Orzo with Zucchini

So my dilemma this morning is figuring out whether I should make double chocolate zucchini bread OR lemon poppy-seed zucchini bread.  Perhaps a loaf of both?

Meanwhile, I've been meaning to share this recipe for orzo with zucchini (and CHEESE) with you!  Since we're in the height of zucchini season here in the northeast, I figured there's no better time than the present, so here you go!  

This recipe came from my friend, Kathryn, a few years ago and has become a 'regular' in our household.  You can use any type of cheese.  I've made it with good (imported) parmesan, goat cheese or most recently with Misery Mountain cheese from Cricket Creek Farm.   It's simple, hearty and delicious!

Orzo with Zucchini

1/2 lb. orzo

3 T. or so olive oil

a lot of zucchini: five or six small ones, two or three large ones, or even more

1 yellow or white onion, finely diced

1 c. or so grated/shredded cheese of your choice (the original recipe calls for parmesan, but I've used goat cheese, parmesan, or local farmstead cheese),salt and pepper to taste (I like to use Borsari and fresh-grated pepper.  Borsari is produced by one of my childhood neighbors, you can read more about that here.)

Mixing orzo, zucchini and cheese

1. Cook orzo according to package directions.

2. Grate the zucchini on the large holes of a box grater. Squeeze out excess water.

3. Heat the oil in a large skillet. Saute grated zucchini and onion over medium heat until well-cooked and beginning to brown (be patient, this will take a while)

4. Combine cooked orzo with cooked zucchini and onions. Stir in cheese.

Serving it up!

Bon Appetit!

Tomato, Basil and Cheddar Egg on a Bagel

Sometimes I get home from the Westford Farmer's Market with so much delicious food, I don't really need a recipe.  I just eat things raw, or lightly steamed or sauteed.

Today was one of those days.  I just threw a few things together in a couple of minutes, and it was perfection.  Everything was fresh and flavorful and I didn't need to fuss.  An everything bagel from Bagel Alley, cherry tomatoes, eggs, and basil from Dragonfly Farms, and farmhouse cheddar from West River Creamery.  When you have quality ingredients, even a simple meal tastes like a masterpiece!

Ingredients:

• 1/2 of an everything bagel (or bagel flavor of your choice)
• Couple of cherry tomatoes, sliced into 3 or 4 pieces (or a slice of a regular tomato)
• 4 or 5 basil leaves
• 1 egg
• butter
• salt and pepper
• A few thin slices of cheddar (or other cheese of your choice)

Directions:

Toast bagel.  Top with sliced tomato and basil.

Meanwhile, melt a little butter in a small skillet over medium heat.  Crack one egg into the pan.  Fry until done to your liking (over medium for me).  Season with salt and pepper.

Place fried egg on top of the tomato and basil.  Put the cheddar slices on top of the egg--the heat of the egg will melt the cheese slightly.

End of asparagus season

Our farm announced at the farmer's market today that this week is the end of their asparagus season.  It's bittersweet for me because I love asparagus but it does mark the beginning of summer/end of spring in these parts.  And summer brings so many sorely missed veggies and fruits of its own that we all get over it pretty quickly.

When it comes to asparagus (fresh and in season, at least) I am a purist.  Toss'em with olive oil, salt, and pepper, throw them on the grill and call it delicious.  However, I have two problems with this way of preparing asparagus.  One, I don't know how to use our new grill.  I'm sure it's simple but if I learn then I will have to use it and my husband will stop and we don't want that, now do we?  As much as I enjoy it, it's nice to have a break from cooking!  The second problem is the children.  Only one of them will dare try grilled asparagus and even then, there's a 50/50 chance of her actually eating it.  So, I needed another, indoor, kid-friendly recipe for my asparagus.

It didn't take me long to find this quiche recipe and declare it a winner.  Since we are also doing an egg CSA this season, this would kill two birds with one stone.  Enter some local cheese (calls for Swiss but I often use cheddar in my quiches), cherry tomatoes and bacon from the farmer's market, and High Lawn Farm cream easily found at Whole Foods, and this recipe is a perfect locavore meal.

Ingredients

• 1 pound fresh asparagus
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 (10 inch) unbaked pastry shell
• 1 egg white, lightly beaten
• 2 cups shredded Swiss cheese
• 10 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled
• 4 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups light cream
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 pinch pepper
• cherry tomatoes, halved

Directions

1. Cut eight asparagus spears 4-in. long for garnish. Cut remaining asparagus into 1/2-in. pieces, using only tender parts of stalks. Steam asparagus until tender but firm. 
2. Brush bottom of pastry shell with egg white, In a bowl combine asparagus, Swiss cheese and bacon; mix gently. Place in bottom of pastry shell. In another bowl, beat eggs, cream, nutmeg, salt and pepper until smooth. Pour into shell. Bake, uncovered, at 400 degrees F for 30-35 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. 
3. Arrange the asparagus spears, spoke fashion, on top of quiche; place cherry tomato halves between spokes.

Stuffed Swiss Chard

I was inspired by this recipe that was posted on the cooking blog I wrote for last summer. But I didn't even click over to the real recipe, since the post mentions two fatal flaws: risotto (not my favorite), and a picky, time-consuming recipe. No thanks! So I just looked at the picture, and made my own quickie version!



Ingredients (to generously serve two people):

6 good-sized leaves swiss chard with no rips or holes
1 cup quinoa (or similar grain...I was out of quinoa so used Trader Joe's Harvest Blend, a mix of quinoa, garbanzo beans, orzo, and couscous. I've used quinoa in the past, though)
2 cups broth (veggie or chicken)
6 slices from a block of cheese (whatever variety you like...I used cheddar today, and I've used havarti in the past). The cheese should be about 1/8"-1/4" thick, and slightly less long than the size of the finished roll.
Additional broth, approximately 1 cup

Directions:

Cook quinoa according to the package directions, except use the 2 cups of broth in place of plain water. (If you do decide to use the Trader Joe's Harvest Blend, their package directions are all wrong and drive me crazy. Just use 1 cup of the grains with 2 cups of liquid. Cook for 20 minutes. If you follow the package directions, you end up with a dry, crunchy partially cooked mess!)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cut part of the thick stem out of the center of the swiss chard leaves, about 1" to 2" into the leaf section. You can see in the picture that it's okay to leave the center stem in the main section of the leaf, just get rid of the really thick part near the bottom of the leaf. Make sure you DON'T cut all of the center stem out...then your leaf will be broken in half and you won't be able to make a roll!

Place one slice of cheese in the center of each leaf. Top with a scoop of quinoa. I use a wooden spoon to scoop the quinoa...about 1 good sized wooden spoon scoop.

Fold the end of the leaf that's divided where the portion of the stem was cut out on top of the quinoa. Fold the opposite end over. Then fold in the two sides, making a roll. Place seam side down in a baking dish.

Continue until all leaves have been rolled.

Add the extra broth to the baking dish, so it come about 1/2 way up the side of the rolls. Cover the dish and bake for about 15 to 20 minutes.

The picture above is from before I baked it. Here's a picture after it came out of the oven:



You can kind of see in the back of the green leaf that some of the cheese started leaking out where I'd cut the center stem. That's the danger...you have to balance between removing the thick stem and having the filling leak! It's a fine line to walk :)

You also have to be careful removing this from the baking dish. I use two forks to support the bottoms. Get too wild, and the leaf will just come unrolled on the way to your plate and dump out all the filling! (Yes, that happened to me once, the first time I made these. As long as you're careful, though, they don't fall apart too easily.)

These are very yummy and easy to make. They do take almost an hour to prepare, but it's mostly sitting around waiting...the 20 minutes to make the quinoa and the 20 minutes to bake the rolls. The actual prep work is really quick, so I still think of this as an easy meal.

My "all local" day

Following up on my all-local day for Reduce Footprint's weekly challenge. Overall, it was a fun activity! I must admit, though, that my local "day" got spread out over a weekend as we're trying to sell our house and we kept having last minute showings at meal times. It's hard to prepare local meals when you're constantly being kicked out of the kitchen! But here was my local day plan, even if we ended up eating dinner on a different day!

First off, breakfast:



Scrambled eggs with green onions, chives, parsley, and cheese.

Eggs from Waltham Farmer's Market
Green onions and Cheddar cheese (Smith's Country Cheese) from Waltham Field Community Farm
Chives and Parsley from my garden
Butter for cooking was Kate's Homemade Butter.

Lunch:





I made some sauteed spinach for the main meal. Here's what I did:

Ingredients (for one serving):

2 bunching onions, finely diced (from Waltham Fields Community Farm)
Approximately 1/2 lb of spinach, stems removed, leaves roughly torn (from Waltham Fields Community Farm)
A few slices of Havarti ( Smith's Country Cheese)
About 1 teaspoon butter (Kate's Homemade Butter)

Directions:

Melt the butter in a skillet. Add the diced onion and saute until translucent. Add the spinach and toss until wilted, about one minute. Place the havarti on top and leave in the pan until slightly melted, about one minute. (The cheese will keep melting once you transfer to a plate, so you don't have to totally melt it).

So yummy!

On the side, I had a Macintosh apple. I know, an apple. In June. I found it at Winchester Farmers' Market. I was a little worried about an apple that had been stored all winter, but it was perfect...crisp, juicy, and flavorful. Plus a perfect accompaniment to the spinach.

Snack:



I was still hungry after lunch, so I made a snack as well. I'd picked up some hothouse tomatoes at the Winchester Farmers' Market, plus some Narragansett Creamery mozzarella also from the Winchester Farmers' Market. I also had some left over basil from the Lexington Farmers' Market. So I threw it all together.

I was a little disappointed in this. Clearly, I'm pushing the tomato season here in Massachusetts, and this dish paid the price with less than stellar results. The mozzarella was also very plain. I ended up "cheating" and adding some salt and a splash of vinegar, which improved it dramatically.

Finally, dinner:



The main part of our meal was halibut from Globe Fish Co at the Winchester Farmer's Market. We got to the market really late, and there was very little choice left for the fish so I'm not sure quite how local this really was, though at the very least, it was supporting a local vendor. There was no meat vendor at the market either (again, maybe because we were so late), so this was a last minute substitution. I added some diced green onions and thyme from the CSA, a drizzle of some melted butter, and TK cooked this on the grill.

On the side, we had some grilled garlic scapes (also with melted butter). And, at the Winchester Farmer's Market, I found some early summer squash. I diced three of them, and sauteed in some butter with thyme from the CSA and parsley from our herb garden.

Dinner was really outstanding!

For dessert, we just had a bunch of sliced strawberries. A hit with the whole family!

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What did I learn from this? Well, eating 100% locally is A LOT of work. Given a busy schedule, 2 picky preschoolers, and a budget, it's probably not something I'm ready to commit to. Adding a loaf of bread to the dinner would have made the meal much more palatable to my kids*. Having pasta, rice, or quinoa available as a side dish also would have helped. And I miss olive oil.

I think it's important to be conscious of choices, and planning a 100% eat local day helped raise my consciousness of the choices I make. I'm happy I did this, as it reinforced my commitment to eat locally when possible, and to happily supplement with non-local choices when necessary to improve our largely local meals.

* I should note that I would be happy to buy bread from a local artisan bread maker, even though they don't use local ingredients...there are so many around and all look delicious! However, we haven't been able to find a nut-free bakery so can't buy local bread due to my son's nut allergies :( We're stuck with the major supermarket brands of bread...I'm just happy if I can find nut-safe, HFCS-free bread at this point!

Locavore for a Day

On Wednesday, What a Card wrote about Reduce Footprint's weekly challenge which just happened to jive with we do over here: eating locally! The challenge was to eat only local for one whole day. I'm a newbie on the locavore scene so I knew taking on this challenge would be tough as my cupboards and fridge have only just started their transition to local foods. I picked Sunday as our day so that my husband could join in the fun.

This week, my CSA share included sugar snap peas, strawberries, salad mix, tomatoes and asparagus so I wanted to revolve our meals around those foods - not really hard! Here is what we came up with:

Breakfast: Tomato, basil and chevre omelet (tomato from the CSA; basil and chevre from Winchester Farmer's market; local brown eggs from Whole Foods)

Snack: Stonyfield Yogurt with strawberries

Lunch: Sugar snap peas sauteed in butter and salt, pan-seared asparagus and marinated steak tips (Peas and asparagus from CSA both cooked with local dairy butter; steak from Stillman's, Cilantro Lime Vinaigrette dressing for marinade by Appalachian Naturals)

Dinner: Toasted tomato, basil, mozzarella sandwiches with salad mix (tomato and salad mix from CSA; basil from Winchester Farmer's Market; hand-made mozzarella from Fiore di Nonna Cheese; salad dressing same as for steak marinade; bread from Mamadou Bakery in Winchester, MA)

Dessert: Crescent Ridge Dairy vanilla ice cream

We did cheat a bit by using salt and pepper on the peas, asparagus and steak. Not that you can't get local sea salt (you can!) but I just didn't plan that far ahead. Overall, I would say it was a great learning experience to see how easy and tasty it can be to plan your meals around local, in-season produce. I also realized that when you are eating the freshest produce available, you don't need a lot of other stuff to dress it up. Everything we ate was simply prepared and so good.

Try it out for a day (or more!!) and see how delicious it can be - New England in summer gives us so many wonderful choices! You can't go wrong.

Smith's Country Cheeses

Okay, may as well get this out of the way early in the blog: I'm a cheese addict. Yes, it's true. If it's cheese, I'm on board. Everything is better with cheese, and I'm sure you'll see many, many recipes with cheese and cheese reviews from me in the future. I'm hoping to use this blog as an excuse to sample as many local cheeses as I can find! Today I thought I'd share with you one of my favorites: Smith's Country Cheese.

First, they have cheddar...the only local cheddar I can find. The sharp cheddar is so outrageously good. It's a little crumbly: cut a thin slice for a cracker and it may break in half. I love that! Cheddar shouldn't be a waxy mess the consistency of Velveeta! This cheddar is a little dry and so tasty. It's great with fruit or crackers, on nachos or quesadillas, or just eaten alone.

They really seem to be known for their gouda, though. Yesterday we tried a Garlic Gouda spread. Once again, amazing! The boys ate a TON, and for those of you familiar with my boys, having them eat any of anything is something of a miracle. My husband TK and I even got them saying "It's so GOOD-A!" (Yes, I'm not above cheesy jokes!)

Smith's cheeses are relatively easy to find in the Boston area. I usually get them at Roche Bros supermarket (though they don't carry any Smith's cheddar unfortunately, at least at my Roche Bros), Verrill Farm, or now making my summer exceptional, they sell it at the Waltham Fields CSA pick up. How convenient is that? Fresh veggies AND a cheese fix! We also got some at the Waltham Farmer's Market yesterday. Basically, if I see it somewhere, I'm buying it! Check their website for other locations where you can buy their cheese.

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So what are your favorite New England cheeses? As I said, I'm looking to try as many different cheeses as I can!

A whole bunch of recipes!

I love vegetables, but I've found that I'm pretty tame in what I buy: if I'm at the store, I get what I know. Zucchini, green beans, asparagus, Brussels sprouts, tomatoes, mushrooms, onions. I love that the CSA is forcing me to branch out a bit. One of the vegetables we got that I had no idea how to prepare was kohlrabi. Honestly, I don't think I've ever even SEEN kohlrabi in the grocery store. I searched around online and found a recipe that appealed to me: kohlrabi and carrots in honey butter sauce. I figured, carrots: good. Honey: good. Butter: good.



The recipe was simple and I followed it pretty closely (although for some unknown reason, I halved the kohlrabi and carrots amounts but forgot to half everything else so it ended up a bit soupy. Operator error on that one but easily corrected as I just used a slotted spoon to remove the carrots and kohlrabi).

It was tasty, but somehow wasn't quite outstanding. The carrots were better than the kohlrabi. I'm not sure if I don't love kohlrabi, or if this just wasn't the best dish to showcase it, but I'd probably try a different recipe if we get kohlrabi again.

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Next it was time for the beets. I must admit, I'm not a beet fan. I've mainly had them at salad bars and have come to conclude they're just there to fill out the salad bar without the restaurant having to worry that anyone would actually want to eat them. But, as always, I'm game to give something a try.

I got my inspiration from this recipe to match roasted beets with goat cheese. However, I thought this was a bit fussy with cutting everything into perfect rounds and having different oils and vinaigrettes and glazes. And I didn't have two different kinds of beets...just the golden ones. And I'm probably admitting to my pedestrian tastes, but I'm just not a big fan of towers of food. That's just weird in my admittedly non-gourmet opinion to have stacked food, unless it's a club sandwich.

So I just tossed the beets in a few tablespoons of olive oil, put them in a baking dish covered with aluminum foil, and baked them at 350 degrees for about an hour (for my small beets) until a toothpick easily pierced the center. You can peel them after they've been roasted (and cooled a bit). The skin just peels off with your fingers.

I sliced the beets thinly and alternated them with slices of herb and garlic goat cheese. (As an aside, the goat cheese was local as well, from Westfield Farm. It was outstanding cheese!)


My final vote: it was pretty good. I'm not a huge beet fan, but the goat cheese/beet combination was perfect. TK thought this was incredible, but he likes beets far more than I do. Three year old twins: liked the goat cheese, wouldn't try the beets.

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As we were picking up the beets, the guy working the distribution mentioned that beet greens were delicious. Darn it, now I have no excuse for not cooking them!

I found a recipe for preparing beet greens (or kale, or collard greens) that used vinegar and bacon. Hey, that sounds good to me! As an aside, have I mentioned my theory of preparing these odd, new (to me) vegetables, or vegetables I haven't liked in the past? I try to pick a recipe that includes an ingredient I like. Goat cheese, bacon, honey...something familiar that I know I'll like.

Here's a link to the recipe I used. I made some changes, though, fairly significantly altering quantities:

Ingredients:

Green from 5 beets
1/2 large onion, finely diced
2 strips of bacon
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon sugar
Sprinkle red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

Directions:

Wash beet greens, remove thick stems, and tear leaves into bite sized pieces. Set aside.

Fry bacon until crispy and set aside on paper towels to drain.

Add onions to the bacon grease and cook over medium heat until slightly translucent. Add the garlic, stir, then add the water, sugar, and red pepper flakes. Bring to a boil. Stir in the greens and reduce the heat to low. Cover and simmer for about 15 minutes (the original recipe calls for 30 minutes if you're using kale or collard greens). Add the vinegar, cook for about 1 minute, then you're done! (The original recipe is a little unclear; if you're using kale or collard greens you may have to cook for an additional 20 or so minutes....basically, if you're using kale or collard greens, you should probably just head on over to the original recipe linked above).

Place the greens on a plate and garnish with crumbled bacon.


These were interesting. It was definitely my first time eating beet greens. They were sweet and sour; a touch spicy and a hint salty. That sounds like a lot of competing flavors, and it kind of was. But somehow it worked. TK and I cleaned this up...there wasn't a bite left. At the end of dinner, we even ate the little bits we'd put on the boys plates that they had totally ignored. Well, except for picking the bacon off to eat.

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If you look closely at the picture of the beet greens, you can see in the background that we had quinoa with it. In the last 3 minutes of cooking the quinoa, I tossed in some spinach. It was a great addition and a good way to use up some of that spinach. I'm not even going to include a recipe...just cook the quinoa however you normally do (or follow the directions on the bag/box if you don't normally prepare quinoa), then toss in some chopped spinach. Yum!