots
  
• Grape Tomatoes
• Heirloom Tomatoes
• Tomatoes
• Watermelon

Birthday veggies

• Basil
• Chard
• Eggplant
• Garlic
• Leeks
• Hot Peppers
• Peppers
• Potatoes
• Shallots
• Summer Squash
• Grape Tomatoes
• Heirloom Tomatoes
• Tomatoes
• Watermelon

Eggplants and more

With nephews for scale.

• Basil
• Eggplant
• Garlic
• Onions
• Hot Peppers
• Peppers
• Potatoes
• Shallots
• Summer Squash
• Thyme
• Grape Tomatoes
• Heirloom Tomatoes
• Tomatoes

Heirloom tomatoes

This week, we got 2 lb. of heirloom tomatoes, 4 lb. of slicing tomatoes, and 1.5 lb of grape tomatoes. We'll probably end up oven drying the grape tomatoes.

• Basil
• Beets
• Eggplant
• Garlic
• Onions
• Peppers
• Hot Peppers
• Potatoes
• Grape Tomatoes
• Tomatoes
• Heirloom Tomatoes

10 minute meals

I just heard part of this segment on the radio about a column in the NY Times that ran while we were on vacation. Some interesting ideas in there. I must say that #94, "ketchup-braised tofu," sounds nasty, though.

Melons & potatoes & tomatoes

Another cabbage, to add to the 3/4 we still have from last week, plus tomatoes, potatoes, and more beets! This must be the heaviest box yet, even before counting the watermelon that didn't fit in the box.

• Beets
• Cabbage
• Eggplant
• Garlic
• Melon
• Onions
• Parsley
• Peppers
• Hot Peppers
• Potatoes
• Grape Tomatoes
• Tomatoes
• Watermelon

Tabouli will help us use the parley & tomatoes tonight.

Lentil Soup with Chard and Lemon

Found in James Beard's American Cookery, according to this blog where I found it.

We ate it warm, because we were hungry by the time I got to the last step where it says "serve chilled", and because it sounded better anyway. We tried it chilled for lunch the next day, and it was OK. I can't say it was a favorite for either of us, but it managed to use up two weeks worth of chard. Not as good as the chard tart we got as a recipe with last years vegetables (I'll post the recipe here eventually).

Lentil Soup with Chard and Lemon

1½ cups lentils
2½ lbs fresh Swiss Chard
½ cup olive oil
¾ cup chopped onion
3 to 4 garlic cloves
Salt
1 Stalk celery, chopped
¾ cup lemon juice
1 teaspoon flour
Chopped chives for garnish

Wash and pick over the lentils. Cover them with fresh cold water, and cook, covered, until tender. Wash the Swiss Chard leaves and chop them. Add these and a cup of water to the lentils. Continue cooking until the Swiss chard is done, adding more water if necessary. Heat the olive oil in a skillet and add the chopped onion. Crush the garlic cloves with salt, and add these and the chopped celery to the onion. Continue cooking until the vegetables are tender and blended. Add to the lentil mixture. Mix the lemon juice with the flour and stir it into the soup. Cook gently, stirring occasionally, until the soup is rather thick. Taste for seasoning. Serve chilled with chopped chives in soup bowls, and pass crusty French or Italian bread to sop up the juices.

First tomatoes

This week we saw our first grape tomatoes. Soon, we hope, to be followed by lots of heirlooms and slicing tomatoes, and sauce tomatoes in the field. This is the first week we haven't gotten lettuce - I guess the season is over, it will return again briefly in the fall.

• Basil
• Cabbage
• Chard
• Cilantro
• Garlic
• Melon
• Onions
• Parsley
• Peppers
• Hot Peppers
• Summer Squash
• Grape Tomatoes

Cold beet borscht

This is our favorite summer soup, and a reason we've been looking forward to beet season. It's hard to save any of the beets we get from the farm for anything else. This week we got less than half a pound, so only two large bowls came from them.

1 lb. beets
2 tsp. white vinegar, or to taste
4 tsp. fresh lemon juice
¾ tsp. citric acid powder [I skip this]
½ cup plus 1 tbl. sugar
1½ tsp. kosher salt
½ cup sour cream
2/3 cup heavy cream
Ad-lib toppings: chopped onion, chopped cucumber, chopped fresh dill, lemon wedges, sour cream, heavy cream, reserved grated beets, chopped hard-boiled egg, coiled boiled very small waxy potato

In a small saucepan, bring the beets and water to cover by 2 inches to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer until the beets are tender when pierced with the tip of a knife, 30 to 45 minutes (depending on the size and age of the beets).

Drain the beets in a sieve lined with a damp cloth; reserve the cooking liquid. Run the beets under cold water to cool, then peel. In a food processor, grate the beets with the grating disc (this can also be done with a box grater).

Return half of the grated beets to the cooking liquid. Reserve the rest of the beets for topping or for another use. Season the soup with the vinegar, lemon juice, citric acid, sugar and salt and stir until everything is dissolved. Chill.

Just before serving, whisk in the sour cream and heavy cream. Pass small bowls of the ad lib toppings.

Makes 7 cups; serves 6 as a first course.

from Vegetable Love by Barbara Kafka.

The veggies of summer

We missed a couple weeks of vegetables while on vacation, but they didn't go to waste, since we had friends pick them up. We picked up this week's bounty before heading to Michigan. I liked the food in Croatia, but it is meat heavy, and I am looking forward to the fresh vegetables.

• Basil
• Beets
• Cabbage
• Chard
• Cilantro
• Eggplant
• Garlic
• Lettuce
• Onions
• Peppers
• Hot Peppers
• Summer Squash

More and more

• Basil
• Cilantro
• Chard
• Chinese Cabbage
• Fennel
• Garlic Top
• Kale
• 3 Heads Lettuce
• Radicchio
• Scallions
• Summer Squash

This box felt heavier.

Rabbit food?

Using up the vegetables before we get more tomorrow:

• radicchio risotto
• kale braised in chicken stock with bacon
• lettuce, radicchio, dandelion green & carrot salad

Radicchio Risotto

about 6¼ cups vegetable stock
6 tbl. butter
1 onion, chopped
7 oz. radicchio, chopped [we used a whole head for a half recipe]
2 cups arborio rice
5 tbl. white wine
2 tbl. Parmesan, freshly grated
salt

Bring the stock to a boil. Meanwhile, melt half te butter in another pan, add the onion and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Stir in the radicchio, then stir in the rice and cook, stirring, until the grains are coated in butter. Pour in the wine and cook until it has evaporated. Add a ladleful of hot stock and cook,, stirring, until it has been absorbed. Continue adding the stock, a ladleful at a time, and stirring until each addition has been absorbed. This will take 18-20 minutes. When the rice is tender, season with salt to taste, stir in the remaining butter and the Parmesan and serve.

From The Silver Spoon.

Dutch Baby Bunny

This is easy, and good brunch food. I guess it's a dutch pannenkoeken. I often make one when I'm home for lunch and don't have handy leftovers. Either a full recipe or 1½ recipe go well in a 12" cast iron skillet. It's good with or without bacon, though you may want to add more salt if you make it with unsalted butter and no bacon. We don't usually have vanilla sugar, so I use granulated sugar and add a little vanilla extract to the liquid. They usually puff up higher than the one in this picture.

Dutch Baby Bunnies

½ cup flour
2 tbl. vanilla sugar
¼ tsp. salt
4 tbl. butter [I usually use 2-3 tbl.]
½ cup milk
2 eggs
3 strips bacon, cooked and crumbled

Preheat oven to 400ºF.

Put the butter in the skillet and place a 10" cast iron skillet into the oven to melt the butter. Watch out--- don't let it burn.

Combine the dry ingredients (except the bacon), then the wet ingredients in a separate bowl, and mix the wet into the dry, then add the bacon.

Remove the skillet from the oven. Pour the batter into the skillet and bake for 20 minutes, or until golden brown.

Remove the skillet from the oven and transfer the bunny to a serving plate.

Sprinkle with more vanilla sugar and top with desired topping [usually maple syrup for me]. Cut into wedges and serve immediately.

From I'm Just Here for More Food by Alton Brown

More greens

This week:

• Cilantro
• Garlic scapes
• scallions
• 3 summer squash
• 4 heads lettuce
• kale
• peas
• dandelion greens
• radiccio

Week #2

This week:

• Bok Choy
• Broccoli
• Collards
• Garlic Tops
• Kale
• Lettuce
• Peas
• Strawberries

We got through all but the lettuce last week. This week, only two new heads, but they are huge, and we also have several other greens.

General Tso's Chicken

Had big salad the last couple nights, and steamed the bok choy to go as a side dish with this.

I like this recipe, but we agreed that it could be more balanced, with less chili sauce and more sugar. This is based on a recipe I've had for a long time, but I don't know the original source.

1 lb boneless chicken thighs, cut into 1 in. cubes
1 egg
1 tbl. cornstarch
1 tbl. soy sauce
1 tbl. minced ginger
1 crushed clove garlic
3 scallions
2 tbl. soy sauce
1½ tbl. chili paste
2 tbl. corn starch
1 tbl. rice wine vinegar
1 tbl. sherry
1 tbl. sugar
⅜ cup chicken stock
1 tsp. sesame oil

Coat the chicken with egg, cornstarch & soy mixture. Fry in batches in ½ inch of oil in wok. Set aside.

Heat a bit of oil in wok. Fry scallions, ginger, and garlic until scallions soften a bit, then add chicken and stir fry briefly. Add the sauce made from the rest of the ingredients combined and cook until thickened. Remove from heat, add sesame oil and stir.

Julienne of Five Lettuce Soup

Still looking for new and creative ways to eat lettuce, without a salad every night. This was OK. Made about a half recipe, with the varieties of lettuce we happened to have (3 different ones), and no chicory.

1 cup packed romaine lettuce leaves
1 cup packed Boston lettuce leaves
1 cup packed leaf lettuce
1 cup escarole leaves
½ cup packed escarole leaves
2 tbl. unsalted butter
5 cups chicken stock
½ cup heavy cream
6 egg yolks
1½ tsp. kosher salt
¼ tsp. freshly ground pepper

Wash the lettuces and dry well. Cut into ⅛ inch strip: This is easiest to do if you stack several leaves at a time, roll into a tight wad and slice them accross. You can also use the medium slicing disk of a food processor.

Melt the butter in a medium saucepan. Add the lettuces and toss with the butter. When the lettuces are wilted, add the chicken stock and cook over medium heat for about 10 minutes, or until the toughest leaves are tender.

In a small bowl, mix the cream with the egg yolks. Gradually stir in a small amount of the hot soup into the cream mixture to slowly raise the temperature of the egg yolks. Keep adding soup until the mixture is warm. Whick the egg yolk mixture into the soup and cook, stirring constantly, without letting the soup boil, until it thickens enough to coat the back of the spoon. Season with the salt and pepper.

Serves 6 to 8 as a first course
from Vegetable Love by Barbara Kafka

Salmon Wrapped in Lettuce Leaves

Used up one head of lettuce with this. I could have used a few more leaves, but I can't imagine using 4 heads as in the recipe. I was skeptical after I wrapped the fish (I actually used steelhead, very similar to salmon) in lettuce and it was falling apart, but after steaming the lettuce stayed on well. This is nice with no added flavors, but might be improved with some ginger & lemon grass, and maybe a crunchy vegetable in the package with the fish. Variations have some potential.

4 medium heads Boston lettuce (about 8 oz. each)
1 lb. salmon fillet

Prepare the lettuce: Carefully separate the lettuce leaves. Cut each leaf in half, removing the center rib. Trim the heavy white sections from each half, leaving a circle of lettuce approximately 3 ½ inches in diameter. Set aside (do not blanch).

Cut the salmon into 1 x 1 x ½ inch pieces. Place a piece of salmon on each piece of lettuce leaf. Fold the edges of the leaf over the salmon. Place seam side down in the top of a two-part steamer, or in a bamboo steamer rack or on a plate in a bamboo steamer. Fill the bottom of the steamer pan or a pan large enogh to hold the bamboo or steaming rack with water; the water should not touch the rack. Bring to a boil. Place the salmon on top, cover and steam until the salmon is completely cooked, for about 10 minutes.

Makes about 48 pieces (can be divided easily).
from Vegetable Love, by Barbara Kafka