Urbana's Community Supported Kitchen

Stuffed Red Peppers and Equinox Stew

2011-09-27T15:00:00.000-07:00

The Food NannySeptember 27&28 2011
Meal 1: Stuffed Red Peppers, Black Beans and Rice & Blue Moon Salad Mix
• Warm the stuffed pepper over rice in an oven covered at 400 for 15-20 until warmed through.
• Dress and enjoy the salad

Meal 2: Equinox Stew, Challah Knots and Apple Crisp
• Warm the curry on the stovetop. Thin if necessary and adjust the seasoning.
• Warm the Challah in the oven at 350 along with the crisp. Allow the Crisp to continue to warm while you eat dinner.

Split Pea Curry and Big Fat Burritos

2011-09-20T14:39:00.000-07:00

Meal 1: Curried Split Peas, Naan, Brown Basmati Salad

· Warm the curry on the stovetop. Thin if necessary and adjust the seasoning.

· Warm the naan on a gas burner or in the oven for a few minutes.

· Serve the rice at room temp, or heat it in a pan with a little oil and a splash of water.

Meal 2: Big Fat Burrito and Mixed Greens

· Heat the burrito in the oven at 350° for 5-10 minutes or until warm and a little toasty.

· Dress and enjoy the salad

Notes: The burritos are chock full of butternut squash, sweet corn, red pepper, beans, rice, and our 'patented' cilantro pesto.

Sweet Corn Chowder and Grilled Pizzas

2011-09-13T13:01:00.000-07:00

Meal 1: Sweet Corn Chowder, Broa Rolls, Blue Moon Mix

· Warm the soup on the stovetop.

· Warm the rolls and dress the salad.

Meal 2: Grilled Pizzas with Kale and Roasted Red Pepper, Grilled Vegetable Medley, Whole Wheat Pasta and Tomato Salad

· Heat the pizza in the oven at 450° for 5-10 minutes or until hot and the cheese is melted.

· You may warm vegetables in the oven too alongside pizza or serve them at room temp.

· Enjoy the pasta salad at room temp.

NOTES:

Broa is a Portuguese peasant loaf made with cornmeal and flour, traditionally served with a fish stew.

The pizza dough is a Neopolitan - style high moisture dough that seemed intimidating to handle last night, but mellowed in the fridge and grilled up beautifully getting nice color, texture and color over the open flames.

Pasta e Fagioli and Falafil

2011-09-06T13:41:00.000-07:00

Meal 1: Pasta e Fagioli , Black Quinoa Rolls, Blue Moon Mix

· Warm the stew on the stovetop.
· Warm the rolls and dress the salad.

Meal 2: Falafil Patties, Roasted Eggplant Salad, and Barley with Sweet Corn

· Heat the falafil in the oven at 350° for about 10 minutes or until hot.

· You may warm the eggplant in the oven too alongside the falafel or serve it at room temp.

· Enjoy the barley salad at room temp.

Roasted Tomato Soup and Sweet Corn Enchiladas

2011-08-30T13:37:00.000-07:00

Meal 1: Roasted Tomato Soup, Double Rye Rolls, Grilled Summer Squash Salad

· Warm the soup on the stovetop.

· Warm the rolls.

· Enjoy the salad at room temp. It may need a sprinkle of extra salt.

Meal 2: Sweet Corn Enchiladas, Baked Black Beans, and Annatto Rice Salad

· Heat the enchis and the beans in the oven at 350° for about 15 minutes or until hot.

· Enjoy the rice salad at room temp, or even warm it in the oven for about 5 minutes OR in a sauté pan with some oil and a splash of water to warm it though.

2011-08-23T15:35:00.000-07:00

The Food Nanny

August 23 & 24 2011
Meal 1: Two Sisters Soup, Seeded Whole Wheat Rolls, Aztec 5 Grain Salad
• Warm the soup on the stovetop.
• Warm the rolls.
• Enjoy the grain salad at room temp.

Meal 2: Summer Veggie Pot Pie with Crumble Topping, Pesto- Challah Knots, Potato Salad with Roasted Red Onions
• Heat the pot pie in the oven at 350° for about 15 minutes or until just bubbling. Add the crumble topping and cook for another 5 minutes.
• Warm the rolls.
• Enjoy the salad chilled, or even warm it in the oven too for about 5 minutes.

Pasta Purses and My Own Sweet Corn Festival

2011-08-16T12:57:00.000-07:00

Meal 1: Roasted Eggplant Agnolotti with Marinara, Semolina Loaves, and Blue Moon Mix

· Give the pasta dish a gentle shake and/or stir then either A). Warm in the oven until just bubbly or B). Turn out and heat through in a sauté pan.

· Warm the bread and dress the salad.

Meal 2: Sweet Corn and Black Eyed Pea Stew with Deep Dish Corn Bread and Melon Salad

· Heat the stew on the stovetop.

· Warm the cornbread at 325° for about 10 minutes. Be careful to not darken the sides much more.

· Enjoy the melon chilled.

NOTES:

Agnolotti are delicate little purse-like members of the ravioli clan. They are more fun and more efficient to make though.

Garnish the pasta with some grated Locatelli type cheese and some fresh basil from your yard, if you have it.

There are leeks from Tomahnous Farm and jalapeno from our garden in the corn bread.

2011-08-09T21:49:00.000-07:00

The Food Nanny

August9&10 2011

Meal 1: Grilled Pita with Hummous and Crudité, & Farfalle with Tomato and Basil, plus Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars!

· Warm the pita in the oven briefly, or directly on a gas burner– just enough to warm it.Cut and dip or make a sandwich with the veggies and hummous.

· Add salt to the pasta salad, we omit it to prevent wateriness from the tomato, and serve at room temp.

· Bet you know what to do with the cookie bars!

Meal 2: Stir Fried Eggplant and Basil with Noodles and Cold Cabbage Salad

· The noodles are fine at room temp OR Heat a sauté pan with a little oil. Nonstick is fine. Add the noodles and a splash or water and allow to warm through. Transfer to a serving plate.

· Reheat the pan and add the eggplant and its sauce Allow to simmer a minute or two and serve hot.

· Serve the cabbage chilled.

Cucumber Vichyssoise and Sweet Corn Quiche

2011-08-02T13:25:00.000-07:00

Meal 1: Cucumber Vichyssoise, Pizza Bianca, Mixed Greens
• Warm the pizza in the oven briefly – just enough to warm it.
• Dress the salad and serve the soup chilled.

Meal 2: Sweet Corn Quiche, Green Bean Salad, and Tomato/Eggplant Napoleons
• Warm the quiche in the oven at 350° until just warm ~ 10-15 minutes. Room temp is fine too.
• Serve the beans chilled.
• Serve the napoleons at room temp or transfer to a baking sheet and warm with the quiche.

Notes: This is what all the pizza bianca should have looked like !

Beat the Heat Cooking

2011-07-29T15:52:00.000-07:00

Cool food isn’t about what is trendy. It is really about what to cook at home when you could just as soon sear steaks on the patio. Grill notwithstanding. Here are some of my top picks for eating in the heat.

Skip meals. I’m down to about one a day. I just don’t want to eat in this weather and the effort necessary is greater than caloric return so…

Eggs. Eggs are great summer food. Simple fried eggs cook up fast and won’t heat your whole house. They are light but satiating. Next, up the ante by making an omelet. Again, they are fast and nutritious and infinitely variable. Moreover, they make a great summer dinner along with a salad or chilled soup or other home garden bounty. Hardboiled eggs are a summertime workhorse. Cook off a few dozen, refrigerate and use as needed. Not only do they make a great snack to facilitate your meal skipping habit, but they fall into line easily in an antipasto platter of chilled and pickled vegetables and some charcuterie and cheese, or in a chef style salad. Last, but certainly not least, is egg salad. We are junkies for the stuff and once it is made will eat it pretty much nonstop until it is gone. For a real treat pick up some Alkayam whole wheat pita - the large thin ones. Toast them quick, place egg salad, greens, tomato, bacon, etc. on one side of the circle, fold the whole thing over like a taco and discover what pita is all about. This technique also rocks with grilled sausage, roasted red pepper, and pesto.

Hot Smoked Salmon "Mango Style"

Salads. First, pick up some Blue Moon mix and then add everything you have on hand and make giant, hearty, chef salads. I really love salads with beans in them and lentils, garbanzos, and kidney beans are my top choices. You can certainly use canned beans. I always have some on hand for occasions like this. Hard boiled eggs are great additions to your supper salads adding protein and a lustrousness as the yolk portion mixes with the dressing and coats the greens. Also consider poached or over-easy eggs. The broken yolks on the greens is not just good. It's kinda sexy. Another great addition is sardines. Our boys just DEVOUR these rich little fishes and they are packed with everything good for your body, limited in those that aren’t, and considered to be sustainably harvested. First timer? Try The King Oscar brand Bristling Sardines in oil. They are Grade A, but the Brunswick ones work fine too. Specialty markets carry these great little smoked sprats from Russia in a round can. They are black and gold and lightly smoky. Just smashing with a salad. Other smoked fish is good too and I recommend trying your hand at hot smoking some wild salmon on a grill if you have one. You can do enough to make it worthwhile and the refrigerate the rest for 2 weeks, or freeze it. Cheeses are great contributors too: blue, chevre, Gorgonzola, cottage, farmer – whatever you have. The only limit on salads is what you need to use up in the fridge. Consider the greens a canvas and remember a good oil and vinegar dressing is often best. Ditch tht corn syrup slurry ASAP.

Marinated Farmer Cheese
and Minted Snap Peas

Beans and Rice. Cook off a bunch all at once and use it throughout the week. This will serve you well when your brain is a melted puddle and you can’t think what to make for dinner - you already have a step in the right direction. Having these foods on hand will save you time and heat during the prep. Together both make quick burritos or tacos. Thgey also make a nice stuffing for eggplants or summer squash. Beans alone make fast soups (Recipe: black beans and their cooking broth, yogurt, diced red onion, diced cucumber, diced tomato, minced garlic. Mix all in a bowl. Season. Viola: Chilled Black Bean Soup), are a great fortifier for salads, easy to serve with eggs (huevos rancheros). Beans also make hummous which is a great hot weather food. Let there be no mystery as to why it came from the Mid-East and not, say, Norway. Now, if you firmly believe dinner needs, must-be a heated affair, make some fried rice - a dish invented from cold, leftover rice. Add 1# of the Moore’s ground pork along with some good soy sauce, chili paste, and a little brown sugar for a real smash.

Marinated Grilled Zukes and
Half Sour Pckles in an Antipasto

Whole Meat Roasts. Yep that’s right. Nothing says deep summer heat like roasting a turkey, whole bone in rib roast or better yet a ham, does it? Consider it an investment. Pick one day to heat up the house, cook up a big piece of animal and then eat beautiful, beautiful cold cuts all week long: sandwiches, chef salads, mayo based salads, in antipasto’s (starting to see how these all fit together?), or just standing there, right off the bone, with the fridge door open. Also consider brisket, pork loin, top sirloin, and whole chickens. Some of these you can do on a grill too. thus sparing your home the hot oven treatment. What about fish? OK here’s a trade secret: Take a whole side of wild salmon (that farmed stuff at the supermarket is shit, and don’t believe otherwise). Lay it skin side down on a sheet tray. Brush lightly with melted butter. Add salt and pepper. Bake at 325° for about 1 hour, or until the thickest flesh is firmed. Cool. You now have the best ‘poached’ salmon ever. Those fish shaped boilers are for suckers. Serve this fish with a yogurt/cucumber/ mint sauce and some white wine.

Suddenly, hot summer nights ain’t so bad.

Deep Dish Pizzas and Summer Time Sloppy Joes

2011-07-26T13:16:00.000-07:00

The Food Nanny
July 26 & 27 2011
Meal 1: Summertime Sloppy Joes on Challah Rolls, Cole Slaw, Peach Crisp
• Heat the Joe mix on the stovetop until just hot, add some water if necessary and adjust the seasoning. Toast the roll.
• Serve the slaw chilled. ADD salt as this was omitted to prevent wateriness.
• Heat the crisp in the oven at 350 until just bubbling ~15 minutes.

Meal 2: Deep Dish Pizza with Oven Dried Heirloom Tomatoes, Mixed Greens, Pickled Beets
• Warm the pizza in the oven at 350° until warmed through ~ 10-15 minutes.
• Dress and serve the greens.
• Serve the pickle chilled.

Caballero's Pie & Curried Chic Peas

2011-07-19T14:19:00.000-07:00

The Food Nanny
July 19 & 20 2011
Meal 1: Caballero’s Pie, Blue Moon Mix, Tomato and Cucumber Salad
• Warm the pie in the oven at 350° until hot and just bubbling ~ 20 minutes.
• Dress and serve the greens.
• Add a sprinkle of salt to the tom/cuke salad, toss and serve chilled.

Meal 2: Curried Chic Peas with Tomato and Kale, Naan, Brown Basmati with Coconut
• Heat the curry on the stovetop until just hot.
• Warm the naan in the oven.
• Heat the rice in a sauté pan with a little oil and a splash of water to steam it through.

Notes:

The rice salad may appear 'bound', this is because it is seasoned with coconut oil, which hardens when refrigerated. It will melt quickly when heated per the instructions.
There are whole allspice berries in the curry please LOOKOUT!- I know they are annoying, but using whole spices is key to making proper curry.

Black Bean Soup & Savory Blintzes

2011-07-05T14:16:00.000-07:00

The Food NannyJuly 5 & 6 2011

Meal 1: Black Bean Bean Soup, Hand Cut Tortilla Chips, Live Cucumber Pickle Salad
• Warm the soup on the stove top. It’s also good chilled. Enjoy with the chips.
• The salad is best at room temp. Drink the brine – its probiotic!

Meal 2: Savory Blintzes with Ratatouille and French Lentils, Mixed Greens and Quinoa Salad
• Toast the blintzes, starting seam side down in a sauté pan with some butter. Cook 2-3 minutes. Flip, cook 2-3 minutes more. Serve.
• Serve the quinoa at room temp, dress the salad.

2011-06-28T14:44:00.000-07:00

the Food NannyJune 28 & 29 2011
Meal 1: White Bean Soup with Kale and Lemon, Orzo with Roasted Red Pepper and Chevre, Cucumber/Tomato Salad

Warm the soup on the stove top. It’s also good chilled.
Serve both salads at room temp, but add salt to the cuke salad as this ingredient was omitted to prevent excess wateriness.

Meal 2: Fusili Arribiata with Roasted Eggplant or Homemade Sausage Crumbles, Mixed Greens, Semolina Rolls

Toss the pasta and sauce/topping in a sauté pan and warm over medium heat with a splash of water until hot. Adjust the seasoning.
Warm the roll briefly in the oven. Dress and serve the salad.

Stir Fried Veggies and an Early Summer Pot Pie

2011-06-21T15:35:00.000-07:00

The Food NannyJune 21 & 22 2011

Meal 1: Pan Fried Udon with Stir Fried Vegetables and Tofu Satay

Heat the satay in the oven or a toaster oven. A microwave might work too – I don’t have one…
Remove the noodles and rinse them well in a colander until loose. Shake dry very well.
Get a pan (nonstick is good) with some oil very hot and CAREFULLY add the noodles. It will spit like mad – so don’t be afraid! The noodles can sense your fear. You may need to do it in batches depending on your share size and pan size. You want the pan to stay hot; crowding it will cool it too much. Allow to cook about 2minutes without moving, then stir or flip with a toss of the pan. Cook 1-2 minutes more. Transfer to a serving plate and dress with soy sauce and sesame oil if you have it.
Reheat the pan and add a little more oil. Quickly stir fry the veggies and serve atop the noodles. Serve all and enjoy!

Meal 2: Early Summer Vegetable Pot Pie with Crumble Topping, Multigrain Knots, and Blue Moon Mix

Remove the crumble topping and reserve.
Heat the pot pie at 350°for 15 minutes or until just bubbling. Stir; add the crumble and heat 3 minutes more. Serve.
Warm the roll briefly in the oven. Dress and serve the salad.

Big Fat Burritos and Early Season Zucchini

2011-05-31T15:03:00.000-07:00

Meal 1: Burly Barley Burrito, Baked Black Beans, Blue Moon Mix

·       Warm the burrito in the oven at 325° for 15 minutes or until warm.
·       Warm the beans in the oven too, or on the stovetop if you like.
·       Dress the greens.

Meal 2: Curried Chic Peas and Zucchini, Khichri, and Naan

·       BE AWARE OF WHOLE CARDAMON AND ALLSPICE IN THE CURRY AND KHICHRI
·       Heat the curry on the stovetop.
·       Warm the naan in a dry skillet or briefly in the oven.
·       Heat the khichri in a sauté pan with some oil and or butter and a splash of water to heat it through.

Quiche and a Thai Hot Pot

2011-05-24T14:32:00.000-07:00

Meal 1: Asparagus and New Potato Quiche, Pain d’Epi, Blue Moon Mix

· Warm the quiche in the oven - 325° for about 20 minutes until warmed. Warm the bread too.

· Dress the greens.

Meal 2: Thai Curry Hot Pot and a Chard Spring Roll

· Portion out the noodles and different vegetables into each bowl. Heat the curry to a simmer and pour into each bowl allowing the contents to steep.

· Eat the spring rolls chilled.

Napini w/Cici, a Fougasse, & Falafil w/ Chard

2011-05-17T13:41:00.000-07:00

Meal 1: Chic Pea Stew with Napini, Asparagus and Roasted Red Pepper Fougasse, Mixed Green• Warm the stew on the stovetop.
• Warm the fougasse in the oven - 300° for about 10 minutes until warm and soft but not toasted.
• Dress the greens.

Meal 2: Falafel/Chard Croquettes, Grilled Pita, Moroccan Carrot Salad
• Warm the croquettes in the oven at 350° until hot – 10 minutes. Add the pita for the last few minutes.
• Salt and toss the carrot salad, serve chilled. We omitted salt to prevent wateriness.

Asparafest: Savory Asparagus Blintzes and Asparagus Bisque.

2011-05-10T13:39:00.000-07:00

Meal 1: Asparagus and Chevre Blintzes, Risotto w/ Garlic Chives and Blue Moon Mixed Greens

• Heat some oil and butter in a sauté pan to medium hot. Gently place the blintzes, seam side down in the pan. Cook 2-3 minutes. Flip. Cook 2-3 minutes more and reserve.

• Place the risotto in a sauce pot. Add enough water or milk to form a loose, but not watery porridge. Heat, stir and finish with butter, cream, shredded parmesan, fine olive or truffle oil or other decadence of your choice. This should only take a minute or two. Serve immediately.

• Dress the greens.

Meal 2: Asparagus Bisque, Amaranth & Olive Oil Boules, Sprouted Grain Salad

• Serve the soup chilled or warmed.

• Warm the bread, and serve the salad at room temp.

Some of the green garlic, from the garden, in this week's menu.

Flowering Kale and Baby Bok Choi

2011-05-03T13:30:00.000-07:00

Meal 1: Pizza Bianca with Chevre and Napini, Three Bean Salad, Mixed Greens

• Warm the pizza pieces in the oven at 325° for 5 minutes or until warmed.

• Serve the bean salad at room temp and dress the greens.

Meal 2: Stir Fried Veggies with Baby Bok Choi, Fried Rice, and Grilled Tofu Skewers
• Heat the skewers in the oven for a few minutes, or remove from the skewer and cook with the veggies.
• Heat some oil in a sauté pan. Fry the rice and stir in a splash of water to heat it through. Transfer to a serving plate.
• Next, get some oil smoking hot in a pan. Add the bok choi leaves. Stir fry 1 minute, then add the remaining veg and sauce. Cook one minute and serve over the rice.

Notes:

Fresh greens and their flavor are very tender, so we sent the choi raw. The kale flowers (napini) should have recieved equall tenderness, but we learned to next time par cook the pizza shells and add the greens and cheese later.

Tradish-AHHHHn!!

2011-04-28T19:42:00.000-07:00

     Tuesday evening brought this year’s Passover holiday to a close. The favorite meal to mark the return of leavened foods to our homes is pizza. Or out for Chinese.

     But it is the traditional foods of the holiday that hold such significance intrinsically and for me. The Passover Seder meal tells from where we have come, who we are, and where we are now. The Seder plate itself is laden with gastronomic symbols that lead us to the story of our ancestry: The matzoh bread of oppression and liberation, the wine of sublimation and sanctity, the bitter herbs of suffering, the charoseth of labor, the salty water or our lamentations, the green herbs of spring, the roasted egg of rebirth and the Eternal, and the lamb roasted in sacrifice and bounty and remembrance.
     These symbols lead the ceremony, and the dinner itself is the halfway point of its observance. Our meal, like many Jews of Eastern-European descent, was comprised of those foods traditionally eaten by our great-grandparents and their elders in their diaspora homes. Potato kugel, braised brisket, carrot tzimmus, rolled cabbage, matzoh ball soup, gefilte fish with horseradish, roasted fowl, and fermented beet russel or a borscht are the foods that grace our tables. While not a year goes by that Martha Stewart or Light Gourmet or whomever else doesn’t offer their ‘inspired’ twists on this cannon of American Ashkenazi cookery (Lemon Zest Matzoh Balls or Tri-Colored Gefilte Fish anyone?) most of our lot would generally be appalled if most of these dishes didn’t take their place beside Elijah’s cup at the table. I for one lament this, but wouldn’t change it. For though the cuisine of the Sephardic Jews from the Mediterranean and Middle Eastern regions is far more sophisticated and celebratory, it’s not mine.
     My Bubbie’s Passover cooking was among the first to have really penetrated my psyche as a person and ultimately as a cook. I can vividly remember the smell of her chicken soup, the flavor of the sweet, earthy russel, and the meaty tang, and slight crunch of my favorite – the rolled cabbage. Though my parents took us, from young ages, to into the great ethnic hubs of our melting-pot metropolises and their accompanying eateries, it was Bubbie’s cooking that really convinced me that cooking was something great; something alchemical and mysterious and attainable and important to my being. So, our Passover meals this year were not only a solution to the challenge of Passover cooking, but they were an homage, and a personal journey, and I was happy to be able to share it with you.
     Maybe next year we will try something even more traditional.
   Braised udder anyone?

Spinach and Chevre Agnolotti & Moraccan Chic Pea Stew

2011-04-26T14:46:00.000-07:00

The Food Nanny
April 26& 27 2011

Meal 1: Spinach and Chevre Agnolotti with Chard and Sun Dried Tomato, Ciabatta, Mixed Greens

• Boil some salted water. Plunge the agnolotti when the water boils. Boil 1-2 minutes.

• Heat the chard mixture in a sauté pan. When hot, add the drained agnolotti and toss to coat. Serve.

• Dress the greens and serve with the warmed rolls.

Meal 2: Moroccan Chic Pea Stew over Two Spiced Rices with Sweet Sultana Noodle Kugel

• Heat the kugel at 350° in the oven for 15 minutes or until warm.

• Warm the stew on the stovetop and allow it to simmer.

• Heat the rice in a sauté pan with a little oil and a splash of water to heat it through. Serve beneath the stew.

2011-04-19T14:28:00.000-07:00

The Food Nanny
Passover 2011

Meal 1: Bubbie’s Stuffed Cabbage, Carrot Tzimmes, Twice Baked Potato Casserole.
• Add a couple ounces of water to the tzimmus and heat in the oven at 350 until bubbling 10-15 minutes. Adjust the seasoning before serving.
• At the same time/temp as above heat the cabbage and potato in the oven. The cabbage will need to bubble, the potato casserole should brown up on top.

Meal 2: Matzoh Ball Soup, Blue Moon Mixed Greens, Half-Moon Macaroon
• Warm the soup on the stovetop and allow it to simmer for a few minutes to ensure the matzoh balls heat through.
• Dress the salad and then enjoy your dessert!

Season of the Onion

2011-04-15T12:09:00.000-07:00

Barbara Kingsolver noted that, historically, February is called ‘Hungry Month’ in about a hundred different tongues. But, for us April is the month that challenges our kitchen. What is the cuisine of earliest spring? Everyone is ready for a change from the steadfast but stodgy roots of winter, yet the hearty fruits of summer are months away, and there is only so much heft you can put into a green leaf.

Let the Earth tell us what to eat: the earliest shoots popping up from winter’s nap are the alliums. The onions, garlics, and their kin. Chives, garlic chives, leeks, walking onions, scallions, the wild onions and the aristocrat of them all – the ramp Allium tricoccum.

These vegetables have both the brightness of color to uplift your spring meals, as well as the strength of character to lend themselves to some richer preparations. Classic onions are themselves at the end of their dormancy but still good for roasting or sautéing as the body of a main dish. But, as green onions become more available do yourself a favor and replace those big sprouting bulbs with scallions. The big professionally grown ones from the market are particularly good. Buy some extra and dress them with olive oil, salt, and pepper and grill or broil them whole for a great side to steak, atop burgers, or with a grilled fish.

If your pantry’s supply of garlic is running low or gone, that’s OK, because you planted the extra, small cloves of garlic last fall, right? Well, it’s time to start digging those shoots and eating them as green garlic. I also plant each fall some of the bulbils from my hardneck garlic to also harvest as green garlic each spring. These thinner plants are cut and used like herbs. Green garlic makes a smashing soup, great stir fry, or can be chopped from top to bottom and used as you would garlic cloves.

Chives are hands down the classiest of all the herbs. Use them by the heavy handful in eggs, savory custards, pasta salads, mashed or buttered potatoes, or in grain salads while they are at their quality peak during these cool days. Chives are rare at the market; they are a reward for the home gardener, so plant lots.

But it is ramps that capture the imagination of the palate more than any other allium. They are wild, ephemeral treats and you should learn how to hunt them or where to buy them. If you buy them it is a sound investment to go ahead and transplant some (or many) of them. You will need to plant them in moist, shady places, and in clumps. They are forest plants and will not thank you for favoring them with a little extra light. They grow beautifully at the base of mature trees. Over time they will self divide and self seed. Their flavor is a perfect blend of garlic and leek; aromatic without being fiery. To cook them, do little. A fast sauté in hot fat or a flash on the grill is all they need to accompany asparagus, morels, and meats divinely. You can certainly also use them to infuse eggs and custards, but generally treat them more as a vegetable than an herb.

Savory Bread Pudding and Tortilla Soup

2011-04-12T15:13:00.000-07:00

Meal 1: Savory Bread Pudding, Spinach Soup, Blue Moon Mixed Greens

• Cover the pudding with foil and warm in the oven at 350° for at least 20 minutes. Remove the lid and heat for 5 more minutes.

• Warm the soup, or even enjoy it chilled.

• Dress the greens and thank the heavens, and Jon, that they are back!

Meal 2: Tortilla Soup, Refried Beans, Annatto Rice with Pepitas

• Warm the soup on the stovetop. Garnish with a little yogurt if you like.

• Warm the beans in a microwave or in a saucepan. You can also try steaming them in their dish if you are inclined.

• Serve the rice at room temp, or sauté quickly with some oil and a splash of oil.

NOTES:

The bread pudding is made with leeks, onions, green garlic, and our own log-grown shiitake mushrooms.
After some middling attempts I really got the spinach soup this week. The key to keeping it brightly colored was cooling the broth to 150 degrees before pureeing in batches with the spinach and then cooling it quickly in wide food pans in the fridge.

Carrot Soup and Pasta Primavera

2011-04-05T15:22:00.000-07:00

Meal 1: Spiced Carrot Soup, Lentil Salad, Sweet and Sour Bulgur
• Warm the soup. Garnish with a little yogurt if you like.
• Serve the lentils and bulgur at room temp.

Meal 2: Pasta Shells Primavera, Roasted Cauliflower Salad, Semolina Rolls
• Warm the pasta in the oven – 350° for 10-15 minutes.
• Serve the cauliflower at room temp or warm it briefly in the oven.
• Warm the rolls in the oven for about 5 minutes.

NOTES:

Yep, a little bit of heat in the soup. A little ginger too.
Primavera mix: spinach, chevre, fennel, and some roasted reds for color.
Try a dash of lemon juice on the cauliflower - I didn't want it to get 'soggy' in transport.

Soba and Edamame Salad & Stewed Black Eye Peas

2011-03-29T15:04:00.000-07:00

The Food Nanny
March 29/30, 2011

Meal 1: Soba and Edamame Salad with Miso Soup and Glazed Turnips

• Warm the miso soup but do NOT boil it.

• Serve the noodle salad at room temp.

• Quickly sauté the turnips and carrots with a little butter and a splash of water to heat them through.

Meal 2: Stewed Black Eye Peas, Cornbread Squares and Braised Collards

• Warm the stew on the stovetop – feel free to add some ham or bacon first!

• Quickly sauté the collards and onion with a little butter and a splash of water to heat them through. Ditto the pork…

• Warm the cornbread in the oven for about 5 minutes.

Mu Shu Tofu & Spinach Eggplant Lasagna

2011-03-22T14:35:00.000-07:00

The Food Nanny
March 22/23, 2011
Meal 1: Mu Shu Tofu with Rice Flour Crepes and Fried Rice
• In a hot pan with some oil, fry the rice to warm it. Add a splash of water to steam it through. Transfer to serving plates.
• Return the pan to high heat and quickly stir fry the mu shu to heat it. Serve.
• At the table, fill the crepes with the mu shu and eat as little packages.
Meal 2: Spinach and Eggplant Lasagna, Whole Wheat-Olive Oil Batards, Organic Lettuce Salad
OPEN CAREFULLY!! The lasagnas are very full!
• Heat the lasagna at 400 ° for about 15 minutes or the interior is bubbly and the cheese on top begins to brown. Warm the bread too!
• Dress the salad.

Sanity

2011-03-18T09:29:00.000-07:00

Sanity never came my way

I don’t know what I’ll do today

‘Cause sanity never came my way

-Anastasio, Fishman, Mcconnell, Gordon, Pollack, Marshall

Life and work; the whirring clutter of the ins and outs, comings and goings, risings and sleepings; the peeing, the pooping, baths, dishes, clothes, e-mails, news postings and on and on can create a din that we come to accept as normal. A mental white noise to which we are as inured as New Yorkers sleeping through 6 alarm fires. When sanity does come, it settles on you like a peaceful snow; a quietude where you say things like “Oh, hi Self. I know you.”

As K. and I finished up this week’s meals and prepared for pack-out I realized that the quiet reverie descending upon my mind was a dose of sanity. The source: my parents were in town and the help they offered by spending time with the kids was beyond therapeutic. It was humanizing.

One of my driving cultural inquiries is: How and when were we convinced to accept quantity over quality? For example, why make and eat only one or two good strawberry -rhubarb pies each year when you can get a limitless supply of crappy ones year round at the super market? Somehow we accepted this trade a few generations ago with all the trappings of prosperity and ingenuity that nearly replaced breast milk with “Formula!” Now we know better. Nothing beats what mom makes, and it is probably just as true for pie. For strawberries too.

Precipitate from this: Why did we ever abandon the multi-generation model of home and community? According to Wendell Berry’s The Unsettling of America and Wes Jackson’s Becoming Native to this Place the fracturing of American culture from settled communities into scattered ‘nuclear’ units was not an incidental consequence of natural progression. It was the calculated impact of economic policies deliberately designed to drain rural America of its population and autonomy so as to flood urban centers with cheap labor, and to replace homemade with Made in China. In hindsight, we allowed ourselves to be flossed of our insurance, our health, our history, our faith and culture, our know how, our safe havens - our humanity. No wonder people are already lining up to become compu-symbiants.

My family is no different. My closest sibling is 200 miles away. My parents are 1000 miles away. My children’s aunts, uncles, and cousins of varying degree are scattered all over the US east of the Mississippi, and some overseas. I’m guilty of it myself. And no, Facebook does not make it better. So when they eventually get fed up with me and run away from everything I taught them, to whom will they go? Someone who loves them, or someone with something to sell?

I confess I don’t have answers. This is a lament. All I have learned is that you can’t make your kids stay near you, but perhaps you can work to make something they want to come back to. It is inevitable that as teens and young adults they will want to get out into the world to walkabout and make themselves. But at some point, probably when they turn to forming their own family, they will begin to feel like coming home. It would be nice to have something to offer them other than a commute.

2011-03-15T12:04:00.000-07:00

The Food Nanny

March 15/16, 2011

Meal 1: Vegetarian Sloppy Joe with Whole Wheat Rolls, Hand-Cut Tortilla Chips, and Macaroni Salad

• Heat the joe on the stovetop or microwave. Thin with a little water if necessary. Toast the rolls.

• Enjoy the mac salad chilled. You know what to do with chips!

Meal 2: Winter Squash Bisque, Sun Dried Tomato & Chevre Fougasse, Spinach Salad

• Heat the soup on the stovetop, and warm the fougasse in the oven 5-10 minutes.

• Dress the salad.

Indian Spice and Francophile Beans

2011-03-08T14:22:00.000-08:00

Meal 1: Curried Split Peas, Golden Cauliflower, and Spinach-Potato Bhaji’s

• Heat the curry on the stovetop and thin if necessary. Be on the LOOKOUT for some whole allspice!
• Heat a dry pan ( not non-stick), cast iron or seasoned is best, over medium heat. When hot add the bhaji batter in dollops to make pancakes. Toast on each side for about 3 minutes. If you have very sticky pan, add a little oil first and then wipe it out and proceed as above. Top with spicy yogurt!
• The cauliflower is best at room temp.

Meal 2: French Cabbage Stew with Flageolets, Pain d’Epi, Potatoes au Gratin
• Heat the gratin in the oven at 400° for about 20 minutes or until browned and bubbly. Be careful to not burn it!
• Heat the bread in the oven too, and warm the stew on the stovetop.

Notes:

If you have some fatty pork or preserved duck, by all means add that to the stew. Believe me, I will.

Pan Pizzas & Grilled Pita

2011-03-01T14:42:00.000-08:00

The Food Nanny
Mifferdag2011
Meal 1: Individual Pan Pizzas and Chic Pea Soup Florentine
• Warm the Pizzas in the oven at 400° for ~10 minutes or until hot and the cheese is melted.
• Heat the soup on the stovetop.
Meal 2: Grilled Pita with Hummous and Crudite, & Grilled Winter Greens over Lebanese Pasta Salad
• Warm the Pita in the oven or in a dry skillet. Tear into wedges and dip, or build a sandwich with the hummous and veggies.
• Serve the pasta and greens at room temp.

Big Fat Burritos and Pumpkin Soup with Baby Limas and Fennel

2011-02-22T13:51:00.000-08:00

Meal 1: Big Fat Burritos and Sweet Potato Oven Fries

• Transfer the burritos to a cookie sheet and warm in the oven at 350° for ~20 minutes or until hot.

• Transfer fries to a cookie sheet also if you have a large portion, otherwise heat in their container. 10 min at 350°.

Meal 2: Minestroni di Zucca e Fagioli con Finocchio, Pumpkin Seed-Olive Oil Rolls, Romaine Salad

• Heat the soup on the stovetop.

• Warm the rolls and dress the greens.

NOTES:

The squash are (clockwise from top) Jharradale, Rouge Vif d' Etampes, Galeux d'Eysines, and Golden Hubbard. Yes, the Jharradale turned pink in storage.

Beef or Three Bean Chilli & Mac and Cheese w/ Sundried Tomato

2011-02-15T14:53:00.000-08:00

The Food Nanny

February15/16 2011

Meal 1: Beef or Three Bean Chili, Masa Pupusas, Latin Slaw

• Heat the chili on the stovetop.

• Serve the slaw chilled. Add some salt to this dish as we omitted it to prevent wateriness.

• Toast the pupusa in a dry pan until warm. Top with wither the chili or the slaw.

Meal 2: Macaroni and Cheese with Sun Dried Tomatoes, Spinach Salad, and Grilled Broccoli Salad

• Warm the casserole in the oven at 325° for ~20 minutes or until hot.

• Dress the greens and serve the broccoli at room temp.

Notes:

Yes, definitely do heat the pupusas and serve the chile atop them. The corn and bean flavor is very good together. Stand alone the pupusa is, well, underwhelming.
I love searing and oven braising rich pieces of meat. As such, making this chili was a real pleasure and I'm very happy with the results. Most of the body comes from chiles, not tomato ( chili=chile, get it?) and I really like making meat chili from shredded meat instead of ground - much more authentic. If you got the meat chili, note the gelatinous nature of the chilled product. Although it may seem wierd to the uninitiated gelatine testafies to the nutritious nature of this dish and its honest origins in simple cuts of meat.
Yes. Grilled broccoli., You can grill anything.

Honing

2011-02-11T10:50:00.000-08:00

Every new week here in the FN kitchen begins with a ritual - the honing of my knives. It is a ritual because the act is rich with not only practicality, but with metaphor as well.
A dull knife is a dangerous knife.
No seriously, a very sharp knife is much safer than a dull one. A sharp knife is predictable, controllable, and efficient. A dull knife will require extra effort leading to fatigue and susceptibility to distraction. Additionally, a dull knife will shear unexpectedly off of dense ingredients and mash up fine ones. A sharp knife will do what you wish and expect, and is a pleasure to use producing well prepared, finely cut ingredients.
Scouring
So every Monday commences with a survey of my tools and a scraping away of the past week. I wet my stone, tilt the blades, and begin the circular motion necessary to sharpen my blades. All the previous week's drops, nicks, and jostlings are polished off. The many cuts that were made, the cleavings, pareings, trimming - all that work has passed and it and it is time to grind away those efforts and create a clean the edge for new work.
Refining Skill
For me the knife is like an extra hand, and a pen at the same time. I can feel through my knife and use that feeling to work more efficiently and safely. It is the primary tool of my work and the one with which I have the most intimate contact; the palm is a sacred place and through it the knife is connected to my will, and makes manifest my level of competence. Weekly honing of the knives reminds me that each week is a test of all my kitchen skills. Not only sharpening itself, but also menu planning, shopping efficiency and frugality, prep cooking, food safety, final assembly, special diet accommodations, pack-out and at-home translation, then clean-up. But sharpening the knives, and the subsequent resetting of myself to a new start each week, is the foundational skill without which all other pieces cannot fall correctly into place. One of my favorite proverbs of warning is "He has many knives, none is sharp" (China).

P.S. I love my knives. Most were given to me second-hand by Chef John Vink, under whom I first apprenticed . They are Forschner knives of lazer cut Swiss (Victorinoix) steel and cost about $30 apiece. They are the consistent winner of Cook's Illustrated's knife comparisons, and I highly recommend them.

Cold Noodles and Hot Perogies

2011-02-08T15:06:00.000-08:00

Meal 1: Cold Peanut Noodles, Stir Fried Vegetables & Grilled Tofu

• Warm the tofu on a cookie sheet in the oven at 425 for 5-10 minutes, or in the microwave.

• Carefully remove the noodles to a mixing bowl without inverting the container. Add a little hot water to the remaining sauce to warm it and make it workable. You may try a microwave to warm it, but be careful to not boil it. Mix the sauce and add to the noodles, stirring to incorporate.

• Add a little oil to a hot pan and briefly stir fry the vegetables. Add a splash of water to steam them through. Serve atop or beside the noodles.

Meal 2: Potato Perogies, Parsnip-Leek Soup, Organic Red and Green Leaf Lettuce Salad

• Heat the soup on the stovetop and dress the salad

• Melt some butter and a little veg oil in a sauté pan. Alternately use some schmaltz or even bacon fat if you have it. Heat to medium high and add the perogies. Allow to brown richly on one side before turning (about 3 minutes) and cooking on the other side. Serve hot with yogurt and some sautéed onions if you like.

NOTES:

For comfort food you really can't beat home made perogies stuffed with Blue Moon potato. And that Parsnip-Leek soup is a nice stick-to-the-ribs foil.
The Napa cabbage, hakuri turnips, and carrots in the stir fry are all Blue Moon too - this is the time of year all our advance buying starts to really pay dividends.
We also love to sautee up some greens with the perogies as a side. Consider spinach or especially kale.
Please send me some feedback of how the noodles turn out. I was a little unsure of how to best package it. In the past, dressing it all here and sending it out compromised the texture of the sauce if refrigerated overnight.

Old World Comforts and New World Wonders

2011-02-01T13:58:00.000-08:00

Meal 1:Spinach and Chevre Manicotti, Escarole and Kale Salad, Semolina Loaves
• Warm the Manicotti in the oven at 350 for 10-15 minutes, or until hot. Warm the bread too.
• Toss and dress the salad.
Meal 2: Acorn Squash Soup, Tortilla Pie, and a Mezoamerican Medley of Brown Rice, Quinoa, and Amaranth
• Heat the soup; and warm the tortilla casserole in the oven, 325 for 15-20 minutes until warmed, and the cheese is melted. Be careful to not burn it.
• Serve the rice medley at room temp or warm it in a sauté pan with a little oil and a splash of water to steam it though.

Notes:

The manicotti are actually a rolled crepe filled with Blue Moon spinach and Prairie Fruits chevre.
Look for the amaranth in the mix, they are the very tiny translucent orbs. I really like the overall texture of the mix as well as the nutritious flavor which belies the high protein and mineral value of both the quinoa and the amaranth. All three grains are cooked together, making these high value grain dishes easy and incredibly good for you.
Given that we had to push things to get an early delivery out to beat the storm - this was the worst possible menu for me to plan. Lots of little details, multiple steps, a baked item, and two assemble dishes. So, I hope you find comfort in these dishes on the stormy, cold nights.

Falafil and Two Curries

2011-01-25T19:16:00.001-08:00

Meal 1:Falafil Croquette, Cous Cous with Sesame and Apricot, Moroccan Carrot Salad

• Heat the croquettes in the oven at 350 for 10-15 minutes, or until hot. Serve with some yogurt and or tahini on top if you like.
• Serve the carrots chilled, but season with salt, as we omitted this ingredient to prevent wateriness.
• Serve the cous cous at room temp, or heat in a sauté pan with a little oil and then a splash of water to heat it through.

Meal 2: Curried Potatoes and Spinach, Dal Makhani, Kichirri

WARNING! Indian foods contain whole spices such as peppercorn or cardamom. Chew carefully and avoid them. Don’t worry about the small spices.
• Heat the curry and dal separately, in saucepans. Do not over heat the curry or the spinach will overcook.
• Heat the kichirri in a sauté pan with a generous splash of oil. Stir the rice mixture, add a splash of water to steam it through. Transfer the kichirri to serving plates and serve the curry and dal atop the kichirri.

Escarole Soup and Pad Tahi

2011-01-18T14:00:00.000-08:00

Meal 1:White Bean and Escarole Soup, Peasant Batard, Whole Wheat Penne with Red Pepper-Chevre Sauce

• Warm the soup in a saucepan just to a simmer. Be careful to not over cook the escarole.
• Warm the noodles in the oven at 325 for 15 minutes, or until hot. Warm the bread too.

Meal 2: Sweet Potato Noodle Pad Thai and Sticky Rice Envelopes
• Heat the rice envelopes in a steamer basket (5 min.), or in a microwave with a little water under them. If you don’t have a steamer, place a plate atop a saucer in a sauce pot. Add some water, place the package atop the plate, cover the pot, heat and steam for about 5 minutes.
• Pad Thai: Rinse the noodles to loosen them and then drain them very well. Heat some oil in a sauté pan. When the oil is hot, carefully add the noodles and stir fry them. They will spatter so be careful. Next add the ‘meat’ sauce and a little water if necessary to mix the two. Next, fold in the vegetables, heat for a minute or two more and serve immediately.

Notes:

Escarole soup is one of my all time favorites, something aboout those succulent, green leaves with their juxtaposition of sweet and bitter that I just love. Classic in authentic Italian cuisine, I had my first bowl at Ralphs in Philadelphia's Italian Market.
Our version of Pad Thai uses sweet potato noodles. Just rinse them before pan frying and they are almost stick free!

Quinoa Enchiladas and Spinach Soup

2011-01-11T13:01:00.000-08:00

Meal 1:Spinach Soup, White Beans with Roasted Red Peppers and Escarole Salad
• Warm the soup in a saucepan just to a simmer.
• Serve the white beans at room temp and dress and serve the salad.

Meal 2: Spinach, Butternut & Quinoa Enchiladas with Rice and Beans
• Heat the Enchiladas at 350 until warm – about 15 minutes.
• The rice and beans: Heat a little oil in a sauce pan. Add the beans and rice and then enough water to make things just ‘soupy.’ Allow the dish to come to a simmer and stir until the rice and beans thicken a bit into a porridge-like consistency, maybe 5 minutes. Add some butter if you like and hot sauce etc. Serve hot.

Notes:

Very disapponted in the color of the spinach soup. Usually it preserves a nice green color as opposed to the Government Issue version I made this week. I pureed it while too hot.
I hope you enjoy the enchiladas. The sauce is one of our favorites and between the quinoa, spinach and beans, its hard to imagine a warm supper better for you!

Sneak peek...

French Lentils, Potato Croquettes, & Acorn Squash

2011-01-04T12:38:00.000-08:00

Meal 1:French Lentil Soup, Fingerling Potato Wedges, Spinach Salad
• Warm the soup in a saucepan. Thin if necessary.
• Warm the wedges in the oven at 350 until hot and a little sizzly – 10 minutes.
• Dress and serve the salad.

Meal 2: Potato and Spinach Croquettes, Three Bean Salad, Roasted Acorn Squash
• Remove the squash from the container with the croquettes and place them in an ovensafe dish. Sprinkle with some brown sugar or maple syrup if you like. Heat at 350 until warm – about 10 minutes.
• Warm the croquettes in the oven at 350 until hot – about 10 minutes.
• Serve the bean salad at room temp.

Notes:

Its worth taking a moment to add some sweets to the acorn squash. Butter too. We are short of containers, sorry we had to squish these in with the croquettes, hopefully they transport well.

Split Pea Soup and Sweet Potato-Meatloaves

2010-12-21T12:12:00.000-08:00

Meal 1:Split Pea Soup, Semolina Rolls, Escarole and Spinach Salad• Warm the soup in a saucepan. Thin if necessary.

• Warm the roll and dress the salad.

Meal 2: Sweet Potato Loaves, Chic Pea Salad with Chevre, Roasted Cauliflower
• Warm the loaves and cauliflower in the oven. Allow the loaves to begin sizzling – the vegetarian ones will not, so heat to warm – about 10 minutes.
• Serve the salad at room temp.

NOTES:

This roll is an homage to the bread from Sarcone's Bakery at 9th and Christian in Philadelphia's Italian Market. http://www.weblaunchsolutions.com/sarconesbakery/index.html Their bread is the best as they combine sesame and semolina. My first memory of independence was being given the money to go and the bread one morning, and having enough extra to get myself a mini loaf. It was a foggy, cool morning and the loaf steamed as I tore it open and ate the whole thing plain on the walk back to meet my parents. Get there early or they sell out by 10:30am every day.

2010-12-14T14:56:00.000-08:00

Meal 1:Butternut Squash and Black Bean Empanadas, Red Rice with Pepitas, & Creamed Corn

• Carefully cut the wrap and open the empanadas. Warm them in the oven at 350 until hot and just crisp - about 10 minutes. Do be careful to not burn them!
• Warm the corn in a saucepan. Thin if necessary. It is dairy free, but feel free to add a little butter cream etc. to enrich it.
• Heat the rice in a sauté pan with a little oil and then a splash of water.

Meal 2: White Bean Florentine with Kale, Oat Flour Peasant Loaves, Green Oakleaf Salad
• Heat the stew in a sauce pan, thin is necessary. Heat to just simmering. Do not over-cook the kale.
• Warm the bread and dress the salad.

Notes:

The empanadas are delicate so please be careful.
I like the soup. Good 'Italian' flavor. The roasted red peppers are a nice counter point to the earthiness of the beans, kale, and carrot. I'm adding some Moore's sausage and our homemade meatballs to our own tonight.
Summers hard work pays off in this appearance of both the peppers and the side of creamed corn. The brothfor the corn comes from the white bean stock - adding protien as well as body.

Line 'em up and knock 'em out.

Roasted Roots and A Country French Dinner

2010-12-07T13:40:00.000-08:00

Meal 1:Roasted Beet Borscht, Golden Pumpkin Crescent Rolls, Oakleaf Lettuce Salad

• Warm the rolls in the oven and dress the salad.
• Warm the soup in a saucepan and garnish with yogurt or sour cream.

Meal 2: Potato and Spinach Frittata, Creamy French Lentils, Roasted Carrot Medley
• Heat frittata gently in the oven at 300° until just warm ~ 15-20 minutes. Ditto the carrots, but maybe give them a 5 minute head start.
• Heat the lentils in a saucepan. Garnish with a little grated romano type cheese if you like.

Notes:

Yeah, I know Frittata is a Spanish name but I refuse to call it 'Egg Bake" and its not a quiche, but its still country. And really, the lentils say it all. G-d I love them. Add some goose fat if you have it.
The borscht is made from roasted beets and other vegetables. Unfortunately a little parsnip goes a long way and I think the flavor took over on this one.
I know not everyone likes to eat beets, but man are they pretty! Just peeling and cutting them was an aesthetic experience, and roasted, they are divine. No other vegetable combines earthiness with sweetness like beets.

Two Curries and Stuffed Flatbread, Plus Sweet Potato Pot Pie

2010-11-30T14:33:00.000-08:00

Meal 1:Channa Dal, Aloo Paratha with Spinach, Blue Moon Carrots in Coconut MIlk

• Separately, heat the dal and carrots in saucepans, or in a microwave. You may enjoy these with some rice.
• Heat the paratha in a very hot oven for about 10 minutes.

Meal 2: Biscuit Topped Sweet Potato Pot Pie, Mixed Greens, Black Bean and Rice Salad

• Heat pot pie at 350° until just bubbling ~ 15-20 minutes. Place the biscuits on top and heat 2-4 minutes more.
• Dress the salad and serve the rice/ beans at room temp.

Notes:

In addition to their great carrots, Blue Moon delivered us these sweet potatoes too.
I know our paratha lacks the authentic appearance and smoke of a real tandoor bread, but it should still be quite good sopping up the curries, or on its own.

Big Fat Burritos & Pasta Fagioli

2010-11-16T15:09:00.000-08:00

The Food Nanny

November 16/17 2010

Meal 1:: Black Bean Soup and Spinach-Pumpkin Big Fat Burrito

• Unwrap the burrito and place it seam side down on a cookie Tray. Warm it in the oven at 325 for 10 -15 minutes or until warmed. Or use a microwave.

• Heat the soup in a sauce pan, stirring it often until it simmers.

Meal 2 Pasta Fagioli, Red Pepper and Broccoli Fougasse, Mixed Greens
• Heat the pasta in the fougasse at 325° until just hot ~ 10 minutes.
• Heat the soup in a saucepan and thin if necessary, adjust the seasoning if you do.
• Dress the greens and serve.

Thai Curry with Broccoli and Two Bean Soup with Kale

2010-11-09T13:00:00.000-08:00

Meal 1: Thai Curry with Broccoli and Baked Tofu, Spring Rolls, and Jasmine Rice with Chili Oil

• Heat the curry to a simmer in a saucepan. Add the broccoli and Tofu and steep for 1-2 minutes. Serve over the room temp rice immediately OR
• Quickly stir fry the rice with a splash of water to heat it through and serve on the side. It is fine on the side at room temp also.
• Carefully unwrap the roll from its plastic. Serve chilled. Drizzle with a little soy/sesame oil/ fish sauce if you like.

Meal 2: Two Bean Soup with Kale, Mixed Greens, and Whole Wheat Pasta Bake
• Heat the pasta in the oven at 325° until just hot ~ 10 minutes. Be careful not to let the edges brown.
• Heat the soup in a saucepan and thin if necessary, adjust the seasoning if you do.
• Dress the greens and serve.

Notes:
Very happy with the tofu - this is what I wanted to do last time.
The Kale is fantastic, we will push it in upcoming menues.

2010-11-02T14:21:00.000-07:00

Meal 1: Herb and Chevre Risotto, Savory Brioche, Roasted Root Vegetables

• Warm the vegetables in the oven for about 10 minutes at 325°. Warm the brioche in there too.
• To heat the risotto heat some water or broth in a sauce pan. About 1/2 cup per portion. When simmering add the cold risotto and stir. Add more hot liquid as necessary to obtain a porridge consistency. When hot add some butter, milk/ cream, parmesan cheese, truffle oil etc. as you like. Definitely adjust for salt and serve immediately.

Meal 2: Caballero's Pie, Mixed Greens and Quinoa-Pepita Salad

• Heat the casserole in the oven at 350° until bubbly 15-20 minutes.
• Dress the greens and serve the quinoa salad at room temp.

Notes:
The brioch dough was new to me and took some working-out Luckily, their taste more than makes up for their trailing aesthetics.
Do not over-work the risotto. The batch size got away from me a bit and the heat carried off the stove further than I like. Ideally I would have sent you risotto 3/4 finished and needing about 5 minutes of stove time. This is ready for heat and eat.

Miso Hot Pot and Smashing Pumpkins

2010-10-26T14:26:00.000-07:00

Meal 1: Miso Hot Pot with Joi Choi, Hakuri Turnip, and Tofu & Soba Noodles with Yellow Carrots and Misato Radish

• Serve the noodles chilled, directly from their container.

• Heat the miso soup to hot but not boiling. DO NOT boil miso! When hot, tip in the vegetables and allow to steep for a minute or two and then serve immediately. Garnish with a little chile oil or sesame oil if you like.

Meal 2: Pumpkin Pan Roast with Seeded Whole Wheat Challah Knots, and Broccoli Salad

• Warm the pan roast in a sauce or sauté pan. Add just a splash of water if necessary.

• Warm the bread.

• Serve the salad at room temp, but season it with a little extra salt – we limited this to prevent wateriness.

Notes:
I'd like to cut, marinate and bake the tofu next time.
The pumpkin used is the blue Jarrahdale. The one below it is called Long Island Cheese. Both are great eaters, but the Jarrahdale is superiour b/c of fine texture and flavorful sweetness.
Misato radish sliced thin and dipped in soy sauce is a great, healthy 'crunchy-salty' snackfood. Get one this week.

General Tso's Tofu & Kohlrabi Soup

2010-10-19T14:34:00.000-07:00

The Food Nanny
October 19/20 2010

Meal 1: General Tso’s Tofu with Broccoli and Soy Beans, Fried Brown and Red Rice, Napa Cabbage Slaw
• Serve the slaw at room temp.
• Add some oil to a sauté pan and heat it until just smoking. Add the fried rice and stir fry for a minute or two to heat it through. Remove to a platter.
• Re- oil and heat the pan to just smoking. Add the broccoli and tofu then shake the sauce vigorously and add it to the pan. Cook and stir until the sauce is thickened and the entire dish is hot – 2-3 minutes. Serve immediately.

Meal 2: Kohlrabi Soup with Mixed Greens and Anadama Corn Bread with Quinoa
• Warm the soup in a saucepan.
• Toast the bread and dress the salad.

Potato PIzza and Curried Split Peas

2010-10-12T14:07:00.000-07:00

Meal 1: Rosemary/ Potato Pizza, White Bean Salad, Mixed Greens

• Heat the pizza in the oven at 325° for 10-12 minutes, or until warm.
• Serve the beans at room temp.

• Dress the salad and serve.

Meal 2: Curried Split Peas, Brown Rice Biryani, Cabbage-Yogurt Pickle

• Warm the curry in a saucepan. Do thin with some water and adjust the seasoning.

• Heat the rice in a microwave or in a sauté pan with a little oil and then a splash of water to steam it through.

• Serve the pickle chilled.

Sweet Potato Loaves and Black Bean Soup with Tamales

2010-10-06T10:33:00.000-07:00

Meal 1: Sweet Potato Loaves, Red Beans and Rice & Mixed Greens

• Heat the loaves in the oven at 350° for 10-15 minutes, or until hot.
• Saute the rice and beans in a pan with some butter or olive oil and a splash of water until just hot.
• Dress the salad and serve.

Meal 2: Black Bean Soup, Beef or Cheese Tamale, Yellow Rice Salad

• Warm the soup in a saucepan.
• Heat the tamale in a microwave or in a basket steamer for about 5 minutes to heat through.
• Serve the rice at room temp or heat it in a sauté pan as above.

A Marriage of Sweet and Savory

2010-09-28T12:20:00.000-07:00

Meal 1: Savory Apple & Chevre Tart, Mixed Greens and Orzo with Broccoli

• Heat the tart in the oven at 325° for 10 minutes, or until just warm.

• Dress the salad and serve the pasta at room temp.

Meal 2: Equinox Stew, Savory Noodle Kugel, & Whole Wheat-Honey Knots

• Warm the stew in a saucepan. Check the seasoning, it may need some salt – sorry.

• Warm the kugel gently, in the oven at 300° for about 15 mintes or until just warm.

• Warm the knots too.

White Bean Koftas and Chili with Cornbread

2010-09-21T13:59:00.000-07:00

Meal 1: Two-Bean Chili, Cornbread Squares, Barley Salad

• Warm the chili in a saucepan.

• Warm the cornbread in the oven.

• Serve the barley salad chilled.

Meal 2: White Bean and Eggplant Koftas with Cous Cous and Sesame Green Beans

• Heat the koftas in the oven at 350° for 15 minutes, or until hot.

• Season the green beans with salt and serve them and the cous cous at room temp.

What Is the Value of Artisanal Food

2010-09-17T10:33:00.000-07:00

“We learn from our gardens to deal with the most urgent question of our time: How much is enough?”
Wendell Berry, The Reactor and the Garden. 1979

Please don’t be mislead into thinking that global warming is the most pressing ecological issue of our age. First of all, global warming is a projection, a guess at the future and thus left best within the care and credibility of astrologers. Global climate change however is a fact, and, having studied the discipline, not one we should welcome. Secondly, global climate change is a symptom and not a cause of our ecologic catastrophe.
What, then is the cause? The driver to desertification, rising sea levels, unprecedented species extinction rates, radically augmented atmospheric composition, contaminated surface and ground waters, crashing and mercury tainted fish stocks, epidemic cancer rates, rampant deforestation, and the overall decline in the capacity of self renewal (health) of our bios is: us. Not as a species inherently. But you and me. Us. Our consumption. I mean, if it ain’t mined, it’s grown. Right? And don’t blame the third world. That’s bullshit. I fault them for no more than their foolish willingness to adopt our consumerism so desperately, and with such glibness.
The main impetus for greed, destruction, the abortion of our progeny’s future is consumerism. It is THE environmental problem. And, it is entirely in our minds.
In this way, our environmental crisis is a spiritual problem requiring a change or heart more than anything else. To paraphrase my above quoted hero: The energy crisis in not due to a lack of fuel source, but due to a lack of moral fortitude, and a weakness of character.

* * *

One of the great constraints on artisanship is the juxtaposition of quality and quantity. These two, in this case, are inversely related, and the artisan too must be concerned with ‘How much is enough?’ Industrial food, and the ‘food service industry’ is entirely unconcerned with such a balance despite what any advertisement may claim. The investors and complicitors of these businesses see only growth and make sacrificial worship to the mythical beast Infinite Growth.
An artisan business is not necessarily growth driven. It may grow, and have growth incentives, but in reality it is in fact driven by the deep personal need to create and make. The business must be productive enough to produce a fair living, yet without the limiting control of quality the food falls from artisanal grace. Moreover artisanal food should not be consumptive of people and places; it does not destroy them in the wake of its own ‘progress.’ Rather, in its use of materials and talents, it should create opportunities, apprenticeships, and markets for others to explore and occupy from year to year and generation to generation. Akin to a garden, artisanal food makes people and places productive in a wholesome and productive way that “speaks powerfully of the abundance of the world” and also demonstrates that abundance is limitless, given moderated and responsible use.

G’ amar Yom Tov. May you all have a powerful and meaningful season.

Late Summer Bounty

2010-09-14T14:23:00.000-07:00

Meal 1: Tortilla Soup with Kidney Bean Enchiladas and Arroz Amarillo

• Warm the soup in a saucepan. You may want to add some hot sauce.
• Heat the enchis and rice in the oven at 350° until just hot – 10-15 minutes.

Meal 2: Indian Summer Pot Pie with a Biscuit Top, Mixed Greens and Green Bean Salad

• Heat the pot pie in the oven at 350° for 15-20 minutes, or until just bubbly. Drop the biscuits on top and heat for 2 minutes more.
• Dress the salad.

• Serve the green beans chilled.

L'Shana Tovah

2010-09-07T12:49:00.000-07:00

Meal 1: Moroccan Chic Pea Stew, Challah Turbans, Apple Tzimmus

• Warm the stew in a saucepan. Add some water if necessary and adjust the seasoning
• Heat the tzimmus in the oven at 350° until just bubbly.

• Warm the challah and enjoy with butter and honey.

Meal 2: Whole Wheat Ziti with Roasted Eggplant and Red Peppers & Mixed Greens

• Heat the pasta dish in the oven at 325° for 15-20 minutes, or until hot.

• Dress the salad.

2010-08-31T15:17:00.000-07:00

The Food Nanny

August 31,32 2010

Meal 1: Stir Fried Chinese Eggplant with Garlic Sauce and Sweet Potato Noodles

• Rinse the noodles under cold water until they separate and become manageable. Drain. Warm them by: plunging in hot water, microwaving with a dash of water, in a steamer, or pan fry them in a hot pan with a little oil. Dress them with a little soy sauce and sesame oil if you like. Transfer them to a serving plate.

• Heat a sauté pan to very hot and add a little oil. Being careful to avoid letting too much liquid into the pan, add the vegetables and stir them around a bit. Now, shake the sauce very vigorously and add it to the pan. Add the remaining liquor from the veggies. Stir and let the sauce simmer until the eggplant are soft and the sauce has thickened. Add a little water if necessary to allow the eggplant the time to cook before the sauce becomes too thick.

• Serve atop the noodles.

Meal 2: Bouillabaisse Illinwa, Whole Wheat Knots a la Pistu & Mixed Greens

• Warm the stew in a saucepan. Add some water if necessary and adjust the seasoning.

• Warm the knots and dress the salad.

What Makes Food Artisanal ?

2010-08-28T10:07:00.000-07:00

Continued from August 21, 2010

So, who is an artisan? An artisan sees the beauty in what they do whether it is writing computer code, day trading, or making chocolate from cacao. Artisanal work is a product of mind, body, and spirit: we consider it, we labor to make it, and it refelects something about our character be it aesthetic, idealogical, or perceptual. As you mature your works shape your character and your character influences your products. It becomes you.

Now, what makes food artisanal? Is it product quality, provenance,… packaging? I suppose the answer is all of these. Recall Dan’s bars: the labels printed from drawings onto heavy paper, a hand formed jacket of wax paper around the bar itself, and finally the chocolate – well made, consistent, true to form, and delicious. My personal favorite had the coffee beans studded into it. Moreover, I observed that the chocolate became a favorite item for people to give to others. Our first taste of Flatlander chocolate was from a gift bar. We received and gave others too. What a beautiful life of their own.

An artisan cook then is taking care of all aspects of their profession from conception to consumption – they have become or aspire to be, consummate. But also, their food is able to become something in itself, something perhaps beyond its creator’s intention. Maybe it becomes a symbol or a tradition or habit or a hobby or an inspiration for others. That is perhaps the ultimate expression of artisanship, for nothing is greater in cooking and eating than transformation, be it the communion of ingredient into food or death into life.

(The pits.

Sorry, low hanging fruit.

Again! Oh, somebody stop me...)

Back To School

2010-08-24T15:38:00.000-07:00

August 24, 2010

"Back to school, back to school,
To prove to Dad that I'm no fool.

I've got my lunch, my shoes tied tight,

I hope I don't get in a fight.

Oh back to school, back to school."

Meal 1: Mac N’ Cheese, Cream of Tomato Soup, Blue Moon Mixed Greens

• Warm the Mac gently~300° for 10-15 until just hot.

• Heat the soup, grate some romano (Prairie Fruits Mollisol is great) on top for a treat.

• Dress the greens.

Meal 2: Nacho Grande

• Warm the beans/rice in the microwave or an oven (325° for 10-15).

• Flash (sauté quickly) the vegetables in a hot, oiled pan and season with a pinch of salt.

• Place the nacho’s atop the warmed casserole, add the vegetables atop of them and dress with a little fresh cheese, yogurt, or sour cream plus piquant condiments of your choice! Dig in.

Thinking About An Artisan

2010-08-21T06:29:00.000-07:00

The other night I shared a bar of Dan’s memorial chocolate with my family and some friends – the first I had eaten since the pieces distributed at the co-op memorial on July 28th. That night, he visited me in a dream. I recall clearly his face and the feeling of his arm as he placed it around my shoulders and inclined his face to my ear. He assured me and encouraged us. The sensation of this is still clear from the reverie. My cooking work is often solitary and there is a lot of time to contemplate; Dan, and his perspectives, are in my thoughts considerably these days. In particular: What is an artisan, and what makes food artisanal, and what is its value?

First of all, I think, an artisan needs to be a professional. It is not enough for him to be just a talented amateur. His work and his livelihood must be intimately linked. The professional accepts the risk of the art; he may fail either in execution, or in business. Either way, their livelihood is at stake when they work, and that means something.

Secondly, there is a prerequisite of practice and permeation. Despite being a professional the artisan practices even when not working; and, the degree to which they execute this balance (see the Razor’s Edge) will affect their style and proficiency. An example would be an artisan fishing guide who still fishes in his own time. He thinks about fish as well as fishing. He ties flies, and studies rivers in all times of day, through all times of year. His fishing is in his mind and work. His life is permeated by his work. An artisan farmer really loves good vegetables and loves to eat them. Her farm reflects her mind. Her food is both beautiful and potent. She knows that when she sits down to a meal of her hard work she feels it in her hands and back and heart, and she knows that she is privy to the delicacy of vivaciousness that few know.

Inasmuch, a professional cook who loathes his job, and there are many, for good reasons, cannot be an artisan regardless of his talent. Can someone who doesn’t even like cucumbers grow and market them well? Well, an aficionado of pickles knows what to favor and cultivate in terms of variety, trellising, harvest maturity, and storage to ensure maximum pickling pleasure. Can we not assume that the antithesis would fare worse? And herein lies the rub: pleasure. The artisan is a professional who seeks above all to be pleased by his work.

Next Week: What makes food artisanal?

Heirloom Tomato Gazpacho & Veggie Burgers

2010-08-17T12:28:00.000-07:00

The Food Nanny

August17/18 2010

Meal 1: Heirloom Tomato Gazpacho, Portuguese Broa, Chic Peas with Feta

• Serve the soup chilled.
• Warm the broa in the oven.
• Serve the chic peas at room temp.

Meal 2: Veggie Burgers on Challah Rolls, Mixed Greens, Melon Salad

• Heat the burgers in the oven until hot, about 10 minutes at 325°. Toast the roll.

• Dress the salad and serve the melon chilled

Guerrilla Food

2010-08-14T14:32:00.000-07:00

I’ll never forget the summer that Max & Me transitioned from its rented retail space to a new catering only location. The lease expired before the remodel was complete and we had several major jobs in the interim. Max set up his home as kitchen central with a reefer truck (bummer of a misnomer BTW) and a small event tent in the side yard as a satellite outpost. I was stationed to the outpost with my favorite collaborateur – a wildcard artist with a Dutch palindrome for a name. We were charged with making a bouillabaisse. The first step was to manually dismember live lobsters, poach their favored appendages, and toss their still twitching cephalothoraxes into smoking hot olive oil to roast for rendering into an über-savory stock. The spattery, smoky, marine life/burning hair like aroma coupled with the dynamism of watching these animals die while their protinaceous exoskeleton denatured from mottled blue-green to cliché red is my fondest memory of geurilla cooking. You see – what we were doing was patently non-compliant, and like roasting a whole lamb, so wholly visceral and engaging as to be native to us, instinctual. Cuisine au natural. It’s hard to believe, over 10 years later, that the place or the man ever recovered.

The guerrilla kitchen as we came to call it was transitional and soon the new and present home of Max Hansen Catering was opened. Life returned from organized chaos to just abnormal. Those eventful weeks were during July and August of 1998 and they harken of the even more outdated summer kitchen’s of yore. Have you ever considered the divine irony in canning season? The year’s greatest glut arrives with the year’s most intense heat and somehow this is the condition that is supposed to inspire us to say “ Yes! Let’s fire up the whole stove so we can simmer, and boil, and steam great vats of produce and sterile jars!” Suddenly, the idea of having a kitchen located outside, vented by the breeze, sanitized by the sun, and equipped with the modern advances of running water and portable fuel, appears as a vision of loveliness to those inclined towards a kitchencentric life. It is in this vein that we are opening up the CSK and its many resources, including a soon to be constructed patio, to the public. We have giant grills and giant pots. We own a beast of a pressure canner and a commercial range plus a couple of portable propane side burners. We have a giant colander, bus tubs, three chest freezers, a pasta maker….basically, a lot of stuff that makes summer processing easier, plus know how to offer the neophyte.

Please Join Us! On August 21, bring your own produce and containers to our home and join us in making the most of our resources to make the most of the season. All people Welcome, the more the merrier, though we will be limiting numbers due to space. For More Details click the Kitchencentric Life Tab at the top and to reserve a spot email: foodnanny(at)gmail(dot)com

Heirloom Tomato Pizzas & Curried Eggplant

2010-08-10T12:01:00.000-07:00

The Food Nanny

August10/11 2010

Meal 1: Heirloom Tomato, Chevre, & Rustic Pesto Deep Dish Pizza with Blue Moon Mixed Greens

• Warm the pizza gently in the oven at about 300° until warmed.

• Serve the salad dressed.

Meal 2: Curried Eggplant with Biryani and Grilled Summer Squash Salad.

• Warning: this food contains whole spices such as star anise. Look out for and avoid them! (The coriander and cumin are OK)

• Heat the curry on the stovetop.

• Warm the biryani in a sauté pan with a little water to steam it through – or in a microwave. Room temp is fine too.

• Enjoy this salad at room temp or heated in the same manner as the biryani.

Mystery

2010-08-05T18:35:00.000-07:00

Please pardon the following brashness. I can’t claim to have known Daniel H. Schreiber very well; but, I cannot here again write without full pretense if I do not now take a moment to acknowledge and grieve his passing.

Some say once you're gone you're gone forever, and some say you're gonna come back.

Some say you rest in the arms of the Savior if in sinful ways you lack.

Some say that they're comin' back in a garden, bunch of carrots and little sweet peas.

I think I'll just let the mystery be.

-Iris DeMent “Let the Mystery Be”

Oh Daniel,

Your death is a mystery to me.
You knew so many of us. Yet you left us completely stunned. What had we missed?
What was paining you?

You looked worn, harried the last day I saw you. I assumed that it was the normal toll of business.
At our parting moment though, your eyes each looked into a different part of space.
Please pardon me for my shallowness, my self involvement.
I last saw you on Saturday the 24th. Your birthday I later learned.

I imagine the impossibility of knowing the depths of a person’s innermost self and then I consider knowing yours.
So, where does the blame fit?
Perhaps right next to the reason.

I looked around at your memorial.
We are the people who should apparently all know and work with each other aren’t we?
Did you perhaps bring us together for a reason better than sadness?

What I can do?
Be braver, for life is short, so make things happen, like amends, even when it’s tough.
Be active with others. Work hard, but also work with friends.
Be nicer. You were a helluva guy.

Your death will always remain a mystery to me.
-Yours

P.S. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nlaoR5m4L80&NR=1

Summer Squash Latkes & Big Fat Burritos

2010-08-03T14:30:00.000-07:00

The Food Nanny

August3/4 2010

Meal 1: Summer Squash Latkes, Cucumber-Yogurt Salad, Persian Rice

• Mix the latke batter and season it with salt. This was omitted to avoid wateriness. Heat a generous amount of oil (not olive) in a sauté pan. When hot and nearly smoking add a dollop to the pan and flatten with the back of the spoon. Portion 3 latkes per share. After about 2 minutes flip the latkes and cook the other side. It should be golden brown. Serve hot.

• When the latkes are done add some olive oil to the pan and heat it to medium hot. Add the rice and quickly fry it to heat it up and make it unctuous.

• Serve the cucumber salad chilled.

Meal 2: Big Fat Burritos and Latin Cole Slaw

• Heat the burrito in the oven at 350° for about 10 or until just hot and toasty.

• Season the slaw with salt as this was omitted to avoid wateriness. Serve the slaw chilled.

Sweet Corn Spanikopita & Ratatoulet

2010-07-27T12:46:00.000-07:00

The Food Nanny

July27/28 2010

Meal 1: Sweet Corn Spanikopita, Grilled Tofu-Cherry Tomato Salad, Red Lentil Dolmas

• Warm the spanikopiota in the oven at 350° for 5-10 minutes or until warm- careful to not burn them!

• Serve the other items at room temp.

Meal 2: Ratatoulet, Pain d’Epi, Mixed Greens

• Heat the casserole in the oven at 350° for 10-15 minutes or until just hot.

• Warm the bread and dress the salad

The Razors Edge

2010-07-22T13:32:00.000-07:00

And the shark, it has teeth,
And it wears them in its face.
And Macheath, he has a knife,
But the knife cannot be seen.

"Die Moritat von Mackier Messer", full text, English translation

Contigencies
Owning your own business is frightening when you think about. Which most likely happens after you embark upon it. It is not just ‘being your own boss’; it assumes responsibility and risk with reward. And you need a contingency plan. What happens if you get sick or hurt? What if you get injured and can’t work for weeks? If that happened to me it could really scupper our business. What would happen to Food Nanny if we had to shut down 6 weeks for bone to heal?
For the prior let me say this: cooks are physically self deprecating when it comes to working while hurt: it always hurts. I once worked over three, 250K BTU flat top ranges that made my earring hurt my ear and probably helped to age my vision while melting my knees to gelatin – which is probably only fair (see demiglace). Cooks have assembled a persona to protect them from the irrationality of this behavior, and it amounts to a code of honor that drives them to get the food out no matter what. Simply put: If you can’t get dinner out the door each night then you have no business in this business. So we work when hurt, or worse, when ill. This is also done because most cooks make about $12/ hour and none are insured. I now have the luxury of a partner whose growing skill can allow me to bow out of a week or two each year when sick, as well as a schedule that offers recovery time, so I don’t cough and wheeze over your soup.
This past week Kate suffered from an evil spirit of some sort in her lower back. She was utterly incapacitated and is just walking again, and we realized that we need a contingency plan. I was solo parenting. I performed miserably I might add. Would she be OK? Was this a serious injury? Who should we consult? How will we work? Who can help us? But we never questioned cancelling the meals. Dinner would go on.
Mercifully, Kate’s mother Jane was willing to come down from Wisconsin (4 hours!) to hold the walls up for us. Friends volunteered extra day care and Jane expedited the shuttling, whipped our pathetic attempts at laundry into shape, and even jumped behind the line to manage container set up and meal pack out. I wish there was a gold star big enough.
The Razors Edge
But if not this then what? Kate and I both have extensive experience as environmental educators and workshop leaders. I am a baccalaureate geologist with experience at the state survey level. I have produced grant winning agricultural research. Kate is a professional manager with experience in budgets, personnel, and public programming. But you know what? FN is the first job I’ve held that has held me for more than 18 months, as far as I can remember. We’re tacking on year 3 and I love it. If not this then what? There is really no other option because there is nothing we would rather choose.
There is a risk to owning our own business, but for us the risk of NOT owning it substantially outweighs its antecedent. We are of the philosophy that what divides your life from your work, divides you from your life’s work. And for us, each week is a work (but food is NOT art – topic for another day.) We are synergists who strive to bring, for better and worse, all the disparate sections of our lives into tapestry with each other. To do this we walk a ‘razors edge.’ The razor separates success and failure, doing and ignoring, apathy and determination, independence and devotion. The price for this can cut deep, but the reward is happiness and contentment, and satisfaction with ourselves: of having lived up to our own expectations.
Do you know what a vision is? To me, it is a reason to be, and strive, and live, really. Even if your vision is not clear, or continues to change and evolve, just knowing you have one, feeling it there inside you is often enough. A vision is a personal formulation of what you desire and what you believe is your responsibility to achieve. Herein we each strike our individual balance and, pursuing it, grow as people. There are those who skew their visions, or lose it, or worst of all, are robbed of theirs. I believe that one of the greatest ‘environmental’ crises of our age is low self esteem. You see, for us to have lost the caring for ourselves, how can we be expected to care for an other? As a result we suffer from many lost visions. And, a great shame upon those who exploit our self images for their own profit!
That Nutty Noah
I would like to thank my parents for their unquestionably unconditional love. They also lavished us with support and opportunity. They are largely responsible for all the good in me.
But, they may not have always understood me, though not to any discredit on their part. What exactly does one make with an idealistic childhood, a 100K+ education in rocks, a penchant for fishing on Mondays, and a great affection for working for chump change in scullerys? Now add an advanced degree in chicken wrangling and the respectability of a home to maintain. Really, you can hardly blame them. I’m sure at times my life looked about as planned out as a Jackson Pollock.
So what is the CSK to us? It is a great summation of all we have been working on to this point. It is a manifestation of a vision. It is our edifice and our salvation; our providence. Our Ark. I knew about 18 months ago that if the CSK idea flopped due to my own simple letting it slip away, that I would have truly failed. Moreover, I knew that if we were fortunate enough to succeed, then we would have a real opportunity to make a fully legitimate venture of this thing, and to work on a model of operation that is both flexible for us and perhaps useful for others; and, the opportunity to create something potentially greater than ourselves is a great gift. Thank you again for the opportunity to cook.
I am happy to say that the situation seems to have pared out for the best. We showed resiliency to the recent economic shakeups and realized significant growth over the past year hitting the membership target that we set at our inception. Our summer numbers – usually less than the school year for obvious reasons - have held above the indicator level that I picked as a success criteria last spring. We are preparing to grow beyond our initial goal this coming fall and will make available up to 20 more shares. This is our life. This is our business. We walk the razor’s edge.

Sweet Corn and Chic Pea Cakes & Roasted Eggplant Ravioli

2010-07-20T12:10:00.000-07:00

The Food Nanny

July20/21 2010

Meal 1: Sweet Corn and Chic Pea Cake, Millet with Currants, Cucumber and Tomato Salad

• Warm the cake(s) in the oven at 350° for 5-10 minutes or until warm.

• Serve the millet at room temp.

• Sprinkle the toms with some salt and toss the salad, serve.

Meal 2: Roasted Eggplant Ravioli with Heirloom Tomato Sauce and Mixed Greens

• Heat the sauce in a sauté pan.

• If the ravs are sticking to each other, gently rinse them with water in their container and then drain. Transfer them to sauce and simmer for a minute or two to heat through. Season with a little salt and serve.

• Dress the salad to accompany the pasta.

Rice Stick & Black Bean and Corn Empanadas

2010-07-06T14:12:00.000-07:00

The Food Nanny
July6/7 2010
Meal 1: Rice Stick with Quick Pickled Vegetables, Curried Sweet Corn, and Tofu Satay
• Toss everything together and enjoy the noodles chilled. Chop some toasted peanuts on top if you like.( We omitted them b/c they get soggy and are a common allergen.)
• Heat the satay in the oven/ toaster for about 5 minutes.

• Warm the curry on the stovetop until just simmering. Thin it if necessary. Look out for the oval kaffir lime leaves, but eat the Thai basil like a vegetable in the mix.

Meal 2: Black Bean and Corn Empanadas, Two-Sisters Soup, and Quinoa Salad

• Heat the empanada at 350° until it begins to brown - about 10 minutes.

• Heat the soup or serve it chilled.

• Serve the quinoa salad at room temp.

Grilled Tofu Pita's & Biscuit Top Summer Pot Pie

2010-06-29T14:07:00.000-07:00

The Food Nanny
June 29/30 2010
Meal 1: Grilled Tofu Pita’s with Hummous and Swiss Chard & Chilled Cucumber Soup
• Assemble the pita sandwich: warm the tofu if you like, and dress the chiffonade of chard with olive oil and lemon or etc. Spread the hummous to one side of the center of the pita and build everything else on top of it. Fold this onto the other side and there you go: Pita Sandwich!
• Serve the soup either heated or chilled, but why make things hot?

Meal 2: Biscuit Top Summer Pot Pie with Mixed Greens & Barley-Sweet Corn Salad
• Heat the potpie at 350° until it begins to bubble at the edges, 15-20 minutes. Place the biscuits on top and cook for another 3-4 minutes and serve immediately.
• Serve the barley salad at room temp.
• Dress and serve the salad.

The Green Green Grass of Home

2010-06-28T20:17:00.000-07:00

If you know me and love me then you know what a kvetch I can be. And, there is a lot to bitch about when it comes to the aesthetics of East Central Illinois. I won’t pull any punches about the paucity of accessible beauty here. For the record, it’s not the ‘flat’ thing. The flat itself is an astounding remnant of continental glaciations that ground nutrient rich limestones into the parents of +12,000 year old grasslands of unparalleled productivity. It’s how the hands of our people have lain upon the flat earth here that leaves us poorer for the effort. If you know me, then you know that I pine for home.

The East Coast of America is a beautiful place, despite, but not invincible to, its population of 40 million. We visited the Connecticut coast of Long Island Sound, and faced the true Atlantic from a New Jersey barrier island. We sucked mountain air from Pennsylvania’s Poconos and visited my stomping grounds of Philly’s Italian Market and the greater Delaware Valley area. We ate seafood: sushi, mussels, fish and chips, fried clam strips, lobster, oysters, garlic crabs, and the piece de resistance: dayboat scallops. If you have never had any of these foods, I urge you: wait until you are out there to do so. Anything else is a facsimile.

We also visited farm markets, an incubating co-op, met an enterprising young couple managing an organic farm, visited with my culinary mentor and a beloved peer. What we learned surprised me. Contrary to that whole West Coast->East Coast->Midwest trend thing, our modest region appears to be a real leader in culturing local eating. For example, while we dished on seafood, we largely abstained from meat while out east. The farmers markets are nascent: two to three years old, but growing well. And, in New Jersey for instance, caterers can’t use eggs from a non-USDA approved site. Here several restaurants use local, state licensed eggs, as do we. We should consider ourselves lucky to have retained what will hopefully become the core of a resurging farming culture (agri-Culture, right?). Back home they have lost most of theirs by now; the valuable land was parceled into mini-estates, starter castles, fashion farms and outright sprawl. Those that remain face high costs of production augmented by limited access to farm resources like feed, tools, and supplies, congested distribution routes, and burdensome taxes. This combo of farm loss and high cost produces a double whammy for young farmers either entering or returning to farm work. It is uphill there (at least they have hills though, right!), but the populace seems willing to buy. Anchor Run CSA whose managers Derek and Dana joined us for homemade pizza one night, have 180 shares in their CSA! That is a massive responsibility. There remain some beautiful, productive holdings in easement or private care that could bring forth really artisanal goods. The professional culinary scene is full of great talents just hungering to get their hands into real food and to get that food in to the mouths of epicures and neophytes both. If you can get it to them, those 40 million souls suddenly look like a great incubator for the food culture that could precipitate so many beneficial changes in our land, home, and country.

In the mean time, I’ll be grateful for what we do have: world class ingredients and farmers without whom we could not do the work we do here.

Grilled Flatbread Pizza & Garlic Scape Stir Fry

2010-06-08T14:54:00.000-07:00

The Food Nanny
June 8/9 2010

Meal 1: Grilled Flat Bread Pizza With Chevre and Asparagus, Broccoli Salad, Mixed Greens

• Warm the pizza in the oven, on a cookie tray, at 350° for about 10 minutes.

• Serve the broccoli chilled.

• Dress and serve the salad.

Meal 2: Garlic Scape Stir Fry, Fried Rice, Sesame Snow Peas
• Heat a sauté pan with a little oil to smoking hot. Add the rice and stir it. Add a dash of oil to steam it through and transfer the rice to a serving platter. Now heat the pan again and add the raw scape pieces. Don’t worry, they smell much stronger than they taste. Stir fry them for a m inute or two. They should pick up a light char color. Now, add the rest of the veggies, add a dash of soy sauce and serve atop the rice.
• Serve the peas at room temp.

Shoot Me

2010-06-04T09:11:00.000-07:00

This past week's meals were fuled by produce imorted from Minneapolis.
"What about the local food jive you hypocrite !?!", you shout.
Well, I happened to be there for a wedding, so when it Rome...buy pea shoots.
Menneapolis, and the Upper Midwest in general has been well settled in recent decades by the Hmong people of Laos. Many of them farm, and vend at the local markets; and, if you look during your drive you can see their rented plots tucked into pockets of larger, cash grain holdings. They offer a variety delicacies, some of which may be novel to you. The types of brassica/ chois for example is a study in varietal diversity.
One of my favorite items is pea shoots - flowers and all. Honestly, they beat the pods in flavor, and yield. I guess the protien is the kicker for the peas though, huh? Anyway, they are just wonderful raw as a salad green or in a kick-ass sandwich, but their true delight is in being stir-fried, so I hope you gave 'em the high heat treatment, wilted their substantial structure a bit, and et 'em smokin' hot.
Pea shoots have the great abitily to capture wok hay (breath of the wok) also thought of as wok chi. If you have ever had truly good stir fry, you know what I mean - it is that charrish, rich aroma from stir fried foods delivered to you while the live heat of the pan is still in the food. It is very hard to replicate at home without a 50,000 BTU pit style wok burner of you own. But with a rocking hot, heavy saute ( NOT a wok!) pan gathering your flat flame onto its flat bottom, stir fried pea shoots will get you very close. I don't know what it is , but there is something inherently etherial about peas: their blue/ green, their flavor, their season -and they seem to luff that vapor of life into your mouth when you eat them right out of the pan. Do this and notice how, by the end of the meal the flavor of the shoots remaining will have changed.

Chic Pea Patties & Pasta Bake

2010-06-01T15:22:00.000-07:00

The Food Nanny
June 1 & 2 2010

Meal 1: Chic Pea Patties on Challa Rolls, Kohlrabi Soup, & Pea Shoots

Warm the patties in the oven, on at 350° for about 10 minutes. Split the rolls and toast them for the last 5 minutes.
Heat the soup on the stovetop or enjoy it equally well as a chilled soup.
The pea shoots can be either dressed and eaten as a salad or quickly sautéed until just wilted. Serve immediately.

Meal 2: Spinach & Shells w/Chevre Arribiata Sauce, Whole Wheat Italian Bread, Mixed Greens

Heat the pasta casserole in the oven at 325° for about 15-20 minutes until it is hot through and the cheese is well melted.
Warm the bread.
Dress and serve the salad.

Spring Carrots and Asparagus Fougasse

2010-05-25T13:54:00.000-07:00

Meal 1: Dal Makhani, Curried Spring Carrots, Grilled Naan

• Warm naan gently in the oven -300 for about 10 minutes.
• Heat the dal and curry on the stovetop. You may want to thin the dal a little. Finish it with yogurt, butter, and/or or cream if you like.
• Consider making some rice to serve with this.

Meal 2: Pasta Fagioli with Grilled Greens, Asparagus Fougasse, Mixed Greens
• Heat the fougasse in the oven at 325 for about 10 minutes – enough to just warm it.
• Heat the fagioli on the stovetop. Add a little water and adjust the seasoning
• Dress and serve the salad.

Asparagus Bisque & Big Fat Burritos

2010-05-18T14:54:00.000-07:00

The Food Nanny

May18/19 2010

Meal 1: Asparagus Bisque, Savory Bread Pudding, & an Oatmeal Raisin Cookie

Warm the bread pudding gently in the oven -300 for about 10 -15 minutes in the oven.

Heat the soup.

Eat the cookie last!

Meal 2: The Big Fat Burrito and Blue Moon Mixed Greens

Heat the burrito in the oven at 325 for about 10 minutes.

Dress and serve the salad.

Ravioli Primavera and Stir Fry

2010-05-11T13:47:00.000-07:00

May11/12
Meal 1: Swiss Chard Ravioli with Rapini , Sesame Bread Twists, Mixed Greens
• Warm the bread in the oven.
• Toss, dress and serve the salad.
• To heat the ravioli: Gently remove the ravs to a pot of simmering water. Its OK if they stick – they will separate. Plunge them only for a minute or so and drain. Heat the rapini mixture in a little olive oil and when hot add the ravioli. Toss to coat everything evenly and serve.

Meal 2: Stir Fried Vegetables with Toyko 5 Grain Mix and Asparagus Spring Rolls.
• Add the vegetables to a hot pan with a little oil in it. Toss once or twice to heat it through. Remove to a serving plate.
• Heat the 5 grains (millet, amaranth, quinoa, red and brown rice) in the same pan adding a little water to steam it through. Dress with soy sauce and serve.
• Serve the spring roll as is, chilled.

Batting 1.000

2010-05-07T06:55:00.000-07:00

Well, it is the return of the baseball analogy season. Oh, and there are a bunch of adults running in circles and swatting sticks at leather wrapped wads of rag too.
The Holy Grail of any performer is ‘batting a thousand.’ The beauty of this goal is its impossibility, and what is more beautiful than a paradox? Now, while I do not consider cooking an art, nor myself an artist ( Food as Art: topic for another day ), I would call my aspirations artisanal. In essence I work as a craftsman to make meals to the best of my ability and with respect to the ingredients. These meals should convey the integrity of the styles and techniques employed, the season, and the captured but unencumbered flavor of the ingredients themselves. But I am not trying to make conceptualized statements about ideas, experiences, emotions, or things.
So, back to the topic: for the artisan, natural variation is a bitch.
When I was an apprentice I initially balked at the weight placed upon doing the same thing the same over and over again. ‘Be free, flaky, and inspired!’ my naïve ego countered to my master’s blunt “Do it like this. Now do it like this 500 times.” For years I cooked without recipes – by feel, instinct, and memory alone. And my goal is still to get home cooks to do without recipes. But, as I have begun to master my own craft, and craft my own style, I am becoming dogmatic about weighing everything, recording my efforts, writing my recipes, and annotating those recipes when I modify them.
Why? What is the impetus behind this shift. Well, for one thing I’ve got more on my mind these days. For another, my once photographic memory has been corroded into a crappy Polaroid from the bottom of an attic storage box. But really, the answer is this: natural variation is a bitch.
Someone told me this story: Alice Waters was speaking to a fundraising group. “Dinner at Chez Panisse will always be good,” she said. “Sometimes it will be sublime. Sometimes it will just be excellent, but it will always be good.” Get it? Natural variation just happens and as an artisan you want to minimize the amplitude within that variation – and consistency is the most effective tool to achieve that.
That being said, I was not happy with last week’s meals. Sure, E for effort but B- ,at best, for execution. That’s the risk we share and it underscores the CSK relationship of you and I. Some meals will be great, some will just be OK, but they will all be good. They will feature outstanding local foods. We will put our best effort into preparing them. But some ideas just don’t pan out. Some don’t transport or finish at home well. Sometimes what worked last time varies just enough to come out not quite as good this time. Often I can feel it – I can feel how the food will come out. It’s like taking a swing. Sometimes every hit’s a smash, and sometimes it’s just a dribbler off the end of the bat.
We once were given the very kind criticism that we do not repeat dishes often enough. There was too much variation in our meals. Home meals, they told us, should be familiar, consistent. We’ve taken this to heart and try to repeat dishes seasonally or quarterly, but in general I like the challenge of presenting you with new, inspired meals. Besides, menu redundancy seems like cheating. Membership is not for everyone and ultimately we have unintentionally selected for people who like the surprise every week, who enjoy the adventure of being “on the bus” with the Food Nanny. Nonetheless, it is like home cooking. Not everything will be your favorite, but it will all be done well, and it will all be good for you. Thanks for riding the wave with us.

Savory Blintzes and Soba with Tat Soi

2010-05-04T12:11:00.000-07:00

Meal 1: Asparagus & Chevre Blintzes, Potato Kugel, & Blue Moon Mixed Greens

• Warm the kugel in the oven at 400° until the sides begin to brown evenly; 7-10 minutes.
• Toss, dress and serve the salad.
• To heat the blintzes: Heat some butter in a sauté pan over medium high. You may substitute veg ( not olive) oil, or even a dry pan but I highly recommend good ol’ butter. When hot but not burning, lower the flame a little and add the blintzes SEAM side down. Pan fry them until golden brown (about 3 minutes) then flip and fry the other side. Eat ‘em hot.

Meal 2: Soba Noodles with Tatsoi and Soy Sprouts, Miso Vegetable Salad, Korean Rice and Bean Salad .

• Serve all at room temp.

Grilled Pita & Veggie Burgers

2010-04-27T15:35:00.000-07:00

The Food Nanny

April 27 & 28, 2010

Meal 1: Grilled Pita and Tofu with Hummous and Blue Moon Spring Mix

• Warm the tofu in the oven at 400° until hot. Warm the pita, spread it with hummous, add the tofu and fold or roll into a sandwich

• Toss, dress and serve the salad.

Meal 2: Veggie Burgers on Sweet Rolls, Hand Cut Tortilla Chips, Macaroni Salad.
• Warm the burgers in the oven at 350° until hot about 10 minutes. Toast the rolls too.
• Keep the chips air tight until served.
• Serve the macaroni salad chilled.

Deep Dish Pizza & Pad Thai

2010-04-20T14:46:00.001-07:00

The Food Nanny
April 20 &21, 2010 Meal 1: Deep Dish Pizza with Leeks and Swiss Chard, Green Salad, and Chic Pea Salad
• Warm the pizza in the oven at 400° until the cheese melts and browns about 10 minutes.
• Serve the chic peas at room temp.
• Toss, dress and serve the salad.

Meal 2: Pad Thai, Sweet Potatoes in Coconut Milk, Sweet Rice Purses.
• Warm the rice purses in a microwave or a stovetop steamer basket.
• Heat the sweet potato curry on the stovetop.
• To prepare the pad thai: Rinse the noodles thoroughly in a colander. Drain them very well. Heat some oil in a saute pan. When the oil is hot, very carefully add the noodles to the pan and let them fry. A non-stick pan is ideal. Stir a bit and cook for a couple minutes. Spoon in the ‘meat’-sauce and stir to heat and mix all thoroughly. Transfer to a serving plate. Reheat the pan with a little more oil and stir fry the veggies for a minute or two. Serve them atop the noodles and serve.

White Bean Soup & Falafil

2010-04-13T15:16:00.000-07:00

The Food Nanny
April 13 &14, 2010
Meal 1: White Bean Soup, Roasted Garlic Focaccia, Spinach Salad with Fennel and Tiny Greens Sprouts
• Heat the soup on the stovetop. You may wish to thin it with a little water.
• Warm the focaccia in the oven for 5-8 minutes.
• Toss, dress and serve the salad.

Meal 2: Falafil and Grilled Chard Croquettes, Millet Pilaf, Moroccan Cole Slaw
• Warm the falafel and millet in the oven at 325° for about 15 - 20 minutes. Be careful to not burn the edges of the pilaf.
• Serve the slaw at room temp. Add some salt to the slaw as we omitted this ingredient to help prevent wateriness.

Holy Crêpes

2010-04-08T19:35:00.000-07:00

I know, low hanging fruit. Forgive me. Not too deep down I am a disciple of Mel Brooks.
Why don’t we cook with crêpes more often? Thanks to the non-stick pan they are a snap to make and the recipes themselves are frugal to the point of utter simplicity. I’ll share the one I used. It comes from a blog called Cream Puffs in Venice . Check it out.
3 eggs
1c milk
¾c flour
Beat the eggs. Stir in the milk. Stir in the flour. Y= about 15 crêpes.
Boy, that was so tough we better call ‘em something French so people fear to make them at home – let alone on a week day night!
How to cook:
OK, so the actual cooking of the crêpes appears to be the more intimidating part, but as I said, a simple non-stick pan is heaven sent. I keep a pair of, and could use three, 8” Wearever pans for this task alone. Here’s what I do: Ladle some batter into a measuring cup and heat your pan(s) to medium high. Do not add butter. (I know, something you never thought I’d tell you). When ready, lightly pour the batter into the center of a pan until the circle of batter you are pouring into the pan is the size of a medium diameter pancake ( maybe 3”-4”). You should already be holding the pan with the non-pouring hand. Lift the pan and deftly begin to lilt the pan in a rotating manner letting the batter run around the bottom of the pan to coat it evenly and begin cooking into a wafer thin pancake. Allow to cook on the flame until the edges of the crêpe release from the pan, about 2-3 minutes. Use a fine non-metal tool to tease out the edge and grasp it with your fingers. If you don’t smell burning hair you are not doing it right. Flip it and cook the opposite side until a few toasty spots appear (maybe 1 minute). Remove the crêpe to a towel to cool, and then stack them under another towel to hold as you cook the others. You may lose the first one or two getting the knack or adjusting the heat, but these really are a snap.

The real trick is making many at the same time. Any reasonable pro should be able to work three pans and get other stuff done in the kitchen. In fact, the real measure of culinary talent is not what you cook well, but how many things you can cook well at the same time. Four plus pans however, takes your full attention.

How to use: The Savory Blintz
I implore you to not be intimidated by the crêpe. In the end, learning and using it will save you both time and money. The crêpe is a very dexterous, frugal little paste of egg, milk, and flour. It does of course make sinful desserts, but is a real workhorse of the ultimate humble pie: leftovers.
Now, crêpes can be made in advance and used as a showpiece for entertaining guests with crêpe dishes that are sweet or savory, light with a salad, or rich with onions, duck confit, demiglace and morels. But to really appreciate them use them to make last week’s leftovers into this Wednesday’s smash hit dinner : Savory Blintzes.
The blintz is a stuffed, pan fried crêpe (now you can bring that butter back, Baby!). Here’s what to do: Make and begin cooking the crêpes. Now round up your leftovers. Say rice, wilted spinach, some grilled tofu or chicken. Chop it up and heat/brighten it in a sauté pan with some fresh leeks etc. maybe some lardons, a little chevre what have you. Reserve this mixture.
Take a crêpe a place it in front of you. Put a few tablespoons of the mixture in its center oriented more East-West than North-South. Kapish?. Fold in the sides, then the bottom and roll forward over the top edge. It’s just a little Jewish burrito, see! Make them all. (For a party make them to this point and reserve a few hours). Now toast the little buggers, seam side down, in hot butter, flipping once.
Eat hot with salad and white wine. Send the kids to bed early and lay a few smooches on your spouse.
Not bad for a Wednesday.

Cannelloni & Curried Carrot Soup

2010-04-07T14:44:00.000-07:00

The Food Nanny
April 6 &7, 2010
Meal 1: Whole Wheat Crêpe Cannelloni, Chic Pea Salad, Organic Green Salad
• Heat the cannelloni at 350° about 10 - 15 minutes or until just bubbly.
• Serve the chic peas at room temp.
• Dress and serve the salad.
Meal 2: Curried Carrot Soup, Lentils with Grilled Green Onions, Spiced Potato Medley
• Warm the soup on the stovetop.
• Serve the lentils at room temp.
• Heat the potatoes at 350° for about 10 minutes.

Heavy Passover Thoughts

2010-04-01T19:51:00.000-07:00

I would like to thank M. and R. for hosting us for Seder last night. And, not just for their gracious acceptance of the mild chaos we bring with us.
Both we and they were not able to make the second seder of this holiday. I had despaired when, 3 weeks ago it came onto my radar that Passover began on a Monday and Tuesday this year. Those days are already booked solid cooking shares every week. How could I possibly stack seder for 15-20 on top of that? Could we forgo? No, not in my heart could I accept this. Could we attend a public one? Sure, but what about the kids?
M. was kind enough to accept my imposition to host and Wednesday evening was the night we could make. Of particular impact was his recitation of Dy-anu, a hymn that relates some of the details of the Exodus with the refrain “ Dy-anu - It would have been enough.” Example: “If He had parted the seas for us, but not vanquished our oppressors in it/ It would have been enough. If He had vanquished our oppressors but not fed us in the desert/It would have been enough.” And on it develops. M. took the opportunity to extend the recitation to include our own verses. It was challenging - much more profound than a simple ‘What I am thankful for…’
Upon further contemplation today I feel that all we can really ask for, or even accept, is freedom and health. If I had nothing more than the liberty to live and die by natural means, and the good health and capacity of mind and body, it would have been enough. In other words; no matter what might befall us, we will most likely be OK. Remembering this, knowing this, and believing this liberates us from so much anxiety. Particularly the dangerous kind of anxiety that causes us to ignore our life path, become susceptible to material culture, or become self loathing. I can see G-d’s work in this idea. If we accept what we are, fully, with faith, then we are free to become that very person – and to thus fulfill our Creators’ own manifestation of ourselves. I think that ‘living with G-d’ is self-realizing his vision of us. It is said that in every generation the messiah is already among us, and will be revealed when we make the world a place suitable for his presence. I’ve never heard a self fulfilling prophecy I liked better (as long as you don’t think that killing some people is the way to make conditions suitable).
Passover is a food holiday, and a holiday about liberation. But really, it is a holiday about gratitude. How gracious that we have home, and love, and meaningful work. Thank you all for your important part of that. May you have a beautiful and blessed Spring.
P.S. Please pardon the sexist personification of the nameless, mysterious Holy. It is a simple convention.

Chic Pea or Meat Loaves & Matzoh Ball Soup

2010-03-30T15:20:00.000-07:00

The Food Nanny
March 30&31, 2010
Meal 1: Chic Pea or Meat Loaves, Shredded Carrot Salad, Roasted Root Vegetables
• Heat the loaves and root vegetables at 350° - about 10 - 15 minutes.
• Serve the carrot salad chilled.

Meal 2: Matzoh Ball Soup, Green Salad, Fingerling Potato and Kale Frittata
• Warm the soup on the stovetop and allow to simmer a few minutes to heat the matzoh balls through.
• Warm the frittata gently at 325° for about 10 minutes
• Dress and serve the salad.

Molé: The Golden Path to Aztec Delight

2010-03-26T15:11:00.000-07:00

One crucial step to becoming a good jazz cook is the preparation and storage of condiments. These can be as diverse as differently flavored and rendered fats, salts, or dressings. For example I rendered and have on hand bacon fat, soffrito infused pork fat, ham fat, banana leaf roasted pork fat, and schmaltz. Each of these has a unique flavor profile and not only saves me time when I need to get flavor up fast, but they are a frugal use of special ingredients. The huge Christmas ham I got from the Moore’s was not cheap, so getting a stock from the bone (which I froze), stew from the simmered meat bits (dinner that week), and a pint of smoky rendered fat (on hand in the fridge) in addition to the initial delectable holiday roast is the way to really make this food investment pay dividends. To do otherwise is wasteful on many accounts. For more on this philosophy I recommend How to Cook A Wolf by M.F.K. Fisher. So, having flavor punching ingredients on hand is key to getting great meals together on the fly. As implied, it takes a small investment of time initially, and overcoming inertia is the hardest part. So you will have to motivate yourself a bit. It’s worth it.
Molé is one such condiment that fits this description. I think that molé derives from the Spanish word molido meaning ‘ground.’ Guacamole is ‘ground’ avocado. Get it? So, molé is simply a ground spice paste used to flavor Latin dishes. These condiments are traditionally ground with a coarse mortar and pestle, but we will use a blender. There are two key phases to making and using molé. First you must assemble and simmer the paste. Molés are diverse so make them however you feel but there are some basic components: whole spices, chiles, fatty seeds, and liquid. Pictured you see cumin, coriander, star anise and cinnamon as whole spices. I also recommend annatto (achiote). But use whatever you like.
Any type of chiles may be used, and a mixture is best, but milder ones make up the bulk as the chile contributes a significant amount of volume, flavor, and texture to the molé and using many fiery ones can create an overpowering sauce. Pictured are guajillo chilles (dried red Anaheims)- an outstanding workhorse dried chile. Consider 8-12 in a 1qt batch of molé. Also look for Anchos (dried poblano chiles) and Pasillas for their sweet herbal notes. Chipotles are dried, smoked jalapenos and offer outstanding smoky, meaty flavor as well as high heat. Yes, you can use fresh chiles in season to make molés and they are correspondingly bright from their fresh ingredients.
Any nut can work as a fatty seed for molés. The pictured pumpkin seeds (pepitas) are a classic staple of Latin food and work great. You can also use sesame or sunflower seeds, or even peanuts. These create great body in the sauce and offer excellent nutrition to boot. I would include the famed chocolate in this category. Often added to dark molés, bitter chocolate is grated into the sauce towards the end of the cooking process to add smoky, savory, and earthy complexity to the sauce. Tomato puree, stock, water, or combinations thereof are obvious candidates for liquid sauce bases.
Now, assembly:
1). Heat some oil on medium and fry the whole spices and dry chiles. Crack up the cinnamon first if using. After a minute or two add some chopped onion and garlic. Be very careful to not burn the spices. Your goal is to flavor the oil with the spices. Cook the whole thing over medium high heat until the onions are browning. 2). Add the seeds and allow them to toast in the hot oil. Add some fat if necessary. Again be careful to not burn the seeds. These are volatile ingredients and easily overdone.
3) Add the liquid – a quart or so is a good volume, but remember your goal is a thick paste-like sauce so proportion your ingredients accordingly. Simmer until the chiles are tender and the sauce has reduced 25%.
4). Allow to cool a bit and then transfer the whole thing into a high power blender and purée. Transfer to a convenient jar or package into zipper bags and freeze flat.
5). Use as a rub/marinade, to finish cooked beans, or best of all to make taco filling. Just sauté some onions, add the meat (or vegetarian substitute ), and when brown, add a little oil and a few dollops of molé. The seasonings will fry in the oil and infuse the dish with the complex flavors of authentic food.
Just keep some on hand and I guarantee you will find uses for it from grilled corn to fish tacos.

Parsnip Bisque & Butternut Squash Tamales

2010-03-23T14:29:00.000-07:00

The Food Nanny
March 23&24, 2010
Meal 1:Parsnip Bisque, Baked Orzo with Spinach, Chevre, & Mushrooms, Whole Wheat-Quinoa Batards
• Warm Orzo at 350° until hot - about 20 minutes. Toss in the batard for the last 5-10 to toast it.
• Warm the soup on the stovetop.

Meal 2: Butternut Squash Tamales, Adobo Black Beans, & Rice Pudding
• Remove the tamales from atop the beans and heat the beans in the microwave, on a stovetop in a pan.
• Place the tamales in a steamer basket and steam through for about 10 minutes. A microwave is also effective. If you do not have a steamer insert, use a sauce pot with some water in the bottom (<1/2”). Next place a small bowl in the pot and place a plate atop the bowl. Now place the tamales atop the place, bring the water to a boil, lid the pot and allow the tamales to steam.
• Heat the rice pudding by also steaming it (unwrapped, for about 5 minutes) or at room temp.

Grilled Kale Enchiladas & Sesame Noodles

2010-03-16T14:34:00.000-07:00

The Food Nanny
March 16 &17, 2010

Meal 1:Grilled Kale Enchiladas with Black Bean Molé and Yellow Rice, Green Salad

• Warm the enchi and rice casserole at 350° until hot - about 20 minutes.
• Dress and serve the salad.

Meal 2: Whole Wheat Sesame Noodles with Stir Fried Broccoli, Grilled Tofu, and Miso-Braised Hakuri Turnips
• The noodles etc. may be served at room temp or warm the whole thing up in the microwave. Alternately, remove the tofu and vegetables to side plates and heat the noodles in a non stick pan with a little oil and than a splash of water. Transfer them to a serving dish and heat the vegetables, and then the tofu in similar manners.
• Also heat the turnips in a sauté pan and serve on the side.

Three Bean Chili & Potato Leek Soup

2010-03-09T14:11:00.000-08:00

The Food Nanny
March 9 &10, 2010 Meal 1:Three Bean Chili, Johnnycakes, Anatto Rice Salad
• Heat the chili on the stovetop or microwave. Thin it a little, but be conservative.
• Heat the rice in the microwave, or steam it in a pan with a little oil and a splash of water. Alternately serve it simply at room temp.
• To cook the johnnycakes heat a little oil in a pan. When the oil is hot use a tablespoon to dollop the batter into the pan to form individual pancakes. Lightly flatten the cakes a bit. Turn the heat down some and let the cakes cook on one side. After about 3-4 minutes, flip them and use a spatula to flatten them further to about ¼ inch thick. Allow to cook 4 more minutes. Flip back to the original side and cook another 2 minutes. Serve with or under the chili. Meal 2: Potato Leek Soup, White Bean Casserole, Whole Wheat Pain d’Epi
• Heat the soup on the stovetop.
• Heat the casserole at 350°until just bubbly.
• Warm the bread in the oven.

Transparency

2010-03-04T21:00:00.001-08:00

Recently, a member showed some concern about our consumptive use of plastic wrap. Below is my unedited response:
“Your situation is a unique one in that due to J-'s diligence with our containers and the configuration of the cooler, I choose to usually leave to lids on the pyrex. For most we take the lids with us after delivering the meals into the cooler. I assure you that if I had not calculated the evil to be a necessary one then I would not have chosen it. The wrap is not only a safeguard for transport, but is a cost effective measure for guarding our container investment - an investment that is more than worth its weight in avoiding disposable take-out style containers. Containers are a constant battle for us due to breakage, inconsistency from model obsolesce, and attrition to members. Our investment so far, over 2.5 years is ~$1500. The lids are half again the cost of the containers, at best. So we stock only enough for weekly reuse, and opt for plastic wrap to handle in-home storage. While I am glad that we convey an attitude of attention to detail, pack out is streamlined across all members of a similar share size, with all meals getting the same treatment and handling before semi-randomly being placed into their transport bags. It is this 'sharing' of the labor across the meals that keeps the per meal cost of membership very affordable for its quality level and is a good example of how we are all in this together as a community supported kitchen.”
My attempt here is not to scold members about our containers. Rather, I’d like to consider the footprint of the Community Supported Kitchen, and engage further the concept of membership as it relates to the social/environmental impact of this business.
We do use plastic wrap, it is necessary to prevent spills and provide a lid. Deliveries take 2.5 hours worth of fuel at about 16mpg, I’d guess. We cook with gas and use a ton of water – way above the national household per capita. There is a price for everything. I wonder though, how does our net use compare to the cumulative consumption of every member’s burners and sinks and washing machines and schleps to the supermarket to cook themselves individual ( or family) portions of equivalent meals? Can heating 1 oven for 24 loaves be less efficient than 24 ovens for the same? Maybe.
In a way the calculable results are less important than the quality of the idea itself: Is a CSK a good thing? Does it improve the integrity, stability, and beauty of its community? Or, does it do otherwise? This is the important thing – the crux of what we are trying to do here. We are looking at the unity of business and place within an ethical construct. We don’t use local produce because it uses less natural resources to produce (certainly debatable), but because the food is so very very much higher in food value than that offered conventionally, and because I know that buying it from Jon, and Lisa, and Jim or Dianne, or Stan, or Leslie and Wes is the right thing to do. And, it’s the right food to cook for you. Considering the farms, families, animals and plants themselves – most of which I’ve seen firsthand – it is good food. Ethically good food.
Aldo Leopold, the godfather of conservation and, I would say, environmentalism in this country was a visionary and naturalist of monumental capacity who left a largely unaddressed legacy to help us heal our connection with our place and our selves. It is his definition of good mentioned above upon which we hinge our measure of success. He knew that no amount of policy, subsidy, propaganda, or even education would ever help people solve the “land problem” as he called it. The answer lay in the application of ethics to our decisions. It had to come from within. He called it “The Land Ethic.”
This idea defies calculation, and perhaps this is why his work has been mostly ignored by our established investigative institutions. Yet it contains far more truth than most any peer reviewed journal article I’ve ever read.
So, while I will not accept a business model that is inherently or flagrantly wasteful, our aim is not to count carbon exhaust units emitted or cubic feet of landfill space occupied, but to examine, test, refine, and perhaps propagate an idea. The idea that an intermediary business can be an integral and good member of a local food system. That entrepreneurs can start from relatively accessible means and offer themselves an opportunity and add a significant, stable contribution to local economies. That people can procure food from a market place abundant with options as opposed to one that is concentrated, manipulated, and monopolized – and that all are better off for it. And, finally that talented artisans of all stripes can make a fair living with integrity and opportunity for future generations.

Curried Split Peas with Naan & Winter Stew with Whole Wheat Noodles

2010-03-02T14:14:00.000-08:00

The Food Nanny
March2 & 3, 2010

Meal 1:Curried Split Peas with Vegetables, Whole Wheat Naan & Parsi Kichirri
· Heat the curry on the stovetop or microwave. Thin it a little, but be conservative.
· Put the naan into a very hot oven for ~5 minutes to warm it but keep it soft. A microwave would well too, or over a gas burner like a tortilla.
· Heat the kichirri in the microwave, or steam it in a pan with a little water, or fry it in some oil/ butter – you choose.

Meal 2: Christmas Lima or Braised Beef Stew with Hand-Cut Papardelle and Organic Green, Mandarin, & Fennel Salad
· Let the noodles come up to room temp and place into serving bowls .
· Heat the Stew on the stove top to boiling and portion over the noodles.
· Dress and serve the salad.

More on Meat for the Masses

2010-02-25T14:03:00.001-08:00

Back to the topic of serving local, quality meat to your home minions, whilst on a budget.
Your main ally in this quest should be ground meat. Pork, Beef, and Turkey are all available at the market, each with different attributes, availability, and cost.
What makes ground so valuable to you is that it thaws quickly, is versatile, nutritious, and often economical. A good habit to get into is to simply grab a frozen pound from the freezer and toss it into the sink. The next morning transfer it to the fridge and figure out how to use it during the week. A day or so after that one is gone, replace it with another. In a pinch, you can thaw one in a bowl, under running tepid water in about an hour. Oh yeah, and I'll bet some of you have microwaves too.
So, what to do with the ground? First see our post on meatloaf. Don't dis it...meatloaf if real good food with a high pedigree. Also, kids enjoy making it. Its fun and so tactile to mix the meat, egg, spices, and breadcrumbs with your hands, squishing and folding and shaping. Make little 'meatloaf' patties of ground pork with sage, red pepper flakes, fennel, and garlic and you have knock out breakfast patties or kick butt meatballs for penne and tomato sauce.
Next, I'd like to offer this technique: simmer it.
Id consider Bolognese sauce, taco meat, and Sloppy Joe to all be in this category of simmered ground meat, and the basic technique is this:
1)Saute onions and garlic.
2)Add a spice paste or whole spices or both.
3)Add the pre-seasoned meat in little dollops and raise the temp a bit to sear the meat. As it begins to brown, stir and break up the dollops allowing the uncooked bit to brown.
4) When 90% of the meat is done have some liquid ready-tomato sauce, leftover bean liquid, or a sweet and sour mix of vinegar, tomato, and brown sugar. Pour this over the meat and deglaze the pan. Allow this mix to simmer to the desired consistency and sup well.

Truly the usefulness of ground meat is nearly infinite so stock up, and then use it up!

Stuffed Shells & Spinach Bisque

2010-02-23T10:18:00.000-08:00

The Food Nanny
February 23 &24, 2010
Meal 1: Stuffed Shells, Herb Risotto, Bitter Green Salad
• Place the shells in the oven and heat until bubbly at 350°.
• Transfer the risotto to a saucepan and thin with a little warm water. Bring to a simmer, stirring constantly. Continue to stir and add water gradually until the rice grains are completely al dente and not starchy at all - maybe 5 minutes. The consistency should be flowable, like porridge, but not soupy. Season with S&P, olive oil, butter, truffle oil, grated cheese, or whatever you prefer and serve hot.
• Dress and serve the greens. Meal 2: Spinach Bisque, Whole Wheat Challa, Three Bean Salad
• Heat the soup on the stove top.
• Warm the challa in the oven.
• Serve the bean salad at room temp.

Calzones & Tortilla Soup

2010-02-16T12:15:00.000-08:00

The Food Nanny
February 16 & 17, 2010
Meal 1: Grilled Chard & Ricotta Calzones, White Bean Salad, Mixed Greens
• Warm the calzones in the oven at 350 for about 10 minutes.
• Serve the bean salad at room temp.
• Dress and serve the greens

Meal 2: Tortilla Soup with Black Beans and Hominy, Refried Kidney Beans, Latin Cole Slaw.
• Heat the soup on the stove top.
• Heat the refried beans in a sauce pan with a little water or in the microwave, also thinned a little.
• Season the slaw with a little salt as we omitted this to prevent wateriness, and serve chilled.

Koftas and Shepherd's Pie

2010-02-10T12:11:00.000-08:00

The Food Nanny
February 10 & 11, 2010
Meal 1: Quinoa and Brown Rice Koftas, Chic Peas with Feta, Grilled Sesame-NIgella Pita
• Warm the koftas in the oven at 350 for 10 -15 minutes. Warm the pita in there too for the last couple of minutes.
• Serve the chic pes at room temp.

Meal 2: Shepherd’s Pie with Lentils and Winter Vegetables, Rustic Boule, Mixed Green Salad.
• Warm the pie in the oven at 350 for 20 -25 minutes or until the top is crusty and the sides are bubbling a little..
• Warm the boule and dress the salad.

Gluten Free Bread, our second attempt- for our new gluten free family.

Potato Perogies & Napa Cabbage Stir Fry

2010-02-02T12:24:00.000-08:00

The Food Nanny
February 2 & 3, 2010
Welcome to the Winter Cross-Quarter! Happy Groundhog Day.

Meal 1: Potato Perogies, Baby Lima Bean Pan Roast, Mixed Greens
• Heat the beans on the stovetop or microwave.
• To cook the Perogies: You may steam or quick boil them if you like. But the best thing to do is to melt some butter and, over medium heat pan fry those babies until each side is golden brown. Serve with yogurt or sour cream.
• Dress the salad and serve.

Meal 2: Napa Cabbage Stir Fry with Ginger Sauce and Deep Fried Tofu & Three Rices
• Warm the rice in a sauté pan with a little oil and then a splash of water or in the microwave. Transfer to serving dish.
• Get several T of oil very hot in a sauté pan. Carefully tip in the vegetables and stir them until hot - about 2 minutes. Next add the tofu cubes and immediately add the sauce (shake it vigorously first). Stir the dish together and cook as the sauce thickens - 2-3 minutes. Serve immediately atop the rice.

2010-01-26T12:46:00.000-08:00

The Food Nanny
January 26 &27, 2010
Meal 1: Acorn Squash and Pepita Soup with Roasted Poblano, Corn Bread, Red Beans and Rice
• Heat the soup on the stovetop and warm the cornbread in the oven.
• Heat the rice in a sauté pan with a little butter and then a dash of water to steam everything through.

Meal 2: Macaroni and Goat Cheese with Roasted Tomato Sauce, Eggplant Fougasse, Green Salad
• Warm the mac n’ cheese gently in the oven at 325 for 15-20 minutes. Be careful to not let it dry.
• Warm the fougasse I the oven too. 10 – 15 minutes should do it. Cut it up and serve with some extra olive oil for dipping.
• Dress the salad and serve.

Making Much from Little

2010-01-21T09:25:00.000-08:00

A comment that I often overhear is: "We can't afford to eat organic."
Since my general socioeconomic environment is fairly fortunate I can assure you that this comment is relayed from someone who is gainfully employed and supplied with the accepted accoutrements of both necessity and comfort. Eating well, to dodge euphemisms, has more to do with know-how than pocketbook power - athough frugality has been know to empower those same purses. A pall of post-holiday debt and mandated furlougs is settling on our twin villes, so I feel motivated to tackle some of the obstacles to justifying bringing the very best food to your homes.
Meat - is the number one hurdle for families that want off the industrial food supply. Local meat can be expensive. Store bought, especially organic is very pricy, and still dodgy if you ask me. So what to do?
1) Buy direct. Go to the market, meet the farmer and family/ employees. You start a crucial relationship and eliminate paying a markup.
2)Get a chest freezer. These start under $200. Fill it with food from the market bought in season.
But most importantly:
3)Learn how to cook inexpensive cuts of meat. Sure we treat ourselves to some steaks($7-$9/#), very rarly prime cuts (up to $18/#), but mostly we feast heartily on ground, sausage, and peasant cuts like top round, stew meat, pork shoulder, etc. These items are very versatile, very nutritious, and often on special. The Moore's for example are specialing ground pork at $2/# for 5 pounds. That's a steal for pasture raised heritage breed pork.

So, lets talk shop.
Braising- should be your number one tool for cooking cheap meats. Braising means 'to cook with liquid.' In a nutshell you slowly simmer the meat in water, broth, wine, you choose, until it is palateable. Crock pots do the same job and can be indespensable to busy, savvy eaters.
Lets consider stewing beef ( or lamb, or goat, for that matter). Here's what I would do:
Saturday afternoon while running to the basement for more TP I hop over to the freezer and pull out three 1# packages of beef stew meat. These I toss unceremoniously into the sink to thaw while I forget about them. Before bed I put the packages into a container and refrigerate them.
Sunday afternoon I cook. Open the packages, rinse and pat dry the cubes. Season them with S&P. Get an ovensafe pan with straight walls and heat some oil. Turn your oven on to 325-400 depending on how fast you need it to be done. Slower is better. When the oil is hot, add the cubes. Don't over crowd the pan - cook in batches if necessary. Brown ( this means what it sounds like) the cubes on their sides, and moderate the heat as necessary. When all the meat is seared off, add enough liquid to the pan to cover the 'shoulders' of the pieces. Don't let 'em swim. Add seasonings as you see fit, mire poix, bay leaf, fennel etc, bring the whole thing to a simmer and then transfer it to the oven and just let it cook as slowly as you can allow, but figure a minimum of 3 hours.
When fork tender, the meat is done.. It serves as the perfect base for beef stew, pan roasts, or soup. Or, drain the meat & reserve the broth and then cook up some onions with latin spices, add the shredded meat, some beans, and a little tomato for real tacos or great chili.
Remembe the important technique is braising the beef. What you do with it during the week is limitless. Between the nutrition, versatility, and production of both bef and broth, this is a very resourceful delicacy at $4.50/#.