Light on the dressing

I just received my fruits and veggies from the farm share...Fridays are always great days.  What I love about summer produce is that most of it is best when raw and fresh.  

I just cut 2 cucumbers, a peach, and a tomato up.  Combined them in a bowl with a handful of micro greens, a splash of olive oil and balsamic, a smidgen of salt and pepper.  Voila - have myself a nice fresh salad for lunch. Thank you earth :) 

How's your summer eating?

pickles

I seem to always try to make fridge pickles. My problem, a) I never have "enough" cucumbers or whatever it is I am pickling, b) I don't really measure my brine ingredients c) or my spices, d) I rush it and e) I don't follow directions well.

So, these are sort of from Mark Bittman's website.  I'd say, wait until I see if winging it is sufficient enough OR if you want to jump on this train right now, follow the directions.  His directions not mine.

I wonder if this realization about how I make pickles could correlate to how I live my life...both the positive and the negatives of it all.  Hmmm. Maybe there's room for some soul searching here.

This is what they look like, at this point (the beginning):

What I did was: took 1 Persian cucumber, 2 large radishes, 2 summer squashes and probably 6-8 cloves of garlic.  Then I cut them all up and shoved them in the jar, like the other recipe says, I sprinkled spices as I went.  I used: dry dill, coriander, black peppercorn, yellow mustard seeds, fennel, bay leaves and a thing my friend got me from St. Martin's called magic spice. Oh, and salt.   I also boiled 1/4 cup kosher salt with 3 cups of water and 1 1/2 cups of white vinegar.  Once it was boiled, I poured as much as I could over the veggies, closed the top, shook it all around and added more.  I did this a few times until I lost what felt like too many of my spice balls....you know what I mean.  And now, they come to room temp and I leave them in the fridge for 2+ days.

I'll let you know how they turn out!

Ever make quick fridge pickles? Got a good recipe? What have you been cooking now that summer is here?

home-made pasta, garlic scapes and the green market

today was a good day. (i have so much to do, but first i have to blog)

woke up later than i expected - no big deal. got ready and headed to manhattan for brunch with my roommate at friend of a farmer. brunch was fabulous. i had a spanish omelet and lexi had the boomer special. this special, ya'll, (scrambled eggs, your choice of french toast, buttermilk or pumpkin pancakes & your choice of bacon, ham or sausage) we thought that this was going to include pancakes AND french toast. needless to say we were sad, i think we both really wanted french toast pretty bad. next time.....

then, we went to the green market. it was wonderful. there were so many people at the market, so many stands and so much fresh food. if i could i would show you the most beautiful peonies we got. they were $10 for a bunch, and $18 for two. the florist/farmer who helped lexi and i gave us three for the price of two because he felt bad that they weren't as nice as they should be. they're white and light pink and a deep magenta and there's a few that are speckled pink, white and darker pink. most of them are still tight and in their balls that peonies create before they fully bloom. there's a handful of mini-bulbs that will hopefully bloom over the next few days. they are so fragrant. i think peonies would be great in a brides bouquet but they have to be perfect for that and it has to be at the peak of their season. they are spring. the smell. the color. the texture even. tip for you if ever you buy peonies.....they love really cold water and a fresh cut stems. 

we bought: peonies, garlic scapes (we bought 5 pounds, so that lexi could take some to her chef at work. FIVE POUNDS of garlic scapes. CRAZY), spinach, purslane, thyme, huge radishes, beautifully orange carrots, some sheeps milk cheese, romaine, raspberries, blueberries and fresh strawberries. i LOVE the green market. i said, more than once this afternoon, i would love to work at a stand there. it was so great. we also began talking to strangers. or rather, shouting out whether we liked a dress or a shirt or a barrette in a girls hair. i dont think anyone actually paid attention to us nor did they want to. it was merely for our giggling pleasure.

lexi went to work with her four pounds of garlic scapes, half of the purslane and the thyme for chef and her restaurant. and i did laundry. and i got hungry. and i started thinking about what i could make from our freshly purchased fresh produce. i have been thinking about home-made pasta for over a week. so...i made pasta. i made pasta tonight. my other roommate, chris, was home so i embarked on a pasta making adventure. here's how it went...3 cups of flour, and a few twists of salt (approx. 1/4 of a teaspoon) put it on the counter or in a bowl. i opted in the beginning for a bowl. in another bowl i mixed 3 eggs with a tablespoon of cream and a teaspoon of olive oil. i made a hole in the middle of the flour, a well really, and dumped the egg mixture into this well. i began mixing, with my hands. (i'm starting to use my hands in my mixing A LOT these days...i like it. its a very intimate experience with my food. with the process of cooking. and i feel like it puts me into my making...) it was clumpy. i was concerned. i poured some water in, it started forming a ball. i put some flour on the counter top and began kneading. i kneaded probably less than what i should have, all the recipes called for 3-4 minutes, i probably kneaded for 2.5/3 minutes. then i put it in a bag (supposed to wrap it tight in plastic wrap) and put it in the fridge for a little under 30 minutes. someone on allrecipes.com said that the key was to making good home-made pasta was to let it rest. LET IT REST. so i let it rest. while it rested...i cut some scapes and sun-dried tomatoes and sauteed them. i also cut up a radish, 2 carrots and ripped some romaine. also, while the pasta rested, mixed 3 eggs, Parmesan cheese, pepper and red pepper flakes. i let that rest. 

this is where the fun part came in. i kneaded the pasta once or twice. i put the pasta ball on the counter. and began rolling. i rolled and rolled. i couldn't make a dent in the rolling out of the pasta. i couldnt make it get thinner. so, chris took over. he rolled. and rolled. and rolled. the pasta ball got thinner and thinner. finally, we had a big, thin, flat chunk of pasta. and i began cutting. i had no idea what i was doing. i cut this way and that way. i cut thicker pieces and thinner pieces. some pieces i cut in half and others i left long. it took ages. but it was great. then i threw all of it into a pot of salted boiling water. i let it sit. i let the pasta sit in the water for, maybe, 6/7 minutes...this may have been too long, but it was still good. 

i drained the pasta, put it back in the pot, mixed in the scapes and the sun dried tomatoes, then i poured the egg mixture over this hot, home-made pasta mix and stirred. i stirred and stirred and stirred.

it was great. salad and home-made pasta with a carbonara-type sauce with fresh garlic scapes and sun dried tomatoes. both chris and i were very pleased with dinner. i was very pleased with dinner. i'm glad i tried to make pasta. i think i will do it more and more. i think, and i could be wrong but i think, you're supposed to have 1 cup of flour to 1 egg per person when eating/making. i will knead more. i will do some research and i will figure out how to make pasta amazing. 

i will. guys. i will make awesome home-made pasta some day. and, if you come over for dinner...maybe i will have just gotten home from the green market with unbelievably fresh produce (seasonal) and make you home-made pasta. and a salad, mixed with my hands and maybe some berries for dessert. 

night. 

xo 

i couldnt resist

i know. i was just going to keep going on about california...but i made dinner tonight. i assure you, it was not fancy style. it was in fact, poached egg style. :) i went on about this yesterday so, i thought i would finally share my obsession. i am obsessed. seriously. its just a good accompaniment to any meal, and good for you! golly gee wilikers. the best part about dinner was that most of it was bought at the green market. eggs, check. beets, check. greens, check.

it was tasty and easy. made a simple vinaigrette: 1/3 C olive oil, 2+ (this depends on what you like) tablespoons balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper and a few shakes of mustard powder, and shook it all up. it was really good. threw some pine nuts onto a bed of greens addedd dressing, mixed it all together. that was the bottom layer. i steamed some beets, tossed with salt and pepper. my next layer. and, of course, poached two eggs. 

delish. xo

green market & kale

i decided after watching FOOD INC. that i was going to try to be a locavore (eat within a 100 mile radius of where you live)...its so hard to do. i imagine its also hard to start in the dead of winter. it also feels limiting and since i love food so much, i didnt want to limit what i could eat, i'm just going to know what i am eating, as much as i can. in order to do this, i have decided to control my produce, meat and dairy as much as possible. i started this week by going to the green market during lunch on monday. what did i see? kale, leeks, carrots, parsnips, and potatoes....LOTS of potatoes. an apple stand here and there and thats about it. not TERRIBLE but also, if i dont want to just consume starch, it seemed daunting. i bought some kale, some apples, onions and eggs. its a start. 

i wasnt going to eat pasta or bread this week (i'm going on vacation and want to look my best). ... well, i'm in the dumps and when you're in the dumps you want comfort food. and pasta, well, its a comfort food for me however it is served. and, with all this kale, i figured i'd put it in pasta! lets talk about this kale. it was beautiful. and i'll show it to you...

i've never had kale that was this crinkly. or schrounched. or gnarled. i'm not sure the right word to describe it. but it was that. whatever that is. and it was tough to cut and the leaves were small, but, it was so so good. now, for the pasta. talk about delish. there's something about a lemon sauce with pasta, its fresh. and it always feels right, especially on a day like today in new york. the weather was wonderful and its as if spring is upon us. i'm sure we'll be hit with something nasty between now and then, but for today, it was nice. 

so please, enjoy!

Kale w. Spaghetti, Lemon and Cheese.

adapted from poppytalk

serves ~3

Ingredients

• 250 g of spaghetti (or whatever you have)
• 1 Tblsp olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic, minced (i say use however much garlic you can handle)
• 2 shallots, minced (i had a med. yellow onion, so i used half of that)
• 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes (again, however much you want)
• 1 bunch of Kale (or swiss chard) tough stems removed and leave chopped into ribbons
• juice and zest from one lemon
• 1/4 C Parmesan cheese

Preparation

1. boil salted water and cook the pasta as per directions. (dont watch the water boil, that wont help it...) in a large skillet, heat the olive oil over med-high heat and saute garlic, onion and red pepper flakes until fragrant. add in the kale and cook until wilted, stirring a bit, not constantly. if it gets dry, add some of the pasta water to keep it a little wet...sweaty, if you will.

2. drain pasta reserving some of the cooking water. about 1/2 cup of it. this will help create the sauce. add the kale to the pasta pot, dump the pasta back in and add some of the liquid.  toss with tongs and add in the zest and lemon juice. when the pasta is well coated, sprinkle with the cheese and give it one (or 8) more tosses. i dont think i added enough cheese, so i sprinkle some onto my pasta when it was plated. 

yum! 

xo

ramble on and eat.

stuff done: read and found more food blogs! (obviously...part of the reason i started one...i was inspired.) i have so much to do! 2 weeks, a mere 15 days and our next show, julius caesar opens at the access theater in tribeca. i'm so freaking stoked! here's a confession, i love the word stoked. its totally dumb, but its one of those words thats sort of makes me giddy. my dad has a good friend who's last name is stokes. i used to (yeah right, used to) giggle every time my dad talked about him. just mentioned the fact that he was playing golf with mr. stokes...yeah, dad (smile)? you must be totally stoked! (burst of giggles) that's so embarrassing. and silly. i have some gems that i choose to share.

(come see the show!)

seriously, i have a lot to do. there's still lines not remembered, beats to nail down, scenes to activate. work to be had...but first...the food. food glorious food!

like i said before, i've found new food blogs. while i was surfing that crazy web thing right here, there, where you're looking...i found the nervous cook. and her post about polenta made me think. i love polenta. i mean, i freaking love it. everytime i go out to eat and its mentioned in the description of a dish, that dish is immediately on my short list of what i will be eating. seriously. but, i cant make restaurant polenta. ive never been able to. i've either bought the stuff already cooked and stuffed in and vacuum packed in plastic OR made it sort of runny and soft and more like goo than anything else. until...thats right, until tonight. tonight i *almost* made restaurant polenta! it was baked and browned and creamy and rich and spicy...eet was, eh, how due you saa', magnifique! and i laid it on top of a bed of greens. collard greens, ya'll.

i sort of blended the nervous cook's meal and this one.

Baked Polenta & Greens

makes about 8 good size slices

ingredients

• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/8 cup olive oil (w. the 1/8 cups - i just guessed)
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
• good pepper
• 1 1/2 cup organic chicken stock (if you have homemade - use that)
• 1 cup half-and-half (this is the key i think to restaurant style polenta!!)
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup cornmeal
• 1/8 cup grated Parmesan

preparation

1. Heat butter and olive oil in a large saucepan.  Add garlic, red pepper flakes, thyme, salt and pepper and saute for about 1 minute.

2. Add chicken stock, half-and-half, and milk and bring to a boil. 
3. Remove from heat and slowly sprinkle the cornmeal into the hot milk while stirring constantly with a whisk (this is important, otherwise your polenta get chunky and you don't want that).
4. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, for a few minutes, until thick and bubbly. It will bubble a lot, its like hot lava releasing air every two seconds, so be weary of the pops, you can get burned. Off the heat, stir in the Parmesan. Pour into a round cake pan (8 or 9 inches OR you can use a 9 by 13 pan, smooth the top, and refrigerate until firm and cold. 
5. Turn the broiler on (rack about 5" from the heat...i dont have the luxury of aduusting my rack, so i would just make do with what you have.) and place a rimmed baking sheet in the oven to heat...i forgot this part...

6. Once polenta has cooled and set, invert your dish to remove and pat the polenta dry. Cut the chilled polenta like you would a pizza or cake and brush each slice with olive oil.
7. Broil until the polenta is golden brown (6-10 minutes...mine took longer than this, so just keep your eye on it.)

greens
ingredients

• 1 small red onion, diced
• 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1 bunch of collard greens sliced and dices (or, really, whatever you want to use!)
• salt & pepper
• juice of 1 fresh lemon

preparation
1. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions and red pepper flakes and cook until soft (3-5 minutes).
2. Add the collard greens and cook until wilted. Season with salt, pepper and lemon juice; toss. 
3. Serve underneath the polenta wedges.
COOKS NOTE: again, its a lot of food. the next day i had plenty of leftovers, but not enough for 2 people, so i cut up another half of a white onion and threw in a handful of spinach, then mixed in the leftover greens...it was delightful!