some restaurants and bars we've been to in Seattle, thus far

Smith- excellent brunch
Collins- you wish this was your neighborhood bar
Georgetown Liquor Company- totally vegetarian & vegan menu. Plus they have like 100 Atari & Nintendo games you can play while you drink!
Funhouse- dive-iest of dive bar, complete with backyard freakshow
Shorty's- um, I was too drunk to remember this bar really
Elysian- Seattle landmark brewing co.
Molly Moon's- They make their own waffle cones!

no weekly delivery

We are not receiving a delivery this week or next because we are leaving for vacation on Friday. We'll be posting a few recipes to use up all the produce from last week's delivery before we go. Be back in August!

oven baked fries with spicy ketchup

Do you like french fries? Of course you do! We love fries, but kind of feel guilty after pigging out on a ton of them; so we decided to come up with an oven fries recipe with the fingerling potatoes from our box. These are not your typical mushy baked tater sticks- they have a good crunch, and are pillowy soft in the middle. They totally hit the spot! And since we had some tomatoes in the box as well, I whipped up a spicy ketchup to go along with them! Make a whole bunch- they were just as good reheated the next day.

This could be done with most kinds of brown skinned potatoes, but fingerlings are the perfect shape and texture to make long, wonderful fries.

Ingredients:
2 pounds fingerling potatoes, cut into 1/2 inch sticks
cooking spray
2 large heirloom tomatoes, 1/2 inch dice (about 2.5 cups)
2 Tbsp 2x concentrate tomato paste
1/4 white onion, finely diced
1 chipotle pepper
2 tsp sugar
2 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 Tbsp olive oil
salt & pepper

For the taters:
Preheat you oven to 375 degrees. Spray 2 foil covered baking sheets liberally with cooking spray. Season the foil with a good amount of salt and pepper. Line up potatoes on sheets, spray the tops with cooking spray, and season again with salt and pepper. Bake them in the oven for 25 minutes, then remove them, give each potato a flip to another side, and then put the pan in the oven the opposite way. (If you have a really awesome oven that cooks evenly, you don't have to invert the pan, but I don't trust our oven so I like to flip the pan in the middle of cooking so that everything cooks evenly.) Cook for an additional 30 minutes, remove from oven, and get ready to rumble!

Ketchup time!
In a small sauce pan set to medium heat, saute the onion with some salt and pepper in the olive oil until it becomes translucent, about 6-8 minutes. Add the tomato paste, and toast for 3 minutes to bring out the full and richness of the paste. Toss in the tomatoes and the chipotle pepper and bring to a simmer. Cover with a lid, turn the heat to low and allow to simmer for 30 minutes. Uncover, stir in the vinegar and sugar, and allow to continue simmering for 30 more minutes. Now you have a choice- just go right ahead and eat it (which we did, because we ain't afraid of no chunks!) or puree it with a immersion blender, or food processor. There is no need to cool it down before serving, but you could totally make it ahead of time if you like.

This recipe made enough for 5-6 people, so if you do not have that many people to serve, go right ahead and halve all the quantities. Having a party? Double, triple, or quadruple it! The left overs are still good the next day. You probably won't want to share though. Just warning you...

caramelized peach yogurt bottoming

I used to LOVE fruit on the bottom yogurt, I guess I still do, but I really don't want all that sugar syrup, or *GASP* HFCS so early in the morning. Just putting fruit in yogurt is nice, but was getting kind of boring, I miss that depth of sweetness from all the junk in there, so I needed to make something that would be even better- tasting, and for me. Not only was it good, it was soooo easy. I (Kenny) can't wait to do more yogurt bottomings as the fruit keeps coming this summer!

Ingredients:
3 peaches, cored and cut into 1/2 inch chunks
1 Tbsp ground ginger
1 Tbsp Earth Balance
Your favorite yogurt. Mine is Wildwood Unsweetened Soyogurt.

Melt the Earth Balance in a saute pan set to medium heat. Add peaches and saute for 10 minutes stirring often. Toss in the ginger and cook for an additional 10 minutes, while continuing to stir. The peaches will start to get a little brown, don't worry, if you watch them they won't burn, and we want the caramelization. After they are done, cool and store in the fridge until breakfast. I have eaten this for the past 2 days, and I am totally hooked. I can't wait for more fruit!

pizza on the grill

Pizza= awesome! Grilling= awesome! Grilled pizza= crazy? We had a lot of great vegetables for grilling this week, but as always at least once a week we crave pizza. So we figured, why not put pizza on the grill? I've seen Bobby Flay do it once very naanchalantly with regular dough, but that seems a little too crazy on a charcoal grill. It would be naansense to use pitas or flatbreads because they would probably burn. We needed a bread that could take high heat and be naanscorchable. But we were stumped. Then it hit me- NAAN! Luckily my work (Whole Foods) sells a great pre-made naan that even comes in whole wheat! SCORE!

Ingredients:
1 package 365 whole wheat naan, if you can make your own- do it, and then teach me!
4 oz fresh goat cheese
1 large roasted red pepper, canned is AOK, plus you will need a little of that liquid (3 Tbsp)
summer squash, or really any summer vegetables, grilled and cut into small pieces

In a food processor combing goat cheese and red pepper and puree until smooth, adding pepper jar liquid or a little water until it reaches the consistency of yogurt. Season with salt and pepper.

Let's talk about grilling. We have a small Weber charcoal grill, and when I grill I really like to make sure that I have all of the coals on one side of the grill so that I have a hot side, and a not as hot side. It also has a kind of convection oven effect when you put the lid on the grill. I find having two temperatures really helps me to make sure everything gets properly cooked without getting burned. Anyhoo- back to grilling pizza.

This recipe is good for grilling because you can bring everything with you. I took the sauce, the naan, the veggies, a spoon, a knife, and a cutting board out to the picnic table. I grilled the veggies on the hot side of the grill. While they were cooking I spooned the sauce over the naan to get them ready. Then I removed the veggies, chopped them up, topped the naan and put them on the colder side of the grill. Then I covered the grill and cooked them for 5-6 minutes. They were crispy on the bottom without being burned, and tasted amazing! We will definitely be doing more of these in the coming months, so watch out!

eggs benny

I've been a little obsessed with arugula since Kenny & I ate breakfast at Mission Beach Cafe. It was opened about a year and a half ago by Ryan Scott who was a contestant (ahem, chef-testant!) on Top Chef season 4. But, I just looked at their website and it looks like they've got a new chef there now. Anyway, it's right on the corner of 14th & Guerrero, which is where we lived when I first moved out here.

It was the morning of Bay to Breakers, so we were looking to escape our neighborhood (the Lower Haight) before it became plagued by drunks in costume. We quickly ran through and rejected all our usual brunch spots and decided to just start wandering away from the crowds. I remembered Mission Beach Cafe, figured it wouldn't be crowded so we walked over and got a seat right away.

I couldn't decide between the huevos rancheros or the warm breakfast salad. Both featured poached eggs, which I was having a serious craving for. I still couldn't decide when the waiter came to take our order so I asked the waiter to make up my mind for me and he told me to order the huevos rancheros.

They were incredible! Perfectly cooked eggs, delicious beans and sauce, and... the best part: tiny little leaves of baby arugula. Since we've been eating seasonally, it had been a few months since I had a taste of delicious peppery arugula and it was like heaven in my mouth. One of those Goddamn moments. Goddamn, I just remembered I love arugula!

We're still waiting on arugula to start showing up in our box but thankfully my co-worker Paul hooked me up with a big bag of arugula from his father's garden. As I was crouched down cutting leaves off his huge arugula plant, I was already plotting this dish. Hells yeah, arugula and poached eggs!


Ingredients:
4 strips bacon (The best bacon in the world from the Fatted Calf)
1 bunch arugula
1/2 an onion, diced
4 eggs
4 slices Acme sour batard (sorry South Philly, this isn't your Ack-a-mee)
a dollop of creme fraiche, for garnish (we used Cowgirl Creamery, made with local, organic Strauss Creamery milk, it's amazing!)

Fill a deep pan with about 1 1/2" of water and get it boiling. Cook the bacon in a non-stick pan as you like it. I like my bacon a little bit chewy. Especially this Fatted Calf bacon, you gotta respect the bacon and not burn all the flavor out of it! Remove just when it starts to crisp and set aside on some paper towels to blot the grease. Add the onions to the hot pan of bacon grease and cook until they are tender. When the water is boiling, poach the eggs until the whites are cooked through, should only be a few minutes. Meanwhile, add the arugula to the pan with the onion and bacon grease, as toss until it wilts. Oh, throw the bread in a toaster oven too! The recipe is pretty fast and easy but it takes some skill to get the timing of everything right. When the eggs are ready, plate the toast, then the arugula, two strips of bacon and top with two eggs. Add a small dollop of creme fraiche for extra decadence!

weekly delivery 07/15

This week we received the following from our CSA farm, FFTY:

2 heirloom tomatoes
4 ears white corn
1 bunch mixed spring lettuces
2 red onion
6 small yellow onion
1 bunch seedless grapes
4 sweet gypsy peppers
5 yellow peaches
1 lb Bing cherries
1 globe eggplant

summer succotash

Ingredients:
1 pound green beans, trimmed and cut into 1/4 inch sections
4 ears of corn, taken off the cob
1 15 oz can chick peas, rinsed and drained
1/2 large cucumber, seeded, 1/4 inch dice
1/2 red onion, 1/4 inch dice
1 pound super firm tofu, 1/2 inch slices
2 whole lemons, thinly sliced
2 tsp dried oregano
3 + 1 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice (not from the lemons above)
salt & pepper to taste

I love summer veggies. I love Greek vegetable salads. I love fresh succotash. But not so much the stuff that got served frozen and totally out of season on my dinner table growing up. Cooking frozen veggies in milk and butter is pretty much wrong. Sorry Nanny and Mom, but I will say it. If it comes in a cold bag or a can, it does not taste better with milk and butter. So in an attempt to put my childhood veggie nightmares to rest, I HAD to make a summer succotash, and I leaned on some fresh ingredients we got from the box, and Katie's co-worker Paul's garden (lemons), to make it happen. Oh yeah, notice there are no lima beans- I think that is a good thing, garbanzos are soooooo much better.

Back to getting this done...
Bring a large pot of water to a boil and heavily salt it. Blanch the green beans and corn in the salted water for 1 minute. Drain, run under cold water, and refrigerate to cool down. Add in the cucumber and onion and keep in the fridge. Take a large piece of foil and brush it with olive oil. Line the sheet with the thinly sliced lemon. Layer the tofu on top, and season with salt, pepper and 1 tsp of oregano. Top with remaining lemon slices, seal up your foil packet and place on the cold side of your grill (or in a 350 degree oven) for 20 minutes. Cool tofu in the refrigerator and add to salad mixture. Mix remaining olive oil, lemon juice, oregano, and salt & pepper to taste in a dressing shaker and toss with the salad. Eat it today, tomorrow or two days later, the lemon flavor in the tofu just gets more intense and adds an almost feta quality to the dish. We made a lot, and I cannot wait to eat it on day three!

cherry glazed chicken

Ingredients:
For the chicken:
1 cup cherries, pitted and roughly chopped
1/4 of a large red onion, diced
1 12oz. lager beer (we used Stella)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast (about 3 breast pieces)
1 Tbsp. Olive Oil
salt and pepper to taste

For the salad we ate it with:
1 head romaine lettuce, chopped, rinsed and dried
1 large carrot, thinly sliced
1/2 cucumber, thinly sliced
1/4 red onion, thinly sliced
1/2 cup roasted and salted cashews

In a sauce pan over medium heat, saute the diced onion in olive oil until translucent, about 6-8 minutes. Add cherries, and let cook another 5 minutes, until the onions just start to caramelize. Season with a little salt and pepper, and pour in the beer! (It's O.K. to take a sip for yourself too.) Now stir in the brown sugar, and turn to low heat and allow the liquid to reduce by 75%, stirring frequently. Now brush it on your chicken while your grilling it!

We ate this with a nice fresh salad, and really didn't find that we needed to make a dressing because the cherry glaze had so much flavor. If you feel differently, I would just do a simple lemon juice vinaigrette. Now chow down!

CSA Google group!

Wow, guys! I feel like I've stumbled upon a jackpot here. A blogger named Heather Lalley (aka Flour Girl) has started a Google group so that CSA members all over the country can share recipes & ideas! Check it out & join in at: Cooking Away My CSA.

cherry drank

I'm still recovering from drinking these.


Ingredients: (For 4 drinks)
1 cup bing cherries, pitted and halved
2 nectarines, pitted roughly chopped
juice from 2 oranges, about 1 cup
12 oz rum
5 drops stevia
ice

Crush all the fruit in a large bowl with ice, then pour in the rum. Taste and add a few drops of stevia, agave or simple syrup to sweeten to your liking. Get sloppy and fall asleep on the couch while you have company over.

Now in Twitter-vision!

Like our blog? Want to know what just got posted without having to sign in to Blogger? Of course you do! So follow us on Twitter! We will post the newest additions to the blog, stuff about food in SF or wherever we may be, and probably some random fun stuff as well! See you on Twee-tar! twitter.com/kennyfuncore

weekly delivery 07/08

Here's what we got this week:

2 heads romaine
6 black plums
1 bunch green beans (which I immediately start eating. omgyayilovesummerproduce!!!)

3 heads broccoli
2 bunches Nantes carrots

8 summer squash
1 purple basil
4 ears white corn

4 yellow nectarines
1 cucumber
1 1/2 lbs bing cherries

slow cooker french onion soup

You don't need to use beef broth to get a rich, deep brown broth for french onion soup!

Got some onions? Got a crock pot or slow cooker? Do you have 15 minutes on your hands to have the best veggie/vegan french onion soup ever for dinner tomorrow? If your answer is yes to these questions then get ready for the tastiest and easiest recipe you can ever imagine. Let's rock n' roll...

Ingredients:
3 red onions, halved, 1/4 inch sliced
2 Tbsp. unsalted butter (go ahead and substitute Earth Balance here, just adjust the salt)
1 Tbsp. Olive Oil
6 Tbsp. vegan chicken broth mix
11 Cups water
2 1/2 Tbsp. 2x tomato paste (most F.O.S.'s have red wine, we optioned for the glutamate rich tomato paste to bring amazing body to this soup, and it worked amazingly! Want to go traditional? Deglaze the onions in 1 cup red table wine once caramelized, and allow to cook for an additional 8 minutes until the wine is reduced by 75%)
2 Tbsp. herbs du provence
salt & pepper to taste

cheesy croutons:
french bread
Shredded Emmentaler cheese
black pepper

Caramelize the red onion in a saute pan with the butter and olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and then transfer to the slow cooker, add remaining ingredients and cook on low for 18 hours. Soups done!

Got traditional french onion bowls and a great broiler? Neither do we. So we topped 1 inch thick slices of french bread with shredded Emmentaler and black pepper and toasted them in a toaster oven for 7 minutes. Put them on top of the soup, or just dip them in. Go back for seconds, we both did. This recipe makes enough for 6 people, or some awesome leftovers. I kinda want to eat it right now. Actually, I think we both will.

calling all carrot recipes

Help! We are being inundated by carrots! Two bunches from last week are still in the fridge and we are getting two more tomorrow. If anyone has any awesome recipes or ideas on using up all these carrots please send them our way!

vegan purple pesto pasta with summer squash

The is our second dish of the week featuring the purple basil and summer squash we received. In this recipe, we wanted to make a creamy pesto sauce and decided to keep it vegan when we remembered we had some plain soy yogurt in the fridge. The soy yogurt gives it a bit of a tang and the nutritional yeast acts a replacement for Parmesan cheese in a traditional pesto. Honestly, I think this vegan pesto tastes way better than any traditional pesto! I ate so much I gave myself a stomach ache! Obvi, you can use whatever pasta you like, but isn't the riccioli shape so pretty!?


Ingredients:
2 Tbsp olive oil
5 cups mixed summer & patty pan squash, julienned
1/2 lb riccioli pasta
2 pinches of salt, and one pinch of black pepper

Cook the pasta for 9 minutes in salted boiling water, or according to package directions. Meanwhile, saute the squash in olive oil, salt & pepper for about 8 to 10 minutes until the squash is completely cooked through and tender.

Purple pesto:
1 bunch purple basil, leaves only
4 cloves of garlic (you might want to use less, if you are trying to avoid garlic breath!)
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup walnuts
1 cup plain soy yogurt
1 tsp lemon juice
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 cup nutritional yeast

Add the basil, garlic and walnuts to a food processor and pulse while slowly drizzling in the olive oil until the pesto reaches a smooth consistency. Add the soy yogurt, lemon juice, salt & pepper and pulse again to incorporate. When the pasta and squash are done, combine all ingredients in a large bowl and stir in the nutritional yeast.

squasherole

This week, we used the squash and basil we received in two different ways. This first recipe is a casserole with squash and fresh mozzarella, using polenta as the base.


Ingredients:
2 cups polenta
4 cups water
2 Tbsp butter, plus more to grease the casserole dish
5 summer squash, thinly sliced
4 patty pan squash, quartered and thinly sliced
3 Tbsp olive oil
1 package fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced
1 jar pasta sauce
about 15 leaves fresh purple basil, chiffonade

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Boil the water then whisk in the polenta and stir constantly until the water is absorbed, about 6 minutes. Add in the butter for a richer tasting polenta. Butter a casserole dish and pour the polenta in, smoothing it out so that it covers the bottom of the dish completely. Bake in the oven for 8 minutes. Meanwhile, saute the squash in olive oil, salt & pepper for a few minutes just until the squash begins to soften. When the polenta is done, remove from casserole dish from the oven and pour the squash over the polenta. Add the cheese then cover with pasta sauce. Cover the dish with tin foil and bake for 20 minutes, then remove the foil and continue to bake for an additional 10 minutes. Remove from the oven, top with the fresh basil and serve. Makes 6 servings.

philly cheesesteaks

A belated happy 4th to everyone! Is it just me or did the Fourth of July kind of come out of nowhere this year? Maybe it's just because we had a long weekend last week, due to Pride & having a friend in town. We spent the 4th hanging out in the Panhandle during the day then went over to Cang's to make some food and watch movies. We couldn't see any fireworks because of the thick blanket of fog and it just kinda of felt like any other Saturday. Luckily for Kenny & I, we are going to see some spectacular fireworks when we go on vacation to Vancouver at the end of the month!


Anyways, we used some red onion & sweet peppers from the CSA to make philly cheesesteaks!


And they were awesome! No real recipe here... Cang & Kara had purchased some filet mignon, we provided the onion & peppers and we made a great jalapeno jack cheese sauce to top them off. Yum!

weekly delivery 07/01

This week we received:

a dozen Santa Rosa plums
7 summer squash
one large and one small red onion

7 Valencia oranges
1 bunch purple! basil
1 pint blueberries
8 Russian banana potatoes

1 head red leaf lettuce
1 bunch green grapes
2 bunches Nantes carrots
7 sweet peppers