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!