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?

A Sneak Peak

Can anyone guess what's on the menu for tomorrow?


Something new made by our very own hands.

Fresh Eggs

We are having a great time collecting eggs around our home from our four laying hens. It is a great thing about living in Urbana- household chicken flocks are allowed and we have had hens in our backyard for four years now. With the return of daylength and spring in the air, our hens are in egg laying mode, each one laying about 5 a week!!! Unfortunately eggs right from the coop are not good for hardboiled, better for sunny side up, scrambled, omelets and bread pudding. So the eggs in the chefs salad were actually from the Moore's family farm probably layed a few weeks prior (BTW-eggs keep for a really long time- your super market egg is probably at least 3 months old if not older)
So fresh eggs are not good for hard boiled eggs because they are impossible to peel- there is a gas exchange that happens as an egg ages which creates air space between the shell and the hard boiled egg, making it easier to peel.

The Food Nanny
March 25/26 2008

Meal 1: Chef Salad featuring Blue Moon Spinach w/ Honey Vinaigrette and Grilled Flatbreat
· Toss salad or build individually as a salad bar, dress as you like. Moore's family farm eggs adn turkey (where applicable)
· Warm Flatbread in oven

Meal 2: Sweet Potato Kebab, Carrot curried with Coconut Milk and Mung Dal Rice Pilaf
· Bring th ecurry to a simmer on stove for 3 minutes (until carrots to your liking).
· Brush sweet potato kebabs with a little bit of oil and warm in the oven at 350 for 5 minutes
· Serve the curried carrots over the room temperature pilaf

Trivia: True or False? A freshly layed egg is easier to peal than an older egg when hard boiled.