I can’t believe it has been a YEAR since I last posted here!!!! I have been cooking and coming up with ideas, etc., but just forgot to post. For example, I make some mean meatballs that I bake – and when really pressed for time, I mix up the meat, veggies, and seasonings and stick it in a meatloaf pan and then cut it up in chunks – quicker than forming the meatballs before baking. Although, I like the meatballs better because of the browning of each one. But, sometimes time is of the essence.

ANYWAY – I joined the Farm Direct Coop, a local CSA from which folks can buy shares and then get a weekly batch of produce (I signed up for the local cheese option, too) from June to October, November or December, depending on what you choose. The veggies are all organic. The fruit is occasionally organic but mostly “as best as possible and sprayed only when necessary.” Apparently, it is a challenge to grow most fruit organically in New England. Hey, at least it is all locally grown.

There was an share of locally grown asparagus available for an extra $5 fee last month – I signed up – YUM!!!!

BUT – the first regular share was available this past Thursday 6/19. You don’t have a choice of what you get – you get a share of whatever is available, just as though you were farming on your own. And, kind of like a really low-key “Iron Chef” challenge.

I got: ½ lb spinach, ½ lb sugar snap peas, a head of lettuce, a bunch of salad turnips, a pint of organically grown strawberries, and a quart of regular (but grown with as few chemicals as possible) strawberries.

I had a meeting at 7:00 pm on Thursday night, the day I picked up the goods, so I went grocery shopping on Friday to add to the larder and started creating menus starting Friday. My husband and I did, however, eat the entire pint of organically grown strawberries by the end of Thursday evening! How lovely to have freshly picked, never refrigerated strawberries…I have not had that since my Dad died. He had two pretty good strawberry patches at 54 Oak St.

We recently had a Demoulas /Market Basket open the next town over – but close enough so it is not a long drive. I had checked it out once quickly, and decided to give it another gander on Friday. I have to say it has a way better and less expensive array of organically grown veggies than Shaws – also, a more extensive offering of healthily raised meats and non-cured hotdogs and bacon, with the non-cured prices WAY lower than I have seen ANYWHERE and the fresh HR meat price very competitive.

I got a bunch of organically grown veggies and healthily raised (HR) beef and chicken to supplement my locally grown/organic cooking adventures! I’ll used “HR” to designate meat from animals raised out of cages, stalls, etc., and with no food from animals, antibiotics, hormones, etc.

Friday night I used the spinach. I sauteed it with mushrooms, scallions, and garlic – really good! I also prepared a mix of baked sweet potato and yellow (new) potato “fries.” Neither turned out totally crispy as they would if actually fried, but I think taking advice I found online and blanching them for few minutes after slicing helped them crisp a bit better. We really enjoyed them. FYI – I bought a “top of the line” toaster oven – Krups – that has a convection oven option – well worth it! The convection option bakes way more quickly and doesn’t heat up the whole kitchen unnecessarily.

We also had HR beef steak tips (7.99 a pound – same price as the pre- marinated steak tips from Farmland that my husband likes to buy) that I marinated in…red wine vinegar, olive oil, beer, minced garlic, minced onion, tamari (soy sauce) and Worcestershire sauce. It was a lovely, well-balanced meal.

Steve and I both deemed it a “keeper.”

Tonight (I am writing this on Saturday 6/21) we are using part of the lettuce. I got some HR chicken tenders and have marinated them in olive oil, freshly squeezed lemon juice, with minced garlic and freshly ground pepper. I’ll saute them in a bit of canola oil (I want a higher smoke point than olive oil) and serve them on a salad of lettuce, Gorgonzola cheese, whole wheat croutons, scallions, peppers, tomatoes (among most of the meal, also organically grown) and olives.

Oooo – I do have some rolls I could quickly defrost and then do garlic bread……well, see how the timing goes.

In any case – I should be back at least weekly – I have surprise produce showing up each week from now until the end of November – or December if I decide to extend my share and see what shows up at the very end of the season.

And, my next two goals are getting a Farmer’s market in Wakefield and a community garden space in Wakefield, both of which set up so that any extra goes to neighbors. And, someday, I’ll write that cookbook. : )

Flatiron steaks, from the external top blade area of the chuck, are economical, and when I saw some with the infamous “Manager Special” sticker at Shaws, they were an even better deal. While not the most tender cut, they are better than the “braise only” sort of cuts, and have great flavor. Marinading is also recommending to increase tenderness.

Their downfall is the line of gristle down the middle, and often also wandering off a bit throughout the cut. Previously, I’ve just sauteed them as is and dealt with cutting around the gristle while eating. Tonight, I cut out the gristle before cooking, effectively cutting the small steaks in half. I’ll have to watch them carefully because I bet they will take less than the usual time to saute a steak.

I put them in a very basic marinade for 4-5 hours: a little under a cup of olive oil and a little under 3/4 cup of vinegar, a tablespoon or so each tamari (soy sauce) and Worcestershire sauce, and minced garlic (one good-sized clove) and double the amount of minced onion. And some crumbled dried rosemary. Before cutting out the gristle, I patted them dry. They will brown better when seared if dry. [Note: While the steak was VERY tender, the taste of vinegar was a bit overpowering. I’ll use less vinegar next time. Also, instead of white vinegar, I’ll use a nice red wine or balsamic type.]

Hmm, might as well change the rest of this to past tense, now that I am editing post-meal!

I seared each side for about a minute, then turned frequently until they were medium rare (well-done will be too tough.) I’m still somewhat new to cooking meat, but found a great tip for knowing when a cut is medium rare:
“The steak is done to a medium rare the moment you observe a little pearling of red juice beginning to ooze at the surface of the steak. Another test is to press the steak with your finger; it is medium rare when it just begins to take on a suggestion of resistance and spring in contrast to its soft raw state. ” [Source: Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child, Louisette Bertholle and Simone Beck © 1961, 1983, 2001 Alfred A. Knopf]

This tip works!!!!! FINALLY, I am gaining confidence as to when a steak is done to my liking.

And, what to serve with steak? Something to, perhaps offset the fat and cholesterol for the husband? Never mind that I bought a bunch of arugula and needed to use it up!

Enter spaghetti squash. This is such a cool vegetable. When cooked and cooled, just cut in half, pick out the seeds, and then scrape the pulp off with a fork and it comes out in strings. Actually, if you bake it, you need to cut it in half before baking, but you can also boil it whole earlier in the day, let it cool, and then prepare it.

I ended up experimenting just a little with a recipe I found online. The ingredients are almost the same as the original recipe, but I am am going to serve it hot.

Here is a link to the original recipe:
Spaghetti Squash and Arugula recipe

I created a stir fry or “pasta” dish of sorts with pre-cooked spaghetti squash ( boiled it whole, earlier in the day – could be done the night before, too) as the base and cherry tomatoes (slice in half) and a bunch of arugula as the other veggie ingredients.

First, I trimed the arugula and sauteed it in a little olive oil until wilted. Then, I removed the arugula, heated up the spaghetti squash, and then added the arugula back. Then I added the tomatoes, pine nuts, fresh basil, and sliced black olives. I don’t think I used the onion and garlic called for in the original recipe….[note to self – try recapping recipes less than a day or two later!]

Right before serving, and after turning off the heat, I added crumbled feta cheese. It was REALLY good!

Oh, I also had a bunch of tiny yukon gold potatoes that I cut into quarters, joined by a few smallish onions that I also cut into chunks, that I coated lightly in olive oil, seasoned with salt and fresh ground pepper, and roasted in the oven for…maybe 35 minutes at 425? Dang, I have to write things down! But, they were good, too. 🙂

Anyway – everything was great, except for too much vinegar flavor in the meat from the marinade.

I have yet to dig out my Mom’s American Chop Suey recipe, (my sister-in-law Lorraine and I take turns having her recipe box at our houses for a few months at a time) and this does not taste like hers.

First of all, this dish tastes different if you use ground beef, and especially if you brown it in a stainless steel verus a nonstick pan. (i think you get a deeper flavor in a SS pan.) BUT, I was playing around with flavors so as to avoid that “canned tomato taste. And, while many recipes for this dish use stewed tomatoes, I just am not that fond of them, so I used a combination of diced and fresh tomatoes.

Heres what I came up with this time – and it is darn good!:

3 tbsp olive oil

1 medium/largish onion, chopped

½ a small green pepper, diced

1 stalk celery, diced

20 oz pack ground turkey

1 6 oz can tomato paste

1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes

2 medium/largish fresh tomatoes

1 Tbsp or so sugar

1 tsp (or to taste) salt

1-2 tsp Worcester sauce

1 tsp or more lemon juice

salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste.

4 or 5 cups cooked pasta (penne, elbows, whatever) cooked to just done and NOT rinsed.

In a large skillet sauté celery, onion and green pepper in olive oil. Add ground turkey and cook until turkey is browned. Add tomato paste, diced canned and fresh tomatoes, sugar, Worcester Sauce, lemon juice, salt, and pepper.

Simmer on low heat for20-30 minutes. Cook whole wheat elbows according to package instructions and drain, but do not rinse.

In a large bowl, mix sauce with pasta.

NOTE: I had penne pasta leftover from the night before and I actually didn’t measure how much I put in, but I think I added about 4-5 cups cooked pasta. Many ACS recipes call for a pound of dry pasta to each pound of ground meat, but I don’t like that much pasta.

I am also guessing to the lemon juice and Worcester Sauce amounts – but I think I did about a tsp or so of each. In any case, this recipe came out really well! It has a fresh flavor and a light verus stickly feel to it. I think I’ll keep it as my standard – although I’ll have to figure out how much dry pasta to cook for the resulting 4-5 cups. Best bet is to cook more than you’ll think you’ll need, and whatever you don’t add to the recipe, you can always use for something else. 🙂

Trying another low cholesterol meal, here. This is from the Moosewood Restaurant Cooks for a Crowd cookbook, so I had to downsize it.

Often, either increasing or decreasing recipes is not a direct fractional thing. But, I basically divided by 6 (5 cakes, or 84 oz of tofu down to one 14 oz cake) and went from there. The texture was workable when forming the 2″ balls to bake – we’ll see how they taste when they are done!

1 cake (14 oz) firm tofu, pressed. (Just slice in half the long way, put on a baking sheet with sides, cover with a small cutting board and add a cast iron pan or two for weight, and let it sit for 1/2 an hour. No need to tilt the pan – the tofu won’t reabsorb the liquid that comes out.)

Mash up the tofu and add: (and these measurments are approximate based on dividing by 6 or whatever seemed to make sense to me)

1/3 tsp dijon mustard
1/6 cup peanut butter
1 Tbsp tamari/soy sauce
1 tsp grated fresh ginger root
pinch of cayenne pepper
1/2 cup chopped scallions/green onions (about three)
1/2 cup chopped mushrooms (about three smallish)
1/6 cup (I think – tossed them in before measuring!) drained and chopped water chestnuts
1/3 cup minced green and/or red pepper. (I went for red to contrast with the scallions)

Mix with mashed tofu, form into 2 inch balls, put on an oiled baking tray, and bake at 375 for 30-45 minutes until browned and firm.

The recipe suggests smothering the croquettes with Sweet and Sour Vegetables, but I bought low-fat ready-made beef gravy. Steve (husband) is not afraid of tofu, but I wanted this to be a gentle intro. He likes tofu stroganoff, but this is a new way of eating tofu.

Did brown basmati rice cooked in chicken broth and added a diced carrot, some minced parsley, and some chopped onion. And, also serving brocoli.

I’ll have to try out the Sweet and Sour Vegetables recipe next time. 🙂
oops – gotta check the food – no time to proof or spellcheck (not that I usually do…)

Here’s the link:
https://www.recipetips.com/recipe-cards/t–1750/pan-broiled-lamb-chops.asp

I promise I’ll figure out (probably take all of 30 seconds) to have a direct link – but for now, you’ll have to copy and paste. Just get too busy – and rather use the time to write.

I bought some lamb chops – shoulder blade, I think…at the infamous Manger Special discounted price at Shaw’s and tossed them in the freezer a few weeks ago. Took them out this morning, and put the marinade rub on around 4:00 pm. I used the called-for amount of marinade even though I have only 4 medium chops coming to just about 2 lbs, but, I do love garlic and rosemary!

I opted for dried rosemary. I have some I bought recently, and after crunching it up in my suribachi (japanese mortar/pestle but the bowl has ridges) with the pressed garlic, olive oil, and tamari (soy sauce), and the fact that it is in oil for the few hours while on the chops, I think I’ll get as good flavor as with fresh. Well, close, anyway.

I started them in the fridge, but have them sitting for an hour or so at room temperature before I cook them

I got fresh asparagus (NOT on sale but it looked really good) and will supplement with snow peas – perhaps stir-fried in the pan – just remove juices temporarily – leftover from the lamb before reducing the sauce….

I got some small red potatoes – and have decided to cut them into 2 inch pieces and roast them. Although taters always seem to take longer in the oven than recipes say, it says 30 minutes at 425 will do it. Hey, maybe I’ll roast the asparagus instead of steaming…. Hmmm, which method will result in lower fat? Steamed and Steve smothers in butter? (aha, although he has taken nicely to that Smart Balance spread with flax) or drizzled in olive oil when roasted? HMMM. I’ll have the oven on, anyway – roasting it will be – that will conserve energy.

Okay, gotta go cook. And, now that I think I have figured out a way to have more time in my life (albeit less money from freelancing) I should be able to post the results soon and get back to posting more often in the near future!

I found a thin round steak – .89 of a lb, in my freezer. I Not the best cut of meat for anything other than braising, but I wanted a stovetop meal and that’s what needed to get used up!

I marinated it for the afternoon in Newman’s Sesame Ginger salad dressing with the intention of making chop suey. BUT, after looking at a number of chop suey recipes, I remembered that I didn’t really like all that celery and also wanted to make something with more vegetables. And, ginger isn’t a major player in typical chop suey. Well, I created a winner – my husband really liked it even though it didn’t entail a half a pound (or more!) of meat per serving!

I’m hoping I am writing this down in time for me to remember what I did….

First step was to start brown basmati rice. I love basmati rice.

Using my trusty 12 inch Fabarware non-stick (I think I could have used my beloved All-Clad stainless steel 10 inch, but wasn’t sure of the resulting volume), I used a tbsp or so of canola oil and sauteed a few cloves of garlic, chopped just a bit less than a mince, and about an inch or so of fresh ginger – sliced thin. Or maybe also almost minced. Dang. I need to write things down when I do them!

I then added the meat (1/2 inch cubes) and sauted until browned. Then I removed the meat and added afew handfuls of brocolli (small florets) and the same amount of snow peas, maybe a cup of the leftover marinade, and maybe 1/2 cup of beef broth, to start. Covered and simmered for about 5 minutes, then added about two cups of bean sprouts, more broth to make the liquid about 3/4 inch deep, and simmered some more.

Aha – now I know why there are mushrooms in my fridge today – I bought them for the chop suey but apparently forgot to use them…

Anyway, I then added the meat back to the pan, and added about a tbsp of cornstarch dissolved in about 1/4 cup cold water to thicken a bit. THEN I remembered to add some tamari!

Well, this all came out great, except the meat could have been more tender. If using round next time, I’ll cube it before marinating and see if that helps. Although, I don’t hold great hopes. Better to use a more tender cut of meat. Since so little goes a long way (4 average sized servings, or more if you add more veggies.)

It was really good. If I use a better cut of meat and skip the marinating, I’ll use way more ginger and also used toasted sesame oil to add flavor.

Certainly not a gourmet extravaganza, but a quick, tasty, and nutruitous meal with easy clean-up.

I just bought a Cooks Spiral Ham on sale – but still had some chunks and slices of ham from the last one in the freezer. Slices can be for sandwiches this week – and I just used the rest in a casserole that looks like it will be pretty good.

4 cups dry 1/2 whole wheat blend rotini and 1/2 fusilli regular. Only because I ran out of the whole wheat kind! Must put on shopping list! Cooked and set aside while:

Sauteing one med onion chopped than adding a clove of garlic minced….hmmm, as I try to remember what I just did)….ah, I had frozen french style green beans in the freezer whose time had come and I added oh, five handfuls? enough to more than cover my 10″ pan… then I put all that in with the pasta. I then remembered to briefly saute the grated carrot (about one cup grated from 3 med to small carrots) and added that to the pasta veggie mix, too. Just that looked and smelled great! I chopped the rest of my fresh parsley and added that, too. maybe 1/4 cup chopped. Emptying the fridge, too.

I then put some oil (used canola, versus olive oil for the above sauteing) and about a tbsp of flour to make a roux, then added milk and beef stock as it thickened. I put some “shaky” parm (store bought versus grate yourself) cheese…pepper, salt…

It probably came to 1 1/2 cups of somewhat thickened liquid. Added the chopped ham – oops forgot to weigh or measure… again, covered the 10 inch pan. Heated to simmer.

Dang, I was going to add a few capers for fun…

Put the pasta/veggie mix in a 9×12 casserole dish, mixed in the liquid and ham, then topped with some shaky parm and breadcrumbs to cover, and about 1/2 cup grated cheddar. This is comfort food, mind you, not a gourmet creation!

It’s in the oven a 300 – at 250 it would probably be bubbling in 20 minutes, but I am waiting to see when Steve wants to eat before blasting it to get crunchy on top.

So – this used up stuff and will taste good. And, while looking for ideas, I came across a cool looking recipe for ham and olives with pasta.

https://frenchfood.about.com/od/quickweekdaymeals/r/pastahamolives.htm

Now, THAT looks interesting… Anyway – Geez, I need to start finding time to get a column proposal to the local paper. I am just dashing stuff off on here – I need to do more polished writing one these days!

Ah, beef stew with a pleasant thickness without the mess of dredging in flour before browning the meat – or the bother of straining and thickening the broth after cooking. That tip from Cook’s Illustrated worked great – add flour and cook a bit to the sauted onion/garlic before deglazing and adding the rest of the liquid.

Although, since I also added potatoes 1/2 way through the cooking, by the next day it was “glop.” Luckily, I have some beef broth to thin it out upon re-heating. I really like those aseptic cartons of broth and stock for when I don’t have homemade available. I also use that brand of boullion that comes as a paste in a jar in a pinch – and did use that when making the stew (used chicken flavor for that) but the packaged (verus canned) stock and broth is great.

Anyway – an experiement with using “what I had on hand” that worked.

Ooo, ooo – now two people read my blog and have left comments! My friend Lori (who lives, conveniently, upstairs from me) may even comment more, now that we have “twin” dutch ovens and will be exploring and sharing recipes for this wonderful type of cooking vessel.

As to Stacey – as I noted in a previous post, I discovered her cooking blog, which is light years beyond this one and from which I have already gained wonderful inspiration:

https://justbraise.blogspot.com

I have not yet used my dutch oven for beef stew. I adapted other recipes for the pressure cooker, especially one with tons of onions and mushrooms from The Meat Cookbook, and would have used that recipe today since it calls for a dutch oven and cooking in the oven rather than on the stove top. (Cook’s Illustrated test results are in favor of the slow oven – 300 degree – method rather than stove top.) But, alas, no mushrooms on hand – or red wine…SO… I am blending two recipes/techniques and using what I have on hand.

First, I will just salt and pepper 3 lbs (less, after trimming) of chuck chunks – NOT dredging in flour and brown for 5 or so minutes, probably in two batches.

Then I’ll remove the meat, add oil if needed, and saute sliced onions for a bit until soft, add minced garlic for 1/2 a minute or so, then, as noted in a Cooks Illustrated recipe, add 3 tablespoons of flour and cook for 1-2 minutes or so. Then I will add 1 cup comprising of 1/2 C OJ, a tbsp or so of red wine vinegar and water to make a cup (my red wine substitute) an scrape the pan of browned bits. Then I’ll add at least two cups of chicken stock made with just boiled water, and then add the rest of the ingredients sans the meat. Bring to a simmer, add meat, return to simmer, then cover and put in the oven for an hour.

Next, I’ll add chucks of potato and carrots and simmer for another hour until meat is tender. And, who knows what else I’ll add. I just wanted to get the merged techniques and order of ingredients written down instead of having to look at two recipes at once. Here goes – will post later.