New Year's Resolutions

I'm trying to find a way to manage my household menus, recipes and ideas.  Since I really do seem to cook seasonally, I'm hoping to use this blog to keep track of what works for my family. I'm going to work to record the weeks meals as best I can, at least for a while.  Last night we had Burgundy Beef Sandwiches (a fantastic and simple recipe from Millgate Farms) with sauteed shallots and peppers, left over scalloped potatoes and Maew's veggies with oyster sauce.  The night before it was steak sandwiches, the same veggies and a fantastic Asian shrimp noodle soup.  

The scalloped potatoes came from Christmas dinner and worked out perfectly.  I layered sliced Yukon Gold potatoes with sauteed onions and garlic then dotted with butter, cream and salt & pepper.  A sprinkling of Parmesan cheese and baked them about an hour at 350 covered in foil.  I added some more cheese at the end.

The Milgate farms beef is easy and delicious.  Cook a rump roast in a slow cooker for 8 to 10 hours with 2 cups of onions, garlic, balsamic vinegar, thyme, wine, Worcestershire sauce, salt & pepper.  Then serve it on little rolls.  Great stuff!

I'm on quite an Asian noodle soup kick.  I made a great duck soup for dinner with the relatives the other night.  The recipe goes like this - make a great stock, add some onions or leeks, garlic, some kind of greens - bok choy, kale, cabbage, Asian greens - anything leafy, protein - duck or shrimp or Trader Joe's pork & cilantro mini dumplings, Asian noodles if you don't use the dumplings.  Season the soup with lime, fish sauce and some soy sauce.  Add chilies if you like it hot.  Mushrooms and seaweed are great as well. 

Ramen

So the sweet husband made the complicated Ramen broth from the Momofuku cookbook & then it was up to me to make the soup.  Luckily he had followed Momofuku's instructions and made the pulled pork already.  I took his fancy broth, added the bok choy from the bag, scallions, the pork, a touch of lime juice and fresh cilantro and made the family some soup.   We still had two gallon bags of ramen broth and a vat of soup after dinner was over (and no uncooked bok choy!)  Everyone over eight liked it, no one under eight tried it. 

Woon Sen

My 9 year old is a huge fan of her Thai aunt's noodle dish, Woon Sen.  For some reason, I have had a terrible time making it correctly.  The ingredients are not familiar enough to me to be able to wing it, but still after several lessons & email exchanges you would think I could figure it out.  Perhaps the language barrier was holding me back!  

Sophie spent a week with her aunt at the beach and came home determined to help me make it correctly.  We worked together & finally made it up to her discerning standards.   We boiled the ground pork in a little bit of water.  Soaked the "dried fungus" in water. Wow, does that fungus expand in water!  We mixed chopped onions, chopped (now undried) fungus, chopped cilantro, sugar and "vegetable seasoning" (MSG, i think), lime juice and fish sauce in a bowl, added the pork and then had to figure out if the noodles were to be boiled in the pork water or new water, we went with a combination of both & boiled the glass noodles.  Then we added them to the mixture in the bowl, adjusted the lime & fish sauce and Sophie declared it perfect.  The mixture, however, was not authentic because Sophie prefers it without thai chilies.  I added some to mine. 

Thai Red Curry

I was planning to make a Thai Green Curry, but I didn't have any green curry paste, so a red curry would have to do.  I cubed and salted the eggplant and simmered it in the red curry, coconut milk, lime and fish sauce.   The addition of the lime and fish sauce really cut the harsh taste that comes with the commercial curry paste.   I added green beans and shrimp after the eggplant was soft and served it over basmanti rice.  I didn't miss the green curry after all.

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Asian week

I found some beautiful eggplant at the market today.  We have Ramen on the menu, which has noodles and pork shoulder and we will serve that with last weeks bok choy which is still in the fridge.  The same 9 year old has requested her Thai aunt's noodle dish which has cilantro, ground pork, pickled garlic, lime juice and fish sauce.  Neither of these are going to put a dent in these veggies.  Her friend requested bi bim bop, which was a favorite in early spring.  For the fourth dish, I think we will use the eggplant to make a thai green curry noodle dish with green beans and summer squash.   Steak salad for lunch and maybe some chicken salad as well.  That will put a dent in that bag.

Ramen

Our 9 year old requested Ramen this week.   She says her mom makes great food but her dad makes really complicated stuff.  Ramen certainly falls into that category!  He makes the stock in a long process which involves simmering konbu (kelp) in water, removing the konbu adding mushrooms, removing the mushrooms, adding a chicken, removing the chicken, adding roasted pork bones, removing the bones and adding a pound of bacon, removing the bacon and simmering some veggies in there.   Crazy stuff, you would never find me making something that complicated.  But wow is it wonderful when he is done.

Blueberry pancakes

This week we had (among other things) blueberries and whole wheat flour in the bag.  The New Basics cookbook had a great blueberry pancake recipe with cinnamon,nutmeg, vanilla, lemon zest and brown sugar.   The pancakes were amazing with real maple syrup.  The 3 year old loved them.

Hey Mikey, he likes it.

Last nights dinner was a hit all around.  We roasted the New Creation Farms babyback ribs for 2 1/2 hours in the oven at 225 degrees, then sauced them with 1/2 bbq sauce, 1/2 teriyaki and finished them on the grill.   Yum, the kids loved them & it was much easier than my former boiling method. 

Sides were green beans and pasta.  I frenched (sliced lengthwise) the beans like my mom does.  It takes some time, but seems to be worth it.  I boil them, then do a quick saute with some kosher salt & butter.   My 6 year old eats platefuls with her fingers.

The best part was the pasta.  My friends picky 7 year old asked for 3rds.  A tomato, garlic & fresh parsley sauteed in some olive oil and tossed with fresh Ohio City Pasta and some asiago cheese.  Too bad there wasn't more.

peas, peas, peas

There were three kinds of peas in this weeks bag.  Shelling peas, snap peas and snow peas.  I had time to prep all of them on Saturday, so they are going quickly.  The shelling peas went into a paella and into chicken salad, the snap peas we grilled with a bit of olive oil & kosher salt & served with roasted potatoes (from the bag!) and yogurt marinated lamb.  The snap peas hopefully will go into Michael Ruhlman's braised peas and radish dish that he had on his blog last week.  It looked amazing.

Kohlrabi

This week in the bag there were two kohlrabi.  I've never eaten kohlrabi, to my knowledge and I don't really know what to do with it.  Last years kohlrabi made excellent compost material after it spent many days in our fridge. This time I was determined to discover just what kohlrabi actually is.  Some Internet research later, I learned that kohlrabi is a member of the same family as cabbage and broccoli.  Wikipedia describes it as follows: "The name comes from the German Kohl ("cabbage") plus Rübe ~ Rabi (Swiss German variant) ("turnip"), because the swollen stem resembles the latter. The same roots are also found in the German word "Kohlrübe", which refers to the rutabaga. . . .its origin in nature is the same as that of cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, collard greens, and brussel sprouts: They are all bred from, and are the same species as, the wild cabbage plant (Brassica oleracea)."

The leaves can be cooked like any other greens, but I'm saving that for next year, and decided to tackle only the bulb.  To cook kohlrabi, the bulb is peeled and usually chopped or sliced.    I sliced it in strips and put it into a mix of summer squash, carrots and onions that I grilled in a grill basket with olive oil, salt and thyme.  They were mild and went well with the other veggies.  No one would have known it was kohlrabi if I hadn't told them.

Most of the way

We took our greens, radishes, onions and cucumbers to a friends house & made a great salad with her chicken breasts on Tuesday night.  Wednesday and Thursday lunch the rest of the greens, onions cucumber, goat cheese & steak went into an amazing lunch salad.  Last night we had fresh perogies from the market and all of the broccoli!  That leaves green beans for tonight & two weeks worth of cauliflower.  

Last summer I actually began to like roasted cauliflower - olive oil, salt & cauliflower, roast it in the oven.  I may try that tonight.

Pasta

Four tomatoes, a zucchini, yellow squash, onion, fresh garlic, fennel and Tom's Kilbuck mushroom pesto plus rotini has created a beautiful pasta for my neighbor's party and has made a dent in the veggies.  I hope they like it.

Prep, prep, prep . .

I've found that when I prep the veggies on Saturday, I'm more likely to use them during the week.  This week, since things have been so hectic, I've even prepped the green onions and radishes.  I pinched the ends off the beans and peas too.  Let's see if that helps get these salads made and eaten.

Week Two in Your Family Bag . . .

with the fridge still full from last week, we have received currents, red and green onions, garlic, yellow and green zucchini, yellow squash, cucumbers, radishes, cauliflower, beans and peas.  Any ideas for currents?

All the children are home this week and hopefully we will spend some time in our own house to eat all of this wonderful produce. I couldn't resist and also bought fennel, basil and lettuce.  I'm planning on steak salad (again), chicken salad, salad salad and lots of fresh peas!  Can't wait. 

We have an out of town relative visiting, so it looks like dinner out on East 4th after the Bodies Exhibit, so tonight will not be the night for cooking. 

Couscous

On Monday we grilled a huge Milgate farms london broil and served it with snow peas and couscous.   I sauteed the couscous in olive oil, onions, fresh garlic and zucchini and then added a tomato at the end.  It was a little boring at first, but some fresh oregano from the garden added just what it needed.    A great quick meal after the pool on a busy weekday.  The leftover steak can go right into the salad for the teenager!

Week One, In your family bag

Oh, the busy start of summer.   We have been deeply engrossed in helping a friend ready her house for her parents to move in, and cooking has become a lost art, with pizza boxes littering the floor where we are working.  A neighbor dubbed it "Extreme Home Makeover- DIY edition".  Hopefully, the end is in sight and the lure of our first week of the Covered Bridge CSA will lure us  back to the kitchen. 

This week, in our family bag:  snow peas, sugar snap peas, lettuce, zucchini, broccoli, cauliflower, summer squash, whole wheat flour, pecans, onions plus of course the beets and tomatoes I couldn't resist from other vendors.  I did manage to take the ends off all the peas before I put them away to make dinner prep easier during the week.  I got chicken from Plum Creek, lamb from Great American Lamb and london broil from Milgate Farms for the week.  I also bought Milgate's great sloppy joes and fed them to the little two on Lucy's whole wheat bread as they tended a lemonade stand outside yesterday.  

I'm trying to make some great salads for lunch at work this week.  My teenager loves Steak Salad, with lettuce, onions, McKinnsie Creamerie goat cheese, sliced sirloin and balsamic vinagrette.  That is certainly on the menu for this week, and perhaps a chicken salad as well.  

I'm off to paint! 

Steak & Shrimp Minos

An old favorite of ours was Steak & Shrimp Minos from the Mad Greek Restaurant.  I found some wonderful feta cheese at the market and set out to duplicate it.  I sauteed zucchini and yellow squash in olive oil, and added sauteed red peppers, onions and garlic.  Each batch of veggies went out of the pan to wait, and then I sauteed steak and shrimp with garlic.  I added fresh oregano from the garden to each batch of veggies and meat.  I added the feta from the market and served it over basmati rice which I quickly sauteed with garlic and oregano.  It was remarkably similar to the original, which I haven't had in a while.

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Seafood pasta

Copying a bit from a favorite dish at Grotto, I made seafood pasta last night.  It was a hot night on the patio & I didn't want to have a heavy red sauce.  I sauteed some fennel, shallots & garlic in olive oil & added white wine and some of that nice veal stock my sweet husband makes & freezes.  We had some tomato-basil sauce still in the freezer from last summer and that filled the tomato role.  I added saffron and frozen shrimp & scallops.  I mixed it in the pot with angel hair pasta and took the whole bowl over to the neighbors patio.  It was a hit.

Carnitas Casserole

Carnitas - I used cubed New Creation pork, salted it and cooked it slowly for several hours in orange juice, cumin and some Goya creole marinade until it fell apart.   The casserole is easy to assemble.  I put in a layer of prepared fresh salsa, because I didn't have time to make my own.  I used our local Heinen's supermarkets fresh salsa.  Then a layer of flour tortillas, then a layer of carnitas, then more tortillas, then a layer of Heinen's canned organic refried beans and white rice with cilantro and more carnitas.  I topped it off with a layer of shredded mexican cheese and baked it in a 350 degree oven.   Before serving, a corn and cilantro salsa, more of the prepared salsa and some sour cream top it all off.  Church function here we come!

Beef with Snow Peas

I took my standard beef with broccoli recipe and turned it into beef with snow peas.   I've stopped using a recipe and now just quickly marinate the sliced sirloin in mirin, soy, garlic, ginger (or ginger powder in a pinch) and some corn starch.  I took the time to take the ends off each pea pod and de-string it.  Then I steamed the pea pods, browned the sirloin in batches, and then at the end poured the marinade into the browning pan, added some extra soy sauce, mirin & water from the peas, cooked it a bit and then added the meat &  peapods.  I served it over white rice.   Most of the kids seemed to like it more than the beef with broccoli & the teenager was fighting over the peapods.  The teenager's boyfried had two helpings.

Local Bi Bim Bop

If you follow this blog you know that I get on a run and make things more than once. My second bibimbap I used fresh ingredients from the farmer's market.   I used baby Shitakes and Oyster mushrooms from Kilbuck Farms and ramps.  Tom at Kilbuck farms also sells a wild Japanese asparagus which I put in also.  Plus the farm fresh eggs.  I think I liked it better than the traditional version.

Bi Bim Bop

Tonight we are having bi bim bop.  It's Korean dish that I remember fondly from my days in Ann Arbor & I was inspired by a recipe in Bon Appetit but ended up using one I found on the Food Network.  The Millgate Farms london broil was marinated in 7 up! for a few hours then drained & marinated in soy sauce, grated Korean pear, sesame seeds & oil, honey, brown sugar, garlic, ginger and green onions.   I'm about to saute some carrots, spinach, Kilbuck Farms mushrooms and asparagus in sesame oil & "lay them beautifully" on the rice as the recipe suggests.  Can't wait.

Its been a long cold winter

but I'm back.  Last night I used the second last gallon bag of frozen tomato sauce.  I have no idea what was in there but boy was it good!  I used it for chicken and eggplant parmesean.  I salted the eggplant slices, and dipped both the eggplant and the chicken in fresh Amish eggs.  I don't usually use eggs, but I think that is really the secret to good chicken parm.  Then a quick dip in panko, some salt & into the olive oil & butter they went.   Then I put them all in the oven with a touch of that great sauce & a slice of fresh mozzarella.  We sprinkled fresh basil from the market on top & it almost felt like spring.