Tomato Gazpacho

Posted on September 22, 2016 by makehastenotwaste

What’s one of the recipes you can make using the abundance of summer tomatoes? Gazpacho!

So let’s make gazpacho! Everybody’s doing it recently, including Cooking with Kyler, which is hosted by my husband’s cousin and his daughter. It’s appealing because it is simple, refreshing, and customizable.

As I’ve mentioned before, I’m not a huge fan of cold soups in general, but I’ve recently warmed to the idea of a good gazpacho (see what I did there?) Especially when you add crunchy toppings.

Gazpacho is simple because you can basically dump everything in a blender or food processor. However, it’s a bit messy – be forewarned. It’s likely you’ll have to transfer the mixture back and forth between different containers since it won’t completely fit in the blender. Then you strain it–unless you don’t mind a little texture. The resulting soup is a unique color (which will splatter all over your counters as part of the process) and fun to serve presented in clear drinking glasses.

I wish the 2 pounds of tomatoes made more of dent in my harvest. Here’s what I collect every couple of days!

Tomato and Cucumber Gazpacho
Adapted from Julia Moskin’s New York Times Cooking recipe

Approximately 2 lb ripe red tomatoes,
1 green pepper, such as bell pepper, Italian frying, or Anaheim pepper
1 cucumber, about 8 inches long
1 small onion (white or red)
1 garlic clove
2-4 teaspoons sherry vinegar, to taste
Salt to taste
½ Cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more to taste and for drizzling

Optional and recommended toppings:
Hot sauce
Croutons-make your own with stale bread, butter, garlic and salt
Almonds, toasted and coarsely chopped
Avocado, cut into cubes

Prep your vegetables: seed and chop pepper, peel and chop cucumber and onion, and core and roughly chop tomatoes.

The onion in not shown because I had a leftover portion of a red onion in the fridge that I ended up incorporating.

Combine as much of the tomatoes, pepper, cucumber, onion and garlic you can in a blender. It’s highly likely you’ll need to work in batches, so have a large bowl handy for transferring portions back and forth.

Initial batch: I made it through the cucumber and most of the tomatoes before I was at the top!

Ingredients batch 2.

Blend at top speed until the mixture is very smooth. This may take a few minutes. A rubber spatula is great for scraping down the sides as needed.

Add the vinegar and 2 teaspoons of salt. If your appliance allows, do so while the motor is running.

You can add more vinegar later, but I will tell you now that 2 teaspoons was not enough for me!

Pour in the olive oil slowly. The smooth mixture will become an orange-pink color and look like a salad dressing.
Additional olive oil can make the texture more creamy if it is watery.

Press the mixture through a strainer or run through a food mill to extract all the liquids and discard the solids. I was less than enthused about the idea of discarding the nutritious solids, but using my food mill resulted in such minimal solids that I felt OK with sending it to compost.

It’s one of the few times year this gets used!

Transfer to a large pitcher, preferably glass, and refrigerate until very cold. This could be done overnight. In the meantime, prepare any toppings. I used some very old cubes of bread from the freezer, cooked in butter with garlic.

When you are ready to serve, taste to adjust the seasonings with salt and vinegar. Serve in glasses. You can serve over ice or even chill the glasses for the best effect.

Present with toppings: chopped almonds, garlic croutons, olive oil and Tabasco all worked great for me.

Why not enjoy outdoors?

Chickpeas and Greens with Bacon

Posted on August 20, 2016 by makehastenotwaste

I told you I was going to feature the pressure cooker again soon, didn’t I? The first time cooking dried chickpeas in the pressure cooker was such a success: 8-hours of soaking, about 10 minutes for the pressure cooker to warm up, and 6-7 minutes of steady cooking resulted in perfect beans, whereas regular stovetop simmering would have added more than an hour. Last time, I started with a little more than half bag of dried chickpeas and ended up with cooked beans that were delicious on their own, then added to a salad, and then transformed into hummus. For the rest of the bag, I wanted the chickpeas to be used in a recipe that used some of the broth and incorporated other ingredients I had on hand. It would also be useful if the leftovers of the dish could be easily reheated for lunch, as I hustled around the house while the wee one napped.

A search on The New York Times Cooking website brought up a “Garbanzos and Greens with Chorizo” recipe. I didn’t have chorizo, but I did have an open package of bacon. I didn’t have kale or chard, but in the freezer, I had a bag of collard greens that I had blanched and frozen weeks before (collards are sold in such HUGE bunches, aren’t they?). Since collards and bacon often go together anyway, it was meant to be!

Note: you could omit the bacon to make this vegetarian. Just amp up the smoked paprika (one of my favorite pantry spices).

Chickpeas and Greens with Bacon
Adapted from The New York Times Cooking

For the chickpeas and broth:
About 1/2 bag or 1 Cup dried chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
½ small onion, plus 1 clove
1 small carrot, peeled and cut into chunks
1 bay leaf
A generous amount of salt
1 Tablespoon vegetable oil

For the beans and greens:
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, diced (about 1 Cup)
Salt and pepper to taste
About 6 ounces bacon, chopped
2 teaspoons fresh garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon cumin seeds, toasted and coarsely ground
3 Tablespoons pine nuts, lightly toasted
1 bunch of collard greens – or kale, or chard, washed and cut into slices

Soak the chickpeas overnight or all day (I soaked mine about 6 hours.) Drain and put in the pressure cooker. Add the onion half and clove, chopped carrot, bay leaf, and vegetable oil and cover with 6 Cups of water. Reference the directions that come with the pressure cooker to make sure you are using it correctly and safely. I put mine over a high flame until the lid sealed and the pressure regulator began to rock. I them set the timer (for 7 minutes) and lowered the heat so the regulator was rocking steadily but not excessively throughout the cooking time.

In the meantime, chop your other ingredients, and toast and grind your cumin seeds.

When the chickpeas are done (and the pressure has lowered and the lid can be opened), season generously (and I mean generously) with salt.

In a wide, high-sided skillet, heat olive olive oil over medium-high. Add the onion and salt and pepper and cook until softened and turning slightly brown. Add the bacon and cook until browned.

When the chickpeas were done, I removed the onion, carrot and bay leaf from the pot and then strained the mixture, saving the broth and separating the chickpeas.

Into the bacon-onion mixture, stir the garlic, smoked paprika, and 1/2 teaspoon of the cumin. Then add the chickpeas and about 1/2 Cup of the chickpea cooking broth.

Turn the heat up until the liquid is at a simmer; add the greens and salt and pepper. If using fresh greens, stir until they wilt. Otherwise, put the lid on the pan and allow to cook for a few minutes.

Taste and add salt and pepper as needed. Then transfer a portion into each individual soup bowl for serving.

Ladle 1 Cup of broth into each bowl. Sprinkle with remaining cumin and pine nuts.

Serve with a toasted baguette slice or two to soak up the broth. Enjoy with a celebratory glass of sparkling wine!

Grateful for Gratin

Posted on July 24, 2016 by makehastenotwaste

There’s nothing like 2 weeks straight of eating out for nearly every meal to get one on the mood to cook!

Sorry if that sounded like a humblebrag – or just a brag. Back in April, Matt and I finally went on vacation to a country where we share some ancestry – Ireland – and returned stuffed. We had some fantastic meals (FX Buckley in Dublin, The Mews Kenmare, Cafe Hans by the Rock of Cashel, Doyle’s in Dingle, Greenmount House breakfast, and Ashford Castle in Cong) and some that were simply filling. (I guess they assume that if we’re full of stews and breads, we’ll be less impacted by the chill and rain). By the time we returned, we were both ready for some home cooking.

A half a head of cauliflower (I can never seem to get through a whole head with one recipe for two people without too many leftovers), and some pantry staples led me to this recipe. As an accompaniment, we enjoyed a delicious and simple preparation of marinated dijon chicken, using basic pantry items.

Note: the chicken recipe calls for 2 hours of marinating. We threw ours into an “instant marinator” tool we have (which is a container with a top that you can suction air out of) and let it sit for about 30-45 minutes during the other prep. We don’t believe this tool necessarily lives up to its name or holds a special magic, but either way, our chicken was super flavorful in that shortened marination time.

Cauliflower Gratin with Tomatoes and Goat Cheese

Adapted (halved) from The New York Times

1/2 medium head of cauliflower

Salt and pepper, to taste

1.5 Tablespoons olive oil

1/4 large or 1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme

1/2 regular (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes (freeze the rest or just toss it all in)

pinch of cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon coriander seeds, toasted and coarsely ground

1 egg

1 ½ ounces goat cheese

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Prep a baking sheet with parchment or foil.

Cut the stem and leaves off of the cauliflower. This is easier once you at least quarter the head. Roughly cut the cauliflower into about 1/3 inch pieces. Mix with 1 Tablespoon of olive oil, salt, and pepper, and then spread on the baking sheet.

Cook in oven for 15-20 minutes, stirring about halfway through. The cauliflower is done when it is tender and the smaller pieces have browned.

Transfer to a bowl. Reduce oven temperature to 375 F.

While the cauliflower roasts, prep the remaining ingredients: red onion, garlic, and thyme, and roast and crush your coriander seeds, if you haven’t already.

From the garden!

Oil a small baking dish.

In a medium skillet, heat last 1/2 Tablespoon of oil over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring, until tender (about 5 minutes). Add the garlic, thyme, and a pinch of salt and continue stirring for about 30 seconds-1 minute, until the garlic fragrance is released.

Add tomatoes, cinnamon, and ground coriander seeds. Increase heat to a simmer; season to taste with salt and pepper. Lower heat and cook for a few minutes, until the tomatoes have cooked down a little bit (not too much) and the spices are incorporated.

Add to cauliflower bowl and stir together. Pour into prepared baking dish.

Beat egg, and add all but about 1.5 Tablespoons of goat cheese and beat together.

Pour egg mixture over cauliflower mixture. Top with pieces of goat cheese.

Bake 20-30 minutes, until the top is starting to brown. Allow to cool slightly before serving.

Grilled Honey Dijon Chicken

From Sunny Anderson – Food Network

2 Tablespoons honey
2 Tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 Tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
About 16 ounces boneless skinless chicken – halved breasts or tenders

Mix the honey, mustard, 1 Tablespoon of oil in a small bowl and salt and pepper, to taste. Put mixture in a large plastic bag, bowl, instant marinator, or whatever you like to use to marinate.

Add the chicken and flip or shake to ensure it is coated with the marinade. Refrigerate until ready to grill (2 hours recommended in the original recipe).

While the cauliflower gratin bakes, preheat the grill to medium.

Cook the chicken on oiled grill grates until you get nice dark marks on each sides, about 4-5 minutes each.

Let the chicken rest briefly, and then serve with the gratin.

There you have it–a simple, home-cooked meal!

Not Yet the Size of a Grapefruit

Posted on March 5, 2016 by makehastenotwaste

Another lull, I know. To be honest, I haven’t been in the habit of cooking meals lately. It doesn’t feel right, and I want to get back to it. Otherwise, I will continue to spend too much money on food, and my husband will eat too many bowls of cereal for dinner.

In my personal life, a question I have been getting from people frequently is whether I have any cravings. (Why have people been asking me this? Well, what is the most common reason for that question? 🙂 ) I haven’t noticed any strange or strong desires for food. Something [healthy] that I have found even more delicious than before is grapefruit. I usually buy one or two at a time, and most recently I bought an entire bag.

My affliction has been slight aversions but mostly indifference toward normal entrée eating. And, unfortunately, most cooking and prep. As a result, I haven’t been grocery shopping properly or planning for recipes, as mentioned before. Crackers, bread, and chips need regular replenishment instead. I purchased fennel the other week, a rare whole food purchase, and unlike me, completely forgot about it. Fortunately it is something that can be combined with the abundant grapefruit!

A Friday night at home is the perfect time to muster up some motivation. Nevermind that I met a friend to eat dessert BEFORE I got around to this.

A large bulb of fennel yielded enough for a second salad, which I made the next afternoon. (In retrospect, since these two recipes had similar flavor profiles, I wish instead I had thawed some chicken and made my chicken thighs with caramelized fennel recipe). The two salad recipes are below.

Fennel and Red Grapefruit Salad
Developed with inspiration from Fine Cooking, Martha Stewart, and Giada de Laurentiis on Food Network

1/2 fennel bulb, thinly sliced
1 red grapefruit
About 1/4 of a red onion, thinly sliced
1/4 tsp Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp of honey
3 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
a little white wine vinegar, to taste
salt and black pepper, to taste
1/4 cup walnuts, chopped and toasted
Parmesan cheese, to taste

Using a sharp paring knife, slice away peel, pith, and outer membranes from the grapefruit.

Holding the peeled grapefruit over a bowl (or in this case a measuring cup), slice each side of each segment with the paring knife. You may want to use a colander or sieve to catch the segments – place them aside as you slice. Squeeze what is left of the grapefruit and membrane over the bowl to capture as much juice as possible.

Take out the dreaded mandoline, or a sharp chef’s knife, to thinly slice your red onion and fennel. (At this point I continued slicing fennel and red onion for my next recipe).

Measure 3 Tablespoons of the saved grapefruit juice and add to a blender or food processor. Add the red onions to the remaining juice.

To the food processor with the grapefruit juice, add the oil and salt and pepper to taste.

In a bowl, combine the fennel, red onion, and grapefruit. Pour in dressing, add chopped walnuts, and toss until everything is combined.

Garnish with fennel fronds and shaved Parmesan cheese. Chow down!

Grain Salad with Fennel and Pecans (and Herbs, if you have them)
Adapted from Bon Appetit

1 Cup of red rice, brown rice, or barley (in this example)
1/2 fennel bulb, thinly sliced
1/4 red onion, thinly sliced
2/3 Cup pecans
about 1/4 Cup olive oil
Would be better with 1/2 Cup cilantro, chopped (as in original recipe)

Cook the grain according to package instructions. Spread out to cool on a baking sheet.

Get your fennel and onion sliced up nice and thin, and toss together in a bowl with 2 Tablespoons of lime juice. Allow to sit and absorb for about 15 minutes.

Chop the pecans.

Cook in about 3 Tablespoons of olive oil in a saucepan until golden brown.

To the fennel mixture, add the grains and pecans and an additional tablespoon of lime juice. Toss. Add cilantro if using along with salt and pepper for seasoning. Drizzle with olive oil, and use flavored oil, if desired — I had some oregano oil that I added in order to punch of the flavor, since I lacked a fresh herb.

Eat immediately, or chill until lunch the next day. Bring to room temperature before enjoying.

White Bean Burgers with Tomatoes and Basil

Posted on January 10, 2016 by makehastenotwaste

I am so excited by how well this recipe turned out. It’s not every day that the leftovers of my meals are crave-able, but these veggie burgers were gone in a snap.

The source of inspiration for these burgers was leftover basil.

I try not to buy basil in the winter. In the summer, I’m blessed with abundant basil that can be snipped as needed from the garden. But when I buy basil from the store, I’m always faced with leftovers in the fridge drawer. Which means I’m faced with the guilt of potential waste.

But I bought this basil for a special occasion. My husband and I have a tradition of spending the early evening hours of New Year’s Eve at home, making fresh pasta together. Romantic right? (Then we hustle off to a local friend’s house to attempt to be a little more “cool” and social). This time we made a fettuccine with bolognese sauce that was enhanced by the herbal touch of fresh basil leaves.

A few days later, I was on the lookout for recipes using basil, and settled on this one.

White Bean Burgers with Tomatoes and Basil
Adapted from oh my veggies

1 can (15 ounce) cannellini or other white beans, drained and rinsed
1/4 Cup sun-dried tomatoes, coarsely chopped
4 Tablespoons olive oil
1 Tablespoon tomato paste
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/3 Cup packed basil leaves, torn
1/3 Cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 Cup panko
2 Tablespoons parmesan cheese, grated
Salt and pepper to taste
1 egg, lightly beaten

For serving:
4 buns (hamburger, kaiser rolls, challah rolls, etc – whatever you have leftover in your freezer after your husband is overzealous and claims that more people will show up at the party!)
Optional accompaniments:
Fresh basil leaves
Romaine or butter lettuce
Fresh mozzarella or provolone
Optional sauces:
Balsamic reduction
Pesto
Basil Mayo

Basil Mayonnaise recipe
From the kitchn
Proportions roughly followed:
1/4 Cup packed basil leaves
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1 medium garlic clove, chopped
Zest of about half of one large lemon, about 1 teaspoon
1/2 Cup mayonnaise
Combine in a small food processor or blender.

Preheat the oven to anywhere between 385F and 400F (my oven runs hot so I opted for lower.)

For the burgers, prepare your chopped sundried tomatoes and basil leaves.

Store-bought basil can be extremely dirty. Be sure to thoroughly wash by swishing in a bowl of cold water and then lifting out to leave the sand at the bottom of the bowl.

In a food processor, puree together 1 Cup of the beans with the sundried tomatoes, olive oil, tomato paste, and garlic powder.

The original recipe called for sundried tomatoes in oil, and less added olive oil, but I had regular sundried tomatoes. So I added some olive oil at first and discovered the mixture was still too dry and was difficult to puree, so I added more olive oil, up to the approximate amount above. Be on the lookout for the mixture seeming too dry. Next time I may experiment with adding some other wet ingredient to bring up the moisture content. Tomato sauce, perhaps?

In a medium bowl, add the remaining beans and mash them with a fork. Stir in the pureed bean-tomato mixture, and add the basil and remaining ingredients, with the beaten egg added last.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Using a measuring cup as a scoop, drop the burger mixture into 4 mounds on the sheet, and then shape each mound into a patty.

Note: this scoop-mound-shape method for forming a veggie burger was a worthy lesson on its own–thank you oh my veggies!

Bake the burgers until they’re lightly browned on the outside and feel dry to the touch in the center, 20-25 minutes.

Mmmm yes to the melty mozzarella.

In the meantime, make your sauces! I made the basil mayo. I could have made pesto…but I still had some of the summer stock in the freezer.

Prepare your choice of buns with your choice of toppings.

Basil mayo followed by lettuce….

…followed by burger, topped with balsamic glaze and more basil!

How could you NOT crave this?

Green Tomato Curry

Posted on December 30, 2015 by makehastenotwaste

Season’s Greetings!

I won’t dwell on the fact that there has been a significant lack of recent content here. The second half of 2016 has been exciting and eventful; the activity simply has not taken place in my kitchen.

At minimum, I wanted to share with you a recipe I had executed a few months back, during the transition from summer harvest into fall/winter hibernation.

When I had a job with a normal, local work week, I would frequently travel on the weekends. Now that I’m gone many weeks, I have tried to keep the weekend plans limited. Plus there was the 9 months I spent with class on Saturdays–the weekends finally started feeling solidly long (that is, when I wasn’t traveling for part of them). So on a Saturday in mid-October I gave in to the cooler weather and spend much of the day retiring the garden for the season. Does anyone experience some sense of relief when this happens? No more weeding. No more tomatoes rotting before I can use them. No more weird gross evidence of bugs.

The wintering over meant the last big batch of jalapeños and–yes–tomatoes, green ones. Lots. Of the options for cooking green tomatoes, I had already once made the requisite fried green tomatoes, and as for pickled tomato relish? Um, I still have some from last season. So I wanted to mix it up.

My husband is a fan of curries and spiced foods, served over rice, so I wondered if there was anyone who had documented an attempt to make a green tomato curry. Of course there was! Other than a few basic substitutions, I followed the version described by Kerry from Classic Cookery on the kitchn, and was mostly content with the result — it just needed more spice! Nothing a little chili-garlic sauce can’t help.

Looks seasonally appropriate to me!

Green Tomato Curry
Adapted from recipe on the kitchn

Tool needed: immersion blender

2 Tb clarified butter (ghee)
2 Tb shallot, minced
1 tsp curry powder
2 Cups green tomatoes, chopped
Salt and pepper, to taste
As many roasted peppers as desired, up to 5 Cups (I scrounged up less than 2 Cups)
2 cloves garlic, roasted and smashed
1 can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
Cayenne pepper
Cumin
Coriander
1 Cup light coconut milk
1 Tablespoon Asian chili-garlic paste, to taste
Brown or white rice or naan, for serving

Preheat the oven and roast your garlic cloves and peppers, if starting from scratch. I usually cook these at around 375F.

These peppers could have gone a little longer.

Stem, core and chop your tomatoes.

There was some parts of the tomatoes I sliced and tossed because they didn’t really seem edible.

Taste the rainbow!

In a soup pot or high-sided saucepan, melt butter. Add shallots and cook on low heat until soft and fragrant.

Add curry powder, add tomatoes, and season with salt and pepper. Allow tomatoes to warm fully and start to soften.

Next add the roasted peppers, peeled and smashed garlic, and garbanzo beans.

Add about a teaspoon each of cumin and coriander, and then start adding cayenne pepper to taste–this can get very hot. The amount of spice you will need depends on the amount of peppers you end up using.
Cook for a few minutes until hot, and add coconut milk. Bring to a simmer and add seasoning.

Use an immersion blender to blend the “soup” until mostly smooth but leaving some chunks of tomato, pepper, and whole beans. Taste again and add spice as needed.

Serve in a bowl over rice. Be sure to transfer desired amount to freezer containers for later meals!

Tastes of Summer – Watermelon and Ice Cream

Posted on July 30, 2015 by makehastenotwaste

I bought a whole watermelon the other day. I needed it to make a delicious heirloom tomato watermelon gazpacho recipe I planned to bring to a potluck.

I was surprised that I could actually make such a delicious gazpacho!

I tasted the recipe after it was demoed by Chef Harold Deiterle, who recently released a cookbook, Harold Dieterle’s Kitchen Notebook Techniques. It won me over.

But mostly I wanted the watermelon for snacking. Fresh watermelon is one of those distinctly summer foods, a flavor I associate with backyard spitting contests of my childhood. The heat and humidity of summer bring on a kind of thirst that only watermelon can truly quench.

There are a few other flavors I lately connect to summer–even if I may in fact indulge all year long. Iced tea, ice-cold beer, and ice cream.

On the day I had about a quarter of my watermelon left, I heard someone mention watermelon rind as one of those trimmings that you’re going to be stuck composting, since there’s not much you can do to make it edible, sellable, and appealing. Not that I disagree. But I took it as a challenge. I was going to make watermelon rind pickles.

Watermelon Rind Pickles
Adapted from Food.com for 1/4 watermelon
About 2.5 lb watermelon rind (flesh mostly removed, shell included)
For the brining:
1⁄4 Cup salt
1 quart water
For the pickling syrup:
2 Cups white vinegar
2 Cups water
4 Cups sugar
1/3 lemon, sliced thin
Spices:
1 cinnamon sticks
1/3 teaspoon whole cloves
1/3 teaspoon whole allspice

Remove all the juicy watermelon flesh and reserve for another use. (Admittedly, I will miss having the rind as a handle when I eat the remains later. Oh well.)

At this point, I had 2 lb 8.5 ounces.

Next you will need to peel the outer hard rind from the softer white portion. It took a fair amount of muscle power and time to remove the green shell. I used a combination of peeler and knife. Your knife should be very sharp for this, and it’s important to be very careful. Cut away from yourself and always keep hands and fingers behind the direction you are cutting!

After 5 minutes of labor, the green parts were gone. The next step is to remove any remaining pink, and slice into 1 to 2 inch by 3/4″ pieces. This took about 7 minutes.

Final weigh in? 1 pound 8.6 ounces of rind. So 1 pound was still going to the compost, but if I had planned to use the whole watermelon’s rind (which would make more pickles than I would know what to do with), I would have saved more than 5 pounds.

Make a brine by dissolving 1/4 cup of salt into 1 quart of water.

I could have used less for this rind, and you may need to scale up for more.

Allow to brine in refrigerator overnight.

Drain and rinse soaked watermelon rind.

At this point, I used the scale of 0.375 to approximate the other ingredients: allspice, cloves, cinnamon, and lemon. I could have scaled down a little less on the sugar, water, and vinegar that made up the syrup; in the end it would have helped to have more for inside the jars.

If you’d like, combine the spices together in a cheesecloth.

Combine the syrup and spice ingredients and bring to a boil for about 5 minutes.

Add half of the rind and simmer until it becomes translucent. It took about 36 minutes for my first batch.

Spoon rind out of the pan and into a clean jar. Be sure to sterilize, if you plan on preserving longer term.

Repeat the simmering step with remaining rind.

Remove spice satchel and discard. Pour boiling syrup to cover the rind in jars. Why not include the lemon?

Taste test results: Not bad. The cloves were a little more noticeable than I would like (I’ve complained about this before). Otherwise, the flavor resembled those Vlasic sweet and crunchy pickles, which were once the only type I could tolerate.

Looking for other ideas for the watermelon flesh? Real Simple posted this yesterday:

onethread design via Real Simple

Returning to the topic of ice cream….this same week, I thought I better make some before National Ice Cream month ends!

Ice cream (or sorbet) is another dish that can incorporate whatever you have around. Even cucumber. This time, I’m went to the herbs in my garden, and incorporated them into a rich base made with egg yolks.

Is tomato ice cream in my future?

Mint Ice Cream
Adapted from Melissa Clark’s New York Times recipe

1 Cup mint leaves
⅔ Cup sugar
1.5 Cups heavy cream
1.5 Cups milk (I used my skim)
⅛ teaspoon sea salt, finely ground
6 large egg yolks

Combine mint leaves and sugar in a food processor. Grind together until fully combined and green.

Pour cream, milk, sugar mixture and salt into a small saucepan and cook until the sugar dissolves. Whisk yolks in a separate heat-proof bowl.

When the sugar has dissolved, remove pan from heat and slowly whisk in about a third of the hot mixture into the yolks.

Then pour the yolk mixture back into the pan and whisk with the remaining hot cream.

Place pan back on a medium-low burner and cook slowly, thickening at about 170 degrees Fahrenheit.

Turn off heat and allow mint to steep in the mixture for about 30 minutes.
Pour through a sieve to catch any solids.

Cool mixture to room temperature and then chill in refrigerator for at least 4 hours.

Follow the directions for your ice cream machine and churn away.

After 20 minutes in this frozen-bowl style, you’ll have soft-serve.

Transfer to a freezer container to harden.

Happy summer!

Bok Choy, Bean, and Tomato Stew

Posted on March 16, 2015 by makehastenotwaste

I keep meaning to make soup. It’s so simple and productive for using up leftovers. For some reason, I continue to be intimidated. I wish I could be more like my Mom, who, hours after I had left her with a bunch of green tops from leeks, produced a lovely puréed leek green soup.

In my defense, I recall bad experiences cooking soup. I added a variety of ingredients, mixed things in at different times, seasoned initially, and what was I rewarded with? Bland taste. I’m also a big texture person–I love some crunch and chew to most of my meals. So I’m not necessarily drawn to the idea of cooking down my pantry to mush. Don’t get me wrong, I know there are ways to achieve texture in a soup. And if you don’t incorporate crunch in the soup itself, you can always get satisfaction from the toast you serve alongside!

Speaking of soup, check out this Edible Manhattan article about the ladies of the Soup Club. “Formalized food-sharing,” how great is that? If I started a soup club, I’d probably get pretty comfortable with making soup.

Last week I had my eye on some CSA bok choy that I had blanched and frozen in the fall. I was also scraping the bottom of a bag of dried Great Northern beans I wanted to use. Time to get creative! Except I couldn’t resist the urge to scan the internet for recipes using bok choy with beans. The selected recipe inspiration happened to help me use up some green onions, tortillas, and cheese too!

Bok Choy, Bean, and Tomato Stew with Homemade Tortilla Chips and Gruyere
Adapted from The Kitchen Paper

1 tsp olive oil
2/3 sweet onion, chopped
2 small carrots, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced

Diced heirloom carrots I had to use up.

2 Cups stock, (I used chicken)
1/2 Cup dried Great Northern beans , cooked and then incorporated with the bean broth(about 2 Cups cooked beans)
1 14oz can diced tomatoes
¾ tsp ground coriander
⅛ tsp ground cloves
2 corn or flour tortillas, or prepared restaurant-style tortilla chips
3 Tbsp olive oil
¼ tsp white pepper
salt to taste
about a handful of sliced bok choy, fresh or previously blanched
2 green onions, sliced
Gruyère, gouda or sharp cheddar cheese for topping (at least 1/2 Cup shredded)

If you’re starting with dried beans, you’ll need to start well in advance to have them cooked. I did both my soaking and cooking the day before, and had the cooked beans in their broth ready to go.

In a Dutch oven or large soup pot set over medium heat, add the olive oil. Add the onion and carrots and cook for about 2 minutes.

I didn’t realize that the purple in the carrots would be so dominant!

Stir in the garlic. Saute for a few more minutes to soften the vegetables. Pour in your stock.

Add the beans, tomatoes, ground coriander, and cloves.

Raise the temperature to bring the soup to simmer. Taste for seasoning and add a little salt. At this point, I also added a little dried basil and oregano.

This would be an excellent time to toss in one of the Parmesan rinds you have in your freezer. Of course I forgot. I might need to resort to the old post-it-note-reminder-stuck-to-the-stove-hood trick!

While the soup simmers, cut up your tortillas in to wedges to cook.

Turn the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray or coat the tortillas with a little olive oil and put on a baking sheet. Bake until lightly browned, checking frequently and turning once, halfway through.

Remove and sprinkle with salt.

Taste the stew and add more salt and pepper. Add the bok choy and bring up to temperature to finish.

Yep, that’s an interesting color.

Top with some shredded cheese and a few tortilla chips.

Braised Leek with Chickpeas, Saffron and Marjoram

Posted on March 1, 2015 by makehastenotwaste

Today’s recipe is brought to you by this lonely leftover leek.

This leek has a story, as many of my leftovers do. It traveled back from Central New York, where Matt and I spent the Presidents’ Day holiday weekend. Saturday was Valentine’s Day, and our original plan was to dine at a restaurant a few miles outside of Ithaca. First we spend a little time at my sister’s house, gathered cozily around the family’s large rustic table, blazing wood burning stove nearby, celebrating my niece’s 6th birthday. As Matt and I started to head into town, the snowstorm began. This particular weekend’s snowstorm (because anyone in the Northeast can attest to the fact they have been weekly occurrences) featured periods of whiteout conditions. The drive was challenging. Glumly, I agreed to nix the plan for dinner out. Our sensible revised plan was to enjoy a leisurely stop at Wegman’s to shop for dinner ingredients!

We opted to plan for fish and vegetables steamed in parchment hearts (how appropriate!), which required a bunch of leeks. And that brings me to this leek! And the recipe from the leek section of Alice Waters’ cookbook, The Art of Simple Food II.

Only a few pantry additions were required for my to make this little dish. I recommend keeping cooked chickpeas on hand for times like this, because they can enhance other leftover vegetables to make a more solid meal meal.

Braised Leeks with Chickpeas, Saffron and Dried Marjoram over Couscous
Adapted from Alice Waters, The Art of Simple Food II
Makes 2 large servings

1 large leek
1/2 sweet onion, sliced or chopped
1/4 teaspoon saffron threads
1/2 Cup light chicken stock, or water
2 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram
dried chile flakes
salt to taste
1.5 Cups cooked chickpeas
1 garlic clove
Couscous, cooked according to taste/package instructions
additional extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling

Prep your leek and onion. In my case, I had leftover chopped onion that needed to be used.

Cut off the root end of the leek, and most of the greens, leaving about 1 inch.
Slice in half lengthwise and dip in cold water to swish out any dirt or sand. Pat dry. You could slice the leeks in half lengthwise again, to quarter.

Prep the saffron mixture.

See my saffron? It might be as old as the number of years I have been living on my own…seven plus? *Gasp* That means that the expensive price of $17.50 seems much more reasonable if you calculate its per-year value.

Of course dried herbs aren’t supposed to be kept that long, to be truly flavorful. But the old saffron will still be effective at adding the golden color. And hey, we eat with our eyes, right?

With a mortar and pestle, crush the saffron threads.

If the vessel is large enough, stir in the 1/2 Cup broth, a generous pinch of salt, and 2 teaspoons of EVOO and set near the stove.

Smash the garlic clove and set aside for heating with the chickpeas.

Set a large pan with a heavy bottom over medium heat; pour 1 Tablespoon of olive oil. Arrange the leeks cut-side down and allow to brown slightly, about 6 minutes. After about 4 minutes of the leeks cooking, add in the onions.

Turn the leeks over. Sprinkle with salt, marjoram, and a pinch of dried chile flakes.

Pour in the saffron stock. Add more water to be sure the leeks are sitting in liquid, but not submerged. Partly cover the pan, and cook about 12 minutes, until leeks are tender. Remove the lid and allow the liquid to reduce for about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, heat together the chickpeas and puréed garlic.

Season the leek mixture with salt as needed.

To serve, plate some couscous and spoon chickpeas over top. Spoon some of the leeks and onions, and the braising juices, on top of that. Drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil.

Leek and Squash Soup

Posted on October 4, 2014 by makehastenotwaste

I’m still here! It’s been a busy time. Shall I fill you in? For starters, after two years in a job that didn’t inspire me, I made the switch. The old job happened to come with a short commute and hours that afforded me a generous amount of free time to cook and clean and socialize. Now, I’m commuting from the suburbs to the city, a hub of activity and excitement. It requires a bit more time and energy, but I was ready for it. While I’m still young, I’m going to go where things are happening!

September is a special month, filled with birthdays and wedding anniversaries (such as my own, for both), including a new anniversary established by one of my sisters, who married at a lovely ceremony on September 6. September also has the unique feature of containing two of the most pleasant seasons, summer and fall.

Along with all the events and occasions and changes, it’s harvest time. Tomatoes and zucchini and peppers continue to stream in from the farm share, plus new crops of potatoes and squash. It’s a good time to stay home and cook!

Yet Matt and I also took an overdue trip to visit some of my family in Vermont. We enjoyed a lovely September weekend that included exploring a number of farms in the region by bicycle. (Almost 30 miles of biking…I was almost too exhausted to fully appreciate the agricultural wonders!) During the visit, I made a casual comment about how much I like leeks. I noted that because my farm share so rarely includes them in the weekly offering, and I never buy them because I have plenty of vegetables, I don’t enjoy them at home as much as I think I would. My sister proceeded to pull a bunch out of her garden and send them home with us. So exciting! First I grilled a couple along with zucchini and added walnuts and a lemon dressing with parsley as per this recipe. I knew I wanted to use a bunch of them in a soup. Then the acorn squashes on the counter called my name.

As usual, I sought out a recipe for validation. Like many soups, however, this is one that you could totally wing. I realized well after the fact that it was especially appropriate to make a squash soup at the end of September around my anniversary, because we served little cups of butternut squash soup for one of the courses at our wedding four(!) years ago!

Acorn Squash and Leek Soup
Adapted from Food & Wine

3 1/2 pounds acorn squash (about two small) or similar, halved
4 Tablespoons unsalted butter
3 large leeks, white and tender green parts, roughly chopped
5 fresh thyme sprigs or 1 teaspoon dried
4 Cups chicken stock or low sodium broth
1 teaspoons salt
1/3 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Optional toppings:
About 5 Tablespoons sour cream
About 2 Tablespoons chives, chopped
2-4 slices of bacon (to taste), cooked and crumbled

Set the oven to 350°. Prepare the squash by slicing in half.

The recipe I followed said to scrape out seeds AFTER the halves are cooked, but I would recommend scraping them out at this point. Place the squash, cut side down, on a baking sheet.

Roast until tender, checking at 30 minutes. Allow to cool so that you can handle the squash.

In the meantime, prep your leeks by washing thoroughly in a few changes of water. I took my green parts and tossed them in my freezer bag of vegetable scraps; I recently read that they contribute nicely to well-flavored vegetable stock.

Chop up the white and light green parts.

Set your large heavy saucepan or Dutch Oven over low heat. Add the butter and melt. Toss in the leeks and thyme and cook gently, stirring occasionally, until soft and browned, about 40 minutes.

Before…

After!

Discard the thyme sprigs.

When your squash is ready to handle, separate the flesh from the skin. If you waited until this point to scoop out and discard the seeds, do this now, taking care not to toss out too much of the delicious roasted flesh.

Then scrape the squash from the skin. Get all the good stuff!

Stir the stock and squash into the leek butter mixture.

Simmer for about 20 minutes. Using an immersion blender, or in a blender or food processor, puree the soup until smooth.

Season with the salt and pepper.

Spoon the soup into bowls and top each with 1 Tablespoon sour cream, a sprinkling of the bacon, and 1 teaspoon fresh chives if you have them, for garnish. Serve with toast to round out the dish.

An effort to make efficient use of every last drop, stem, crumb, and moment.

Category Archives: Vegetables