Stuffed Pattypan Squash

This post is a few weeks overdue. Oops. Things have been busy here with work and life, but I promise I still have been cooking! I picked up some cute little pattypan squashes from the CSA a few weeks ago but wasn't entirely sure what to do with them. I'd already sauteed them last year and it seemed like there had to be a better way to prepare them. And with the help of the internet, there was! I found this delicious (and adorable) recipe: stuffed pattypan squash! As always, I had to tweak the recipe slightly - I mixed the rice with carrots, onions, the insides of the squashes, and eggplant. The rice without any of the vegetables was AMAZING. I kind of have been fantasizing about making it again...and again. Angela at Oh She Glows was definitely on to something!

I also ended up with a little (ok, a LOT) of extra rice, so I just served it on the side. Nothing like a rice stuffed squash with a side of rice for dinner!

CSA Week 11

Carrots, raspberries, potatoes (which surprisingly were purple!), and corn.

We also celebrated our third anniversary this past week :) We had delicious crabcakes (the best we've ever had!!!) with roasted purple potatoes and corn on the cob. The crabcakes were from Faidley's, a stand in Lexington Market. They have been ranked as one of the best in all of Baltimore, so we had been wanting to try them for a while. They lived up to the hype! Very little filler, lots of crab, great flavor but not over-seasoned. Faidley's even ships all over the county! Good to know, considering we will be moving in a little less than a year!

 

Please make this and let me know if it's really wonderful (looks amazing)

That was the subject line of an email sent to me by my mother. I can always count on getting at least one email from her a month asking to make a new dish that she found. She sent me this recipe for cauliflower pizza right around the time the CSA started, and I knew I had to save it until cauliflower was available at the market. I used that recipe to make the crust but added my own toppings - mozzarella cheese and mushrooms.

Cauliflower pizza is popular on Pinterest, and it seemed easy enough...but was it? Here's how it turned out, fresh from the oven:

Looks pretty good right? Here's another close up:

And now, here's one slice:

So, did it taste like pizza? Yes and no. The crust didn't really crisp and was on the mushy side. That's probably chef error (didn't read the recipe all the way and forgot to parbake the crust first). It tasted good and had all the flavors of pizza (tomato, cheese, and basil), but it was just kind of a big ball of cauliflower, tomato sauce, cheese, and mushroom glop. Overall, the cauliflower pizza wasn't so pretty, but it still tasted good. I would definitely try this recipe again, but first I would read the recipe all the way through before I start cooking. 

CSA Week 10

I usually pick up my half share at the farmer's market every Tuesday afternoon. This past week, I went straight home from work, due to torrential rain and flooding streets...so this post is a bit delayed.

On Saturday, my husband and I took a nice little trip to the farmer's market in a nearby neighborhood where our farm also has a stand. This CSA has various pick-up locations in and around Baltimore every day of the week, so if you miss one day, there's always another market another day. The market we went to is actually closer to our home, but it is much harder to commit to picking up produce every Saturday morning than on a Tuesday afternoon. My husband had never come with me to pick out our produce, so it was a nice treat to have him with me. Here's what we picked:

Onions, jalapeño peppers, Oriental eggplant, and seedless watermelon!

We also grabbed some breakfast at other stands - Belgian waffles (with the sugar crystals baked in), a chocolate, coconut, and caramel donut, some delicious coffee, and a meatball breakfast panini. Overall, it was a lovely morning at the farmer's market!

CSA Week 9

This post is a week late - sorry! I wish I had a good excuse as to why it took so long to post. But I don't. Just plain laziness! Here's what I got LAST week at the CSA:

Cape gooseberries, chard, zucchini, and Roma tomatoes.

"Cape gooseberries?", you say. "I have never heard of such a thing!" Well, neither had I! When I asked the farmer what those funny looking things were, he just described their flavor - sweet and kinda pineapple-y. He offered me a taste, and I loved them. And then, from the next stall, where they sell delicious baked goods, I heard a voice: "They don't even taste like tomatoes!"

Cape Gooseberries in their husk...and one naked one!

WHAT. I just ate a tomato...and liked it? For my whole life, I have HATED raw tomatoes. I've tried tomatoes many times and every time I've spit them out. But this one was different. It actually tasted good! Since I've brought them home with me, I've been popping them in my mouth and adding them to salads. They taste kind of fruity and most definitely not like any tomatoes I've ever tried before. Maybe all you tomato lovers were on to something... 

CSA Week 8

Two months down! Here's what was picked this week:

Cucumbers, lettuce, corn, red potatoes

I can already tell you that there won't be any posts about this produce - the cucumbers and lettuce will be used on salads and sandwiches, the corn will be boiled and eaten right off the cob, and the potatoes will be halved and roasted. I was hoping for some more substantial produce, such as broccoli, cauliflower, or snap peas, but there were none this week. This week did mark the return of chrysanthemum greens (YUCK). I told the farmer that I had tried them the last time they were at the market and I didn't really like them. He did not seem surprised.

Spring Onion Soup

When handed a bunch of spring onions, what would you do with them? Sure, they make a pretty garnish and add a nice fresh crunch when used as a topping, and they add a nice subtle onion flavor when sautéed. But how do you use up a whole bunch of spring onions in one fell swoop?

That's where the Internet comes in, as always, and saves the day! I found this recipe for spring onion soup - it did not take long to make, used few ingredients, and seemed to be an easy way to use my bunch of spring onions. And it was! The soup was savory and a bit oniony. Definitely not as strong as French onion soup. The only thing that would have made this soup a little better would have been some crusty, cheesy bread to dip in it.

CSA Week 7

Corn, lettuce, squash, and onions!

Chrysanthe-yum?

If you had asked me a few weeks ago, I would definitely have told you chrysanthemum is a pretty flower and was not meant to be eaten. Well, if you ask me that now, I will tell you the same thing. Chrysanthemum greens are definitely not something I plan on eating again anytime soon! According to the farmers at the market, chrysanthemum greens can be eaten raw or cooked. When raw, the stalk tastes like carrots (but more bitter) and the leaves are VERY bitter. When cooked, the flavor of both the stalk and leaves mellows.

It was hard to find a recipe for chrysanthemum greens - it is obviously not a very popular vegetable! The only information I was able to find about cooking chrysanthemum greens stated that they cook very quickly (less than 2 minutes), and that they become mushy and tasteless when over cooked. Therefore, the easiest way to cook them seemed to be simply sauteing them in olive oil, seasoned with salt and pepper.

Well, cooking them was very easy, but it didn't really improve their taste. Kind of like really bitter broccoli rabe. Not so delicious. However, the stuffed burgers that we had as our main dish were VERY delicious!! One of our favorite wedding gifts was this stuffed hamburger press that allows you to put cheese, vegetables, or anything else you want inside your burger. Just form two smaller balls of ground beef, put them in the press, fill the center with cheese, and then seal the sides. These burgers made up for the lackluster side dish, that is for sure.

And for those of you who were wondering, here's what the burger looks like on the inside:

Look at this cheesy goodness - kind of sounds like something Guy Fieri would say!

Even though this selection was a bit of a flop, I am still glad I picked chrysanthemum greens from the farmer's market. Part of the reason I wanted to participate in a CSA was so that I could try new foods and experiment with new cooking techniques. The CSA has definitely taught me more about produce, my own tastes, and it has given me more confidence in my own abilities in the kitchen. After all, you learn more from your mistakes than from your successes!

CSA Week 6

Cauliflower, green leaf lettuce, eggplant, and pattypan squash.

Eat Your Spinach!

I am not sure where this recipe came from, but it is (as usual) a quick and easy side dish. Spinach with garlic and raisins is a nice way to change up sauteed spinach, and the raisins are a nice complement to the garlic and the bitterness of the spinach.

Spinach with Garlic and Raisins

1. Saute 1lb spinach in pan that has been heated with olive oil over low-medium heat. Add salt and pepper, to taste. Cook 3-5 minutes, until spinach begins to wilt.

2. Add in chopped garlic (as many cloves as you prefer - I usually do one big or two small cloves) and 1/4 cup raisins. The raisins will begin to expand. Cook for an additional 3 minutes. Serve as a side dish.

CSA Week 5

Broccoli, red potatoes, red spring onions, and cucumbers.

Sautéed Zucchini

Zucchini has turned into one of my favorite summer vegetables. It is quick and easy to make, and it pretty much complements any meal. Here's one of the ways I most frequently make zucchini.

Sautéed Zucchini

1. Uniformly slice zucchini - you want all the pieces to be the same thickness so that they will cook at the same time. This is easily achieved by using a mandoline (thanks, Mom!) or some very good knife skills.

2. Heat 2 Tbl olive oil in a large pan over low-medium heat. Use a pan larger than you think you need, since you do not want to overcrowd the pan. This will result in uneven cooking of the zucchini.

3. When the pan is hot, throw in the zucchini. Season with salt and pepper. Sauté zucchini for about 7-10 minutes, until they begin to soften and turn translucent.

4. Serve on its own as a side dish, or mix with chickpeas or beans as a salad, use it as a topping on pizza, or add it to vegetable pasta. 

This is my go-to way of preparing zucchini, but I've also made zucchini fries, lasagna with poblano peppers and zucchini, summer vegetable tart, and zucchini pizza. Next time there is zucchini, I want to try zucchini chips!

What are your favorite ways to prepare zucchini? Do you have any other ideas about what to do with zucchini?

Spaghetti Squash Primavera

I cheated on my CSA. That was a lot harder to admit than I thought it would be! But it was totally worth it - is it bad I feel that way? Hear me out...

Last weekend, my husband and I took a nice little trip to the beach. It was filled with sun, crabs and Old Bay (this is Maryland, after all!), and relaxation. The Eastern Shore of Maryland is full of farms, so many of the farmers set up produce stands on the side of the road to sell their fruits, vegetables, herbs, and flowers. On our way home, we stopped off at one to pick up some fruit - plums and nectarines - and checked out some of the other produce, canned sauces, and pickled items. My husband spotted a display full of different varieties of squash, so we picked out the best looking spaghetti squash, headed to the counter, and purchased it along with our fruit. Because our CSA is mostly vegetables, the only items I buy at the grocery store each week are fruit, dairy, bread, and meat. I don't want to waste anything that is included in the share, so I deliberately choose items that I know we will eat within the week and only buy a few additional items at the grocery store. Buying this lone spaghetti squash felt wrong!

Now, I am no idiot. Spaghetti squash is obviously NOT something that is harvested in the summer. It is a winter squash, and like other hard squash varieties, such as pumpkins, butternut, acorn, and delicata, is usually harvested and eaten during the late summer, autumn, and winter months. However, it just seemed right to buy it, and I knew we would eat it quickly. And besides, the CSA didn't even have spaghetti squash last year...so that makes it OK to get it from somewhere else, right? Anyway, we put that spaghetti squash to good use in spaghetti squash primavera!

This is another simple recipe:

1. Prepare the spaghetti squash in the microwave by slicing it in half, scooping out the seeds, and placing in a microwave safe bowl (cut side up) with 1/4 cup of water and covered with plastic wrap. Microwave on high 7-8 minutes until the squash is soft and the insides can be pulled with a fork into strands that resemble spaghetti.

2. Meanwhile, chop celery, carrots, and onions. Saute the mirepoix (fancy French term for the combination of these three ingredients) over medium heat in a large pan with olive oil for 10 minutes, or until soft. Add salt, pepper, and garlic to taste.


3. While these vegetables are cooking, thinly slice yellow squash and sundried tomatoes. Add to the pan once the mirepoix has softened. Continue cooking about 5-7 minutes. Remove from heat.

4. When the spaghetti squash is ready and has slightly cooled, use a fork to pull the insides out. Place spaghetti squash strands into the pan and combine with cooked vegetables. Serve with Parmesan cheese.

CSA Week 4

Here's what I got this week! Lettuce, yellow squash, beets, and cauliflower. I am a bit behind in posts but there are a few good recipes coming up!

And here is Winnie, completely unimpressed by lettuce:

CSA Week 3

Here's this week's share from the farmer's market:

Spinach, red leaf lettuce (I like to eat salad!), strawberries, and zucchini! This should be a tasty week :)

Mizuna and Chard Quiche

Ok, this also seems like a bit of a cop out. The meals made from the first week of this year's CSA strangely resemble those from the first week of last year's CSA. What can I say? I'm a little rusty when it comes to making creative recipes. And, I had NO idea what to do with the mizuna!

So...I made a delicious mizuna and chard quiche, adapting the recipe from smitten kitchen, just like last year. Besides adding mizuna to sandwiches and salads, I was at a loss as to how to eat it. Despite it's versatility in stir-fry, soup, and rice dishes, I could not bring myself to slave over a hot stove in June! Maybe its time to turn up the air conditioning...

How Was Vegetarian Month?

February feels like a long time ago. A really long time ago! Considering how hot and humid it's been lately, it's hard to imagine there was ever a thing called a polar vortex. As you may recall, February was "Vegan Before 6" month. Since I never posted any updates on how the month went and what was eaten, here's the long-awaited update:

It didn't happen.

For two main reasons, February was not a good month for cooking and/or eating. First, I was sick for about a week and half (sinus infections are quite the appetite suppressants), and therefore, cooking consisted of heating up a can of soup or putting a piece of bread in the toaster. These meals were Vegan Before 6 friendly...but clearly not the most exciting food items. And the main reason for this month not going as planned - Winnie.

Like most dogs left alone during the work day, Winnie decided to find new ways to entertain herself while her loving parents were gone. One day, she decided to eat EVERYTHING in the pantry that was in reach of her cute little snout. EVERYTHING. Oatmeal, Parmesan cheese, pasta, quinoa, prunes, you name it, she ate it. You can imagine what a a joy it was to come home to her that evening...Needless to say, we had to throw out most of the food in our pantry, since she had sunk her little nubby teeth into most of our packaged food items. We also had to buy and build a new pantry - with doors! - to keep our little scavenger at bay. By the time we found a kitchen cart, purchased it, built it, and restocked it, the month was basically over. Oh well.

Overall, Vegetarian Month was unfortunately a bust - hopefully it will be more successful next year. I was really hoping to try some new foods, but sometimes life just gets in the way.

Tried and True

Ok, so this post is a bit of a cop out, but what can I say - this is really one of our favorite recipes! It was one of the more memorable things that came from the CSA last year, and we've made it a few times since the end of last year's share. It is great with Swiss chard or kale, but spinach (or any other leafy green) would probably work, too.

 Spaghetti with Chard and Goat Cheese

It's a really easy recipe and tastes fresh. Here it is again, for those who don't feel like searching through the archives:

Ingredients:

• 1/4 box spaghetti
• 1 bunch Swiss chard, washed and de-ribbed
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup crumbled goat cheese
• olive oil

Directions:
1. Prepare spaghetti as directed by box.

2. Pour 1 tbl of olive oil into medium skillet. Heat to medium. Add onion and garlic, cook 5-10 minutes, until translucent.

3. Add Swiss chard. Cook until wilted, approximately 10 minutes.

4. When spaghetti is done, add into skillet. Stir well to combine all ingredients. Add goat cheese and stir , to melt the goat cheese onto the pasta.

5. If desired, add additional goat cheese, enjoy!

CSA Week 2

Here's what was picked today at the farmer's market:

Red leaf lettuce, beets, strawberries, and edible chrysanthemum greens (the fern-like green plant between the beets and the strawberries).

Like the mizuna from last week, edible chrysanthemum is commonly used in East Asian cuisine. I was told the stalk tastes similar to carrots (I would describe it more similar to celery), and the leaves are rather bitter and salty when eaten raw. The recommendation from the farmer was to stir fry it quickly or boil it...but the results of that will be in a later post. And yes, the edible chrysanthemum is a different species of the more common flower which is often seen in autumn. I already know what I plan to do with the rest of this week's share:

Lettuce: salads
Beets: roasted and then added to salads
Strawberries: eaten plain and possibly in salads...if I don't eat the whole pint first!

Looking forward to some yummy meals this week!

And a little farmer's market humor to end the post -

Roasted Asparagus

Nothing fancy here! Just a quick and easy recipe for roasted asparagus:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Wash the asparagus and snap or cut off the woody end (about the bottom inch of the stalk). On a foil covered baking sheet, toss with olive oil, salt, and pepper to taste. I like to add garlic or parmesan cheese.

We had our asparagus with some leftover pasta (with a delicious Tuscan pumpkin sauce) and breaded chicken. Delicious, as always!

...And We're Back!

That was quite the hiatus, huh? Well, after a long break, Lizzil 'n Things is back in action! And there's no better time than today, since the CSA has started again! Nothing says summer like farmer's markets and fresh produce! Here's the view from today's stall:

And without further ado, here's what I picked up this week:

Rainbow chard, strawberries (!!!!!), asparagus, and mizuna. I never saw asparagus or mizuna last year, so it seemed right to snatch them up. To be honest, I never even heard of mizuna before. The woman behind the stall wasn't so familiar with this item but said it would be good in salads. After some brief research (thank you, Internet), I've learned that mizuna is a Japanese green, similar in taste to mustard greens or arugula. It is mostly consumed raw or lightly sautéed, and it seems to be a popular addition to stir-fry, rice dishes, soups, and salads. Considering mizuna's versatility, it doesn't seem like I should have a problem cooking with it!

I promise to write a few posts to update you with what's been going on since I last wrote, so keep watching for those. Thanks for your patience :)

Scallion Pancakes

So this post is from 6 months ago - August 2013! Way back when it was hot and humid, people wore shorts and tank tops and drove with their car windows down. Summer seems like a distant memory with all the freezing temperatures and snow that's covering the sidewalks. I am so sick of the cold weather! Let's hope Punxsutawney Phil was wrong this year...

Anyway, this recipe should help warm you up on a cold winter night! It's perfect comfort food any time of the year, and it is also one of my favorite appetizers at a Chinese restaurant: scallion pancakes! It is a pretty simple recipe, but it does require a bit of time and expertise in flipping pancakes without burning them. However, this treat is worth the effort!

Frying in the frying pan!

Use a pizza cutter to slice the pancakes and serve it with dipping sauce. Unfortunately, I forget exactly what went into the homemade dipping sauce I made, but it was some combination of soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, leftover scallion bits, ginger, and garlic. It also goes great with a cold beer!

And that's it!!! I am officially done blogging my food exploits of the 2013 CSA Season...and just in time! The CSA sent out an email notifying everyone it's time to sign up for the 2014 CSA. Guess it's time to start bookmarking more recipes to try this summer and fall...

Curried Stir-Fried Potatoes

A few months ago, iTunes celebrated it's 5 year anniversary by offering some of it's most popular apps for free. Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything app, was one of those free ones, so I snatched it up! It's normally $9.99 and it is probably worth the price, but I refuse to buy anything from the app store. This recipe for Curry Potatoes comes from the app:

Curried Stir-Fried Potatoes

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons neutral oil, like corn or canola
• 1 tablespoon cumin seeds (optional)
• 1 small red onion, finely chopped
• 1½ pounds all‐purpose potatoes, peeled and shredded or minced
• 1 tablespoon garam masala or curry powder (to make your own, see Garam Masala, Hot Curry Powder, or Fragrant Curry Powder), or to taste
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Pinch cayenne
• ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves

Directions

1. Put the oil in a large nonstick or well‐seasoned cast‐iron skillet over medium‐high heat. When hot, add the cumin seeds if you're using them, fry them for 30 seconds, then add half the onion and the potatoes. Add the spice blend, salt, pepper, and cayenne. Cook, stirring or tossing, until the onion has caramelized and the potatoes are lightly browned, about 10 minutes; the potatoes need not be fully tender.

2. Add the cilantro to the pan, toss once, and transfer to a serving platter. Garnish with the raw onion and serve immediately.

The potatoes were served alongside naan and chicken tikka masala in a pre-made simmer sauce. The potatoes weren't so great - I felt like they needed a lot more curry flavor. Considering that I can't remember when I purchased the curry powder that's sitting in the pantry, maybe it's time to buy a new one? I would try this again, but it is not on the top of my cooking list.

Hibernation

That's my excuse for why I haven't posted in over a month! It was much harder than I thought to finish up posting food from the CSA...even there are only two meals left! Sometimes, when I get closer to the end of completing a task, I get a little lazy finishing it up. Does that ever happen to you? It's like now that I can actually see the end of a project in the near future, I can relax a little...to the point where I stop working. Oops. Don't worry, though, the last 2 meals will be posted very shortly!

Will an adorable picture of Winnie make you forget about how long it's been since the last blog post?

For the past few years, February has been "Vegetarian Month" in our home. This all started while I was in graduate school. I was taking a class about drug addiction, and one of our assignments was to give something up for a month and journal about it. While some of my peers gave up sugar, alcohol, and caffeine, I decided to give up meat. And because I have such a wonderful husband, he agreed to do it with me! Talk about a supportive spouse! It was much harder than I anticipated it to be - we had to be more creative when planning our weekly menus by trying new meals and foods. It was also a challenge attending social functions, like going out to dinner with friends or going to a Super Bowl party, where everyone else was eating meat. Somehow, we survived and we enjoyed it so much that we decided to continue the tradition every year!

This year, however, we decided to challenge ourselves a bit more and go vegan...before 6. A while ago I posted about Mark Bittman's idea of going vegan before 6 pm, where you eat vegan meals for breakfast and lunch and then whatever you want for dinner. It's more of a lifestyle than it is a diet, and it takes a lot of preparation and awareness of what you are eating for you to do it properly. We decided to incorporate this idea of going vegan before 6 into vegetarian month - we're going vegan before 6 and then vegetarian after 6 (so we can eat dairy at dinner). One day in and it's not so bad so far!

Breakfast: coffee with almond milk; cinnamon raisin bread with peanut butter; avocado toast
Lunch: smashed chickpea and avocado sandwich
Dinner: roasted vegetable sandwiches and salad

Stay tuned for more vegan and vegetarian meals this month!