Kitchen Gadget Girl

Remember on Sunday, when I told you about the big box o’organic strawberries from CostCo? Well, turns out, if you don’t eat them quickly, they kind of turn to mush. So, we are racing against time, and tonight’s recipe is just one way I am using them:

Strawberry Margarita Rocks

• 2 cups strawberries, hulled and sliced
• 1/4 cup lemon juice (fresh is best)

Using your immersion blender (see, I actually talk about gadgets!) or a regular blender, blend the strawberries and lemon juice together. Strain through a fine mesh sieve.

• 1/2 cup of the above strawberry puree
• 1/4 cup triple sec
• 1/4 cup tequila

Mix together and pour over ice. If you want to channel your inner bartender, pour the mixture over ice in a shaker, and then pour into martini-style glasses. Serve.

Makes 2 margaritas, unless you worked all day today, and then it makes one big one!

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In yesterday’s post, I suggested an orzo pasta salad with shrimp served in 1/2 an avocado. Elaine requested the recipe, so here it is. The salad can be modified many ways - use chicken instead of shrimp, add olives, green/yellow/orange bell peppers, currants, whatever you would like. The original recipe came from The Frog Commissary Cookbook. Hope you enjoy!

Orzo and Shrimp Salad

• 6 cups cooked orzo pasta (about 1lb dried pasta)
• 3/4 lb cooked peeled shrimp, cut into thirds
• 2 cups finely chopped red bell pepper
• 3/4 cup finely chopped red onion
• 1 cup chopped marinated artichoke hearts
• 1/4 cup capers, drained
• 1/3 cup minced parsley
• 1/3 cup minced dill
• 1/2 cup raisins (it is nice to mix dark with golden, but whatever you have on hand is fine)

Dressing

• 1 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup white vinegar
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp pepper
• 2 cloves minced garlic
• 1/2 tsp dried basil
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 1/4 cup minced parsley

Whisk together dressing ingredients. Combine all salad ingredients. Toss with dressing and chill for several hours. Serve over greens or in 1/2 an avocado, along with fruit and crusty bread.

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Last night, I craved BBQ chicken and baked beans, and since I have been sick for the last week and only started feeling better yesterday, that is exactly what we had. The bean recipe turned out great, here it is for your enjoyment.

Baked Bean Pot

• 1-15 oz can each pinto, black, butter, white beans (that’s 4 cans, folks) (if you can find no-salt added, even better)
• 2-15 oz cans baked beans
• 12 slices of good quality bacon, divided
• 2 small onions, chopped
• 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon dry mustard

Preheat the oven to 350F. Drain the 4 cans of beans over a measuring cup, reserving 1 cup of the bean liquid.

In a dutch oven or other oven safe dish, brown half the bacon, chopped into 1/2″ pieces. When the bacon is brown and crispy, remove and drain. Into the same pot (with all the bacon drippings) add the onions and sauté until just turning brown. Add back in the bacon, along with the vinegar, brown sugar and mustard. Boil 10 minutes.

Add in the drained beans, the 2 cans of baked beans, and the 1 cup of reserved bean liquid. Stir well and lay the remaining slices of bacon over the top. Cover with a lid and bake 1 hour 15 minutes. Remove lid and bake an additional 15 minutes until sides are bubbling and bacon is beginning to crisp. Serve hot or warm.

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Since watermelon may increase your libido, I thought a drink using this licopene rich fruit was in order. Starting with a recipe I found in Everyday Food, I designed this summer drink to use an overripe watermelon and an over abundance of limoncello. Hope you enjoy!

• 1 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1 cup fresh mint leaves
• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 small watermelon, rind remove, flesh cut into hunks
• 1/2 cup vodka
• 3/4 cup limoncello

Muddle the lemon juice, mint and brown sugar in large pitcher or drink container. If you squeezed the lemon juice from fresh lemons, throw those in there too. In a blender, purée the watermelon in batches, then pour through fine mesh strainer into the pitcher. Stir to combine. Add vodka and limoncello. Serve over ice.

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Each Friday, we receive a box of locally grown veggies from Two Small Farms, a partnership of two farms, one in Watsonville and one in Hollister. This is our second year participating, and so far, we are thoroughly enjoying all the box has to offer (well, except maybe those back to back weeks of leeks in the spring!).

There is always a sense of anticipation, of excitement, to see what the week’s box brings. For me, it usually means trying several new recipes and exploring at least one new vegetable or herb that I have not tried before. And in order to stay on top of things, I try to think ahead about how I will use my box. Here is my plan for this week:

Romaine Lettuce lends itself nicely to side salads. After washing all the greens well, I will store them wrapped in paper towels in my fridge for our nightly green salad, dressed with a simple Meyer lemon vinaigrette (or ranch dressing for the kids).

With the New Potatoes, I will make a simple salad for the 4th. After boiling the potatoes (whole), I will slice them and toss with a vinaigrette of dijon mustard, lemon juice, red wine vinegar and olive oil. I will add 1 tablespoon of capers, and slice up 10-15 cornichons. A little parsley will make it all look pretty. I like to serve this salad chilled.

Chantenay Carrots are beautiful to look at, so my son’s favorite Carrot salad might be in order. And it packs well, so I will take it to the BBQ this weekend - Shred the carrots, add 1/2 cup diced jicama, 1/2 cup drained pineapple bits, 1/4 cup golden raisins. Mix the dressing of 1/4 cup plain yogurt, 2 tablespoons mayonnaise, 2 tablespoons lemon juice and 1 teaspoon sugar. Pour dressing over carrot mixture and stir well.

I will save the Lacinato Kale for one night when we are home for dinner - I like to sauté sliced onions in bacon fat (yumm, bacon!), and then toss the chopped Kale in. Sauté for a few minutes, then add water or broth, cover and cook until tender.

The box will have either Dill or Cilantro - with either, I will make a dip. The dill goes nicely in a white bean, feta and green yogurt dip (whirl one 15 oz can, drained white beans, 4 oz feta cheese, 7 oz greek yogurt, and 2 tablespoons lemon juice together. Fold in 1/4 cup chopped dill. Serve with pita chips or veggies), and cilantro is great in guacamole. Either would be nice this weekend at the pool.
Baby Erbette Chard is another green perfect for the sauté pan. It is a little more delicate than the Kale above, so I cook it a little less, usually in olive oil. A sprinkle of coarse salt is all it really needs.

All my Basil these days has been going into making pesto. I use the recipe from Marcella Hazan’s The Classic Italian Cookbook. 2 cups fresh basil, 1/2 cup olive oil, 2 tablespoons pine nuts, 2 cloves garlic, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, 2 tablespoons grated Romano pecorino cheese, and 3 tablespoons butter. Blend the first 5 ingredients together (I use my food processor), scraping the bowl from time to time. Pour into a bowl and blend the cheeses and butter in by hand. Since I freeze my pesto for later use, I don’t add the cheeses and butter. I divvy it up into little 1/2 cup storage containers, which are perfect for tossing with hot pasta, slathering atop chicken breasts before BBQing or using as part of a dip.

The box also includes two mystery items, but I won’t know what those are until they arrive!

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Building on yesterday’s post about Laptop Lunches, here are 13 of my kids’ favorite lunches:

1. Soy butter and jam sandwich, sliced apple, Pirate Booty, dried apricots
2. Yogurt with strawberries, whole grain crackers, baby carrots, cheese stick
3. Turkey Ham sandwich, rice chips, bell pepper with ranch dressing, grapes
4. Noodle soup (in separate thermos), grapes, whole grain bread, cheese cubes
5. Pita with hummus, cherry tomatoes, cucumber slices, blueberries
6. Cheese and whole grain crackers, 1/2 banana (skin on), baby carrots
7. Tortilla roll ups with PB&J, apricot, popcorn, cherry tomatoes
8. Mac & Cheese (in separate thermos), salad with ranch dressing, apple slices
9. Mini hotdogs with ketchup, whole grain bread, plum (or plums, depends on size), cookie
10. Cream cheese and jam sandwich, mixed fruit salad, orange cauliflower with ranch dressing, treat
11. Turkey meatballs with pasta and marinara (in separate thermos), pita chips, watermelon
12. Sliced apples with soy butter, pita bread, baby carrots, dried cranberries
13. Celery with soy butter and raisins (ants on a log), strawberries, Persian cucumber slices, muffin

Do you have a favorite lunch to share? Never to early to start collecting ideas for school!

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Ok, time to get off my butt and get going! I started this blog back in April and not much has happened, but now NaBloPoMo has given me a great reason to start moving. NaBloPoMo challenges bloggers to write every day for a month (actually, they have a write-every-day-for-a-year challenge, but one step at a time, people). This month’s theme is Food, which works well, since this blog is supposed to be all about food and the kitchen and food and stuff.

Also, did you know that BlogHer is right around the corner? Yes, in three short weeks, and this is the blog that I listed on my registration form, and what will possibly be listed on my badge, so I better have some content for folks to look at!

And finally, here is the bit about Food that you have been waiting for…my recipe for Hot Buttered Toast:

Put two slices of your favorite whole grain bread into the toaster
Make sure, if your toaster is a multiple-toast maker, that you have selected the right amount of pieces.
Push the button down.
While the bread is toasting, get your butter out of the fridge or cupboard, along with a plate and butter knife.
When toast pops up, put on plate, use knife to slather a moderate amount of butter on the now hot toast.

Enjoy!

Photo courtesy of Rainer Zenz

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As I was opening my CSA box this week, my neighbor asked curiously about the heads of fennel. She had not seen them before and was unsure what to do with them, so I whipped up a couple recipes to demonstrate their versatility, and I share those with you now.

Braised Fennel

• 2 lbs of fennel, or at least 2-3 big bulbs, tops cut off and reserved
• 2 TB olive oil
• 2 TB butter
• 2 whole unpeeled cloves of garlic
• 1 cup of minced fennel fronds
• 1/2 cup of vermouth
• 1/2 of water
• Salt

Chop the tops off the fennel and halve the bulbs to make 4 pieces. Take reserved fennel fronds and mince enough to make 1 cup. Melt the butter and olive oil over medium heat in an oven proof pan with a lid. Add the fennel bulbs and saute for 10-15 minutes until brown on all sides. Add fennel fronds for last 5 minutes and allow to brown. Add vermouth and water; sprinkle with salt. Cover and put into preheated 350F oven for 45 minutes. Serve with thickened pan juices.

(Adapted from The Victory Garden Cookbook, by Marian Morash)

Tomato Sauce with Fennel

• 2 heads fennel
• 2 shallots, finely diced (can substitute 1/2 of an onion)
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 TBS olive oil
• 1 TBS dried fennel
• 1 TBS dried oregano
• 6 cups chopped tomatoes*
• 1 cup tomato paste*

Chop off the top off the fennel and slice each bulb in half longways. Then slice thin. Add olive oil to large saucepan over medium heat. When the oil is hot, add the fennel, shallots and garlic. Saute 5 minutes, allowing the vegetables to soften and lightly brown. Add in the fennel and oregano, saute 1 minute longer. Add in tomatoes and tomato paste. Return to boil, then turn down heat and simmer 20-25 minutes. Serve with your favorite pasta.

*I can tomatoes in the summer, when they are nice and ripe. For this recipe, I used 1 quart size and one pint size jar of tomatoes. I also used one cup of frozen, pureed, thick tomato sauce, almost like a paste.

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