lemon parmesan potato and salad

We had the grill blazing the other night, and we really didn't have a side dish for what we were making. I took a look around the pantry and found some Long Island grown fingerling potatoes, and remembered that I had noticed that our green beans needed some harvesting when I was watering the garden earlier. I grabbed a few other things we always keep on hand an BAM! an amazing warm salad (which was pretty freaking awesome cold too) was born.

Ingredients:
2 lbs. fingerling potatoes
1/2 lb. green beans, trimmed
1 lemon, sliced
2 shallots, sliced
3 Tbsp. olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup Parmesan Cheese, grated (optional, but very tasty. Pecorino Romano or Manchego would also be awesome.)


Grab two nice size sheets of foil. Put the green beans on one and the potatoes on another. Add the shallot and the lemon and then drizzle with olive oil, and season with salt and pepper. Seal them up really tight and toss them on the grill, preferably on the not as hot side. Cover the grill. After 10 minutes the green beans should be done, don't open the foil when you take them off though, they will continue to steam and get all lemony. The potatoes should be done after another 15 minutes (25 minutes of total cook time). Mix both with all of their liquid in a big dish, toss them together, and sprinkle with cheese. Time to nosh!

fajitas

You know what I like about fajitas? Everything! But I especially like the fact that they require almost no cooking, are super fast, and that there is only one pan to clean. So, it's kind of like the perfect meal. You can use whatever vegetables you want for this dish, the method just makes it special, and totally adaptable to anything you want to throw in the pan. (If you want to do something with meat in it, I would recommend cutting the meat into small pieces to assure proper cooking.) But anyway I digress. Let's fajita!

Ingredients:
1 package of seitan, roughly chopped
1 can of black beans, drained
2 peppers, julienned
2 carrots, julienned
1 yellow squash, julienned
1/2 onion, juli- gotcha!, sliced
1 scallion, sliced
3 Tbsp. fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
4 Tbsp. safflower oil
2 Tbsp. lime juice (2 limes)
1 Tbsp. cumin
1 tsp. smoked paprika
salt and pepper to taste

OK, here it goes in 50 words or less: Heat pan smoking hot. Mix oil and juice with spices. Toss with other ingredients. Add to pan, cook for four to six minutes, tossing constantly. Serve on warm tortillas. Top with cheese or sour cream. Eat fajitas! Only wash one pan!

stuffed zucchini blossoms

Hell yeah zucchini blossoms! These were super simple, ridiculously delicious, and left us wanting more. We used garbanzo bean flour to make the batter for these. It adds a really nice nutty flavor, and makes a great crunchy crust. Mixed with the extra crunchiness of corn starch, its kind of like Tempura meets Falafel, or Tempurafel coating. Yeah, something like that...

Ingredients:
Zucchini Blossoms, as many as you can get!

Filling:
4 oz. Goat Chevre
1/4 cup Divina Roasted Tomatoes, in liquid (Can't find these? Just substitute Sundried Tomatoes in Oil.)

Batter:
1 cup Garbanzo Bean Flour (Don't have it? Use a mix of AP Flour and Breadcrumbs.)
1/2 cup Corn Starch
2 Eggs
2 Tbsp. Water
Salt and Pepper

Toss the goat cheese and tomatoes into your blendy machine and buzz them until they are smooth. Add a little water if you need to, just not too much, you don't want this to be runny. If you are fancy, transfer the mixture into a piping bag. If (like me) you will probably never have a piping bag, just put it into a ziplock bag, push it into one corner, and then cut a little bit of the corner off. Now fill your blossoms! (See above.)

Put about 1/4 inch of oil into a frying pan (got cast iron? use it!) and turn it on to medium high heat. Mix the cornstarch and flour in a dish and season it with salt and pepper. Beat the eggs in another bowl with the water, this will help the batter to be lighter and not so eggy, these are delicate little flowers and should be pampered, at least until we throw them in hot oil, and then fight over them. Shake off any excess flour and drop them into the now hot oil. Cook them about 2-2.5 minutes on each side and then take them out and let them sit for just a minute before noshing, or you can burn the hell out of your mouth with molten lava filling like I did...
Enjoy!

weekly pickup 07/25

1 dozen eggs
2 leeks
1 bunch something kenny doesn't remember the name of
1 head red leaf lettuce
4 ears corn
1 cabbage
2 lbs plums
1 bunch mint
4 nectarines
2 green squash
1 bunch spinach
1.5 lb potatoes
1 bunch scallion
3 plums

ps - i know we have not posted any recipes lately - we have been stupid busy but are still cooking like crazy. stay tuned for NINE new recipes!

weekly pickup 07/18

1 bunch radishes
2 red onions
1 bunch lemongrass (kinda hidden behind the squash, oops!)
2 summer squash
1 bunch kale
1 bunch carrots
1 head romaine
1 bunch basil
1 white onion
1 head celery
1 bunch cilantro

fruit share starts next week for us!

weekly pickup 07/11

1 bunch beets
1 bunch celery
1 bunch carrots
1 head romaine
1 bunch kale
1 white onion
2 red onions
2 summer squash
1 bunch sage
1 dozen eggs
1 bunch lemongrass

weekly pickup 07/04

1 bunch parsley
1 bunch beets
1 head red leaf lettuce
4 globe zucchini
2 white onions
1 bunch carrots
1 bunch papalo

weekly pickup 6/28

2 leeks
1 bunch carrots
2 red onions
1 bunch radishes
1 dozen eggs
6 zucchini blossoms
1 bulb garlic
1 head red leaf lettuce
1 bunch ezapote

three onion and arugula frittata

Nothing is better on a weekend morning than a fresh cooked frittata. Or for that matter, nothing is better to finish off after your husband has gone to work than a fresh cooked frittata, right Katie?

Our CSA has some amazing farm fresh eggs from chickens that roam freely and eat creepy crawlies and oh, you can just read about it here. We had a lot of members of the onion family this week and some awesome local baby arugula as well, and we thought... hmmmm... let's throw it together with eggs and cheese! Speaking of cheese, we also found this awesome company: NYMilk. All the cows are totally pasture fed, there is no animal rennet its all raw milk, and all of the workers are guaranteed a fair wage. Plus its made in state, and its priced competitively with those big national organic cheeses. Go local!

Anyway, back to business. This recipe is highly customizable, just substitute as you see fit.

Ingredients:
6-7 Large Eggs
3 small Leeks (white and pale green parts only), 1 Red Spring Onion and 1 White Spring Onion (both with some greens), all sliced thinly. This is a total of 1.5 cups of goodness.
1/2 pound of arugula, or your favorite green
2 Tbsp. + 1 Tbsp. Earth Balance (or butter)
1 Tbsp. Safflower Oil (or your favorite cooking oil)
1/2 cup shredded Pepper Jack Cheese
salt and pepper to taste

You can take care of the veggies a day or two before hand if you like, or if you just want to sleep in a little longer. Heat the oil and 2 Tbsp. of EB in a saute' pan on medium heat. Add the onion/leek mixture and cook, stirring occasionally until they are just starting to get caramelized, about 10-13 minutes. Once they are ready toss in the greens, adding them slowly but surely as they continue to cook down. This will take about 5-7 minutes until all of the greens are cooked. Season to taste. Ready to move on? Need a coffee break; OK, I can wait.

Good, now set this veggie mixture aside (off the stove would be best, see above), and preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Take the remaining EB and coat a pie dish (we used Pyrex, using metal may vary the cooking time, so check in a little more often). Beat the eggs in a bowl, and then incorporate the cheese. Season if ya like to. Add these to the veggie mixture and mix thoroughly. Place in your dish and throw that bad boy in the oven, gently of course.

Now its time for the waiting. This is probably going to take about 40-45 minutes. Set a timer for 30 minutes. When it goes off turn on your oven light or peek inside eversoquickly to not let heat out. What you will probably see is a delicious crust forming on the top, with the outer rim of the fritatta puffed up and the center still sunken in. It is now time to babysit. Check back every 2 to 3 minutes, once the center has risen it is time to remove it from the oven. Careful, its hot. Set it aside. Don't touch it. Let it set and firm up for about 10 minutes. Plus it'll burn your mouth, be patient. Use this time to make some toast or hash browns. Make another pot of coffee. Call your mom, she is probably eating cereal this morning and will be very proud of what you have just created. Has it been 10 minutes? OK, let's eat breakfast.

pizza and pasta night

We were having some buds over for dinner on Wednesday, and wanted to make something fun, tasty, and easy to clean up so we could spend time hanging out. We had a lot of greens to use. We had basil, spinach, swiss chard, and some beet greens that I saved from the beets I made popsicles with. (A side note: if you don't save your beet greens when you get them, you totally should. They are delcious and packed with nutrients. It saddens me when I see people at the farmers market or grocery store rip them off and throw them away. I think I will start asking them if I can have them...) The pesto we made for the pizza has spinach in it. Have kids who don't like green veggies? Throw them in pesto, you can't even tell they are there!

Since we had just finished unpacking some of our amazing wedding presents we decided to use a few of them; namely the amazing Vitamix, and a cast iron pizza stone. So here is what we made. It was quick, easy, a breeze to clean up, and it tasted awesome!

Party Time Pasta Ingredients:
1 lb. Pasta, we used Orechiette
1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 package Veggie Italian Sausage (or real sausage if you like), sliced into bite sized pieces
1/2 Onion, diced
2 cloves Garlic, minced
1/2 Yellow and 1/2 Red Pepper, diced
4 cups assorted Greens, we used Beet and Swiss Chard, roughly chopped
1/2 cup Pecorino Romano cheese, grated (optional)
salt, pepper, and pepper flakes to taste

Cook pasta according to package directions. While pasta is cooking, heat oil in a large saute' pan over medium high heat. Add the sausage into the pan, and cooked until both sides are browned, about 10 minutes. Remove sausage and set to the side. Turn the heat down to medium and add the onion, garlic, and peppers. Cook until onions are translucent, about 6-7 minutes. Turn off heat and stir in the greens handful by handful. Combine pasta, sausage, and veggies in a large bowl and sprinkle with Pecorino.


Pesto Pepper Pizza:
1 Fresh or Frozen Pizza Dough (we like the whole wheat one from Whole Foods)
1 bunch Basil
1 bunch Spinach
3 cloves Garlic
1/2 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
juice of 1 Lemon
1/2 lb. shredded low moisture part-skim Mozzarella Cheese
1/2 Red and 1/2 Yellow Pepper, sliced into rings
grated Pecorino Romano for topping (optional)
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat your oven to 450 degrees with the pizza stone inside. Roll out your dough and place it on a well floured pizza peel (hopefully you have one if you have a stone, if not a large serving platter can work.) Put the spinach, basil, oil, garlic, and lemon juice into your blender (or food processor) and blend until smooth. (This recipe makes about 1.5 cups, so you will have some leftover pesto, but that's a good thing right?) Top pizza dough with pesto, cheese, and peppers (and whatever else you would like to throw on there), and place it carefully on the pizza stone. Bake for 7-9 minutes (yep, that's it), and remove from the oven. Give it a minute or two to cool down once you remove it from the stone, it's like lava hot at this point.

There you have it, an easy, vegetable centered dinner for 4-8 people in under an hour with only 3 or 4 big dishes to clean. Not too shabby for a weekday, eh?

raclette panini with wilted greens

We were recently gifted a George Foreman Grill. Now, while I do love grilling and am super appreciative of my new found ability to do it indoors, I am equally as excited about its other feature. PANINI PRESS!!!! On our way home the other day we stopped by to visit the nice folks at The Bedford Cheese Shop. We snagged some fresh ciabatta and I spotted some amazing looking Raclette from Spring Brook Farms in Vermont. Raclette is a traditional melting cheese usually made in France, and sometimes Switzerland. It's usually made from cows milk, and has a supple texture and almost beefy flavor. This domestic Raclette was slightly more mild in flavor (which works out well for sandwiches), but as intended was perfect for melting. I am upset we didn't buy extra for grilled cheeses or mac and cheese. Good thing the cheese shop is only a few blocks away. This recipe makes two pretty big sammiches. And if you don't have a panini press of some sort, don't sweat it, just do what we did here.

Ingredients:
2 good sized Crusty Rolls
3 cups of Greens (we used Beet Greens), roughly chopped
1/2 White Onion, sliced thinly
2 Scapes (or 2 cloves of garlic), finely chopped
1 tsp. Lemon Juice
1/4 pound Raclette, thinly sliced
1 Tbsp. Safflower Oil
salt and pepper to taste

In a saute' pan over medium high heat, add the oil and onions. Cook until translucent and then add the greens and the lemon juice. Let the greens get just wilted, and then remove them from the heat and season with salt and pepper. Preheat your panini press, and open those rolls. Layer in the cheese and top with the greens. Press until the bread is crusty and the cheese is melted and looks irresistible. Now eat it!

weekly pick up 6/20

1 bunch basil

2 white onions
1 head green leaf lettuce

3 beets

1 bunch swiss chard
1 bunch spinach

2 garlic bulbs

1 bunch quelite (mexican greens)

tomato black bean bisque

I don't care what time of the year it is, I love soup. We had a few rainy days this past week, so I whipped up a batch of this simple, spicy recipe to keep us warm and dry.

Ingredients:
2 cups cooked Black Beans, reserve 1 cup
1 28 oz. can of Diced Tomatoes (there are no local fresh tomatoes yet)
28 oz. of water
1 white Spring Onion, roughly diced, save greens for garnish
4 Garlic Scapes, 3 of them roughly chopped (you could substitute 2 cloves of garlic)
2 Jalapenos, roughly chopped, (you can remove the seeds and ribs if you don't want it too spicy)
2 Tbsp. 2x Tomato Paste
1/4 cup of whole milk (optional)
2 Tbsp. Safflower Oil
1/2 cup of Creme Fraiche
1/2 cup of Sour Cream
3 Tbsp. Cilantro
Salt and pepper to taste

Place the creme fraiche, sour cream, cilantro and the one reserved scape into a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Season with salt and pepper and pop it back in the fridge.

Heat the oil in a soup pot over medium heat. Sweat the onion and scapes until the onion is translucent. Add the tomato paste and stir for 1-2 minutes to toast it. Toss in half of the black beans, the jalapenos, the water and the diced tomatoes and cover. Simmer for 15-20 minutes, until piping hot. Using a immersion blender, blend the soup until smooth adding in some milk to cream it if you like. Season to taste. Turn off the heat and add the rest of the black beans. Wait a few minutes, top it with the cilantro cream and onion greens, and serve with some tortillas or chips.

lentil salad with purslane

Since moving to NYC one thing has become certain in our lives, we do not have as much time to cook as we used to. We have found a lot of ways to adapt. From prepping things a few days ahead, using our slow cooker more, or just making things that are simpler and still packed full of flavor we have found ways to save time and still make some amazing food. This dish is no exception.

This is also the first time we have used purslane. This happy little succulent is not only pretty damn tasty, its also the highest land vegetable in omega-3's. So eat up Veggies! Make friends and dinner with purslane!

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups cooked lentils
1 bunch purslane, (2 cups of leaves)
1 red pepper, finely diced
1 spring red onion finely diced, about 1/2 cup
2 inches of onion greens, finely diced
2 garlic scapes, thinly sliced
2 Tbsp cilantro, chopped
2 carrots finely diced
1 tsp lemon zest
juice of said lemon
1/4 cup olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Grab a large bowl. Throw all of the ingredients into it. Toss well, and season to taste. We served it on top of a pita warmed in a pan with a little bit of Earth Balance.

NEW CSA IS HERE!!! WE'RE BACK BITCHES!!! weekly pickup 06/14

2 red onions
1 dozen eggs
3 leeks
2 beets
2 white onions
1 bunch of purslane
1 bunch spinach
1/4 pound garlic scapes
1 bunch cilantro

we have lots of ideas flowing already.... stay tuned for triple onion quiche, black bean soup and french lentil salad!

O.K. Listen...

I know we have been really MIA for over a year now, with little spurts of posts here and there; but there have definitely been some reasons for that.

As you know, we didn't score a CSA last year, and seeing as that was our inspiration, it pretty much made things pretty difficult for us to keep the updating coming with things we bought (most of the awesomeness of a CSA is that you have to create something with what you get). Compile that with finally being close to a lot of family, and trying to explore a new city and you get a little tied up in commitments.

Oh shit, did I mention we have been planning our wedding? In TWO weeks from today we will be getting married just outside of Philly. We have taken a lot of care to make sure that the caterer we chose follows our food philosophy. So we are sourcing a lot of products from my hometown and around the greater Philly area to make our epic menu possible. Plus, there are bad ass vegan options. I don't know if you have ever been to a wedding as a veggie/vegan but it usually really freaking blows. Not our wedding. Actually since Katie and I have both been eating vegan since the beginning of the year, I don't think I will even want to try the other offerings. Our vegan menu pretty much blows everything else away.

Damn, I am rambling. Must be all the Danzig in my headphones right now...

Last point:
WE HAVE A CSA THIS YEAR!!!! And it is with a great community of other like-minded folks. We will get into details later, but the basic point of this update was to say just a few things:

We are getting married!
NYC is pretty awesome!
oh, and we are back after out Costa Rican honeymoon!

Happy Earth Day, and lots of love,
K&K

spaghetti squash with ramp pesto

Oh shit! Did you say ramps? Where are the ramps? How can I get them? It's not even ramp season yet!???!?!?!!?!

Shhhhhhh... quiet down lil foodie friend. We are excited for ramps too, but there is a way to enjoy them all year round. Just hold your horses and I will get right to it.


Ingredients:
1 big ole' Spaghetti Squash, halved long ways, and seeded
1 cup of Ramp Pesto
3 cups of frozen Edamame (or peas), thawed
1 cup of raw Walnut pieces
1/2 tsp. Red Pepper Flakes
1/4 cup Olive Oil
3 cloves of garlic, minced
Salt and Pepper to taste
Nutritional Yeast or Cheese (optional)

It is truly sad that ramps cannot be with us year round. Their little life spans are so short, and they bless us with their garlicky goodness for such a short time each spring. That doesn't mean that you can't have them all year though, and now that it is close to ramp season yet again, I thought it was time to open up a (freezer) door for you to show you how have rampy goodness all up in this piece all year long. It's really pretty easy.

Buy lots of ramps. Make pesto. Can or freeze. The ramp pesto we used in this recipe was made last May, and tastes exactly the same as it did when we made it, even after 10 months in the freezer. Other batches eaten earlier were also delish. This year I will definitely be buying way more, making a ton of pesto, and trying to can some as well.

On to the squash! Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Hack your squash in half long ways and remove the pulp and seeds. Spray lightly with cooking spray and place flesh side down on a baking sheet covered with parchment. Bake for 40 minutes.

Once your squash is cool enough to handle scrape out the "noodles" with a fork or a spoon, whichever you prefer. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet and add the edamame, garlic, walnuts, and chili flakes to the pan. Toss in the spaghetti squash and saute' for 3-4 minutes, stirring so that everything is mixed evenly. Add the ramp pesto and cook an additional 3-4 minutes until warmed through. Season with salt and pepper, serve with warm crusty bread, and a sprinkle of nutritional yeast or Parmesan cheese.

saag tofu

We love Indian Food. Living in the Lower Haight we were surrounded by a ton of amazing Indian restaurants. However, in NYC we haven't really found one close to our house that we love just yet, so when we got the craving for some saag paneer, we just decided to make it. But we made it vegan, because well, we did. It turned out ridiculously delicious, and made plenty for leftovers. It was also pretty easy, so I imagine this might become a staple around our house. Let's get down to business.

Ingredients:
2 pounds Frozen Spinach
1 medium Onion, diced
2 cups Unsweetened Soy Milk
1 pound Extra Firm Tofu, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 Tomato, chopped
4 cloves of Garlic, chopped
1 Tbsp. minced Ginger
2 Tbsp. Garam Masala
1 Tbsp. Chili Powder
1/2 tsp. Tumeric
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
2 Jalapenos, small dice
2 Tbsp. Safflower Oil (or your favorite cooking oil)
Salt and Pepper to taste
Cooking Spray

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray and place your tofu in a single layer on it. Sprinkle the tofu with one of the tablespoons of garam masala and some salt. Spray it again with the cooking spray and place in the oven to bake for 20 minutes.

While the tofu is cooking, place a large pot over medium heat. Add your oil, onions, garlic, ginger, tomato, and jalapenos and saute' for 4-5 minutes. Add the spinach and cover. Stir every few minutes until the spinach is defrosted. (If you defrosted your spinach ahead of time, or if you are using fresh spinach, just continue on.) Once the spinach is ready add the soymilk, and all of the spices, and season with salt.

Right about now your tofu should be ready to go. Here is where you have to make an important decision: Do I want to blend the spinach so that I have a uniform consistency, or do I want texture and chunks? We chose texture, if you want it smooth, go ahead and get your immersion blender. We can wait.

Done? OK. Add the tofu into the pot and simmer for just a few minutes so that everything is at a consistent temperature. Season again with salt and pepper, and serve with rice, naan, or both.

vegan spinach lasagna

Let me start off by saying two things:

Numero Uno: I like lasagna with a few layers. Not just two really thick layers that collapse and fall apart all over the spatula, and then your plate. It should hold up and be pretty, kind of like a layered cake. Something that takes this much time to prepare shouldn't look like a Rorschach sketch once it is served. All it takes is using a more shallow dish; buying some extra noodz and making the filling a little thinner between the layers.

Dos: Someone needs to make the perfect vegan ricotta. I am so sick of trying to do it, and I think everyone else is as well. Oh shit. This is by far my best incarnation by far. At least as far as pasta goes. Damn, I want to just eat this on crostini. It happens to be thick and slightly difficult to work with (especially with lasagna), but trust me; it will not make your lasagna soggy. Actually, its kinda way better than actual ricotta.

Ok, let's get down to business. Please note we are using a large Pyrex baking dish, not the 9x9 square one, so if you are, well; ummmm, do the same thing we did. I had leftover noodles anyway. I just ate them while cooking.


Ingredients:
2 10 oz. packages of whole grain Lasagna Noodles
1 pound frozen Spinach
1 medium Onion, diced
1 Tbsp. Lemon Juice
1 Tbsp. Garlic, minced
2 Tbsp. Safflower Oil
1/2 tsp. Red Chili Flakes
1 jar of Pasta Sauce (we used a jar of amazing sauce canned last Summer by my main man Sean Ulrich). Or you can make your own. We have a lot of recipes for that down the blog...

Cheeze!
1 pound Extra Firm Tofu
1 pound Soft Tofu
2 Tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 Tbsp. Lemon Juice
1 Tbsp. Dried Oregano
2 cloves Garlic, minced
1/4 cup Nutritional Yeast
Salt and Pepper to taste

Start your pasta water to boil. It is best to use 2 pots if you can. Lasagna noodles are so big and cumbersome. If you don't have two big pots, then do it in shifts.

Heat a saute' pan on medium heat. Add the safflower oil, and onion. Saute' until translucent. (You know the drill). Add the garlic, chili flakes and lemon juice. Toss the spinach in there and cover with a lid. Turn the heat to low.

In your food processor put all off the cheeze ingredients. Pulse a couple of times to the beat of whatever music you are listening to, and then just pop it on low and let it ride until smooth. Think "hummus" for the texture you are looking for. If you need more liquid you can add pasta water, just do it 1/4 cup at a time.

Stir your spinach every few minutes so that it gets evenly cooked, and keep an eye on your pasta.

Once the spinach is cooked and the pasta is done it is time to assemble. Preheat your oven to 350 and get ready to rock! I always start with a little sauce on the bottom so the noodles don't stick to the pan. Then I layer noodles, and then... I am sure you have done this before, so go for it. If you haven't, look at the close up picture below for details. When you have finished building your masterpiece, cover the pan with foil, making sure that the foil is not resting on the top of the lasagna. Make a little tent with the foil. Now bake it in the oven for 40-45 minutes. As tempting as it will be to eat it as soon as it comes out of the oven, wait about 7-10 minutes for it to set before serving, it will make it far less messy and lead to less clean up later.

An Ode to FFTY

A few years ago we were inspired to eat locally and seasonally. We decided to keep a record of out experience and blog about what it's really like to join a CSA. I mean seriously!, a farm bought local produce to our doorstep each week! I know, pinch yourself. Too good to be true right?

Not really.

Moving across the country to NYC has been a blessing in many regards. Both of us are closer to family and a lot of friends. But there is a big empty hole missing from our hearts where our FFTY used to be. Besides a few friends, and the burritos, the thing we miss most about SF is getting our box each week!

Luckily for anyone in the Bay Area, all you have to do is sign up for one of their boxes which are an amazing value. $25 for a small veggie and fruit, it's way more than worth it! G'head take about a few minutes to look back through our photos! PLUS, they really customizable! Don't like fennel? Just say so and you NEVER have to receive it!

To summarize: It is seriously almost absurd not to take advantage of this! People who live in the bay area LISTEN UP! They will drop it at your house (w/NO DELIVERY FEE!)

OMG there IS MORE!: Enter code 482 under the promo code to get 20% off your first box.

We have over 2 years of recipes here if you get need inspiration, plus we are always available for questions and advice ! Just hit us up (csadelivery[at]gmail[dot]com) if you need anything, and we will keep blogging from the Big City. (We will still be jealous of your box.)

A bit of a break...

No, we are not going to post even more inconsistently... we are heading to the Bay Area for the weekend to hang out and hit up some @SFBeerWeek stuff.

ZOMFG BURRITOS!!!!!!

Just downloaded the new Blogger app for Android, so hopefully we will be posting updates from out yonder here or there.

Who wants to go to Ike's with us?!?!?!?!?!?!

carrot ginger soup

OMFG its cold! Being back in the Northeast for a full Winter has me realizing just how full of shiat Whats-His-Name was when he was talking about S.F. Summers being the coldest thing ever. But the Northeast's Winters, and the year round S.F. climate have one thing in common; they are both perfect for soup!

Everyone loves soup. If you don't love soup you must be an alien, because you certainly are not a citizen of this planet. So far this Winter we have spent a lot of meals (and not a lot of time or money!) eating soup. This particular one came to me right before I was leaving work. I was thinking that the only produce I had in the house was potatoes, carrots, and scallions; but I didn't really want to go shopping for a bunch of stuff, and alas, it was born. This here soup is hearty, packs a lot of flavor, and the ginger warms you up pretty damn well. Plus, its not too carrot-y. So yeah, let's go!

Ingredients:
Soup:
2.5 pounds of Yukon Gold Potatoes, cut into 1 inch chunks
4 large Carrots, cut into 1 inch chunks
1/2 large Yellow Onion, diced
4 cups (1 Quart) Veggie Broth
2 Tbsp. 2X Tomato Paste, because its awesome
2 Tbsp. Earth Balance
1-2 cups Unsweetened Soy Milk
1/4 cup Nutritional Yeast
2 Tbsp. Ground Ginger
salt and pepper to taste

Cilantro Scallion Pesto: *
1 bunch of scallions, washed and de-rooted
1 bunch of cilatro, washed and de-rooted
2 Tbsp. Lime Juice
2 cloves of garlic, peeled
1/2 cup + of Safflower Oil (remember, I told you so...)
salt and pepper to taste

Get a big pot. Put it over medium heat. Add Earth Balance and onions and saute' until translucent, about 7-8 minutes. Toss in the 2X tomato paste and let it toast for 2 minutes. DO NOT PUT THE GINGER IN NOW. I don't mean to yell, but most soups would call for the ginger to come in at the beginning of the soup, and well, that just really mutes its flavor, not to mention cooking away some of its awesome benefits. Just put the ginger down. Do it slowly. OK. Deep breath. Now back to cooking.

Sprinkle the pot with a lil pepper (cayenne if you wanna be dangerous), and then throw in the carrots, potatoes, and veggie broth. Put a lid on the pot and get a drink. These veggies will cook through in about 20-26 minutes, so we should probably make the pesto.

Get out your food processor (or chop-chop-grindy-shreddy mah-cheen as I like to call it) and put all the ingredients inside. Puree' them. After that difficult task you deserve another drink. G'head and grab one. I can wait.

* - Side note! This makes an awful lot of pesto. It isn't a bad thing. It has served us well, let me recount the ways so far...
1. Added to mashed avocado it is instant guacamole
2. It is a great topping for burritos and tacos
3. It was a pivotal ingredient in the dip for the recipe below
4. Chips and... Pesto? Hell yes!
5. We still have about 1.25 cups in the freezer to play with. OH YEAH! I forgot to mention that it freezes really well and can be frozen without losing flavor for a really long time.

Back to the soup. By now your veggies should be fork tender and ready to rock n' roll. So grab your immersion blender and let's get down to business. Don't turn off the heat the whole way just yet. Add in the nutritional yeast and 1 cup of the soy milk (or almond, rice, cow, goat, pterodactyl, whatever) and start to blend. If you need or want a looser consistency then just keep added more liquid. Is it totally blended and smooth? Now, add the ginger and blend for another minute. Aiiiight. You are ready to season and get down to some serious grub.

Add some of the pesto to the soup and chow down! BTW, you don't have to make dots. You can do zig-zags, tie dye prints, write names in the soup, it's all good.

zucchini pancakes

Hash browns, pancakes, latkes, tempura, fry cakes, whatever the hell you call them; we love them passionately. Especially when you can dip them in something awesome and shove them in your face without spending a lot of money or effort. Oh, and while drinking beer.

We got the idea for this dish a few nights before at a pub when Katie ordered zucchini pancakes and actually got pancakes, only with some chunked zucchini and onion in them. They were served with plain sour cream and a boring salsa. After a few bites we realized that we could do this better, and way less than $7 for 4 pancakes. So we started drinking some beers another night and this is what happened.

Zucchini Pancakes: (makes 20 3" pancakes)

2 zucchini
3 potatoes, russet preferably. About 1.5 pounds total.
1 onion, peeled. Please don't shred an unpeeled onion.
1/2 jalapeno, seeded if you please. (odds are this is a good idea).

You got a food processor? OK. Then shred this stuff above and mix it in a bowl. No processor? I hope you have very strong arms and a lot of will power. Rest assured that the end product will be worth the work. Meanwhile mix everything below in another bowl.

2 cups rice flour
3 tablespoons corn starch
3 teaspoons baking powder
salt to taste
2 cups H20, or club soda if you're nasty

Heat some (ahem, about 1 inch of) oil in a deep pan over medium high heat, we used safflower because of its high smoke point and neutral flavor. (Plus its REALLY cheap, its basically the new canola oil. Don't say I didn't let you in on the scoop.) Mix the slurry into the shredded veggie mixture and adjust for any overage or underage of moisture. What you should have should feel like a really grainy, thick and chunky paste. It should feel like something you would never want to eat. But we are about to deep fry it, so just be patient.

OK. First you have to do the unthinkable. You have to make a tester. Then you have to eat it. I HATE this step, but if I MUST make the food right its too crucial to skip. Use a 4 oz. ice cream scoop or 1/4 cup to make 1 pancake in the oil. Please be careful, its real hot. Flip it after about 2 minutes (when its golden brown and delicious on the down side) and cook for an additional 2 minutes on the other side. Check for doneness with the no fail-taste test and adjust your cooking time accordingly. When done, set to drain on paper towels or some fancy rack you have that we don't.

Need more or less cooking time? Then adjust. Keep tasting, this recipe makes enough for everyone and plenty for you to snack on as well.

If you are going to eat them now, keep them in an oven set to 250. If you are just torturing yourself, put them in the fridge. These also freeze remarkably well, just make sure to refrigerate them first so that the temperature change is gradual and you don't pull too much moisture from the veggies. Serve with the dipping sauce below, any salsa that doesn't come from a jar, and some nicely stewed black beans. Oh yeah, and a really fresh IPA.



Chipotle Sour Cream Sauce:

1 container tofutti sour cream
2 tablespoons chipotle sauce in adobo
4 tablespoons cilantro/scallion pesto (it's a basic pesto, recipe will be in one of the next entries)
lime juice and garlic to taste

spaghetti squash

Spaghetti Squash with peas, walnuts, basil, and Pecorino Romano cheese.

pesto rice salad

Leftover rice with cilantro and jalapeno pesto, black beans, carrots, cucumber and radishes.

roasted brussel sprouts with parm

Blanched then roasted brussel sprouts with Parmesan cheese.

MANestrone

MANestrone: Cheese sachet's in a deep tomatoe broth with onion, kale, zucchini, and cauliflower. Topped with Parmesan cheese.