Category: Recipe

Detailed recipe for something yummy

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Squash Blossoms – a wonderful seasonal treat!


Photo by Bob Gutowski

Night before last, a friend gave us a bag of beautiful squash blossoms. I know they are edible, and thought I had tried them stuffed and fried somewhere, but wasn’t sure. But I love culinary experiments and The Girl is very patient despite occasional failures.

I almost never follow a recipe, but I love cookbooks?. One of my favorite resources for a conundrum like squash blossoms is Alice Waters’ wonderful Chez Panisse Vegetables. This book is full of great recipes, plus selection, storage and preparation advice for a wide range of veggies.

For squash blossoms, there are a couple recipes, and in true Feed The Girl style, I read through them and then did my own thing. Here’s a rough recipe for what I made:

Ingredients

Fresh squash blossoms
1 egg
corn flour – fine ground
Cheese (I used a wonderful sharp white cheddar from Tasmania)
Thyme
Marjoram
Basil
Sage
Oregano
Olive oil

Steps

1. Gently rinse the squash blossoms, cleaning out any bugs or dirt, and pat them dry.

2. Stuff each with cheese and sprinkle in a little of the herbs.

3. Whip the egg in a bowl, and spread the corn flour and herbs on a plate.

4. Dip each stuffed blossom in the egg and then roll it in the corn flour and herbs

5. Heat a pan with a generous pool of olive oil, until a little flick of water from your fingers sizzles

6. Fry the stuffed, breaded blossoms in the pan, gently turning them to make them brown and crisp

 

We served the blossoms hot, sprinkled with a little fleur de sel (sea salt flakes) and cracked pepper. They were fabulous.

I’d love to hear how you do with this recipe, especially if you experiment a bit with it. You might try a different cheese, or change the herbs or flour.

 

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Roast Veggies for Later

Here’s a great tip. Roast your veggies and then stick them in the freezer for later. All you have to do is heat them up!

After the veggies have been roasted, they will keep their texture and flavor. They will also keep in the fridge like this for a few days. it makes it easy to throw together a quick dinner later when you don’t have time to do all the chopping and prep.

Here’s a simple recipe:

Good veggies for roasting:
– carrots
– summer squash
– potatoes (small ones are better, and different colors are fun)
– kohlrabi
– zuchinni

Simple veggie marinade:
chopped garlic
sweet onion, chopped in thick slivers (shallots and red onions can be good, too)
olive oil
salt and pepper

If your oven has a “convection roast” setting, use it!

preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
Chop the veggies in bite-size chunks
toss them in the marinade to coat evenly
put it all in a pyrex or roasting pan big enough so the veggies are just one layer deep
Roast for 25 – 35 minutes

When it’s done, eat some, let the rest cool and then put it in a container or freezer bag for storage in the freezer

To reheat: Warm in the oven at 325 for 10 minutes, or toss in a frying pan or wok for 5 minutes on medium heat, stirring regularly.

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Convivial.org: Easy Pulled Pork Sandwich

Ran across this great short-cut to great food. This time it’s Carolina-style Pulled Pork. Mmmmm. Check it out:

Before tackling a major BBQ project, here’s a much easier way to get really tender, juicy, smoky pulled pork with an old-timey Eastern North Carolina vinegar sauce. The method: rub it, smoke it, braise it and pull it — that’s it. And, if the rubbing & smoking are done the first day, then braising and pulling it the next; not only do the tasks seem more manageable, but, the rub & smoke more fully permeate the meat.

[From Convivial.org: Easy Pulled Pork Sandwich]

I love traditional recipes and all the attention to detail, but I also like finding those easier methods and shortcuts that still produce real food.

If you get around to trying this recipe before I do, let me know how it goes!

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Cooking with Kids!

Cooking (and eating, my wife reminds me) should be a joyful experience! So why not fill the kitchen with the ones who really know about fun! I love the idea, and just found out about Junior Kitchen, a blog about cooking with kids…

http://juniorkitchen.com/

There are some fun recipes and cute photos. Check it out and let me know what you think!

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Prepared Food CAN be Real Food

My wife and I really love cooking and eating fresh local food. But in our busy lives, it’s just not always practical, but we do try to find ways to eat well even when we don’t have a lot of time.

Last night we had a wonderful and very quick and easy dinner. Ravioli is a simple tomato sauce. This little sauce experiment turned out so nice, I thought I’d share it:

  • Simmer coarsely chopped garlic & slivered shallots in olive oil
    • I use several cloves and a couple medium shallots
    • don’t brown it… turn that heat down!
  • add some sage, oregano, and marjoram
  • Add 1 can of diced tomatoes (we like Muir Glenn Organic)
  • simmer for 10 minutes,
  • add black pepper and herbs to taste and simmer 5 more minutes

If you’re quick with a knife, this is dinner on the table in under 20 minutes. which is about how long it takes to boil the water and cook the ravioli. While the ravioli and sauce is cooking, you can fry up some greens or make a nice green salad.

Our raviolis come (fresh or frozen) from Lucca Deli in San Francisco. We like trying out whatever is made locally by small companies and have had great luck.

If you like your sauce thicker, add a small can of tomato paste.

Yes, brand does make a difference in canned food… but that’s a post for another day.

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My kind of Fast Food – Spaghetti Sauce!

Lately my lovely wife and I have both been keeping odd hours. It’s tough to eat right when you aren’t even getting home until 8pm or 9pm. Add to that my wife’s “witching hour” problem – she just isn’t hungry once she’s tired.

So yesterday I started a big pot of spaghetti sauce. This is my Mom’s recipe, with a little (Mom approved) cheating. It’s home-made marinara (or meat) sauce, without all the fuss.
Continue reading “My kind of Fast Food – Spaghetti Sauce!”