kbecker57

Kohlrabi slaw

I needed to find something tasty to do with the purple kohlrabi I got in week 1 of my CSA share. If you don’t know what kohlrabi is, check it out on good ol’ wikipedia. They can be purple or green on the outside, but are white on the inside. I think they taste a bit like radish or cabbage, but with the texture of a turnip.

A few years ago a coworker gave me a recipe for coleslaw with poppy seed dressing, and I decided to adapt it for my kohlrabi. It’s really good with cabbage too!

Kohlrabi slaw
Source: Coworker
Serves: 2-3

Ingredients
1/2 Tablespoon canola oil
1 carrot, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1 kohlrabi, peeled and shredded
1 Tablespoon cider vinegar
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon poppy seeds
1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions
1. Heat 1/2 Tablespoon of oil on medium high. Add carrot and onion and saute until starting to soften.
2. Add kohlrabi, cider vinegar, sugar, poppy seeds, and salt. Saute for another minute or so. Can be served warm or cold.
3. Enjoy!

Delish!

Out and about – Bermuda

Bermudians call themselves “60,000 drunks clinging to a rock.” They are friendly people…there is a man who stands on a street corner every morning for two hours and waves to people. He is now in his 80’s.

The ms Veendam
I spent seven days on the ms Veendam (Holland America Line). If you’ve never cruised before, think 3- and 4-course breakfasts and lunches, and 5- and 6-course dinners. It would be quite possible to be eating at all times on the ship, if your stomach could handle it. Since my return to shore, my stomach has been in revolt since I don’t normally eat that many courses throughout a day, as I’m sure you’re surprised to find out. While the courses are plentiful, the portion sizes are refreshingly un-American. If you order the filet mignon, don’t expect a 10-ounce piece of beef. It was actually about the size of a deck of cards, that standard measure we dietitians love to use.

Two of my favorite (foodie) surprises on the ship were the guest chefs on board, Sirio and Egidiana (Egi) Maccioni and Hugh Acheson. The Maccionis own Le Cirque (multiple locations) as well as Circo and Sirio.

Making Le Cirque’s lobster salad

The Maccionis

Hugh Acheson is a chef/partner of three restaurants in Georgia (Five and Ten and The National in Athens and Empire State South in Atlanta). He is a James Beard award winner for his cookbook, A New Turn in the South. He is also a Top Chef Master and currently a Top Chef judge. We tried to get some dirt on the new season of Top Chef, but the only thing he could tell us was that they just started filming. Hugh brought two sous chefs with him, his adorable daughters Beatrice and Clementine.

Hugh, Beatrice, and Clementine

They each did two cooking demonstrations…Hugh made me realize that I like duck, and Egi inspired me to want to make my own pasta, specifically spinach and ricotta ravioli. Hopefully I’ll be sharing those recipes in the future as I try them.

Dark and stormy and the rum swizzle
As I mentioned, it seems Bermudians drink a lot, and that usually involves Gosling’s rum. We went on a Gosling’s rum cruise and got to try their signature black seal rum, gold rum, olde rum, and gold liqueur as well as the dark and stormy (Bermuda’s national drink) and the famous rum swizzle (has both black and gold rum). We were told that the more dark and stormy’s you drink, the better the weather gets…and we had some great weather. We were also told that one woman in the Gosling family bought a washing machine just to make rum swizzles…like I said, they like to drink.

Swizzle Inn…swagger out

Bermuda fish chowder and salt cod fish cakes
Bermuda fish chowder is also made with Gosling’s black seal rum (surprise surprise) and served with a side of black seal rum and sherry pepper sauce to garnish your soup. I tried it on the ship and at the White Horse Pub in St. George’s. The restaurant is right on the water, and instead of throwing your food scraps in the garbage, they throw them in the water alongside the restaurang. I think there are some very happy fish living right there.

Fish chowder from White Horse Pub

We were told that salt cod fish cakes are also a traditional Bermudian food, even though cod is not native to the area. Apparently they used to trade rum for salt cod from New Englanders. It all comes back to the rum.

Veendam’s version of salt cod fish cakes

The rundown:
Swizzle Inn
3 Blue Hole Hill, Baileys Bay
87 South Road, Warwick

White Horse Pub and Restaurant
8 Kings Square, St. George

CSA Week 2

Before I get to week 2, let’s see how I did with week 1!

Strawberries: 100% (as in 100% gone)
Salad greens: 100%
Lettuce: about 67%
Spinach: 100% (used some in scrambled eggs, some mixed with salad greens, and some sautéed with garlic as a side)
Kale: 100% (used in kale salad)

Cilantro: 0% (but it’s washed and ready for some corn and black bean salad action, which I think is more than half the battle with cilantro)
Kohlrabi: 10% (it’s shredded and ready)
Turnip: 0%

And here’s what I’ll be eating this week…more greens!

Week 2

I’m also looking forward to trying (again) to make beet chips. I tried this last year and they were definitely a fail. Does anyone have any secret ninja tips for beet chips?

My half

Kale salad

My CSA partner was kind enough to give me all of the kale this week so I decided to make this kale salad. I found this recipe in Runner’s World magazine circa 2009, courtesy of Chef Dan Barber. And yes, I’ve been to Dan Barber’s restaurant in NYC (Blue Hill), and yes, it is amazing.

The original recipe calls for raw Tuscan kale, but since I usually get “regular” kale, I use that instead and saute it a bit. It also calls for dried currants, but I usually substitute dried cranberries (this week I used dried blueberries). I also often use pecans instead of pine nuts.

I discovered kale chips last year, so that has probably become my favorite thing to do with kale. That makes this recipe my second favorite kale recipe…so I hope you enjoy it!

Kale salad
Source: adapted from Runner’s World, December 2009
Serves: 2-4

Ingredients
2 Tablespoons dried cranberries (or currants)
6 Tablespoons white balsamic vinegar, divided
1/2 Tablespoon rice vinegar
1/2 Tablespoon honey
2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 bunch kale, center ribs and stems removed, leaves chopped
2 Tablespoons pine nuts, lightly toasted (or other nut)
Parmesan cheese shavings

Directions
1. Place the cranberries (or currants) in a small bowl; add five Tablespoons of the balsamic vinegar. Let them soak for at least one hour or up to overnight. Drain the cranberries (or currants). (I don’t usually do this if I’m using cranberries).
2. Heat 1 teaspoon olive oil in pan and lightly saute kale until wilted. (This step not needed if using raw Tuscan kale).
3. Whisk the remaining 1 Tablespoon of balsamic vinegar and 1 teaspoon of olive oil, and rice vinegar, honey, and salt in a large bowl.
4. Add the kale, cranberries, and pine nuts; toss to coat. Let marinate for 20 minutes at room temperature, tossing occasionally. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese shavings over salad.
5. Enjoy!

Sauteed kale

The finished salad

CSA Week 1

I’ve been doing a CSA (community-supported agriculture) share for several years now. This summer I plan to chronicle my CSA with you.

The goods come from Red Fire Farm, located in Granby, MA. I am doing a 20-week vegetable share and a fruit share, and splitting it with a friend.

June 6, 2012

It looks like there will be a lot of salads in my future this week…let the veggie maintenance begin!

My half

Tzatziki

I had some extra dill from last week’s dilly cucumber salad, so this week I decided to make tzatziki. This is a great basic recipe that can be modified to suit your tastes. I prefer it more dill-y and less mint-y, so I only used about a 1/2 tablespoon of mint.

If you use Greek yogurt, you probably don’t need to bother with the cheesecloth. I did strain it, and there wasn’t much liquid that drained off. However comma, it is important to squeeze as much liquid as possible from the shredded cucumber (which I did not bother to peel).

I like it as a dip with pita chips, or instead of mayonnaise on sandwiches or wraps.

Tzatziki
Source: adapted from The Food Network (courtesy of Molyvos Restaurant)

Ingredients
2 cups plain Greek yogurt
1 large English cucumber, peeled, shredded and drained
1 clove garlic, chopped fine
1 Tbsp mint, chopped
1 Tbsp dill, chopped
1 Tbsp lemon juice
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions
1. Prepare the yogurt: Line strainer with cheesecloth and set over a bowl. Bowl should support strainer so it does not touch the bottom of the bowl. Put the yogurt in the strainer loosely covered, and let it drain overnight in the refrigerator. Discard the liquid and use the strained yogurt as directed.
2. Combine all ingredients and refrigerate overnight before serving. Enjoy!

May RC – Local 149

This month we traveled all the way to Southie for RC, to Local 149. There also happened to be a Best Buddies silent auction and raffle going on the night we were there. One of the silent auction items was a year’s supply of Kashi cereal…and I immediately knew who was going to “win” that.

We ordered several starters to share, including fried brussel sprouts, tater tots poutine (with a fried quail egg and bacon), fried mac and cheese fritters, fried pickles, and chicken and waffles. I think there was a “fried” theme to this meal! Of all the fried goodies we tried, the mac and cheese fritters were my favorite.

I was excited to try the chicken and waffles since it has become quite popular and is even on the Food List Challenge (100 foods to eat before you die). I wouldn’t have wanted to eat a whole plate of it (it was on the menu as an entree), but I’m so glad I got to try it. And now I only have 32 foods left on the list to try.

Chicken and waffles

For dinner, I had the chicken statler with preserved lemon BBQ, Boston lettuce, apple, blue cheese, and walnut. I liked this chicken better than the chicken and waffles chicken.

Statler chicken

For dessert we tried the Dark and Stormy ice cream sammie (ginger ice cream, lime sugar, cookies and rum), S’mores pie, and Fried fluffer nutter. The ice cream sammie was my favorite.

Fluffer nutter dessert

If I lived in Southie, I’d probably be a regular at this spot. Great pick Kendrin, and congrats on winning all the Kashi cereal!

Winner winner chicken dinner

The rundown:
Local 149
149 P Street, South Boston

Chickpea-sweet potato burgers

This recipe took a little bit of advance planning since it required soaking the chickpeas. It allowed me to do a lot of the prep work the night before, including grating the sweet potato and making the cucumber salad. Though I must admit that I definitely dug into the cucumber salad that night…it’s easy to forget how delicious something so simple can be. I will definitely be making the cucumber salad again. The original recipe for the cucumbers included 1/4 tsp of salt, but I left it out since I used seasoned rice vinegar.

The next day all I had to do was blend and bake. Canned chickpeas would also probably work in this recipe (1 1/4 cups dried = 3 cups after soaking). They got a bit overcooked, and I adjusted the times below to try to account for that. They tasted ok, a little bland, a little dry…I probably won’t make them again.

The final product

Chickpea-sweet potato burgers
Source: adapted from Self magazine, April 2012
Serves: 4 (per recipe), 6 (per me)

Ingredients
1 1/4 cups dried chickpeas
Olive oil cooking spray
3 Tbsp tahini
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/4 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp kosher salt
1 small sweet potato, grated

Directions
1. In a bowl, soak chickpeas in 4 cups water for at 12-24 hours; drain well.
2. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray.
3. In a food processor, process chickpeas, tahini, black pepper, baking powder, and salt, scraping down sides as necessary, until mixture holds together when pinched, 2 minutes; transfer to a bowl and stir in sweet potato.
4. For chickpea-sweet potato mixture into burgers and place on baking sheet. Cover tightly with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Remove foil, coat burgers with spray and bake until crisp and golden underneath, 10-15 minutes. Flip burgers, coat with cooking spray and bake until crisp on other side, 10-15 minutes.

Dilly cucumbers
Source: adapted from Self magazine, April 2012
Serves: 4

Ingredients
1 medium cucumber, thinly sliced
1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced
1/4 cup chopped fresh dill
2 Tbsp rice vinegar

Directions
1. In a bowl, combine cucumber, onion, dill, and vinegar.
2. Enjoy!

Out and about – Portland

Portland, Oregon that is…here’s a fun food snapshot from my good friend (and my first guest blogger!) Vanessa Cavallaro:

Portland is one of the hippest cities I’ve ever visited—it is creative, artsy and laid-back. About 2 hours south from our cozy beach-town of Steilacoom WA (45 minutes south of Seattle), it was a quick drive…a straight shot down I-5, similar to driving from Boston to CT on the Pike…just with much greener, lush views and happy cows grazing on grass.

This was our third attempt at a weekend in Portland. And as they say, third time’s a charm—on Friday morning we spontaneously booked a hotel and hopped in the car.

Beast

As we rode over the bridge into Portland, I was giddy….on the car ride we booked a reservation at Beast—Top Chef Master Naomi Pomeroy’s restaurant. We checked into the hotel, changed and flew out the door. Right away, we realized that this was a town that likes to eat—and they prefer their food local and sustainable. There are food trucks everywhere…. there are parking lots filled with food trucks. You can get all of your usual favorites and more! The most unique were a pie truck selling colorful mini, in-season fruit pies, one with southern biscuits just about any which way you like them, a gourmet Italian truck open only 4 hours daily and finally a beer bus—the taps were on the side of the bus. While we were sure all of our food cravings could be satisfied…we were concerned there wouldn’t be enough stomach space to fit it all.

Finally after gallivanting around town, we arrived promptly at Beast for our 8:45 reservation. Beast is quite unassuming, nestled on a cozy neighborhood street that kind of reminded me of Brookline—just way funkier. It is a pretty small restaurant seating 24 at two long rectangular tables. Luckily our tablemates were as fun as we are. I was completely star struck watching Naomi plate each course. She appeared to be genuinely enjoying herself.

Charcuterie plate

Each course was deliciously balanced. And while I wanted to eat everything all over again, I felt totally satisfied. We started with a delicate turnip & spring onion velouté which had subtle undertones of celery. We moved on to a charcuterie plate (pictured) of diverse textures and flavors. I was apprehensive because while I eat various types of charcuterie, it isn’t something I crave. This plate changed my mind and I am still dreaming of the quail egg toast and foie-gras bon bon.

We then moved on to an elderflower brined poussin. If anything, this was my least favorite part of our meal. I looked like a scavenger eating this 28-day chic—while the flavor was chickeny, it was messy and difficult to eat. As you can imagine, there wasn’t much meat either—after all, it was only a little chick. We moved on to Hal’s favorite dish, a new potato salad—it was a deconstructed and refined version of your mom’s potato salad—tangy, with a little crunch. The potatoes were the perfect firmness. I was stuffed when the selection of cheeses arrived…I pilfered what I couldn’t eat to our tablemates so it wouldn’t go to waste. Somehow though, when the rhubarb soufflé arrived…my appetite was back and I happily devoured the whole thing. The soufflé was light and airy that was both tart and sweet. It was a beautiful dinner and we both agreed we must go back.

We woke up Saturday and stumbled on the city’s Saturday afternoon market on the River. We browsed the wares of local vendors and listened to music. Then we made our way across town to Pok Pok…a traditional Thai spot that we saw on Guy Fieri’s Diners, Drive Ins and Dives and is apparently every Portlander’s favorite spot. We thoroughly enjoyed the Fish Sauce wings (pictured). They lived up to all of our expectations—they were crispy yet gooey, sweet with a little kick at the end.

Fish sauce wings

After Pok Pok we spent the rest of the day meeting people and bar hopping. Our last stop en route home was Old Towne Pizza, a popular spot known not only for its pizza, but the haunted hotel where it is located. The pizza was the perfect way to end the weekend—the crust was airy, light and crunchy it was topped generously with cheese and the sauce was just acidic enough.

All in all it was a great trip, with even better food. The City of Roses is a must-see little town that has a lot to offer.

The rundown:
Beast
5425 NE 30th Avenue

Food Carts Portland (a guide to food carts in Portland)

Pok Pok
3226 SE Division Street

Old Towne Pizza
226 NW Davis

Corn and black bean salad

This week’s recipe is more “mixing” than “cooking”, but it’s a staple for me because it is so versatile. It’s especially great during CSA (community-supported agriculture) season when there is major veggie maintenance to do because you can add any extra vegetables you have on hand. Speaking of CSAs, I’m looking forward to another delicious season from Red Fire Farm.

Besides eating it on its own, I like it on top of greens for a salad, or in a whole-wheat tortilla as a quesadilla or burrito.

Corn and black bean salad
Source: adapted from allrecipes.com
Serves: 4+

Ingredients
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 Tbsp canola oil
1/4 tsp salt (or can omit alltogether)
1/2 tsp white sugar
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp chili powder
3 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
1 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup sweet corn (I usually use frozen, but fresh or canned works too)

Directions
1. In a small bowl, mix together balsamic vinegar, oil, salt, sugar, black pepper, cumin, and chili powder.
2. In a medium bowl, stir together black beans and corn (and anything else you want to throw in, this week I added tomatoes). Toss with vinegar and oil dressing and garnish with cilantro. Cover, and refrigerate overnight.
3. Enjoy!