Tomatoes on Toothpicks

We have a couple tomato plants in our backyard that we got from the Marin Master Gardener's Tomato Plant Sale. They produce these lovely and super sweet tomatoes, but they are on the small side because I am growing them in cold San Francisco. So, to do the, beloved by all, tomato and fresh mozzarella salad with vinaigrette dressing, I use toothpicks instead of arranging them flat on a plate. It works great and it's fun for Mikey to eat.

Cook Corn with the Husks On

Corn is in season and a weekly purchase at my house. I love shaving the corn off the cob with a knife and lightly sauteing it before putting it on pizza or in a salad (see my posts here and here). But when I don't want to do anything, I just put the whole thing in the oven. I don't even bother soaking the husk in water to prevent burning. I don't mind if the husk gets a little black, I take it off before eating the corn any way.

Keeping the husks on is a no-waste, natural way to avoid using tinfoil. I also cook my corn like this on the grill. I am starting to wonder why I ever used tinfoil with corn on the cob in the first place.

I am saving my money and the environment and just popping the whole thing in the oven. I turn it a couple times while it is in there. I know it's done when the husk is browned and shriveled up from drying out in the oven, about 15-20 minutes on 350 or 375 degrees. They turn out delicious!

Picture shows a whole Mary's chicken roasting along side cubed rosemary potatoes (see my post here).

Chicken Salad with No Mayonnaise

Most weeks I cook a whole chicken. It's an affordable way to eat chicken and it's great to have the leftover meat for things like this chicken salad. And yes, chicken salad can still be nice and moist without mayonnaise!

4-6 cups shredded chicken
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 tablespoon salt
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/2 head of lettuce
1 onion or two shallot cloves
1 tablespoon butter
1 tomato

Salad Dressing
1 tablespoon pesto (optional)
1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

I strip all the leftover meat off the bones and put it into a bowl. I put the bones into a pot and set aside to make chicken broth. Mix the canola oil, salt, and lemon juice in with chicken. I want to taste the lemon juice when I eat a sample of the chicken.

Then I chop the onion or shallot and cook it on medium heat for about 10 minutes. I want the onion soft and brown but not burnt.

While the onion is cooking, I clean a head of lettuce and put about half of it in with the chicken. I save the rest for a quick salad later in the week like this one here. I chop the tomato and add it to the chicken. And finally, I make the salad dressing. I could really do any type of salad dressing but I like to use my homemade pesto if there is some already made in the fridge. The salad dressing should be more on the olive oil side of taste rather than the vinegar side because of the chicken. Sometimes I need to drizzle more olive oil over the top of the salad. I also mix in extra salt at the end if it isn't salty enough. This salad needs more of a salty taste than a typical salad without chicken.

And then I stir in my caramelized onions and the salad is done.

How to cook Swiss Chard?

I think that it's a good idea to branch out from broccoli and spinach and reach for a leafy green that just looks delicious and in season. I use to be afraid of how these greens would taste or how I would cook them. Childhood memories plague me. Now, I have my full trust in garlic, shallots, olive oil, and salt to make anything taste delicious. Whenever I pick a green leafy vegetable that I have no idea how to cook, I always know that I can sautée it for a few minutes in those ingredients and Zack's dad might even take a bite!

1 bunch chard
1 shallot clove
2 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons olive oil
salt

Heat the olive oil and add the finely chopped shallot. Put heat on medium low to allow the shallot to caramelize but not burn. Finely chop the garlic and have it ready and waiting. While the shallot is cooking cut the green part of the chard away from the white stem. Rinse and dry. Brake apart leaves into smaller pieces. When the shallots are a golden brown in about eight minutes add the garlic, do a quick stir and then add the chard. I dislike the taste of burnt garlic so I make sure to add the chard right after giving the garlic one stir. Mix, mix, mix on low heat and add salt to taste. I don't cook these leaves to death but pull them out with a little spring still left in them. I taste while cooking and pull out when they're cooked to my liking.

We ate these with mild Italian pork sausages cooked on the grill and a cup of potato kale soup that I made earlier in the week. Fast, simple, and healthy!

Coconut Rice: One Yummy Way to Use Leftover Rice

Often times I end up tossing leftover rice after a week of it sitting in the fridge. Since I haven't gone to the store since before the holiday weekend, I had no choice but to use my leftover rice. I decided to attempt coconut fried rice. I must say that the rice turned out so good that I would have served it to dinner guests (not that I have dinner guests much anymore). Read my post on coconut oil here. I turned my boring old, dry, leftover rice into coconut fried rice, a dish that I love to order at Burmese restaurants.

4 cups leftover rice
1 tablespoon coconut oil
1/4 cup milk

I heated the coconut oil in my cast iron skillet, then added the rice. I mixed it around so the rice was evenly coated with the oil, and then added milk. I mixed some more and simmered on low until the rest of the meal was ready. We had lamb cooked on the grill with our leftover rice. I think that Mikey liked the coconut twist because he ate more rice than usual.

Here's another leftover rice recipe here.

Carrot Soup

Soups are the best way for me to feed Mikey vegetables. I like to try and make soup once a week. It normally takes us just about a week to eat one batch of soup. Mikey loves soup and he likes it cold with a straw. That makes it a super fast snack. I just pull it out of the fridge and pour it into his glass. He devours a whole glass if I give it to him when he wakes up from his nap. Or, whenever he is most hungry. I love to have soup in the refrigerator. It's a great lunch if a friend stops by or an appetizer if dinner is a little light. Soups are a great way to use up all those leafy greens I get from my Community Supported Agriculture box (CSA). Best of all soups are really easy to make. There's a basic way to make soup that lends itself to whatever kind of soup that I want to make. The picture shows my carrot soup. Here's how I made it.

Based on The Art of Simple Food, by Alice Waters:
1/2 stick butter (use olive oil for the green leafy soups)
1 onion
1 thyme sprig or any fresh herb that you have on the counter (optional)
6 cups carrots or whatever you have on hand
salt
6 cups broth
Creme fraiche

In the largest pot that you own, melt the butter. Coarsely chop the onion. Let cook for about seven minutes or until transparent. Add the thyme sprig or some dry thyme from the pantry. Peel and chop the carrots. Make them the same thickness so that they cook at the same rate. Add them to the pot. Salt. Add enough broth to just cover all the ingredients. Cook until carrots are soft (about a half an hour). I like to use a hand blender to puree my soups but I could also use a blender. I add the creme fraiche to the soup that I plan to serve immediately. I don't like to put the creme fraiche in and then store it. I add it right before I serve the soup about a tablespoon per serving. Milk is also good if you don't have creme fraiche. Soups are very forgiving and an excellent snack.

Strawberries and Artichokes are Locally Fresh in May

Local strawberries and artichokes are in season now. I buy a basket of strawberries every time that I am in a store and see them organic and local. I clean them and put them in a bowl. They're gone in a couple hours. Strawberries are a gorgeous snack food.

The artichokes in the picture are very small and can be eaten whole. They're so beautiful that I use them as a center piece before cooking them. Cut the stem and the top of the artichoke 1/3 of the way down. The idea is to only cook the tender parts so I can pop the whole thing in my mouth. Tear off the top two layers of hard pedals. Cut into quarters and cook in 2 tablespoons of olive oil for 15 minutes. Salt and pepper and serve as a side or in a salad.

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Forget the salad, just eat lettuce!

Eating a salad sounds like something easy to make, but sometimes it's not. When I catch myself saying, "Oh my God, that's way too much work," I just make a bowl of lettuce instead. Ok, I admit, I actually make a bowl of lettuce a lot. The truth is that ever since I went to New Zealand and they served butter lettuce with a little vinaigrette at every restaurant. I fell in love. Lettuce is very nutritious all by itself. We aren't doing ourselves any injustice by just eating it plain. It's green, right. Green food is good for me and my little pumpkin.

I use to think that the lettuce part of a salad was just water and that the rest of what I put into the salad was the nutritious part. It sounds like I am not that smart and maybe I am not but that's the truth. Now I know at the solid age of 33 that eating green leafy leaves is really important whether or not there is other yummy stuff on top. And that suits my lazy self just fine!

I buy different varieties because it's good to be different and because no leafy green is the same as its cousin (or are heads of lettuce brothers?). They all have different nutrients. I just finished reading "In the Defense of Food," so I am not going to list all the nutrients packed into lettuce because really, who cares. What do I ever do with that information anyway?

When I get home from the store with all my greens, I leave them out until nap time. Then I get to work after the kid goes down or rather my sweet little angel rests his head down for nappy time. Oh and also after I have a cup of tea and a square of dark chocolate (or a row). So an hour into Mikey's nap, I finally wash my lettuce and put it into a bag and stick it in the fridge. Now, whenever I want a salad, I just grab a fist full of lettuce, drizzle a little homemade vinaigrette on top and my salad is finito!

Cooking Turnips

The actual word turnip is not unfamiliar to me but knowing how to cook it, I wasn't sure. Alice Waters' book The Art of Simple Food is great for looking up how to cook a specific vegetable. I've noticed that I can cook any vegetable with tasty results in butter and olive oil. Here's how I cook turnips all by themselves.

5 turnips

1 tablespoon butter

2 tablespoons olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

Cut the ends off the turnips and peel the skin off with a carrot peeler. Slice them thinly. Heat a large fry pan with olive oil and butter. Add a single layer of turnips and cook both sides until crisp. If the turnip slices are stacked too high, some of them will not cook through completely which tastes chewy and that's less desirable. I love all the different colors of turnips available. Our family of three ate that whole picture in one sitting. Turnips taste like spicy potatoes when cooked this way.

How to Prepare Beets?

I never liked beets until now. The kinds that I find at salad bars are boiled or from a can. One time I slaved over a cold beet soup only to throw it down the sink.

Here's how to really enjoy beets:

The first rule to good beets is the beets themselves. These beets in the picture came from Mariquita Farm's mystery box.

The second rule to tasty beets is to bake them, not boil them. Leave the skin on and trim the greens to an inch from the beet. Wash the beets thoroughly. Place in a baking dish with enough water to cover the bottom. Sprinkle with salt. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes to an hour or until a fork can pierce them. Don't forget to cover them or they'll take forever to bake.

When they're done, cut the top and bottom off and peel the skin off. Cut into cubes.

The third rule is to marinate beets in vinegar. I used raw apple cider vinegar but use what is in the pantry like red or white wine vinegar. I use about a tablespoon for three small beets. The idea is to use enough to coat the beets. Add a little salt. Marinate for about five minutes and taste again. Add more vinegar or salt. Then toss with a tablespoon of olive oil.

When I tasted for seasoning, I had to hold myself back from eating the whole bowl. I can't wait to prepare beets again!

Spelt for Lunch

I cook the spelt in the morning along side breakfast and then let it sit on the counter until lunch time. Then it's ready to go when I need it. We ate it cold but it's good hot as well. This is one inexpensive lunch. It's like eating a bowl of rice, but it tastes like I ordered it at a restaurant.

Spelt has twice as much protein and fiber as whole wheat and is the only grain that contains an immune system stimulate called mucopolysaccharides. Read more about why I am trying to balance out my family's wheat consumption here and here.

1 cup spelt
2 cups water
2 tablespoons lemon (1/2 lemon)
2 tablespoon olive oil
1 quart broth
1 cup raisins
graded parmesan cheese to taste

Soak 1 cup of spelt in water and lemon juice for 24 hours. Cover the spelt with water until the water comes 1/4 inch above the spelt (about 2 cups). The lemon juice helps sprout the spelt as it soaks. Drain and rinse. Heat two tablespoon of olive oil in a sauce pan and cook the spelt for five minutes. The spelt turns slightly translucent as the grains absorb the olive oil. Add little by little about 1 quart (a little less) of chicken or vegetable broth. Add enough to just cover the grains, and then wait for the liquid to absorb into the spelt before adding more. Continue about three or four times until spelt is tender. Spelt has a bit of a crunch to it so I expect that when I taste for readiness.

Add a handful of raisins (about 1 cup) to the spelt. Grade a little bit of parmesan cheese over the top and lunch is served. The oil and raisins compliment the spelt very well. Mikey's favorite part is the raisins!

Mini Corn Bread Muffins

Mini anything is perfect for Mikey's little hands and mouth. I love to make these for snacks or as a side to pasta to fill up the adults at the table. My husband, Zack, was brought up eating corn bread. I think that's why Mikey loves it so much. Corn is gluten free so it's good to mix it into the family bread diet. Eating corn gives our stomaches a little rest from the hard work of digesting gluten even if we aren't allergic to it. I made these muffins in about a half an hour during Mikey's nap time.

Thank you to the Bay Areas very own Alice Waters for this delicious recipe. She is doing great things with her foundation to help public schools incorporate healthy food into the curriculum.

From The Art of Simple Food, by Alice Waters. A lovely Christmas gift from my mother-in-law.

Makes one mini muffin tin, but I recommend doubling the recipe; these go fast!

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Mix together:
1 cup cornmeal
3/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon refined white sugar (optional)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt

Pour into a 2-cup measuring cup:
1 1/4 buttermilk

Whisk in:
1 egg

Mix the wet ingredients with the dry ingredients and add:
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter, melted (optional)

I start by preheating the oven then I get my dry and wet ingredients poured. I put a small knob of butter at the bottom of each muffin hole in the tin and stick the muffin tin in the oven until the butter melts. I don't want the butter to burn. Mix the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients and then add the 1/2 stick of optional butter. I forgot the butter one time and didn't even notice. So, I mark it as optional. Take the muffin tin out of the oven and pour the batter into each muffin hole.

If you don't have buttermilk on hand use any milk that you have but use 1 cup instead 1 1/4 cups. And, instead of 2 teaspoons baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, use only 1 tablespoon baking powder.

I have also made these with polenta. Polenta is corn that isn't ground as fine as cornmeal. So, the corn bread was more grainy but still good. In fact, Zack prefers them made with polenta over cornmeal. I like the cornmeal ones better. I think Mikey likes the cornmeal ones better too. Waters uses white flour which I try to avoid and also refined white sugar. I am going to start experimenting with a more healthy version, but until then, enjoy this recipe!

Soaked Brown Rice

About a month ago, I placed my rice cooker too close to the stove top flame. I burnt a hole right through it. Now I am back to cooking rice on the stove and I like it! The texture is surprising different. It's more moist and sticky. The chicken stock makes it taste like a rich stew. It's no longer just something easy to throw in the rice cooker, it's a delicious accompaniment.

2 cups brown rice
2 cups water
3-4 tablespoons lemon juice (1 lemon)
2 cups broth
Salt to taste

Wash rice in colander. Dump it in the saucepan. Cover and soak the brown rice in 2 cups water or with the lemon juice overnight on the counter top. Read more about soaking grains here. Anytime the next day, strain and rinse the rice using a mesh strainer and put it back into the same saucepan. Add 2 cups of chicken or vegetable broth. Bring to a boil. Skim the white bubbles that form on the top because that's the dirty gunk coming off the rice. Reduce the heat to low. Stir in the salt. Cover and cook on the lowest heat for 45 minutes.

Vegetable Melody: seasonal roasted root vegetables

I had never cooked a parsnip or a turnip before last week. Luckily, my mother-in-law gave me a couple and I researched how to prepare them. I came up with this vegetable melody. It's sweet, filling and goes great with a meat dish. And yes, Mikey ate it.

I found if I chop up and toss parsnips, turnips, sweet potatoes, golden potatoes or any potato, carrots, onions, and garlic with olive oil, salt and pepper, I get a beautiful side dish with a rainbow of flavor.

Here's how I made it:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

1. Chop into bite size squares small enough for a baby to eat and put in a large bowl: 2 parsnips, 1 turnip, 1 sweet potato, 2 golden potatoes, 2 carrots, 1 onion, 2 cloves of garlic.
2. Coat with olive oil, sprinkle with salt, pepper and herbs (thyme, oregano, tarragon). Toss vegetables.
3. Put a little water, olive oil, and herbs onto the bottom of the oven-proof casserole dish.
4. Pour vegetables into the dish, cover and cook for 20 to 30 minutes.
5. Cook another 10 minutes uncovered so the tops get a little crispy.
6. (Optional) Mix in a little (raw) butter for creamier melody.

This recipe is so easy. I love finding ways to eat seasonally.