Author Archives: kbecker57

July RC – The Painted Burro

This month we headed to The Painted Burro for Restaurant Club, which is in the space where Gargoyle’s on the Square used to be. It was probably the noisiest RC we’ve had, which made it a little difficult to hear each other…but it was nice to not be the only loud and lively group. Sometimes we get dirty looks for being too loud.

Their house margarita is on tap, just like their tap beers. I was skeptical of this, but it was still pretty delicious, and pretty strong. They also have a lot of other interesting and creative cocktails.
Per the usual, we ordered a bunch of appetizers to share:
  • Fundido – one with chorizo, one with veggies
  • Guacamole “el mero mero” with pork belly and roasted grape tomato
  • Empanada with local goat
  • Ceviche del mar
  • Appetizer special – shrimp with house-made cocktail sauce
It was tough to decide what to order for dinner, especially because I wasn’t that hungry after all of those yummy apppetizers. I did a three-way split with a couple of friends:
  • Yucatan Meatloaf – sirloin stuffed with chorizo, ham, chicharron, green olives and toasted almonds, topped with 2 fried eggs, and served with housemade mole sauce (that’s a whole lotta meat)
  • Chicken enchiladas
  • Chile rellenos filled with peaches, apricots, and cheese and topped with toasted walnut mole
I also tasted the Chupacabra tacos that someone else ordered, which also had a whole lotta meat (chorizo, pork “cochinita”, and skirt steak). The chicken enchiladas were my favorite of the main dishes we tried.

Chicken enchilada goodness
We tried three desserts, and I think there was only solid “I like it” consensus on the tres leches. I think it was a pretty even love/hate split on the corn ice cream, and more than half of the table did not like the lime-tequila popsicle. I actually liked both the corn ice cream and the popsicle!

Lime-tequila popsicle

This place definitely gives Ole (Cambridge) a run for its money. I would definitely go back…great pick Kim!

The rundown:
The Painted Burro
219 Elm Street, Somerville (Davis Square)

CSA Week 8

I was recently on vacation so I donated my fruits and veggies to a friend for the past two weeks. Is it nerdy of me to say that I missed my CSA? My refrigerator is pretty barren since I haven’t had time to go to the grocery store, so I have been anxiously awaiting our pick-up today.

Here’s what we got this week:

I am excited for the first corn, tomatoes, and blueberries! Here’s what my half of the share looks like:

Artichoke and pea gratin

My friend Eric was visiting Boston earlier in the month (from DC) and it was so great to see him, and it reminded me of this recipe that he shared with me.

Artichoke and pea gratin
Source: Eric Shipley
Serves: 4-6, I’m guessing

Ingredients
1 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp flour
1¼  cup low-fat milk
9 ounces frozen artichoke hearts (thawed)
1 cup peas (fresh or frozen [thawed])
½ tsp salt
½ tsp lemon zest
Parmesan or Gruyere cheese

Directions 
1. Whisk butter and flour in an ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat…make roux.
2. Add your milk, whisk together till boiling.
3. Stir in your remaining ingredients…minus the cheese.
4. Top with grated parmesan or gruyere and broil till golden.

Pesto

My coworker makes the best pesto, and she used to keep me fully stocked…until I graduated and started making it myself. Of course I still use her recipe. I love to mix pesto with ricotta for pizza, with eggs, and when sauteeing vegetables.

Basil doesn’t do well in the fridge, so if I am not going to use it right away, I put the stems in a glass of water and leave it on the counter.

Love basil

Pesto
Source: Cynthia Brown

Ingredients
4 cups basil
4 cloves garlic
4 Tbsp pignoli (pine nuts)
1 cup olive oil
Parmesan cheese

Directions
1. Put all ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. She likes using a blender, but be forewarned that the next batch of fruity frozen drinks might have a slight hint of basil and garlic!
2. Freeze or add Parmesan cheese to taste and enjoy! If freezing, do not add the cheese until you are ready to use it.

Ready to blend!



CSA Week 5

This week my veggies took a field trip to NY, where they joined forces with the veggies from my parent’s CSA (The Farm at St. Peter’s). I also realized that I *like* summer squash when it’s grilled or camouflaged with scrambled eggs. The only thing that came back to Boston with me was one head of lettuce that we didn’t use.

  • Cucumbers: 100% (salads)
  • Onions: 100%
  • Summer squash: 100% (so much better on the grill!)
  • Swiss chard: 100% (sautéed with garlic scapes)
  • Garlic scapes: 100% (chopped fine and used to marinate chicken and steak before grilling, also used with Swiss chard)
  • Lettuce: 0%
  • Parsley: 100%
  • Strawberries: 100%

When I went to pick up the share on the 4th, it was definitely a “holy moly” week, as in “holy moly that’s a lot of veggies!”

Holy moly veggies

Half

I knew that I wouldn’t be able to use all of this so my CSA partner actually took all of the kale, as well as my head of cabbage and my share of the zucchini and summer squash. I must admit, I wasn’t too sad to see the zucchini and summer squash go to a more loving home.

Loopy blackberry lemonade

Happy birthday America! I’ll cheers to that, so I thought I’d share a recipe my friend Paetra sent my way.

Loopy blackberry lemonade
Source: Three Olives vodka

Ingredients
1.5 ounces Three Olives Loopy
5 blackberries
3 ounces lemonade (try Simply Lemonade!)

Directions
Muddle 4 blackberries in the bottom of a tumbler. Add ice, vodka and lemonade. Garnish with a blackberry and enjoy!

CSA Week 4

All of the week 2 leftovers are gone…broccoli and beets. I microwaved the broccoli with a bit of shredded cheddar, and I roasted the beets to use on salads.

For week 3, I have lots of herbs, green onions, and garlic scapes left.

  • Strawberries: 100%
  • Kohlrabi: 50%
  • Zucchini/summer squash: 100% (used in Summer squash and white bean sauté)
  • Garlic scapes: 0%
  • Green onions: 0%
  • Cilantro: 0%
  • Dill: 25%
  • Lettuce: 50%
  • Mixed greens: 100%

Here’s what I’ll be cooking and eating this week:

Week 4

I’m very excited about the swiss chard, as well as our first cucumbers. This will probably be the last week of strawberries, but fingers crossed that blueberries come next!

Strawberries not pictured

June RC – PARK

We went to PARK Restaurant and Bar in Harvard Square for June RC. Not only did we eat well (as we always do), we also drank well as they had Triennes rose on the menu. Delicious!

After some reminiscing about The Redline, which was previously in this space, we started by sharing the feta-watermelon salad, lobster and crab dip, salt and pepper shrimp, and bacon three ways.

Feta-watermelon salad

Bacon three ways

For my entree, I ordered the “meat pie of the day”, which was short rib and mushrooms. It looked like a loaf of bread and was ginormous. I definitely had those leftovers for a few days. Unfortunately, I was not a fan of the mushy peas on the side.

Meat pie o’ the day

And since there is always room for dessert we shared a fruit crumble, chocolate dessert (I’m sure it has a fancier name than that), and a local cheese board.

Great pick Wanda!


The rundown:
PARK Restaurant and Bar (I couldn’t find a web site, so this links to their Facebook page)
59 JFK Street, Cambridge

Summer squash and white bean sauté

I have a confession to make…I don’t really like zucchini or summer squash. I would definitely not choose either of them to take with me to a desert island. But as part of a CSA, you don’t always get what you want, so over the years I have learned to tolerate them both. Usually I try to hide zucchini in bread or muffins, but today I tried to highlight them using this recipe. I also added about 1/2 of my kohlrabi (chopped) and some of the fresh dill I got last week. Plus I got to use my fabulous new pots (thanks to everyone who supported my Williams-Sonoma habit in the form of GCs).

Summer squash and white bean sauté
Source: Adapted from Key Ingredient
Serves: A lot

Ingredients
1 Tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, halved and sliced
1-2 garlic scapes, chopped
1 medium zucchini, halved lengthwise and sliced
1 medium yellow summer squash, halved lengthwise and sliced
1 Tablespoon chopped fresh oregano, or 1 teaspoon dried
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 15-ounce can cannellini or great northern beans, rinsed
1 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes
1 Tablespoon red-wine vinegar
1-2 Tablespoons chopped fresh dill (optional)
1/3 cup finely shredded Romano cheese (or Parmesan)

Directions
1. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and garlic scapes and cook, stirring, until they start to soften, about 3 minutes. Add zucchini, summer squash, oregano, and pepper and stir to combine.
2. Reduce heat to low, cover and cook, stirring once, until the vegetables are tender-crisp, 3 to 5 minutes.
3. Stir in beans, tomatoes and vinegar; increase heat to medium and cook, stirring, until heated through, about 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in dill and Romano cheese!
4. Enjoy!

Step 1…sauté
The finished product

Since I have a feeling this is only just the beginning of my zucchini management, I will definitely be on the lookout for more recipes if anyone has any they’d like to share. I will also definitely post my chocolate zucchini muffin recipe…so stay tuned!

CSA Week 3

I’m a little behind the eight ball this week, but how did I do with week 2 (and some leftovers from week 1)?

All of the week 1 leftovers are gone…lettuce, turnip, cilantro, and kohlrabi. I used the turnip and some of the cilantro in corn and black bean salad and made kohlrabi slaw. I froze the rest of the chopped cilantro in 1/4 cup portions for use at a later time.

  • Strawberries: 100%
  • Salad greens: 100%
  • Lettuce: 100%
  • Spinach: 100% (sauteed with garlic scapes)
  • Carrots: 100%
  • Garlic scapes: 33% (used with spinach, and the rest is chopped and ready for more saute action)
  • Broccoli: 0%
  • Beets: 0% (it’s been too hot to think about turning on the ovent)

Since I was practically melting just being outside on Wednesday (pick-up day), I forgot to take a photo of the sign. This is what we got this week:

  • 2 kohlrabi (green ones this time)
  • 2 pounds zucchini or summer squash
  • 1/3 pound garlic scapes
  • 1 bunch green onions
  • 1 bunch cilantro
  • 1 bunch dill
  • 1 bunch kale or collards
  • 2 heads lettuce
  • 3/4 pound mixed greens
  • 1 quart strawberries
Strawberries not pictured

I gave my CSA partner the kale to help her face her fears of this leafy green…she is going to try my kale salad recipe. If that doesn’t work, I might have to do a kale-tervention with her…or, more kale for me?