zucchini blossoms and beet salad

So this week in our share we got two giant beets with greens, two big spring onions, one bunch each of kale and parsley, eight zucchini blossoms, four Delecata squash, one head of broccoli, two leeks, and our bi-weekly dozen of eggs.  We are going to a wedding this weekend and so we only had 3 days to eat all of the veggies!  On Monday night we made a Latin inspired veggie stew with all of the greens, one of the onions, all of the squash, some tomatoes, and some beans.  We ate it with rice.  We didn't take any pictures, but I am sure you can imagine what it looked like.  Today we had some more time on our hands, and wanted to make sure we did the zucchini flowers justice by making something awesome.  We did something similar last year so I won't bother going step by step through the process. 

Katie made an awesome filling out of goat chevre, the greens of the spring onions, and parsley.  We then fried them up and devoured them.  There was some leftover filling so we added a little olive oil to it so that we could use it as a dressing for our beet salad.  Since we already had hot oil on the stove I drained a can of chick peas and tossed them in.  I let them get crispy for about 5 or 6 minutes, and then strained them and seasoned them with smoked paprika and sea salt.  We proceeded to snack on them while finishing the salad.

I peeled and chopped our beets and boiled them in salt water until fork tender.  While they were boiling I tossed in 2 eggs and let them cook with the beets for about 10 minutes (multitasking!) because I really love hard boiled eggs.  When the beets were finished we cooled them in the fridge, and then mixed them and a few handfuls of chopped parsley with the goat cheese dressing.  We served them with the crispy smokey chickpeas for a salad of amazing flavors and textures.

per se!

Cornet of Salmon Tartare / Cornet of Fava Bean

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TASTING OF VEGETABLES

 

"TEMPURA" OF GARDEN STATE GREEN ASPARAGUS

French Breakfast Radishes, Arrowleaf Spinach, Scallion Salad and Yuzu Aïoli
 

GREEN TOMATO SHERBET

Pumpernickel "Tea Sandwich," Compressed Persian Cucumber, Basil and Buttermilk

 

HEIRLOOM TURNIP SALAD

Pickled Strawberries, Whole Grain Mustard and Nasturtium Leaves

 

MILK POACHED WHITE ASPARAGUS "GRENOBLOISE"

Hen Egg Yolk, Ramp Top "Subric," Haricots Verts, Arugula and Brown Butter "Gastrique"

 

"ENDIVE EN FEUILLE DE POMMES DE TERRE"

"Ragoût" of Fava Beans, "Parmigiano-Reggiano" and Parsley Coulis

 

BROCCOLI AND SEMOLINA "AGNOLOTTI"

Young Onions, Broccolini, Navel Orange Confit and Black Winter Truffle "Mornay"

 

"PYRÉNÉES BREBIS"

"Prosciutto Biellese," Apricot "Membrillo," Marinated Jingle Bell Peppers and "Romesco"

 

CARAMELIZED BANANA SORBET

Banana Bread, Compressed Golden Pineapple and Black Sesame Buttercream

 

"FLOATING ISLAND"

Coconut Tapioca "Crème Anglaise," Champagne Mango and Coriander Ice Cream

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CHEF'S TASTING

"OYSTERS AND PEARLS"

"Sabayon" of Pearl Tapioca with Island Creek Oysters and Sterling White Sturgeon Caviar

HEIRLOOM CARROT SALAD

English Pea Fritters, Meyer Lemon Yogurt, Hadley Orchards’ Medjool Dates and Cilantro Shoots

 

SAUTÉED FILLET OF ATLANTIC STRIPED BASS

Marinated Sungold Tomato, Pickled Green Tomato, Grilled "Pain de Campagne," Parsley Shoots and Chorizo Emulsion

 

"BEETS AND LEEKS"

Butter Poached Nova Scotia Lobster French Leeks, Yukon Gold Potato Confit, Heirloom Beets and Squid Ink Vinaigrette

 

FOUR STORY HILL FARM’S POULARDE

Braised Pine Nuts, Sweet Peppers, Picholine Olives, Broccoli Purée and Caper Jus

 

CHARCOAL-GRILLED SNAKE RIVER FARMS’ "CALOTTE DE BOEUF"

Fork Crushed Artichokes, French Breakfast Radishes, Green Garlic and "Sauce Dijonnaise"

 

"LEONORA"

Sour Cherry "Pudding," White Asparagus, Maple Syrup, Black Winter Truffle and Upland Cress

 

"RASPBERRY AND OATS"

"Granité de Crème de Cassis," Toasted Oat Crumble, Raspberry Soda and Greek Yogurt "Panna Cotta"

 

"POPCORN-COLA"

Macerated Sundried Raisins, Cola Syrup, Chocolate "Biscuit" and Buttered Popcorn Sherbet

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Chocolate Cake

 

"Coffee & Donuts"

pizza!

Last night we made pizza with multigrain dough, fresh mozzarella, parmesan and ramps.

AND another one with asparagus, roasted peppers, pesto and eggs!

kale, raddichio, white bean and halloumi salad

There is nothing like a refreshing salad with a great vinaigrette. Wait, check that. There is nothing like a refreshing salad with a great vinaigrette TOPPED WITH FRIED CHEESE. We combined some bitter greens that we love and usually keep around the house with a dressing made from some of our favorite fresh herbs, and tossed on some seared Halloumi just to knock it out of the park. This salad is hearty enough to have as a meal, but such a great palate cleanser that it could be used as a side as well. Since the greens are so hearty this salad can last dressed for a day or two in the fridge. We had the leftovers with some poached eggs and toast the next morning. OMG!!!

Ingredients:
Lemon, Parsley and Chive Vinagrette
Juice of 2 Lemons
Parsley, 1/2 bunch
6 Chives
3 Tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
salt and pepper to taste

1 head radicchio, roughly torn
1 head dinosaur kale, roughly torn
1 can Artichoke Hearts, drained and quartered
1 can white beans, drained
1 package Halloumi, sliced into 1/2" slices, pan fried then cut into bite sized pieces

This one is fast! In your blender/food processor/magic bullet/ninja machine/whatever, combine all dressing ingredients and blend until smooth. Season to taste.

Wash and dry all of the greens and combine with the artichoke in a large bowl. Add the vinaigrette and toss to combine. Top with beans and Halloumi and wait for it... wait for it... EAT!

Spring Minestrone with Parmesan and Chive Meatballs

It's Spring! Well, almost. While it is sunnier and the days are longer, it's just not warm enough to give up soup yet. So we took some inspiration from a recipe from Bon Appetit and tweaked it a little to fit what we had in our pantry, and increased some measurements to get about 6 servings. The leftovers are AWESOME!!!

Ingredients:
12 oz. Grass Fed Beef
1/2 Cup Breadcrumbs, maybe a little more
6 Tbsp. Grated Parmesan (3 for meatballs, 3 for garnish)
1 Egg, beaten
Olive Oil, for sautéing
2 Qt. Veggie Stock, we used home made
3 Carrots, cut into 1/4" slices
1 Bunch Lacinato Kale- You know, the dinosaur kind. Chopped pretty finely. No giant pieces.
2 Large Shallots, finely diced
4 Cloves Garlic, finely diced
1 Cup Ditalini Pasta, cooked al dente (measurement is precooked)
6-8 Leaves of Basil, chiffonade for garnish
6 Chives, finely chopped (half for garnish, half for meatballs)
salt and pepper to taste

Let's-a make-a meatballs! Combine beef (you could totally substitute chicken or turkey), egg, breadcrumbs, 3 Tbsp. of Parmesan, half of the chives, and some salt and pepper and mix well. You can add more breadcrumbs if you need to get them to form. In a non-stick pot (we used a Dutch oven) over medium-high heat saute the meatballs until browned on all sides. Don't have a non-stick pot? You might need a little oil then. Don't worry about cooking them through, that will be the soups job. Go ahead and take them out and set them aside, but don't get rid of that pot yet!

While you are cooking the meatballs, its a great idea to cook and drain the pasta. You can also set that aside as well.

Now in that meatball pot, add in about 2-3 Tbsp. of olive oil and toss in the garlic, shallots, and carrots. Saute' these until the shallots and garlic start to turn translucent, about 5-6 minutes. Add in the veggie stock, cover and simmer for about 20 minutes until the carrots begin to get cooked through. At this point, you can toss in the meatballs, pasta, and kale. Cover again and simmer for another 10 minutes and then season to taste.

Grab some bowls, garnish with basil, chives, and Parmesan and get your slurp on! We served this with some pesto toast, but you could use crackers, other crusty bread, or whatever your heart desires. Enjoy!

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!