The Food Nanny
January 27&28, 2009
Meal 1: Roasted Veggie Sandwich on Handmade Grilled Flatbread, Split Pea Soup and Blue Moon Fingerling Potato Salad
· Cut Flatbread in half and build a sandwich with veggies and sundried tomato tapenade. Warm it in the oven at 350 for 5-10 minutes.
· Heat soup in a saucepan. Thin it with water if necessary.
· Serve the potato salad at room temperature.
Meal 2: Pad Thai and Turnip Salad
· For the pad thai:
Rinse the noodles well under cold water, in a colander. Drain well and transfer to a towel. Fold up the towel with the noodles inside and manipulate it so as to dry excess water from the noodles. Don’t try too hard. Next heat some oil in a sauté pan. Non-stick is fine. When the oil is hot, carefully add the noodles and stir fry them for a minute or so. Be careful when adding wet noodles to hot oil!! It should be exciting but not hazardous. You can do it. If they are sticking badly add more oil. When the noodles have a bit of color on them add the vegetable /sauce mix and sauté a minute or two more. Serve with a squeeze of lime if you have it.
Serve Turnip Salad at room temperature.
Split Pea Soup With Snow
Is there a better combination? I don't think so.
Split pea soup is the crazy-thick, ugly, fuzzy wool sweater of a soup that a mom made for you; and, it was the antidote to a cold, cold day. There should be chunks of al least carrot to excavate from the bowl as you work your way downward. And, this soup is best accompanied by something - to address the potential monotony of split pea soup . Bread is good. A sandwich makes a meal.
Oh, and potato salad in winter?
Consider yourselves lucky. Besides perhaps Jon, you are the only folks alive enjoying the delicacy that is a poached Blue Moon fingerling potato.
We put the spuds up in advance, months ago, along with hundreds of pounds of other produce to ensure that you all have the finest in local produce available for your meals this winter. Co-op doesn't have 'em. Nor Fields. But you do.
The fingerling is uniquely well suited for salad. They are described, texturally, as waxy and you can see why when you bite into them. They hold their shape and toothsomeness when cooked, as opposed to falling apart and feeling soft and starchy. They make a good chip but not a fry, they won't mash, but boilded or braised they bar none.
So, we just added some homemade mayonnaise ( yes, always), B.M. carrots, sauteed B.M. onions, and organic celery. Plus some grainy mustard and vinegar for zing.
Pad Thai.
I have two confessions to make.
One, this pad thai does not use rice noodles. It's wheat udon.
Two, I discovered by accident and whim that a freshly washed noodle pan fries very easily and sticks neither to itself, its neighbor, nor the pan that holds them all. This made all the difference in being willing to make this dish. All previous attempts had been stuck-on, mish-mash messes. But washing the noodle, pan frying it and then folding in a 'sauce' of all my stir-fried ingredients made something flavorful, and texturally satisfactory. There are other Thai dishes that employ this forcemeat/sauce trick. Siam of Lambertville, N.J. (best Thai I know) folds it into crispy, deep-fried vermicelli. Imagine savory, Thai style shoestring potatoes. Eat it hot. Hands are probably best.
P.S. I have also found the sweet potato starch noodle to be very cooperative.
Eat Well.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Hand Rolled Noodle Lasagna and Moroccan Carrot Soup
The Food Nanny
January 20&21, 2009
Meal 1: Hand-Rolled Noodle Lasagna with Romaine and Escarole Salad
· Cover the lasagna with foil and bake it in the oven at 350° for 15-20 minutes. Remove the foil and cook for an additional, 10-15 minutes or until hot.
· Dress the salad and serve alongside the lasagna.
Meal 2: Moroccan Carrot Soup, Whole Wheat Cous Cous Salad, and Lentil Cakes
· Heat the soup in a sauce pan until simmering. You may need to thin it with some water. If so adjust the seasoning before serving. Garnish the soup with yogurt if you like.
· Warm the lentil cakes in the oven for 5- 10 minutes.
· Serve the cous cous at room temperature.
This week it was exciting to make pasta again. Rolling out your own lasagna noodles made it possible to make them to the shape of the circle dishes for ones and twos. If you are interested in making your own pasta click here.
January 20&21, 2009
Meal 1: Hand-Rolled Noodle Lasagna with Romaine and Escarole Salad
· Cover the lasagna with foil and bake it in the oven at 350° for 15-20 minutes. Remove the foil and cook for an additional, 10-15 minutes or until hot.
· Dress the salad and serve alongside the lasagna.
Meal 2: Moroccan Carrot Soup, Whole Wheat Cous Cous Salad, and Lentil Cakes
· Heat the soup in a sauce pan until simmering. You may need to thin it with some water. If so adjust the seasoning before serving. Garnish the soup with yogurt if you like.
· Warm the lentil cakes in the oven for 5- 10 minutes.
· Serve the cous cous at room temperature.
This week it was exciting to make pasta again. Rolling out your own lasagna noodles made it possible to make them to the shape of the circle dishes for ones and twos. If you are interested in making your own pasta click here.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Chef's Salad & Indian Curried Carrots
The Food Nanny
January 13&14, 2009
Meal 1: Chef’s Salad and Mini Baguettes
· Warm the baguettes.
· Place the greens on each plate and garnish as you choose with the sides provided. Season with salt and pepper and dress.
Meal 2: Indian Curried Carrots, Kichiri Salad, and Grilled Flatbread
· Heat the curry in a sauce pan until simmering.
· Warm the flatbreads in the oven or a dry pan.
· Serve the rice at room temperature or warm it in a sauté pan with a little oil or butter.
· Serve the curry beside the rice.
It was amazing to wake up before the sun this morning to bake our weekly bread and make a plan for the day in the kitchen by myself. Ben was still sleeping and is typically in charge so I make sure to fully enjoy my alone time. The chef's salad was made with all local ingrediants, except for the chick peas. The spinach was picked up at Blue Moon Farm this past week, along with pounds and pounds of our root vegetables that were purchased in the fall (that was last year already!), Carrots, Onions and Potatoes all grown within Urbana City limits. Roasted Reds from Jon, coming out of our freezer and then there is the egg...
I am only now in my 4th decade coming to terms with the hard boiled egg. This morning was the first time I cooked them. When ever we discuss a meal and Ben tosses out putting hard boiled eggs in them I most often scoff at the idea... they are an item that people either love or hate- is anyone so so about them? (I feel the same way about olives and capers-if you are a lover out there and upset you don't see them in the food that's because of me--sorry) Back to the hardboiled eggs, my dislike also extended to the deviled and egg salad forms. This past spring for passover though Ben made a really good egg salad, it could have been the dietary restrictions forcing me to like anything that week, but I think that it was the quality of the egg. Our hens produce great eggs, yellow orange yolks, hard shells, there diet makes all the difference. I grew up with your typical grocery store egg, and that discoloring of the yolk when it is hard boiled, I couldn't stand the smell and there wasn't anything calling out to me to put it in my mouth.
Fast forward to this morning. I am ready to boil my first pot of eggs, we took them out last night to bring them to room temperature (helps with the peeling), I put them in the pot, covered them with water, brought them to a boil (lid on), boiled for 10 minutes, moved the pot to the sink and ran cold water on them until they were cold. Making something that you don't like to eat yourself as you don't want to mess it up for others that do enjoy it, so I made sure not to go over or under 10 minutes. I removed all the shells, and later cut into them. I was astounded at how beautiful they were, the bright yellow of the yolk cooked to perfection... I now became tempted to actually eat it... and I did and it was good.
Now to the point of my long winded storry, if you are one of our customers out there who is a bit turned off by the hard boiled egg, I say give this one a chance. Good chickens, make yummy eggs, and yummy eggs are good in almost all forms. I may even have to make the adored devil of an egg for an upcoming party now. Thanks to the Moores for raising such good eggs.
January 13&14, 2009
Meal 1: Chef’s Salad and Mini Baguettes
· Warm the baguettes.
· Place the greens on each plate and garnish as you choose with the sides provided. Season with salt and pepper and dress.
Meal 2: Indian Curried Carrots, Kichiri Salad, and Grilled Flatbread
· Heat the curry in a sauce pan until simmering.
· Warm the flatbreads in the oven or a dry pan.
· Serve the rice at room temperature or warm it in a sauté pan with a little oil or butter.
· Serve the curry beside the rice.
It was amazing to wake up before the sun this morning to bake our weekly bread and make a plan for the day in the kitchen by myself. Ben was still sleeping and is typically in charge so I make sure to fully enjoy my alone time. The chef's salad was made with all local ingrediants, except for the chick peas. The spinach was picked up at Blue Moon Farm this past week, along with pounds and pounds of our root vegetables that were purchased in the fall (that was last year already!), Carrots, Onions and Potatoes all grown within Urbana City limits. Roasted Reds from Jon, coming out of our freezer and then there is the egg...
I am only now in my 4th decade coming to terms with the hard boiled egg. This morning was the first time I cooked them. When ever we discuss a meal and Ben tosses out putting hard boiled eggs in them I most often scoff at the idea... they are an item that people either love or hate- is anyone so so about them? (I feel the same way about olives and capers-if you are a lover out there and upset you don't see them in the food that's because of me--sorry) Back to the hardboiled eggs, my dislike also extended to the deviled and egg salad forms. This past spring for passover though Ben made a really good egg salad, it could have been the dietary restrictions forcing me to like anything that week, but I think that it was the quality of the egg. Our hens produce great eggs, yellow orange yolks, hard shells, there diet makes all the difference. I grew up with your typical grocery store egg, and that discoloring of the yolk when it is hard boiled, I couldn't stand the smell and there wasn't anything calling out to me to put it in my mouth.
Fast forward to this morning. I am ready to boil my first pot of eggs, we took them out last night to bring them to room temperature (helps with the peeling), I put them in the pot, covered them with water, brought them to a boil (lid on), boiled for 10 minutes, moved the pot to the sink and ran cold water on them until they were cold. Making something that you don't like to eat yourself as you don't want to mess it up for others that do enjoy it, so I made sure not to go over or under 10 minutes. I removed all the shells, and later cut into them. I was astounded at how beautiful they were, the bright yellow of the yolk cooked to perfection... I now became tempted to actually eat it... and I did and it was good.
Now to the point of my long winded storry, if you are one of our customers out there who is a bit turned off by the hard boiled egg, I say give this one a chance. Good chickens, make yummy eggs, and yummy eggs are good in almost all forms. I may even have to make the adored devil of an egg for an upcoming party now. Thanks to the Moores for raising such good eggs.
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Pot Pies and Vegetable Minestrone
The Food Nanny
January 6 & 7, 2009
Meal 1: Biscouit Topped Pot Pie and Spinach Salad
· Reserve the biscuit and heat the potpie in the oven at 350° until just bubbling. Place the biscuit on top of the filling and heat 5 more minutes.
· Dress and serve the salad.
Meal 2: Vegetable Minestrone, Roasted Vegetable and Chevre Fougasse and Sweet New Year Cookie
· Warm the fougasse in the oven for 5-10 minutes.
· Heat the soup in a sauce pan. Add a little water if necessary and adjust the seasoning.
· Save the dessert for last.
Fougasse Me! Hey, Fougasse You buddy!
Sorry, just a bit of East Coast love for you all. The fougasse was a pleasure to make and I hope you all enjoy it. It reminds me of two delights from back home (Philadelphia, not Italy, but close) one is the stromboli, a sort of rolled pizza, and pepperoni bread, a rolled bread stuffed with guess what.
I expect to add this to our catering menu and think it would be a great compliment to any antipasto platter. I especially like that this type of bread is seasonally versatile. An asparagus version in spring, oven dried tomatoes in high summer, and broccoli in fall - what more do you want ?
We ate ours with the spinach salad and I was once again overwhelmed by the quality of the greens coming out of Blue Moon's greenhouse. Expect them to be featured next week. I would like to stress again that these greens are being produced locally, weekly, by our friendly neighborhood organic farm, without burning any fuel for heat, in January! I feel very fortunate to be able to procure these foodstuffs and to in turn extend them to you. Please enjoy and fend off the winter blues with Winter Greens!
For more information on winter vegetable production just search: Eliot Coleman.
January 6 & 7, 2009
Meal 1: Biscouit Topped Pot Pie and Spinach Salad
· Reserve the biscuit and heat the potpie in the oven at 350° until just bubbling. Place the biscuit on top of the filling and heat 5 more minutes.
· Dress and serve the salad.
Meal 2: Vegetable Minestrone, Roasted Vegetable and Chevre Fougasse and Sweet New Year Cookie
· Warm the fougasse in the oven for 5-10 minutes.
· Heat the soup in a sauce pan. Add a little water if necessary and adjust the seasoning.
· Save the dessert for last.
Fougasse Me! Hey, Fougasse You buddy!
Sorry, just a bit of East Coast love for you all. The fougasse was a pleasure to make and I hope you all enjoy it. It reminds me of two delights from back home (Philadelphia, not Italy, but close) one is the stromboli, a sort of rolled pizza, and pepperoni bread, a rolled bread stuffed with guess what.
I expect to add this to our catering menu and think it would be a great compliment to any antipasto platter. I especially like that this type of bread is seasonally versatile. An asparagus version in spring, oven dried tomatoes in high summer, and broccoli in fall - what more do you want ?
We ate ours with the spinach salad and I was once again overwhelmed by the quality of the greens coming out of Blue Moon's greenhouse. Expect them to be featured next week. I would like to stress again that these greens are being produced locally, weekly, by our friendly neighborhood organic farm, without burning any fuel for heat, in January! I feel very fortunate to be able to procure these foodstuffs and to in turn extend them to you. Please enjoy and fend off the winter blues with Winter Greens!
For more information on winter vegetable production just search: Eliot Coleman.