Gnocchi and Coconut Milk Soup

The Food Nanny
December 29 & 30, 2008
Meal 1: Gnocchi with Roasted Root Veggies, Wilted Escarole Salad, and Rustic Multi-Grain Rolls
· Heat the salad rapidly in a medium hot sauté pan with a little olive oil, or perhaps in a microwave. Reserve to a serving plate.
· Heat 2-3 T of butter in the sauté pan. Add1-2 T of olive oil. Be liberal but not wild with the fat. As you sauté them your gnocchi should be dressed with the hot oil/butter, but not swimming in it. Allow them to cook over medium high heat until they begin to caramelize, stir or toss them to cook them evenly all around. When nearly done, ( well colored, hot, and tender) add the roasted veggies and allow to cook together until everything is hot through, season, and serve immediately.
· Enjoy with the warmed rolls.

Meal 2: Coconut Milk Soup with Tofu or Meatballs & Sweet Sticky Rice
· Arrange the vegetables, noodles, protein, and cilantro into large soup bowls.
· Heat the soup to boiling and ladle it over the fillings. Allow it to steep a few minutes and then enjoy with a spoon and fork or chopsticks.
· Enjoy the rice for dessert at room temp.

Chicken Tamales & Roast Garlic Penne

The Food Nanny
December 22 & 23, 2008
Meal 1: Chicken Molé Tamales, Black Eyed Pea Succotash, & Winter Salad with Citrus
· To heat the tamales, either microwave them or place in a steamer basket in a sauce pot and steam for about 15 minutes. If you do not have a steamer basket simply place a small bowl in the bottom of a sauce pot. Add about a 1/2” of water. Place a plate atop the bowl inside the pot so it is above the water. Place the tamales upon the plate and proceed to steam them with the pot lid on.
· Heat the succotash in a sauté pan with a pat of butter.
· Remove the salad to a serving bowl and place the citrus segments upon it. Use the juice in bottom of the container to make a dressing by adding some salt, pepper, olive oil and perhaps a splash of good vinegar .

Meal 2: Roasted Garlic Penne with Blue Moon Spinach and Chevre, Roasted Carrots, and Ciabatta Rolls
· Warm the pasta gently in the oven at 325° for 15 or more minutes until warm, but not too hot. You do not want to over-cook the spinach.
· Heat the carrots as above or in a sauté pan with some butter.
· Warm the rolls and enjoy.

Home For the Holidays

We took some liberties this week since those not out of town are all omnivorous. We prepared a chicken rather than bean mole for the tamales. This is done ( by me at least) by poaching a chicken and using the stock to make a mole in which the shredded chicken meat is then stewed. The mole itself is composed of onions, garlic, dried chiles,spices and pumpkin or sunflower or sesame seeds. These are added, in the order given, to a sauce pan and roasted in oil until delicious in fragrance and appearance, whereupon they are flooded with the rich stock to a height 3-4 times their volume alone. This is simmered until it reduced by half and then ground in a lava stone mortar and pestle under a full moon wearing a macaw feather mask.
Kidding on that last part.
Grind the mole ( mole means 'ground' or 'crushed') in a blender or even a cuise. The resulting sauce should be thick, but certainly liquid. It keeps surprising well and is readily frozen.
And what about the sweet corn! How's that seasonal ?
Well, it's seasonal if you obtain it in season and put it up for winter eating. We purchased at the market, and froze, about 2-3 bushels of corn this summer. Aside from the work involved, it couldn't be easier. Just buy fresh corn, cut it off the cob that day and freeze the kernels in gallon ziplock bags packed to lay flay. We have learned to not underestimate the ammount of this product you may consume in the winter nor to underestimate its power to enhance a winter meal. Our method is easy and unendorsed by the powers that like to cook the life out of foods, but it delivers a product to me that easily surpasses in flavor and economy anything I could purchase. So, try it yourself this summer. If you can, go out to Pontius Farm in White Heath and pick the corn yourself and eat some raw, from the cob, standing in the dewy corn jungle, and empathizing with raccoons. An Iowan taught me that.

Potato Latkes & Satay

The Food Nanny
December 16 & 17, 2008
Meal 1: Potato Latkes, Roasted Pear Sauce and Carrot Ginger Soup
· Warm soup through to desired temperature on the stove or in microwave.
· Heat a very generous amount of oil in a pan or electric skillet. When the oil is shimmering hot add large dollopfulls (about ¼ cup) of the latke mix to the pan and pat them down into flat cakes. Be Careful! When the underside has browned well, about 3 minutes, flip the latkes and cook through. Add more oil if necessary to prevent frying one side and toasting the other. Remove to a plate with some paper towel to drain and keep in a warm oven while the other latkes cook, or serve immediately. Latkes are best piping hot.
· Serve with roasted pear sauce, and any other topping you like.

Meal 2: Tempeh or Grassfed Turkey Satay, Savory Sticky Rice and “Winter” Rolls
· Heat the satay under a broiler or in a hot (400°) oven until hot through and sizzling lightly. Be careful to not ignite the skewers. They can be removed or covered with foil for heating.
· Heat the Sticky Rice in the microwave with a little water or in a sauté pan with a little water until it has steamed through.
· Serve the cabbage rolls at room temperature.

Latkes

Hope no one is opposed to child labor!

There are a few things that make really good latkes. Primarily, yet seemingly contradictorily, is the onion. The onion is the structure upon which the fried potato flavor comes out, so never skimp on the onions in latkes. If it seems like too much, its just right. Perhaps more importantly the onion, along with oil as an ingredient inhibits the oxidization of the potatoes, by which they become an unseemly grey/ black. So, grate the onions alternately with every few potatoes to ensure an even coverage. Salt is crucial to a good latke. Make sure you use enough to scare yourself a little. Taste for it by frying up a small tester, like with forcemeats and adjust as necessary. Finally, the best thing for a good latke is to fry it in fearsome ammounts of oil. It is the liberal application of lipids that qualifies the latke as an icon of Hanukkah in the first place remember ? So don't skimp here. The oil should ride halfway up the latke in the pan and add more as necessary to ensure both sides and all rounds get crisped and not toasted.

The latke does not reheat to a shadow of its former self. This is why I sent latke batter to your homes and not latkes. They should be eaten piping hot and in rounds. Fry 'em then eat 'em - repeat till you are overfull of rich potato flavor and yu can barely see through the haze of suspended oil in the air. If you make them for a party either get everyone in to your kitchen, or use an electric skillet so you can get your 'kitchen' into everyone. The excitement of the fry-up seems to electrify the observing crowd while oven held latkes passed around to a seated crowd are just a dud.

A note on condiments. I recommend apple sauce, but I can certainly empathize with the sour cream crowd. Pomes tend to enhance the potato and salt flavor while the cream is simply another layer of richness. We have sent oven roasted pear sauce just to be cute, but thanks to Mark and Lori who hipped us to how fantastic pear preserve is with latkes.

Eat Well.

Pirogies and Chilli

The Food Nanny
December 9&10, 2008
First Delivery from Our New Kitchen !
Meal 1: Rutabaga Pirogies, Winter Greens and Onions, Sweet Noodle Kugel
· Heat the noodle kugel in the oven at 350 until warm through.
· Heat a generous portion of oil in a sauté pan. Once hot, place the pirogies in the pan, giving them a stir so they don’t stick. Allow to brown on one side and then flip. Cook until brown and crisp looking. Remove from pan onto plate and return pan to stove.
· Add a little more oil to pan, add greens and sauté until done. Serve with Pirogies. If you like sauté up some onions to serve as well (do these before the greens as they take 5-10 minutes). Serve the whole thing with some sour cream.

Meal 2: Three Bean Chilli, Corn Bread Squares, Carrot Salad
· Heat the Chilli in a saucepan until hot through, you may need to add a little bit of water.
· Serve Cornbread at room temperature or heat in the oven at 350.
· Serve Carrot Salad as is.

This is the first Food Nanny delivery from our own kitchen since October 14 of this year.
We cash rented a kitchen for four weeks and have Tim Gibbs (again)to thank for allowing us to impose upon his home for a week or two. Tim also is the builder of our kitchen and you should introduce yourself to him at the open-house.
Please bring a guest if you like, by the way. I forgot to include that on the invite, my apologies. Also, if you know us, read this, and did not recieve an e-vite please consider yourself emminently welcome to drop in Saturday from 2-5pm.
Food This Week
Introducing your best, least known vegetable: The Rutabega.
My mentor Max Hansen had a cat by that very name - a good one too.
The rutabegas in the filling of your perogies are organic commercial produce, and sadly, sub par. They needed to be spruced up with some seasonings. Good ruts are sublime. They transcend the potoetially bitter flavor of turnips with starchy texture and sugar to rival carrots.
For use in a filling use some potato even with good rutabegas to lend body to the mixture.

What do you get when you cross winter eating with a sound knowledge of root crops?
The perogie.
No wonder it hails from Eastern Europe. Think borscht, latkes, kugels, potato bread...
Similiar to hummous, and perhaps babaghanujg, the perogie benefits from allowing as much diversity as possible in its spelling and pronunciation.
Perogie,pirogie, piroshki, pirishky, phiroshky, pirijgzky... get your whole throat and upper chest into it.

Anyway, I urge you to seek out good rutabegas and cook them for yourselves. We did recieve some delicious ones from my parents who were befuddled by them in their CSA share. Also, the Moore's grew the best I've seen or eaten a few years back but they have since to reappear upon their market table. They are indespensable in stew, or casseroles, fabulous as part of a roast, and lend a subtle character to plebian things like mashed potato. So go! Buy some! Ask Jim and Diane if they have any rutabegas this year or if they will next year! Help create a viable market for this winter workhorse vegetable!

Veggie Burgers and Pasta Bake

The Food Nanny
December 4/5, 2008

Meal 1: Veggie Burgers and Sweet Potato Oven Fries, Cole Slaw
· If the patties are stacked in your container, remove them to a baking sheet. Bake the burger patties and fries in the oven at 350° until hot 10 – 15 minutes – watch the fries, they may need less time than the burgers.
· Season the slaw with salt and serve alongside the hot items.
Meal 2: Baked Penne With Ricotta, Roasted Red Peppers, and Red Onions, White Bean and Escarole Salad, Whole Wheat Bread Braids
· Heat the oven to 350° and bake the pasta until hot and bubbly and the cheese has begun to brown – about 12-15 minutes.
· Serve the bean salad at room temp or heat briefly in a sauté pan with some olive oil and a dash of water.
· Warm the braids and serve

Lima Bean Minestra & Shepherd's Pie

The Food Nanny
November 16&17, 2008
Meal 1: Root Vegetable and Lima Bean Minestra (some w/ Lamb), Sautéed Tuscan Kale, and Five Grain Rolls
· Heat the Minestra in a saucepan. Thin with a little water while heating to obtain the desired consistency. Simmer for 5 minutes.
· Heat some oil in a pan over medium and then add some sliced garlic to the pan and cook gently for a minute or two.
· Add the kale and sauté until just wilted and bright green. You may add a splash of water to speed the process. Add a bit more good olive oil and serve immediately beside or atop the minestra.

Meal 2: Green Lentil Shepherd’s Pie, Mixed Greens, Mini Pumpkin Pies
· Heat the oven to 350°.
· Bake the shepherd’s pie until bubbly and the potatoes begin to brown – about 20 minutes.
· Dress the Greens as you like and enjoy.
· Warm the pumpkin pies or serve at room temperature. Garnish with real whipped cream spiked with dark rum for a real treat!

Hot Pots and Meat(less) Loaves

The Food Nanny
November 11&12, 2008
Meal 1: Eggplant Dumpling and Vegetable Hotpot with Sweet Potato Noodles
· Remove the dumplings from the container and reserve. Next remove the vegetables and reserve.
· On the stovetop, bring broth to a simmer. Add the noodles and return to a simmer.
· Next add the dumplings and allow to simmer 2 minutes.
· Add the vegetables and stir gently. Simmer 1 minute and serve with a ladle into bowls.

Meal 2: Meat or Meatless Loaf with Mixed Fall Greens and Tzimmus
· Heat the oven to 350°.
· Add a splash of water and perhaps some butter to the baking dish with the tzimmus and loaves.
· Bake until hot and bubbly, allow to cook 5 minutes more.
· Dress the Greens as you like and enjoy.

Fall Curry and Stuffed Shells

The Food Nanny
November 4&5, 2008
Meal 1: Fall Vegetable Curry with Chickpea Cakes and Masala Rice Salad
· Heat Curry in a saucepan allow to simmer for 1-2 minutes. Please remove whole spices if you see them and be aware of them while eating (i.e. star anise or all spice).
· Remove Chickpea Cakes, place on baking tray heat at 350 for 10 minutes.
· Serve Rice at room temperature or if you like heat along with the chickpea cakes, just remove the wax paper.

Meal 2: Ricotta and Sundried Tomato Stuffed Shells with Broccoli and Baby Lima Beans and Blue Moon Mix
· Heat the oven to 350° and warm shells until bubbly + 5 minutes (15-20 minutes)
· Serve Broccoli at room temperature.
· Dress Greens as you like.

Trivia: What distinct ingredient makes the curry of the Southern Indian style?

Borscht and Veggie Pot Pies

The Food Nanny
October 28&29 2008
Meal 1: Pumpernickel Knots, Borscht with Chevre, Savory Noodle Kugel
· Warm the kugel in an oven proof dish at 350° until hot, about 15 minutes, or heat in a microwave.
· Warm the bread as well.
· Heat the soup and serve. Garnish with some sour cream or yogurt if you wish.

Meal 2: Fall Vegetable Pot-Pies, Butternut Squash and Wild Rice Salad, Baked Apples
· Heat the oven to 350°.
· Place the pies on a baking tray, and then the oven. Bake until the crust is golden brown – maybe 20 minutes.
· Warm the rice and apples together in the same oven for about 10- 15 minutes.

Trivia: What the heck is Kugel ?

Spanikopita adn Hot and Sour Soup

The Food Nanny
October 14&15 2008
Meal 1: Sugarloaf Squash and Chevre Spanikopita, Mixed Greens, Marinated Green Beans withTomato
· If you have three or more spanikopita in your pyrex, remove them to a baking tray. Heat them at 400° until they are golden brown, 10 -15 minutes but watch them! Eat carefully as they will be piping hot inside.
· Dress the greens.
· Serve Green Beans at room temperature.

Meal 2: Hot and Sour Soup, Sweet Potato Noodle Stir Fry, Kohlrabi Slaw
· Heat the soup gently to a simmer and serve.
· The noodle salad may be eaten at room temp, or heated in a sauté pan with a little oil and then a dash of water.
· Serve the slaw cold.

Potato Leek Soup and Stewed Lentils

The Food Nanny
October 7&8 2008
Meal 1: Potato Leek Soup, Savory Onion Pinwheels, Green Bean and Roast Beet Salad with Almonds
· Heat soup in saucepan.
· Warm bread gently in oven at 300 if desired.
· Serve Green Beans at room temperature.

Meal 2: Stewed Lentils with Roasted Red Pepper Dumplings, Roasted Acorn Squash and Cauliflower Polenta
· Remove dumplings from container to a separate plate, simmer the stew in a sauce pan until hot add a little water if necessary. Return Dumplings to pot and heat through.
· Warm the acorn squash and polenta in the oven at 350 until warmed through. Serve the squash with some butter.

Trivia: What part of the corn kernel is used to make polenta?

The Food Nanny
September 29/30 2008
Meal 1: ‘Great Pumpkin’ Burritos, Red Beans and Rice with Mixed Greens
· Warm burritos over the rice in the oven at 375° until warmed through and the burritos take on a golden brown color, about 20minutes.
· Dress Greens as you like and serve.

Meal 2: Black Eyed Pea and Kale Stew, Sweet Potato Flan and Corn Bread Squares
· Simmer the stew in a sauce pan until hot add a little water is necessary.
· Warm the flan in the oven gently at 325 with the corn bread until just warm.

Trivia: Traditional southern cornbread is made with what type of shortening?

Stuffed Chard Leaves and Zucchini Kugel

The Food Nanny
September 23/14 2008
Meal 1: Swiss Chard Stuffed with Lentils, Roasted Red Potatoes, & Balsamic Glazed Onions
· Warm everything together in the oven at 350° until warmed through and sizzling gently, about 20minutes.

Meal 2: Zucchini Kugel, Braised Eggplant with Chic Peas, Mixed Greens
· Brush the Kugel with a little olive oil and heat in the oven at 350° until warm through. About 15 minutes.
· Simmer the eggplant in a sauce pan until hot.
· Dress the greens and serve.

Trivia: What does to braise mean?

Falafil & Shiitake Mushroom Stew

The Food Nanny
September 16/17 2008
Meal 1: Falafil with Tabbouleh and Cucumber-Yogurt Soup
· Heat the falafel in the oven at 350° until warmed through and sizzling gently, about 15 -20minutes. Serve with some warm pita and tahini.
· Serve the soup chilled.
· Serve the tabbouleh at room temp.

Meal 2: Shiitake Mushroom Stew, Poppyseed Crescent Rolls, Apple Crisp
· Simmer the stew in a sauce pan to heat through. Serve atop some buttered egg noodles if you like.
· Warm the crescent rolls in the oven.
· Heat the crisp in the oven at 350° until bubbly.

Trivia: These mushrooms were cultivated on logs by Tomahnous Farm. What logs are best for this process?

Stuffed Red Peppers & Stir Fried Eggplant

The Food Nanny
September 9/10 2008
Meal 1: Fresh Challa and Babaghanouj, Red Peppers Stuffed with Navy Beans and Chevre, Basmati Rice With Figs
· Warm the peppers in the oven at 350° until warmed through and sizzling gently, about 15 -20minutes.
· Warm the Challa briefly in the oven. Serve the baba chilled.
· Serve the rice at room temp or heat it in a sauté pan with a generous amount of olive oil.
Meal 2: Chinese Eggplant with Deep Fried Tofu, Fried Rice, BBQ Sweet Corn
· Warm the corn 350° until hot – about 15 minutes .
· Fry the rice salad in a hot pan with some oil, briefly. Just heat it through but do not over-cook the herbs.
· Set the tofu aside. Add the stir fried veggies to a very hot pan with some oil. Stir to coat with oil. Shake the sauce very vigorously and add it to the hot veggies. The sauce should begin to thicken within 1 minute. Add the tofu, toss to coat, allow to thicken more if necessary, and serve immediately.

Trivia: What makes Chinese eggplant unique ?

Grilled Vegetables & Caballero's Pie

The Food Nanny
September 2,3 2008
Meal 1: Mediterranean Grilled Vegetables, Fresh Pita, Rice or Beef Koftas, Ensalda Caprese
· Warm the vegetables and koftas in the oven at 350° until warmed through and sizzling gently, about 12 minutes.
· Warm the pita briefly in the oven.
· Enjoy the tomatoes and mozzarella chilled. Do add salt before serving. This ingredient was omitted to prevent the toms from leaching too much liquid before serving.

Meal 2: Caballero’s Pie, Blue Moon Mixed Greens, and Melon Gazpacho
· Bake the pie at 350° until the cheese is browned and the interior is hot – about 20 -25 minutes .
· Dress the salad.
· Serve the gazpacho chilled

Trivia: What is a caballero?

Prelude

So, a Caballero's Pie is a FreshMex play on Shepherd's Pie. We made a filling of ranchero sauce, roasted chiles, corn, and squash, and pinto beans topped with masa and cheese. The type of casserole we like!

What, Behind the Rabbit?

Melon Gazpacho is a culinary Holy Grail.
It seems like such a divine idea in your head, but in practice is never quite attainable.

Melon from the Moore's Family Farm, so sweet and beautiful

It likely depends entirely upon the melons. If they are outstanding, and they can be, then the soup will in fact be sublime. This year's melons are very good, and likely improving as the hot, dry weather continues. Tomatoes are also very good this year by the way. It is OK to remember tomato and melon years like beloved vintages, but I digress.

The quandry begins with the accompanying ingredients for the soup. Will it be sweet, with say peaches, yogurt, and other melons, or savory with herbs, olive oil and, chiles ?

I opted for the latter but ended up with something in between. The most interesting part of making it was that the crucial ingredient was: Salt. Yours may need a little more, but be careful. Think of procuitto as you eat it.

The Grilled Flatbread has become a family favorite, below see Asher joining in rolling out the dough (don't worry, it was his own pita that he worked on).

TRIVIA: A chutney is a sugar and vinegar based preserve that typically features a combination of sweet and savory fruit with spices. It is idiomatic with Indian cuisineand was the template for the pear and red chile filling featured in our blintzes.

Blintzes and Stuffed Eggplant

The Food Nanny
August26,27 2008
Meal 1: Savory Red Pepper and Pear Blintzes, Rosemary and Sweet Corn Rice Salad, Melon Salad
· Bring the crepes up to room temp, and warm the pepper mixture in a pan or microwave. Divide the filling evenly among the crepes placing the filling in the center of each crepe, shaping the pile into a rectangle. Fold the sides in first to almost the middle, and then roll the blintz by bringing the bottom edge to the middle and rolling the whole package tightly. It’s easier to do than explain.
· Serve the rice at room temp or warmed briefly in a sauté pan with a little oil and then a few drops of water.
· Enjoy the melon chilled.

Meal 2: Eggplant Stuffed with Moroccan Spiced Beef or Tofu, Radiatore with Garlic and Chard
· Bake the eggplant rolls at 350° until the sauce is bubbly. Cook 5 minutes more.
· Serve the pasta at room temp or warmed briefly in a sauté pan with a little oil and then a few drops of water.

Trivia: What is a chutney?

Blintzes are an old world delicacy - really just stuffed crepes- that like most foods have been bastardized or omitted from our culinary lexicon. They are traditionally filled with pie filling or sweetened cheese and topped with sour cream. But they certainly lend them selves well to a savory filling as well. This week I tried something of a compromise: getting sweetness out of something traditionally considered savory - the pepper.

This variety of pepper is called Jimmy Nardello's Italian. It is an heirloom variety that is gaining noteriety. The fruits are long and thin, and they are a bit seedy for their size, but their flavor is really quite rewarding. They are a great kitchen garden variety in that should you be cooking and suddenly get possessed with the need for something red, sweet, and easy to add to a one meal portion you can just sprint out and grab a couple of Jimmy's sweet peppers from their plant.

We coupled the pepper with sugar, vinegar, and a base of early pears from the market to make a sweet, but tangy filling for the blintzes. We hope you enjoyed them.

The stuffed eggplant is the opposite reversal: making something savory sweet. I think the Middle-Eastern and Mediterranian-African cuisines are masters of this. By combining eggplant and beef with herbs, dried currants, toasted almonds, aromatic spices, and a tomato sauce suffused with the earthy notes of cinnamon, cumin, and turmeric we tried to create a dish that was both substantial as wellas etherial. Ultimately I find these combinations, like cayenne spiced honey, or rice and golden raisins, olive oil, and crisped lamb to be among the most sultry of cuisines.

Trivia Answer: The three sisters are the Native Americal companion planting arrangement of corn, beans, and squash. Your soup last week featured corn and squash. The significance of this arrangement is that it offers remarkable lessons in agro-ecology, ethnobotony, nutrition, and common sense. The arrangement was widespread throughout the Americas and, of course was as diverse as the geography itself. What may be most significant about it is how it transformed world cuisines. Always remember that corn, beans, and squashes ( including cucumbers and melons) are all New World crops, along with potatoes, tomatoes, and peppers, exported to Europe, Asia, and Africa where their impact has been considerable, to say the least. I implore you to look further into the origins of our foods, and the looming fates of their varietal diversities.

Cannelloni & Enchiladas

The Food Nanny
August18,19 2008

Continuing the tomato indulgence thanks to Jon and his crew at Blue Moon Farm

Meal 1: Cannelloni with Roasted Eggplant, Pesto Stuffed Buns, Mixed Greens
· Bake the cannelloni at 350° until the sauce is bubbly. Cook 5 minutes more.
· Warm the buns in the oven also if you wish.
· Dress and serve the salad.

Meal 2: Roasted Chile Stuffed Enchiladas, Two Sisters Soup, Tangy Rice Salad
· Bake the enchiladas at 350° until the sauce is bubbly. Cook 5 minutes more.
· Heat the soup and serve.
· Serve the rice at room temp or sauté in oil to heat it through and serve.

Trivia: What are the “Three Sisters” and what is their significance?

!Muy Picoso!
For the first time in many years my hands are throbbing following a work session with quantities of active peppers. I hope no one's palate was taken too far aback.
To anyone who is entirely skeptical about herbal and culinary efficacy I present the habanero, or poison ivy, or the poppy. Today I inhaled, applied topically, and twice ejected into my eye doses of capsicomes all in the name of making enchiladas. Its kind of fun playing with fire like that. Lets you know that you are in the presence of something considerable and not to be toyed with.
There are, to my knowledge, two antidotes to capsicomes: alcohol and dairy.
Capsicomes(the heat chemicals in chiles) are alcohol soluable - part of the reason why water is not a suitable remedy. In fact, the measure of heat in a chile, the Scoville Unit, is based on the amount of alcohol needed to flush the palate of occupying capsicomes. Sounds like a pretty dubious measure to me. I mean, how accurate can that really be - especially after washing down 3-4 chiles ?
Capsicomes are also fat soluable, and so they will move from off your tongue and into some yoghurt, or cheese, or other dairy product and hopefully buffer its concentration against your tissues. Thus such items are a logical accompanyment to spicy food. So, open another cold one( if you are of age) and pass the crema.

Trivia: Cappellini is angle hair pasta.

Heirloom Tomato Gazpacho & Cappellini Margherita

The Food Nanny
August12/13 2008
Meal 1: Heirloom Tomato Gazpacho, Pizza Bianca, Chick Pea and Sweet Corn Salad
· Warm the pizza bianca in the toaster or oven.
· Serve the soup chilled, garnish with a few drops of very good olive oil.
· Serve the salad at room temp.

Meal 2: Cappellini Margherita with Prairie Fruits Chevre, Grilled Zucchini, and Herb Crusted Eggplant
· Bake the cappellini at 350° until the sauce is bubbly and the cheese is melted and slightly browned, approx 20 mins.
· Bake the zucchini and eggplant in the oven until warm through, about 10 minutes.

Trivia: What is the common name for Cappellini?

Presenting: Your Dinner, starring -Tomatoes !

One of the most beautiful things about gazpacho is that there is no place to hide. This is a soup that should really never be made out of season. Although I confess to having a secret with regards to this serving: I used frozen tomatoes! Just for the base, and I froze fresh tomatoes overnight. In the morning peeling them was a snap - just run them under cold water and the skins slough right off. The rest of the tomato, sans stem core, is then pureed when thawed. Beats the pants off making tomatoes concasse. I remember spending two work days making one sauce from two cases of plum tomatoes when I was an apprentice. I learned to respect tomatoes concasse, and to avoid them. That being said, detectable little rolls of tomato skin are an unforgivable sin in most cuisine, and gazpacho would be an epitome. The freezer trick works like a charm for roasted peppers too. Put some up for the winter and thank me in January, or even next April for that matter.

Gazpacho also benefits from cucumber I think, but not zucchini. I prefer cooked zucchini, and cucumber excels at raw. Additionally, parsley not cilantro. This isn't for chips you know! Penultimately, there should be a whiff of heat, and an aroma of garlic, whitout being harsh. Finally, olive oil seduces the concoction of garden fruits into a unified palate experience that is totally naked.

Salt yours freshly upon serving.

The Cappellini Margherita is a play on the popular pizza. Fresh basil and dollops of Leslie's chevre hopefully play up the very fresh, sweet flavor of Jon's tomatoes. The sauce is nothing more than garlic cooked very gently in olive oil and then arrested with tomato sauce (tomato puree reduced by 1/3). As I was heating the whole thing I noticed the light, sweet tomato flavors fleeing from the heat, so I pulled it from the stove, salted it and dressed the cappellini right then and there without wasting a further note. Heat releases, but heat also destroys!

Enjoy the meals and look for a deepening of flavors next week as the daylight continues to receede, and the summer richens.

Heirloom Tomato Galette and Summer Omelet

Food Nanny
August 4 & 5, 2008
Meal 1: Heirloom Tomato Galettes, Mixed Greens, Green Bean Salad with Fried Sweet Peppers
· Warm the galette in the oven at 350°.
· Dress the greens.
· Serve the beans at room temperature or warm it in a sauté pan.
Meal 2: Summer Omelet, Savory Corn and Rice Salad, Roasted Beets with Walnuts
· Serve the omelet at room temp or warm it in the oven gently at 300° for 15 to 20 minutes.
· Warm the beet salad in the same manner as the omelet or serve at room temp
· The rice can be either served at room temp or heated in a sauté pan with some butter.

Ahh Toms!

Thats the correct way to pronounce them...neither tomAto not tomAHto, it's Ahh Toms! They are here and we are buying them, en masse to be correct. We purchased 160 lbs. from Blue Moon this week and are putting them up for your shares this winter. We certainly expect to buy a lot more, plus onions potatoes, garlic, winter squash, carrots, and other root crops. But lets not think of winters warming flavors just yet. The tomatoes are here!

Everyone has caught wind of the heirloom tomato thing by now and well they should - these beauties offer us a true measure of what we have traded away in handing our culture, cuisine, and agriculture to inept and greedy stewards who offer us paltry facimilies in return. Its like getting glass beads for Manhattan all over again. Especially since heirlooms are never ours to sell off in the first place.

I particularly enjoyed the effect of slicing, seasoning, and then oven drying the tomatoes before putting them on the galettes. This process had the effect of both concentrating flavors a la sun dried tomatoes, while also removing the excess moisture that is often the downfall of many a well intentioned fresh tomato pizza. We plan on processing many tomatoes in a similar manner and making tomato paste to freeze. Thanks to Eric Menzel for hipping us to this great idea.

Well when life gives you tomatoes, make tomato soup! Hint for this coming week.

PS The answer to the previous trivia is: Dill, butter, and sea salt. There is nothing better on boiled new potatoes.

Sorry for the tardy posting on that.

Curried Summer Squash & Black Bean Tamales

Food Nanny
July 29/30, 2008
Meal 1: Curried Summer Squash, Basmati Pilaf, & Grilled Flatbreads
· Heat the curry in a saucepan or microwave.
· Either heat the pilaf in a sauté pan with some olive oil, finishing with a dash of water to steam through, or in the microwave, or serve at room temperature.
· Toast the flatbread before serving.
· If you like, serve the rice and curry together in a bowl with a dollop of yogurt.
Meal 2: Black Bean Tamales, Sweet Corn Succotash, & Yellow Rice with Pepitas
· To heat the tamales, either microwave or place in a steamer basket and steam for about 15 minutes. If you do not have a steamer basket simply place a small bowl in the bottom of a sauce pot. Add about a 1/2” of water. Place a plate atop the bowl inside the pot so it is above the water. Place the tamales upon the plate and proceed to steam them.
· Sauté the succotash in a little oil or butter to warm it.
· The rice can be either heated or served at room temp.
· Serve the tamales with yogurt or sour cream and fresh salsa.

Pan Roasted Meatloaf and Polenta

The Food Nanny
July15/16 2008
Meal 1: Pan Roasted Meatloaf, New Potatoes with Green Beans, & Peach Cobbler
· Pre-heat your oven to 375°. Bake the meatloaves for 10-13 minutes depending upon your preferred doneness. They should be sizzly, aromatic, and somewhat firm to the touch.
· Meanwhile, place the potatoes in a sauce pan with a little water and some butter, salt and pepper. Allow the water to boil gently, cover the pot and steam the potatoes until hot, about 5 minutes. Then add the green beans and steam one minute more. Add a pat more butter and serve. Alternately, you can dress them cold with olive oil and herbs or a vinaigrette.
· Remove the piece of wax paper separating the peaches from the biscuit. Place the cobbler in the oven to bake at 350 °for 5-10 minutes or until beginning to bubble. Add the biscuit to the top and bake for 5 minutes more. Enjoy with ice cream or whipped cream
Meal 2: Fried Polenta with Summer Vegetable Ragout, Herb Risotto, & Blue Moon Salad Mix
· In a sauté pan heat some oil on medium high. When the oil is hot place the polenta cake in the pan ‘dry’ side down – be careful! Cook several minutes until lightly browned, then flip and finish cooking through. Reserve the polenta cake and sauté the ragout in the same pan. Serve atop the cake.
· To finish the risotto place it in a sauce pan with a little water and heat to a simmer stirring all the while. If necessary, and a little more water and stir until the rice grains are firm but not starchy. Finish with a bit of parm, butter, or very good olive oil if you like.
· Dress the salad with oil and balsamic vinegar and enjoy!

Trivia: What is the traditional Swedish garnish for new potatoes?

A Vegetable Garden is Not Beautiful; Unless You Think Food is Beautiful

This was actually spoken to me this week. Go figure.

Above is our variety of garlic. It was found growing ferel in the compost area of the Meadowbrook Organic Gardens by Kate and I in 2003. We grew out the plants and have cultivated the bulbs since. My best guess is that it is a Rocambole type. The skins mature to a mauve color. It has medium heat and roasts well. We use it all around as it fortifies food as garlic should without being over-prominent. We call it Urbana Tiger.

I would like to present some new arrivale to the cast this week. Most notably, to my sensabilities: The Potato.

New potatoes are sublime and I summon all the power of my convictions to convince you to raise some just so you can experience the otherwise unapproachable gustation of freshly dug new potatoes. They are unique and become something else: a potato, and still a good one at that, after even 12 hours.

New Potatoes are the young ones either robbed from the hills of the parent plants or just taken whilst small due to market demands or a justified impatience.

Red Norland is one of the first varieties to come on line and it is a good potato. But grab some Red Gold if you see it. Imagine Yukon Gold and Red Norland's love child.

I planted over 30 lbs. of potato for us all this year, over 7 different varieties. But my Meadowbrook plot all but failed mainly due to innundation and poor plot preparation last fall. Rest assured I'll find some great treats for you all at the market.

We are also, finally, getting local onions. Lets hope for a good keeper crop. I should put up several hundred pounds for this year. FYI we are averaging 10 lbs. per week. Eat 'em up folks!

And hey ! Sweet corn!

The ragout is just the epitome of midsummer eating to me. We are very fortunate to have farmers bringing eggplant to us to lend its lusciousness to the otherwise square saute of corn, onions and squash. The red pepper is the end of our garden stash of roasters we put up from last year. There are somethings that only come with summers heat, and sweet red peppers are one of them.

The Food Nanny

Meal 1: Broccoli and Ricotta Calzones & Blue Moon Mix with Raspberry Vinaigrette
· Pre-heat your oven to 475°. If you have a pizza stone, use it and allow it to heat in the oven for 30 minutes. If you have a metal cookie sheet, allow it to heat for only 5 minutes. Keep the calzone refrigerated until you are about to cook it. Be sure that the slits cut in it have not sealed themselves.
· When the oven/stone/ tray is ready, place the calzone, still sitting on it parchment paper foot, upon it and bake until golden brown, 10 -12 minutes. Allow to cool for 5 minutes before eating.
Meal 2: Summer Squash Latkes, Green Beans with Almonds, and Lebanese Orzo Salad
· Serve the salads at room temp.
· If the latke batter has become watery, drain the liquid off and/ or add some breadcrumbs or matzoh meal to re-bind the batter. Season it with salt as I have omitted this step to inhibit the extraction of water from the vegetables.
· To cook the latkes heat a generous amount of oil in a sauté pan. When the oil is hot use a large tablespoon to dollop the batter into the pan and flatten them into shape. You should expect 2-3 latkes per person.
· Fry them for 2-3 minutes or until golden brown below, then flip them to finish. You may lower the heat a bit to avoid burning them as they cook through, another 3-4 minutes. I recommend adding a bit more oil, or better yet, butter, after turning the latkes. This ensures that the second side fries rather than toasts, but it is a bit decadent. Garnish with yogurt.

Two Weeks of Trivia

Garlic Scapes are the flowerinng stalk of the garlic plant - typically found only on the type of garlics known as hard neck garlic. Starting as a tender, curled shoot, the scape is edible for a week or two in early summer before lignifying and straightening. The flowers mature bulbils- mini garlic bulbs that can be planted for garlic shoots in the fall, winter and spring, or allowed to mature into a full clove useful for planting to produce a full head of garlic the following year.

Bread flour has a higher gluten percentage than AP flour and produces a chewier, more toothsome product. It makes a real difference in those pitas, and can not be substituted without sacfrifce in flavor and texture.

The Food Nanny
July1/2 2008
Meal 1: Fresh Papardelle with Prairie Fruits Ricotta and Shell Peas, Mixed Greens, and a Batard
· Boil 1 qt of water for each portion of pasta.
· Salt the water liberally and add the pasta. Cook for 3-5 minutes. Taste-test a bit for doneness. Drain when done.
· When the pasta is added to the water, gently heat a generous portion of good quality olive oil in a sauté pan (3-4T per person). Add the peas and cook briefly to heat. Add the drained pasta and cook to heat. Add the ricotta in crumbles and toss. Season the fresh pepper and salt. Serve Immediately with the salad and bread.
Meal 2: Napa & Fried Rice ‘Dolmas’, Twice-Baked Japanese Turnips, Cucumber Salad
· Bake the Turnips at 350° until they begin to brown (12-15 mins).
· Serve the Dolmas and Salad at room temperature.

Trivia: How is bread flour different from all-purpose flour and how does it affect baked goods ?

Sorry no pictures this week but we are off to Wisconsin for a little vacation!

Grilled Pita Sandwiches & Early Summer Stew

The Food Nanny
June24/25 2008
Meal 1: Grilled Pita and Turkey/Tofu Sandwiches with Fixings, Chilled Cucumber Soup, & Four Bean Salad
· Serve the bean salad at room temp.
· Serve the soup chilled.
· For the sandwiches: Cut the pita in half, you may warm them if you like. Dress you sandwich with the turkey/ tofu, white bean hummous, fresh sprouts, shredded carrot, and your choice of condiments.
Meal 2: Early Summer Vegetable Stew with Biscuit Tops & Mixed Greens with Balsamic Vinaigrette
· Remove the biscuits from the baking dish, and then the wax paper separating them from the stew. Place the dish into a 350° oven for 10 minutes to warm the casserole. Next, replace the biscuits on top of the stew and raise the temp of the oven to 400°. Bake until the biscuits are brown and the stew is bubbly 10 -15 more minutes.
· Dress and serve the salad.
Trivia: How is bread flour different from all-purpose flour and how does it affect baked goods?

We are very excited to be featuring fresh sprouts from the local Tiny Greens Farm. These sprouts offer a wonderful fresh taste and exceptional nutrition to this light but satisfying summer sandwich. They are in operation year round so visit them at the farmers market and expect to see more of their product in your dinners.

The Four Bean Salad is a classic; the recipe here is from one of my mentors Max Hansen of Bucks County - thanks always Max ! I owe him a tremendous ammount for my culinary style.

Blue Moon experimented with some hot house cucumbers this season and they are a hit in my book. Cool and crunchy they make for a clever chilled soup. I like light and simple in summer. The seasons should complement our diet and out diet should acknowledge the seasons. Time as well as place is an important part of eating locally and eating well.

The Biscuit Pie is just a nice one -pot, family style meal featuring those Hakuri turnips once again and the well recieved herb drop biscuits plus a hint of what is to come next week. Shell peas are a seasonal delight that have mostly fallen to the wayside in our over-busied cuisine. Even for restaurants they are too time consuming to address and have thus been only a treat for throwback gardeners of late. We hope to change that. Fresh peas are a true delicacy. We intend to highlight them in the very near future.

The Devil of All Meat Substitutes

Seitan, pronounced fairly exactly like Lucifer's trade name, is a wheat protein that was developed centuries ago ( like, 13!) by Buddhists. It permeated the Buddist cultures of eastern Asia and eventually the cuisines of they and their neighbors.
The proteins are extracted from the wheat grains along with the starches via water and then kneaded to combine and strenghten the protien bonds until a tight structure is produced. Think of over kneaded dough. Synonymously called glutens, wheat protien is a hot topic in food right now, as many people are considering avoiding gluten foods, to avoid wheat allergies or gluten sensitivity. For the1% of us who have celiac disease, a gluten auto-immune response that flattens the lining of the small intestine and thus interferes with digestion and growth, a gluten free diet is the only option for health maintenence.
For anyone who does enjoy bread though, seitan is wonderful to cook with as it has a pockety texture that readily takes up flavors and has a mouth feel that is quite gratifying even to those not initiated to tofu and its ilk. It carmelizes over high heat and thus lends itself well to savory, umami rich presentation. A satay seemld like a logical presentation. And, who doesn't like food on a stick ?

Foccacia Pizza and Stir Fried Garlic Scapes

The Food Nanny
June17/18 2008
NOTE: You will want whipping cream or Vanilla Ice Cream for this meal!
Meal 1: Focaccia Pizza with Roasted Onions and Italian Kale, Kohlrabi Salad, Strawberry Rhubarb Shortcake · Heat the Pizza at 400° until the cheese is melted and lightly browned ~10 minutes.
· Serve the Kohlrabi Salad chilled.
· For dessert, warm the biscuits in the oven for about 5 minutes. Split them in half and move to a serving plate. Spoon the filling onto the bottom half, add the top and then top the whole thing with whipped cream or with vanilla ice cream beside. You may warm the filling too if you like.
Meal 2: Garlic Scape Stirfry, Miso Glazed Turnips, Mixed Greens with Goddess Dressing
· Melt some butter in a pan and add the turnips. Add a dash of water and stir to coat evenly and to warm through.
· Heat 2 to 4 T of oil in a pan over high heat. When almost smoking add the stir fry and cook for a minute or two, stirring regularly. Add a dash or water to steam all the vegetables through. Serve immediately. Complement with rice if you like.
Trivia: What is a garlic scape?

The Delights of the Season Roll On In

Greetings Eaters!
The beautiful bounty of our fertile local continues to gain momentum this spring. Two of my favorites make their way onto the menu this week: Japanese Turnips and Bright Lights Chard.

The turnips are small to medium in size and snow white in color. They are one of the best edibles to be pulled directly from the earth and popped into your mouth during field work. They are tender and sweet with a subtle sharpness and overall are a very approachable turnip. Look for them next week and again in the fall as they are a premier roasted vegetable. Cut off their tops and they are excellent keepers, so consider buying some this fall for your crisper drawer and cooking them up at holiday time.

Bright Lights Chard has renovated the image of chard in this country. A vigorous grower these plants are as ornamental as edible. Chard has a mineraly, erthy flavor that is best enjoyed extremely fresh. When cooked this way its natural sweetness comes through complementing its other flavors and making it a distinctive green. It is, of course, extremely nutritious and you should eat as much as you can. I see the results in out healthy little boy every day. During his gestation we ate chard sauteed like spinach, in pastas, in quiches, wilted with eggs over easy for breakfast, in soups, salads, stir fries, and best of all - grilled.

Credit to our dear friend Eric Menzel for teaching us the wonders of grilled greens. The hearty nature of chard particularly suits it well to this treatment and I recommend you try it.
Simply dress the whole leaves with minced garlic, olive oil, and salt. Toss to dress the chard well, but avoid saturating it with oil. Now just lay the leaves onto a hot grill for a few minutes per side. The leaves will char a bit and otherwise wilt similarly to sauteed spinach. Coarsley chop the cooked leaves to facilitate serving and eating. Served alongside other summer, fire cooked treats, the chard is sure to draw interest and fans. For a decadent burger, chop the grilled chard fine and use instead of lettuce, then add some smears of Prairie Fruits Angle Food or Little Bloom cheese!

The Food Nanny
June10/11 2008
Meal 1: Grilled Chard Stuffed with Falafel, Snap Peas & Cous Cous Salad, Spicy Mixed Greens with a Tatziki Vinaigrette
· Remove the falafel from the baking dish and reserve. Now remove the cous cous to serving dishes and replace the falafel to the baking dish. Bake the falafel at 400° for 7-10 minutes or until faintly sizzling. Be careful to not overcook the chard. Serve them over the room temperature cous cous.
· Dress and serve the salad.
Meal 2: Seitan Skewers, Grilled Broccoli Florets, and Hakuri Turnip Salad with Thai Noodles
· Serve the turnip salad chilled.
· Either serve the broccoli room temperature or warm it briefly in a sauté pan with a few dashes of water until steamed through. A brief trip into the microwave might also work.
· Heat the skewers in a very lightly oiled non stick pan, under a broiler, or in a toaster oven
Trivia: What is seitan and who invented it?

Food Nanny
June 3 and 4
Meal 1: Spring Rolls with Spring Vegetable Miso Soup, and California Roll Salad
Warm the soup to hot but not boiling. Add the tofu, after two minutes add the greens and serve immediately
Serve the salad and roll at room temperature

Meal 2: Red Lentil Dolmas, Tabbouleh, Hummous and Pita Crisps, and Marinated Feta
Serve everything at room temperature and enjoy!

Quesedillas and Hand Cut Fettuccini

The Food Nanny
May27/28 2008
Meal 1: Whole Wheat Quesadillas, Sweet Potato Wedge Fries, Green Garlic Soup
· Warm the sweet potatoes in the oven at 350° for 10-15 minutes or until sizzling and hot.
· Warm the soup and garnish with some yogurt, chives, etc.
· Carefully separate the quesadillas from each other. Holding them by the bottom, slip each one into a dry, medium hot pan to toast. Alternately you can add some oil to the pan for a crunchier, richer ‘tiller. When the one side is toasted (2- 3 minutes) carefully flip the ‘tiller over to toast the other side. Do not cook them over too hot a flame. Patience pays with these guys. Allow then tillers to cool a minute or two and then cut into halves or quarters with a pizza cutter or chef knife.
Meal 2: Hand Cut Fettuccini with Blue Moon Asparagus and Prairie Fruits Chevre, Mixed Greens Salad and Sage Vinaigrette
· Remove the cheese from the top of the vegetables and reserve.
· Boil 1 qt. water per portion of pasta to be cooked. Salt the water so it reminds you of sea water. This is not an optional step. When the water is at a rapid boil add the pasta and stir. Cook, stirring occasionally for 3-4 minutes or until cooked al dente – firm but tender to the tooth, with no taste of raw flour, and never mushy.
· While the pasta cooks heat a generous amount of olive oil in a sauté pan. Add the asparagus and onion and cook until hot. Add a dash of water to steam the vegetables through – but just a dash ! · When the pasta is done, drain it well and add it to the sauté pan with the asparagus. Toss to coat the pasta, and serve. Crumble the chevre on top of each portion. Add a few grinds of pepper and enjoy with a good white wine.
· Dress the salad and serve.

Green Garlic Soup

Trivia: What is green garlic and how is it different from the more familiar bulb garlic ?

Disecting Jon's Salad Mix

We are thrilled to have Blue Moons greens again!! It is such gorgeous mix, delightful to dress and eat.

Below is a picture of the components I could find. As Ben planted, weeded, cut and cleaned the mix for over a year, he was pretty familiar with its diverse plant mix and gave me a hand identifying them all, or atleast what we suspect them to be.

In addition to the varieties of lettuce there is a kale, tat soi, mustart greens and arugula. YOu can click on a picture to enlarge it which may make the writing large enough to actually read who is who.

Veggie Enchiladas and Penne

The Food Nanny
May20/21 2008
Meal 1: Veggie Enchiladas in Ranchero Sauce, Refried Pinto Beans, Adobo Rice Salad
· Heat the enchiladas in the oven at 350° for 15 minutes or until the cheese is melted and browning.
· Serve the rice salad at room temperature or warm gently in the microwave or a sauté pan with a bit of oil and then some water to steam the rice through.
· Heat the beans in the microwave or in a sauce pan. Add a bit of water to thin it out a bit.

Meal 2: Penne with Swiss Chard, Blue Moon Salad Mix and Vinaigrette, Rhubarb Bread Pudding
· Heat the penne in the microwave or in a sauté pan with a fair bit of olive oil. When sizzling add a few splashes of water to steam the pasta through. Be careful to not over-cook the chard. Garnish with some parm etc. if you like.
· Dress the salad.
· During the meal, warm the pudding in the oven at 325° for up to 20 minutes. Sprinkle with some cinnamon and sugar, or serve a la mode.

Trivia: Apart from the lettuces, what 5 varieties of brassica greens are in Jon’s salad mix?

Bok Choi and Broccoli Raab

The Food Nanny
May6/7 2008

Meal 1: Grilled Asparagus, Inarizushi with Wakame, Bok Choi and Soba with Miso Dressing
· Serve the salad and Asparagus at room temperature.
· Do not refrigerate the inarizushi in advance.
· You may serve the inarizushi at room temperature. Alternately you may heat them in a steamer basket or the microwave, covered with wax paper and set up to steam. Do not allow them to be in direct contact with the water.

Meal 2: Spinach Soup, Orzo with Feta and Broccoli Raab, Bread Twists
· Warm the twists in the oven.
· Heat the soup gently on the stove top or in the microwave . Avoid a full boil and do not allow the color to change. Don’t worry, this soup is dairy free and low fat !
· Serve the orzo at room temp.

Trivia: Your meals this week feature beautiful spring vegetables from Tomahnous Farm in Mahomet. These include broccoli raab and bok choi. Other than being green and delicious, how are these vegetables related ?

Harbinger

I can not tell you all how elated I was to find some asparagus and shiitake mushrooms remaining at Prairie Fruits Farm at 10 am on Saturday the 26th. Despite preconceptions, Spring has been a lean season culinarily. It is too late in the year for winter squashes or last falls root crops. Jon , of Blue Moon Farm, has finished with his greenhouse spinach and replaced it with tomato starts. The crop of field greens has yet to come in and has been hampered by a cool April. And so I have been yearning to cook some spring delights - but had had trouble locating supplies due to very limited availabilities. Serendipitously, a trip to visit Leslie and the kid goats yielded just what I was looking for, the harbingers of spring: asparagus and mushrooms ( anyone got any morel leads in the area ?). We added some green garlic from our own garden to round out the primavera (springtime) presentation of gnocchi.

How will we prepare them in high summer? Ahhh, nice to think about, but let us enjoy what is before us today!

Gnocci and Twice Baked Potatoes

The Food Nanny
April 29/30 2008
Meal 1: Gnocchi Primavera with Savory Tomato Buns and Sautéed Escarole
· Sauté the gnocchi in a pan with a little oil. When warm, add a little water to steam them through, but do not over-cook the asparagus !
· Warm the buns in the oven or serve room temperature - do not refrigerate them in advance.
· Remove the fresh escarole from the container being careful to not disturb the shaved garlic at the bottom. Gently simmer this garlic in olive oil over a medium to medium low flame until fragrant and just beginning to brown. Add the escarole and sauté to wilt like spinach. Add a dash of water to assist the process and serve immediately. Meal 2: Twice Baked Potatoes, Boston Red Beans, and Caesar Salad
· Warm the potatoes gently at 300° for maybe 20-25 minutes, or microwave.
· Warm the beans on the stove top with some additional water if necessary, or in the microwave with the same caveat.
· Dress the salad and garnish with some parmesan cheese or shaved Romano plus additional anchovies (there are no anchovies in the dressing of those who request vegetarian only).

Trivia: Tiny, colorful birds are all over Champaign-Urbana’s trees and hedges during April and May – a sign of spring sure as asparagus, mushrooms and green garlic. What are these migrants ? When do they travel ? And when will they return ?

Matzo Lasagna and Stuffed Grape Leaves

In observance of Passover all meals this week are Kosher for passover, for the vegetarians out there, we have worked within the restrictions of Sephardic traditions including rice and legumes in the stuffed grape leaves. Our omniverous customers should expect no grains mixed with their ground turkey and sauteed vegetables. And an exception to our dessert rules, there are two this week. We often tire of the matzo- so enjoy some chocolate covered matzo with apricots and pistacios as well as a macaroon- no flour needed for this coconut delight.

The Food Nanny
April 22/23 2008
Meal 1: Matzo Lasagna with Potato Broccoli Soup and Chocolate Covered Matzo
· Heat oven to 350, cook lasagna until cheese is melted and lightly browned, lasagna should be warmed through.
· Heat the soup stovetop or in the microwave.

Meal 2: Stuffed Grape Leaves with Blue Moon Spinach Salad and Coconut Macaroons

· Warm the stuffed grape leaves gently at 300° for maybe 20-25 minutes.
· Dress the salad as you choose.

Trivia: How long is allowed for the Matzo to cook?

Quinoa- The most Nutritious Grain!

Quinoa (KEEN-wah) Chenopodium quinoa, is in the family Chenopodium. Also in this family are beets, spinach, and chard. Quinoa is closely related to the very common edible weed lambs quarters (Chenopodium album), that also has edible seeds resembling the quinoa we cook up.

Most significantly, quinoa has been cultivated for over 5000 years starting with the Incans ! The name means 'mother of cereals.' And, it is one of many New World foods that revolutionized eating ( guess who also first cutlivated the potato!).

We have been cooking with this grain for a some years now and absolutely love it. It is a great substitute for anything asking for bulgar, particularily in tabouleh. It mixes with all sorts of flavors, it is a great addition to stuffed grape leaves or any other filling, and is very easy to cook up. I cook it like Nobu's sushi rice. First rinse it well, like sushi rice. Then using equal parts quinoa to water, bring to a boil, boil for 60 seconds, turn down to a simmer for 5 (or 7 or 9 if you forget) minutes, up high for 30 seconds and then off to sit (lid on) for ten minutes- fluff with fork. Always cook it with the lid on. You do have to rinse it or it won't be enjoyable, there is a bitterness to it. So it needs to be rinsed a few times prior to cooking, as sushi rice does- but there isn't an indicator that it is ready, just give it 3-5 rinses with water depending on your patience.

For more information click here.

The Food Nanny
April 15/16 2008
Meal 1: General Tso’s Tofu with Stir Fried Veggies and Asian Rice Salad
· Warm the rice in either the microwave, in a hot pan with a little bit of water, or a hot pan with a little bit of oil – your preference.
· Get a sauté pan hot with some oil in it, add the veggies and sauté until hot. Reserve.
· Add some more oil to the same pan and add the tofu. Stir it around a bit to keep from sticking. Cook 1 minute then shake the sauce well and add it to the pan with the tofu. Stir and allow the sauce to thicken and glaze the tofu. Serve immediately.
Meal 2: Potato and Spinach Fritata, Persian Quinoa Salad, Grilled Breadsticks
· Warm the frittata and bread sticks gently at 300° for maybe 20 minutes.
· Serve the quinoa at room temperature or sauté it in hot olive oil for a minute or two and add a little water to steam and plump the raisins and warm the salad. Finish with a bit of honey and some cayenne, and perhaps a bit more very good olive oil. Be careful to not over-cook the parsley.

Trivia: Quinoa is in what plant family and very closely related to what very common, edible garden weed? Where does the plant originate and who originally cultivated it?

Spring Tomatoes and Peppers

Here are our tomatoes growing in the basement.

Luckily when we started on this meal delivery endeavor, there was still some time left at the farmer's market. So we took our first check and bought up as many plum tomatoes and peppers from Blue Moon Farm to ensure we could have ingredients for good food through this long winter!

It was easy, at least for those with excess freezer space. Buy plum tomatoes, place in zip lock, place in freezer, wait six months, remove from freezer, thaw- the skins come right off- cut and serve how you would like. Repeat for peppers!
Thankfully it is spring and new foods are on there way. Broccoli, Bok Choi, garlic greens and the most anticipated at this household... ASPARAGUS! this is the first year that our patch will be harvested and we are checking it everyday, the first of the just popped up on Saturday. And here they are first thing this morning.

Chili and Calzones

The Food Nanny

April8/9 2008
Meal 1: Turkey or Veggie Chili, Chive Drop Biscuits, and Yellow Rice Salad
· Serve the rice at room temperature.
· Toast the biscuits in the oven to warm.
· Heat the chili on the stovetop or microwave and adjust the seasoning to your taste.

Meal 2: Spinach, Mushroom and Ricotta Calzones with White Bean and Tomato Salad
· Serve the salad at room temperature.
· For the Calzones:
1) Preheat your oven to 450° and allow the dough of the calzones to thaw, at room temperature, for at least 30 minutes before cooking.
2) Cut 3 short slits in the top of the calzones so they can vent while cooking (like a pie).
3) If you have a pizza stone use it. Allow it to heat with the oven for 20 minutes. Otherwise use a cookie sheet placed in the oven when it is hot and allowed to heat for 5 minutes.
4) Place the thawed ( or semi thawed) calzones carefully onto the baking surface and bake for approximately 10-12 minutes or until golden brown all over. Serve. Trivia: Hey! I thought you used local ingredients? Who’s growing tomatoes and chili peppers in April?