All I Got's Gone

Well, I have 3 eggplants and 4 pattypan squash, and 2 chocolate peppers (which I am having after work for a snack), but if any of you have suggestions for something aMAIZing, let me know!

But I'm so, so tired and my feet hurt and the mister will kill me if I make him do anymore dishes today, so we are dining out tonight.

I will see you all next weekend!!!!!

End of Summer Minestrone

It's been chilly here in the Windy City so I thought "I really need a pot of soup". I absolutely love the fall and here is my autumnal happiness list:



1. Apple picking

2. Apple cider

3. Wood-burning fires

4. Leaves

5. Tights

6. Tall boots

7. That great vintage coat I found in Portland

8. Halloween with the mister.

Okay, you don't really care about my list. What you are here for is the recipe. For the farmer links, see the eggplant recipe below.


End of Summer Minestrone


1/3 c. olive oil
1 tbs. sea salt
1 tsp. pepper
1-28 oz. can whole peeled tomatoes, with juice
1-15 oz. can cannellini or Great Northern beans, rinsed and strained
4 cups water
1 tbs. Better than Bouillion Chicken Paste (this is optional; you could use a vegetable bouillion cube, too)
2 tbs. each of oregano, basil and parsley, de-stemmed and minced
1 large onion, chopped
6 cloves garlic, minced
2 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 carrots, diced
2 stalks of celery, diced
2/3 c. cut green beans
2/3 c. corn, or approximately 1 ear of corn with the kernels sliced off
1 c. squash or zucchini, diced
1 small jalapeno, chopped
1 c. amaranth, chopped
2/3 c. elbow pasta (or some other small pasta fit for a soup)



Heat oil on medium in a large soup pot (I used my pasta pot). Make sure it has a thick bottom so the soup won't burn.


Add onion and saute until it is translucent. Add the potatoes and carrots, cook for about 5 minutes. Then add the rest of the ingredientsexcept the pasta. Let simmer on LOW (put on smallest burner) for several hours. Add the pasta during the last hour otherwise it will get overcooked and turn to mush.


Suggestions and Options:

You can use a slow cooker, but you will want to cook the veggies a little in the oil first before putting it into the cooker. You'll also want to add a little more water (maybe a cup) and wait until the last hour to add the pasta if you won't be around to watch it. I've had bad luck with slow cookers myself-lots of burning and coagulated messes-but that's just me.

You can really use whatever vegetables you have or like. Veggies that are on their last leg are good soup options, so long as they aren't actually rotten.

You can substitute any leafy green for the amaranth: spinach, kale, collard greens, etc.

The trick to having a good soup with depth includes two things:

1. FAT. You must have ample fat, either in the form of oil or animal fat. In minestrone, you can always cook up some pancetta in the pot with a little bit of oil and make that your base.

2. SALT. So often, soups are flavorless because not enough salt was put in at the beginning of the cooking process. Test your soup about an hour into the cooking process to decide if it needs a little "something". If it does, your best bet is to add a little more salt, rather than waiting until the end.

3. I know I said two things, but the third is LAYERING WITH LOVE. I am convinced that my dishes turn out better when I give the same time and attention to each vegetable. So I add ingredients in one at a time, not rushing them and making sure they have ample time to get to know their new neighbors. Think melting pot rather than salad bowl if you get my drift.

Panko-crusted Eggplant with Cherry Tomato Sauce and Frizzled Amaranth

Here it is, my first recipe dreamed up by my brain and stomach using the contents of

THE BIN.

I'm not a big eggplant person, and the mister even less, however everything tastes great fried! And I think that you would all agree. When I first made it, I was short on oil so I dumped some coconut oil into the canola (it was the closest thing to me at the moment) and while to the average consumer it tasted fine, DO NOT DO THIS. It tasted like suntan lotion to me. Also, amaranth is a cooking green and has a deep, earthy flavor.

Since we are deep-frying for the most part, it's important to use an oil that has a high heat factor so that it doesn't begin to burn before you're done cooking. Vegetable, corn, peanut and canola are all good oils for frying.

Here's the recipe!

For the tomato sauce:


1 lb. cherry tomatoes (Green Acres)
1 tbs. olive oil
dash of salt and pepper


1/2 c. crushed tomatoes
3/4 c. onion, chopped (Genesis Growers)
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1/4 c. fresh basil, chopped (I used the Pistou variety that I bought at the Madison Farmer's Market)
1/4. tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. sugar
2 tbs. olive oil

To roast the tomatoes, preheat oven to 350 and put tomatoes on a lipped cookie sheet so they won't roll off! Toss with 1 tbs. olive oil and a dash of salt and pepper. Roast for about 30 minutes. Remove from oven and let them cool until you can take the skins off.

In a pan, saute the onion, garlic and basil in 2 tbs. olive oil. Add the roasted tomatoes, crushed tomatoes (I used canned because I didn't have any tomatoes left, but you can use and extra 1/2 1b. of fresh tomatoes), salt, pepper and sugar. Let simmer on low for about 15 minutes. Your sauce is done, so you can set it to the side or put it in the refridgerator if you are making this ahead of time. The sauce can be frozen also.

For the frizzled amaranth:

10 leaves of fresh amaranth (about 1 cup) (Harmony Valley)

2 tbs. olive oil

Chiffonade the amaranth by rolling up the leaves into a cigar shape, then slice diagonally every 1/4 inch. This will make the amaranth have a "ribbon" look to it that when frizzled, is quite unique.

Heat the oil until smoking. Drop the amaranth in and it will sizzle up fast. Immediately remove and let drain on a paper towel or parchment paper.

For the eggplant:

2 eggs

1 c. cornstarch

2 c. panko breadcrumbs

4 medium Japanese eggplants (Green Acres)

2 c. canola oil for frying

Slice the eggplant lengthwise into 1/2 inch pieces. Cover both sides with salt and let sit for 30 minutes to an hour. This will take away any bitterness and help keep the eggplant from absorbing too much oil.

Make a 3 component dredging station of cornstarch, eggs and panko breadcrumbs.

Wipe off the eggplant slices and pat them dry.

Heat oil. It is ready when you can drop a breadcrumb in and it sizzles, but if you are using a thermometer it should be between 35o and 375.

Dredge eggplant in cornstarch, then egg, then panko breadcrumbs and put into oil. These cook fast so don't go anywhere! Fry them for about 1 minute per side, depending on how well browned you want them to be. Let drain on a baking rack (not on towels as it will make them soggy).

To plate:

Put sauce on plate. Stack eggplant in an artistic way, or just throw it on there! Sprinkle frizzled amaranth on and if you'd like, sprinkle a little parmesan cheese right before serving.

Enjoy!

Thought about it all day at work

And I'll tell you why I'm excited: the mister and I were trying to watch our money so we had cancelled the Fresh Picks boxes. Why on earth would we have done such a moronic thing? But now, we are two days away and the website tells me that I should expect:

Sun Sugar tomatoes, broccoli, japanese eggplant, Amaranth cooking greens, green beans, sweet corn (oh heaven!), Patty Pan squash, Chocolate Peppers, Onions, Cilantro and a fun-sounding Poonahkheera cucumbers! The cuc's are heirlooms, orignally from India, I think. If it's what I think it is, then it's a brown cuc and not a green one. I HEART NATURE!

What shall I make? What shall I make?

Awaiting The Bin......

After researching several CSA's, I found several things to be true about myself:

1. I can only commit to approximately 40 bucks at any given point at the grocery store.
2. Though I want to be the girl who loves nature I love the IDEA of nature-unless it is in Victorian England, and I have a nice country home with lace curtains, and some sheep for pets, maybe a duck or two.
3. I like dabbling in a bit of everything.

This is why, when I discovered Irv and Shelly's Fresh Picks, I found paradise in a grey bin delivered to my door. No more waiting in line at Whole Foods, watching your paycheck disappear before your eyes. No more strategically planning your route for the weekend's farmer's markets, only to find that once again, the tomato guy sold all but three of his harvest.

But then, what DO you do with five pounds of kale? If you're me, and you have a mister at home who would rather not eat it (but he will because that's what spouses do), you put it in everything: smoothies, pasta, pizza, sauces, tacos, stuffing, make a pesto out of it. And you just hope that he doesn't pause and say "Is there kale in this"?

There are several months left of the midwestern harvest season. Every Thursday I will get a bin of fresh produce. I will spend four days using the products in the bin to make fabulous, gourmet recipes. Some of these recipes will be healthy. Some will have cream and butter and oil. Some will be vegetarian main dishes. Some will probably be best as sides for meat dishes (the mister can't subside on greenery and berries alone). But they will be divine.