Saturday Morning at the Market

Thanks so much to every one who stopped by to visit me this past Saturday at the South Shore Farmer's Market.  We had a beautiful (albeit) early morning in the park.  I am not a morning person, so the fact that I got there before some of the farmers were done setting up is something I am equal parts proud of and depressed by.

Having been an avid farmer's market shopper for three years now, I'm starting to get into the hang of what is going to be there when.  It's also helpful that I get an email from my CSA farmers around Tuesday of the week, and what they've got is a good indication of what's going to be available at the market.  Of course, none of that can account for the fact that - I suspect just to throw me off my game - nobody had garlic at the market this past Saturday.

I think that cooking at the farmer's market really exemplifies what's at the heart of locavore cooking.  It's nothing fancy, nothing flashy, nothing rehearsed.  I like to think of my cooking a lot like I think of my dancing.  For those of you who only know me from my blogging, I am also an American Tribal Style Belly Dancer (South Shore Market regulars: those are the belly dancers you see a few times a year!).  The thing that drew me to ATS Belly Dance was the fact that it is improvisational group dancing.  We always dance in groups, and nothing is choreographed.  You practice a lot with the women you dance with, you know your music well, and you learn the "vocabulary" of the dance, but when push comes to shove you just don't know what exactly is going to go down.  This, to me, is the joy of the dance.  You are in the moment, and 90% of the time you need to give that control away.  You know what should happen, and you can even influence it a little, but in the end you need to give that control away.  You are not in charge.  You have to trust those around you to take care of you, and you are responsible for taking care of them.  And when something goes wrong, you smile, forgive, and move on.  And you learn something new for next time.  And maybe, if you're really lucky, you get to create a new move!

This is how I feel about locavore cooking.  You learn the ingredients.  You learn how they should work.  You learn when they should be there.  But in the end, you need to work with what you have.  And maybe things don't turn out exactly how you want, but maybe they turn out better.  And maybe you end up with something even better than what you had intended.  In the end, that is what locavore cooking is about.  You need to let go and work with whatever is at the market.  In today's well stocked grocery store, you can get whatever you want whenever you want it.  That's great, but there's nothing to push you outside of your bubble.

I'm not saying I necessarily got pushed outside of my comfort zone at the market this past weekend.  While not having garlic is fairly traumatic to anyone of marginally Italian descent, "just leaving it out" probably isn't getting pushed outside of your bubble.  But I'm not talking about me right now, am I?  No.  I'm talking about you.  I'm saying that you should allow yourself to get pushed out of your bubble.  Because it's fun.  Because I promise that the bag of weird looking mushrooms that you pick up at the market is going to taste way better than whatever you "just have" to run to the grocery store for.  Because I bet you wouldn't have believed me before that peaches and corn make a good salad.  And because cooking (like dancing) should be fun.  

The recipes came out well.  My helpers Denise and Missie were amazing.  The plants that I strategically placed throughout the audience asked all the right questions at all the right times.  Okay, the gazpacho was a bit spicy, but I cooled everyone down with a little maple bacon ice cream so they have to forgive me, right?  Right.

Thanks again for coming out to see me.  And if you didn't, you can make it up to me next time!  I'll be dancing at the market this coming Saturday...


Corn and Peach Salad

• 4 cobs corn
• 1 lb peaches
• 1 small red onion
• mixed greens (preferably with edible flowers for decoration)
• 1 lime
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1 jalapeno? 

Grill the corn for about 5 minutes on each side.  You're looking to get it charred and a little smokey, but you don't want to overcook the corn.  Meanwhile, slice or cube the peaches into bite sized chunks, and finely dice the red onion.  Once the corn is grilled, cut it off of the cob and combine with the peaches, onion, and mixed greens in a large bowl.  (Larger than the one I used!)  In a separate bowl, whisk together the juice of one lime, the olive oil,  and salt and freshly ground pepper to taste.  (You can also add a minced jalapeno into the dressing, but I accidentally threw this into the gazpacho - making it extra spicy!)  Pour the dressing over the salad, and toss gently again to combine.

This is a light, refreshing salad that would go well with any grilled meat in the summer.  You could also add some avocado, feta, or nuts (if you're into that sort of thing).  Another thing I thought of while walking the market after the demo was to flake some of the Rushing Waters smoked trout on top and make an entree salad. 

Grilled Vegetable "Gazpacho"

Yes, I know that gazpacho is made with raw vegetables.  Yes, I know gazpacho is traditionally thickened with bread.  This has neither of those things.  That's why it's "gazpacho."  Missie (who took the last of it home) named it "Ka-spacho." I don't care what you want to call it.  It's a refreshing summer meal or side, a good way to use up whatever vegetables you have lying around the house, and would make a damn fine Bloody Mary base.  

This is what I did at the market, but you can really feel free to throw in whatever other ingredients you have, or omit any that you don't.  (Garlic anyone?)

• 1 large zucchini (about 1 to 1.5 lbs), cut into large cubes
• 1 red onion,  quartered
• 1 jalapeno (or two depending on how you're feeling)
• 2 bell peppers - whatever color you're feeling
• A large handful of fresh herbs (if you find yourself thinking - wait, I didn't notice this at the market, you are very perceptive.  And also shhh!)
• 1 cucumber
• 2 (ish) lbs tomatoes, halved or quartered, depending on the size
• Olive Oil
• Salt and Pepper

Combine first five ingredients, along with any additional vegetables you may have lying around your kitchen.   Toss with a drizzling of olive oil, and salt and pepper to taste.  Grill until just charred, but not soft or mushy.  If you want, at this point, you can remove the skins from the peppers, and the seeds from the jalapenos.  If the peppers are nicely charred, the skins should slip right off, but this step is not necessary.

While the first set of veggies is grilling, blend the cucumber until it is fully liquified.  Add the grilled vegetables, and blend again until thick.  The zucchini has a nice viscosity to it, and will thicken up the soup nicely, while the cucumber and the tomato thin it out.  In this case, the zucchini takes the place of the bread.

Toss the tomatoes in olive oil, and season with salt and pepper.  Grill for about 10 minutes, tossing occasionally.  You want the tomatoes to start to dry up slightly, and get a little charred on the outside, without drying up.

Once the tomatoes are warm and getting a little caramelized,  transfer them into the blender and puree. 

At this point, I like to combine the green portion and the tomato portion artistically.  You can stir them together, but I like how the layers look.  Depends on how fancy you're feeling that day.


Quark and Beet Dip

Easiest. Recipe. Ever.

Roast off 1.5 lbs of beets (the color's up to you) and allow to cool.  Put into a food processor, and process until smooth.  Combine with 1 8 oz container of quark from the Clock Shadow Creamery (your choice of flavor... try the maple, it's award winning!)  Add a dash of any spices you feel appropriate (cardamom, cinnamon, nutmeg, cayenne...?  Preferably not all four.), or maybe a bit of lemon zest, and stir to combine.  Serve as a dip with crusty bread, carrot or celery sticks, or crackers.

Maple Bacon Ice Cream
(Hahahahaha.  Nope.)

Send me a message to place your order ;)

Next up - what to do with the pile of zucchini and cherry tomatoes building up on my kitchen counter.  Got any tips for me, or anything you'd like to see me try?  Leave them in the comments.

A Return... Not Necessarily Triumphant

I've been absent for awhile.  And I don't just mean since my last blog post, but since I was really here, engaged, inspired.  There have been a lot of things going on: busyness at work, school taking my time, and a little bit of soul crushing depression.  But I would be passing the buck if I blamed my absence on any of those things.  No, none of that is the problem.  Something has been missing.  Inspiration.  What am I here to say?

I watch a lot of Food Network, and right now the big show is Next Food Network Star.  Each time I sit down to write, I hear Alton Brown's voice in my head asking "What is your POV?"

Great question, voices inside my head.  What is my Point of View?  What makes me special?  What do I have to offer?  Why should you read my blog over any of the other thousands of food blog choices that you have available to you?  Yeah, I'm a locavore, but frankly that's less interesting to me than those people who make everything out of bacon.  I mean, being a locavore is awesome, but I can't keep saying it over and over without getting preachy and/or boring.  I thought, for a few weeks there, that I was going to buy a farm.  That would have been fun.  Then "Home Grown, Home Made" could have been more than just a good tag line.  But, after a faulty basement to snap me back into reality, and some serious conversation, I think I've got other things I need to do before a farm can happen.

So, what do I have?  What is my Point of View?

The answer actually came to me in my other, other job.  When I'm not here, and when I'm not at my "real" job, and when I'm not in school, I'm a teacher.  And I'm a really good teacher.  But that's not my POV either.  Here's what happened:

I was teaching a class on how to be a successful college student, and it was made very clear to me that I couldn't let the students go early because they needed so many hours in the classrom for accreditation.  This was my first time teaching the course, and I guess I underestimated how long things would take, because, on the last day, there were two full hours and absolutely no content left.

And that was when it hit me: I'm a good teacher, I'm a good cook, I'm a good gardener, I'm a good advocate.

But I'm an excellent bull-shitter.

You want to talk about nothing?  I'll talk to you about nothing.  You want to talk about something I know nothing about?  I'll talk to you about that too.  One thing that annoys my husband about me is that I will answer questions that I don't know the answer to.  Not big important questions, not meaning of life questions, or which exit do I take, or is this fish still good questions, but the type of question that you can usually just reason your way through:

Him: Where did you learn that?
Me: I didn't.  But it makes sense, right?

He's actually taking to asking me: "Is that true, or are you just assuming?"  9 out of 10 times I'm assuming, but 7 of those 9 times I'm also right.

Bullshitting, and being able to make (marginally accurate) shit up, is a fairly useful skill to have.  Not all the time, of course, and I hope that I'm not coming off as an enormous d-bag right now.  I'm not talking about the kind of BSing that belittles people, hurts their feelings, or gets someone hurt.  I'm just talking about a little mental improvisation.  For instance, back to my classroom example, I played Joss Whedon's Weslean University commencement address and, in the 13 minutes that it played, I figured out how it related to the class.

BSing is also a very important skill to have in the kitchen.

When people tell me that they don't cook, it's often because it's too expensive.  This makes almost no sense to me - eating out is what's expensive.  It was this Oatmeal comic that helped push me, again, towards finding this particular POV.  If you're not reading The Oatmeal, you probably should be.

Cooking is absolutely expensive if that's how you do it - if you  go out and buy the  ten or more expensive ingredients you need for that one recipe, in much greater quantities than you need, and then let the remainder sit in your refrigerator or on your shelf until they rot. Statistics say that Americans throw out half of the food they come in contact with, and that the average family of four throws away $2275 each year in wasted food. 

So you've basically got three choices: eat out every meal, figure out how to use up what you've got left after making your recipe, or figure out how to make that recipe with what you've already got. 

And that, my friends, is my new POV.  Not the first, the second two!  How to BS your refrigerator to make what you want and use what you've got.  Because, if you can do that, cooking becomes a lot easier, a lot cheaper, and eating locally is just a matter of where you shop. 

Here's a recipe that I BSed a few months ago, and that I promised a friend I would post for him. I had three goals in this recipe:

-use up as much in my freezer as possible,

- get as many vegetables on the dinner table as possible (which, honestly, is the hardest part of being a WI locavore in the winter and early spring), and 

-serve beets to people who I suspected didn't eat beets because I'm kind of an ass like that; I think making people eat and like a stereotypically hated food is fun. 

My favorite part about this was that it died the pasta pink.
And everything is better pink!

Super Beet Pasta

• 1 lb pasta (your choice of what kind. Preferably something textured like rotini or bow-tie, but a spaghetti, fettuccine, etc would also work.)

• 2 lb beets, roasted (I used beets that I had roasted and frozen in the fall. You could really use any kind of vegetable you wanted here, or a combination I vegetables, but that would mean changing the name. Cook the vegetables first to your preferred doneness. You'll be cooking the final pasta just briefly, so of it's something you don't want to overcook you may want to under-cook it slightly. )

• 8 oz beet greens (I again used frozen greens here. You could really use any type of hardy green here, but I was going for a theme with the original recipe.)

• 1/2 cup beet green pesto (or any kind of pesto you want. If you want to make beet green pesto, use my base pesto recipe here and substitute beet greens for the basil. 

• 1 cup shredded Parmesan or Romano cheese (or whatever kind of cheese you like in your pasta)

• Salt and pepper as needed

Cook the pasta according to package directions until it is just under-done. Drain and rinse.

While the pasta is cooking, thinly slice the beet greens and then drop them in boiling water for about a minute. Drain, then transfer to a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking process. (Because I was using frozen greens, which were already cooked, I skipped this step and just sliced the greens thinly.). Cut the beets into bite sized cubes. Combine pasta, beets, greens, pesto, and 1/2 of cheese and toss until well combined. Top with remaining cheese and bake in a 375 degree oven until heated through and cheese is melty. 

There's not a lot to this dish, so it's flavor really depends on what you're putting into it. Make sure the pasta water is well salted, and that the pesto is flavorful and well balanced. Taste it before it goes into the oven, and add salt and pepper as needed. Make sure you're taking the saltiness of your cheese into account when you're tasting. 

As with most pasta, you can really add anything you want to this. Mushrooms would be a nice addition if you had some. You could also add a splash of heavy cream, or some tomato sauce. 

So that's it. Pasta is pretty easy to BS, which is why you'll see it so often on chopped. I love comments, so if you have any questions please ask them below. 

Happy New Year

So my New Year's Resolution is to remove Genetically Modified foods from my household pantry.  So far, I am off to a TERRIBLE start.  I started off 2013 with some sort of stomach bug, and all I could handle were GMO filled Saltine Crackers and GMO packed Popsicles.  But that's the good thing about New Years Resolutions, right?  You've got a full year to work on them!

(Other resolutions include waking up earlier, and fitting into a dress I found in the attic that I'm pretty sure was my grandma's - although that second one is going to be achieved by altering the dress, not altering me!)

I also recently heard a few rounds on Facebook of "eating healthily/locally/organically/sustainably/etc (not saying those are all the same thing) is just too hard/too expensive/takes too much time.  I am reinvigorated about proving that to be false! 

So, tonight's dinner, while not fancy, will fit those needs.

I do need to say that this is not Rachel's 30 minute meals (but to be fair, those aren't really 30 minute meals either!)  To me, "fast" doesn't necessarily refer to the cooking time - just to the prep time.  This one took me 16 minutes to peel and cut the vegetables, and in the 60 minutes it took to cook after that, I did a load of laundry, straightened the house and (how bout that!) typed the first half of this blog post.  You could even chop all the vegetables in the morning (if you're the kind of person who has that kind of time in the morning) so all you had to do was put them in the oven once you got home.

If you are afraid of beets, please don't be.  This was sweet and earthy, and would be a great dinner even if you weren't a little bit afraid of solid food.  Carrots and beets are still available at the farmer's market, and are generally pretty cheap.  I served this with a salad of winter greens and some leftover rice and vegetables from New Years Eve.

Roasted Beet, Carrot, and Ginger Soup

• 1 lb carrots, peeled and diced into about 1 inch pieces
• 1 lb beets, peeled and diced into about 1 inch pieces
• 2 large shallots, peeled and cut into chunks
• 4 or more cloves garlic, smashed
• 1 inch ginger root, cut into thin slices
• 1 to 2 tbsp olive oil
• salt and freshly ground pepper
• 4 cups vegetable or chicken stock, or water
• 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 pinch allspice
• Juice of 1 lemon
• sour cream

Toss first eight ingredients, and bake at 375 degrees for 45 to 60 minutes, until golden and caramelized.

Transfer the caramelized vegetables to a soup pan and pour in the stock or water, Worcestershire, and allspice .  Simmer for 10 to 15 minutes, then puree using an immersion blender or by transferring in small batches to a blender or food processor.  Taste, and season with salt, pepper, and lemon juice.

Now, normally when reading this recipe, I would think "what poor sap is using water instead of stock?"  But today, I was that poor sap.  I messed up my last batch of chicken stock and don't have any currently (by messed up, I mean left on the stove waiting for it to cool enough to go into the fridge - overnight.  Gross.)  It still had a lot of flavor, but I do feel that it missed something in the mouth-feel department without the silkiness of chicken stock.  Do wait until after you have pureed the vegetables to adjust the seasoning, because adding the vegetables in adds so much flavor.

I thought this was perfect with just a dollop of sour cream, but Jeff felt in needed a little meat and added three leftover shrimp from New Years Eve.  If you were in a meat mood, I think that you could really use anything in this.  Some spicy shrimp or crab, or a little bit of peppered steak.  When you're working with a budget, it's not about cutting out the expensive ingredients, it's about using them sparingly and in the right places.

First Christmas

11 hits from Germany this week!  Way to be awesome, Germany!  I would make something German, but I don't really know any German recipes.  I do take suggestions!  Come to think of it, I did Christmas with my mom's side of the family last night, and she got me a meat grinder/sausage maker... so I could make sausages.  Sausages are German.  Unless that's a racist thing to say, in which case, sorry.  I love sausages! <---Fact.

Anyway, yesterday was family Christmas with my mom's family.  We've got three families to arrange Christmas with, and they all live in opposite directions in the state, so things need to be spread out over more than two days.

I had a great time.  My sister has a two year old, and his complete joy at opening presents has actually gotten me in a Christmas-y mood.  Which is a big deal for me.  I generally am one of those people who just gets stressed out and angry at Christmas time, and most of the time it doesn't seem worth the trouble.  But a two year old giggling uncontrollably whilst throwing colored bits of paper up into the air - along with a whole lot of wine (for me, not the two year old!) - has made me downright jolly.  Really.  I listened to Christmas carols on my way in to work today.  I may have even sung along!

At any family dinner, I am always in charge of vegetables.  I feel like vegetables - especially salad - tend to be overlooked in the big meal.  This may be a Wisconsin thing, but meat and potatoes are always the star.  Vegetables are there to have something green on the table, but generally are afforded very little room on the plate!

But good vegetables are good.  And I don't always care for meat that much when other people are cooking.  One of the realizations I have made in this locavore quest is how different "real" meat tastes from the meat you buy in the grocery store.  In fact, there was a time that I thought I didn't like meat.  I even considered becoming a vegetarian!  Imagine!! Turns out I just don't like crappy meat.

But, I do understand that not everyone has the time/money to buy fresh local meat, and I don't begrudge them that, I just fill up on vegetables.  Vegetables that I bring, so I know that they're good.

Which is why I have become the vegetable girl!

I did ask ahead and found out that there would not be room for me in the oven (seriously, people.  It's only polite to ask!), so I made two crock pot vegetable dishes, both of which could be warmed in the microwave if necessary (and it was).  My only complaint with either of these was in regards to the beets.  I used a combo of red and yellow beets, which I should have realized was a bad plan.  Some of the yellow beets got stained with the red beets, but not allover, which just ended up making them look weird.  They still tasted delicious, but it was kind of like someone colored on them with a big red marker.  In the future, I think I'd only use one color of beets in this dish.

This was probably my favorite beet preparation so far.  And it was a lot easier than some of the others, so this concept is something I might stick to moving forward.  I figure it should work with a lot of different flavors.  As written, it was very Christmas-y!

While the beets were my favorite, the squash was the star of the show.  I didn't get to take any home, so I will be making more soon.  I also promised my sister that I would get this posted today so she could steal the recipe... I'm just barely making good on that promise!

Braised Beets with Orange and Clove 
(I have to be honest, here, only the beets and honey are local...)

• 3 lbs beets (stick to the same color beets)
• grated zest of 1 orange
• 1/2 cup fresh orange juice
• salt and freshly ground pepper
• 2 tsp honey
• 4 whole cloves
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 bay leaf

Peel beets, and cut into 1/2 inch slices.  Season with salt and pepper, and place in the slow cooker.  Combine remaining ingredients, and pour over beets.  Cover, and cook on low for 4 to 5 hours.  I held mine on warm for about 2 hours longer, and they held up nicely.


Spicy Squash with Garlic-Yogurt Sauce

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 1/2 lb squash, peeled, cut in half, and cut into 1 1/2 inch thick slices (I used a combination of butternut and an orange squash that I bought because it was pretty, but which I have no clue what it is)
• 1 inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and grated
• 2-3 cloves garlic
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp curry powder
• 1 small diced Thai chili (frozen from my garden)
• 1/2 pint tomato sauce (from my canning frenzy!)
• 1/2 cup honey
• salt and freshly ground pepper

 For the Yogurt Sauce

• 1 1/2 cup Greek yogurt
• 2 large cloves garlic, minced
• 3 tbsp fresh chopped mint

In a large frying pan, over medium high heat, warm the olive oil.  Working in batches, add the squash, season with salt and pepper, and saute until evenly browned, about 7 minutes.  Transfer to the slow cooker.  Add ginger, garlic, coriander, cinnamon, curry, and chilis, and saute until fragrant, about 30 seconds.  Stir in the tomato sauce, the honey, 1/2 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp pepper.  Stir, scrapping the bottom of the pan, and bring to a boil.  Pour over squash in crock pot.  Cover and cook until squash is tender but still holds it's shape.  I cooked mine a little too long.  It was good, but falling apart more than I would have liked.  I would say four hours on the low setting and not a minute longer!  Maybe only 3 and a half if you're going to need to heat it up later.

Meanwhile, or the day before, combine yogurt, garlic, mint, and 1/2 tsp salt.  Cover and refrigerate until serving.

Finally, I promised my step-dad that I would post a picture of his stollen bread.  Look how pretty.  And!  Stolen is German!  Yay!  Full Circle!!

Preserving Experiment #5

Beets.

Prior to this year, I had never eaten one in my life.

I do have a cousin who loves beets.  He talks about them a lot - almost inappropriately so - on Facebook.

They are scary looking.

They look like weird, brightly colored potatoes.  They are dirty.  I expected them to taste dirty.  Not entirely sure why I thought that would be a bad thing... after all I do love potatoes and mushrooms, and I prefer my red wine to taste a little bit like dirt.

They have probably become the favorite vegetable in our house - both the root and the greens.  It's kind of shocking.

Doing some quick research on the interwebs, I learned the following about beets.  Very little of this is from scholarly sources, and if I were grading this from one of my students, it would totally get an F:

Supposedly, the eating of beets can prevent or reverse the following ailments:

• Acidosis, which leads to acid reflux
• Cancer
• Anemia
• Athersclerosis, which is a hardening of the arteries
• Vericose ceins
• High blood pressure
• Constipation
• Liver Problems
• Kidney and gall bladder diseases
• Gout

My husband has acid reflux, and I have anemia (and all the women in my family have vericose veins).  Also my body apparently really enjoys getting kidney stones, so I'm pretty excited that I can magically cure these things just by eating beets!  Okay, I don't think it works quite that way, but never-the-less it's good to know that something I like is good for me.

I don't have kids, but I feel like beets would be a good thing to try to feed your kids - as long as they don't know what they are or get to see them ahead of time!  The fact that they are sweet and brightly colored makes me think you could trick a kid into thinking they're candy or something.  Another good thing about beets is that, after you cut them up, it looks like you killed someone in your kitchen - which is always fun.

Apparently the growing season for beets is June through October, so we're just about done.  I wouldn't want to be without this magical vegetable for a full winter, so I'm glad I got this done in time!  I also thought this was my prettiest canning batch yet, and it made me sad to put the finished jars down in the basement where visitors can't admire them.  Next house: display shelf for canning!

I haven't tried these yet, since all the jars closed properly and I still have fresh beets to eat.  I will report back as soon as I do!

Pickled Beets
From the Art of Preserving

• 1 pound beets (L)
• 1 white onion, sliced (L)
• 1 cup cider vinegar (5% acidity)
• 1/4 cup honey (L)
• 1 tbsp cardamom pods
• 1 tbsp whole cloves
• pinch of salt

Have ready hot, sterilized jars and their lids.

Put the beets (whole.  Leave a little bit of stem so all the skin is intact and covering all the beet.  This helps keep the nutrients in) into a large saucepan (if using different colored beets, put each color into their own sauce pan) and add water to cover by 2 inches.  Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to medium-low, cover partially and simmer until the beets are tender, 25-30 minutes.  Drain the beets, reserving 2 cups of the cooking liquid.

When the cooked beets are cool enough to handle, peel them (once the beets are cool, the skins slide right off - almost like the tomato skins, but not quite as easy)  and then cut into slices 1/4 inch thick.  Divide the beet slices and the onion slices among the jars.

In a saucepan over medium heat, combine the reserved cooking liquid, vinegar, honey, cardamom, cloves and salt.  Bring just to a boil, then ladle the hot mixture into the jars, evenly distributing the spices and leaving 1/2 inch of headspace.  Remove any air bubbles.  Wipe the rims clean and seal tightly with the lids.

Process the jars for 7 minutes in a boiling water bath.  Let the jars stand undisturbed for 24 hours, then set them aside for one week for the flavors to develop.

The jars can be stored in a cool dark place for up to 3 months (so I have to eat them all by Christmas!)

The recipe said this made 4 pints.  I only got two.  I ended up making three different batches, and stored them in half pint and 4 oz jelly jars.  I figure how many pickled beets do I really need at once?

I have to image that these beets would go great in this recipe.  I actually made this salad with fresh, grilled beets, but the pickled beets would go well too.  Cut out the tomatoes, and this could be a great winter salad when all I can get my hands on is greens.

Smoked Salmon and Beet Salad
(this recipe is for one salad)

• 1 or 2 large handfuls of mixed greens, washed (L)
• 1 tomato, quartered and cut into slices (optional) (L)
• 1 small or 1/2 large beet - steamed, grilled, boiled, or pickled, sliced into bite size pieces (L)
• 4 oz smoked salmon (L-ish.  Okay, this is smoked by Rushing Waters fishery, but not grown there)
• 1 oz goat cheese - I used a honey goat cheese (L)
• 2-3 tbsp Honey Basil Vinaigrette, or to taste 

Put greens in a bowl.  Top greens with other stuff.  Cheese can be crumbled or left in one chunk for presentation purposes as I did in the picture.

Honey Basil Vinaigrette (from this post, except modified to be basil instead of thyme!)
Makes about 1 cup

• 3 tbsp minced shallots (L)
• 1/4 cup champagne vinegar
• 1/2 cup raw honey (L)
• 2 tsp fresh basil (L*), minced
• 1 clove garlic (L), minced
• 3/4 cups extra virgin olive oil
• Salt and Pepper

A Giant Steak Can be Good for You!

Red meat is, okay, not the healthiest choice.  It's high in fat, high in cholesterol, and has been linked to colon cancer, breast cancer and Alzheimer.  What the hell?

On the other hand, it's high in iron (and I'm anemic, so that's a plus), zinc (which is good for the immune system), and protein.

I'm not a doctor.  (Oh, gosh, had you not realized that yet?  Seriously, I'm not.  From a medical perspective this website is even less helpful than WebMD - the Wikipedia of Medicine!), but here's my problem with studies on the negatives of red meat.  All the studies I've seen compare the "Western Diet" (burgers, french fries, fried chicken), to the "Mediterranean Diet" (fish, grains, olive oil).  Yeah, the Mediterranean Diet is going to win!  But, what if the problem isn't the red meat?  What if the problem is the fact that our meat is being fed crazy antibiotics and ground up animal byproducts and god knows what else.  What if the problem is that it's being cooked in pure trans fat?  There's too much to separate.

In the end, everything is bad for you.  Yeah, I'm probably going to die of cancer.  But I'm also going to die of cancer because I like to garden in a tank top without putting on sunscreen.  Or because there was asbestos in my high school.    Or because of the aluminum in my deodorant, or in my aluminum cans.  There's too much to worry about.  If we don't all die of cancer, it's probably only because the terrorists won.  I can try to be healthy, but that's the best I can do.

1 giant-ass T-bone.  My husband and I shared this for dinner.

And that's what this post is about.  It's about the fact that I have recently found that I really like steak.  It is about my desire, with that realization, to eat steak.  And it is about the fact that, when eating steak, my husband seems to think that bigger = better.

My realization about my love for steak was slow to come about.  I've said before that real meat - that is to say, local food from a local farm - tastes different than meat from a grocery store.  I didn't think I liked beef, unless it had been slow cooked to the point of melting in your mouth.  I didn't understand when people said that a steak melted in their mouth.  Steaks don't melt - they're chewy.  Like chewing on people, I have said in the past.  Too fleshy.

And then I realized, bad meat = bad.  Cheap meat = bad.  Processed meat with fillers and added solutions = bad.  Happy cow, killed humanely, processed properly and minimally, and prepared well = amazing.

I'm not worried about eating too much red meat.  Red meat is expensive.  If it's not, you probably shouldn't be buying it.  Try the real thing... or don't.  Once you do, you may never be able to go back.

I justify the cost of red meat, and the possible health consequences, by making sure the rest of the meal is full of healthy, inexpensive, vegetably choices. 

A good steak has it's own flavor.  The best recipe is this:

Take steak (L).  Season generously with salt and pepper, and maybe a little minced garlic (L).  Sear on a grill over high heat, until medium rare.  Cook it any more than that, and I will find you and punch you in the neck.

A good steak meal, in my mind, is about the side dishes.  They should complement the steak and fill you up.  I was very happy with both of these.  The salad was especially good, and even my husband - who I think tends to see salad mostly as a filler item - was really happy with it.  The greens were a last minute addition to the potatoes, but they were a little peppery and I really enjoyed them.  You can't tell so much from the pictures, but I used a combination of red, Yukon gold, and purple potatoes.

Still a lot of steak...

Grilled Beet Salad with Goat Cheese and Honey Vinaigrette

For the Vinaigrette:

• 3 tbsp minced shallots (L)
• 1/4 cup champagne vinigar
• 1/2 cup raw honey (L)
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 1 tsp fresh thyme (L*), minced
• 1 clove garlic (L), minced
• 3/4 cups extra virgin olive oil
• Salt and Pepper

For the salad:

• 2 lbs whole beets (L)
• 1/4 cup water (L)
• 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 4 sage leaves (L*), minced
• 3 sprigs time (L*), minced
• 1 sprig rosemary (L*), minced
• 1 bayleaf
• salt and pepper
• mixed greens (L)
• Cherry tomatoes, sliced in half or quartered (L*)
• Crumbled goat cheese (L)

Combine dressing ingredients and shake vigorously.  


Wash well and chop beets into 1/2 inch pieces (I learned there is no need to peel them).  Place into the center of a large piece of aluminum foil and fold up the edges to make a "boat."

The first piece of foil I used was too small :(

 Pour in water, olive oil, sage, thyme, rosemary, bay leaf, and salt and pepper.  Fold up to create a "packet."  Grill packet over medium high heat, until beets are cooked through and soft, about 30 minutes.  Top mixed greens with beets, tomatoes, and goat cheese, and dress with honey vinaigrette.  The dressing saves well, but you will need to pull it out of the fridge at least 30 minutes before serving, because the olive oil will congeal.

Beets in their packet

Finished salad.  So pretty!

Pan Fried Potatoes with Beet Greens

• 1 lb potatoes (L) - I used a mix of Yukon, red, and purple, but you could use anything you wanted.  Unpeeled and cut into 1 inch pieces
• 2 tbsp butter (L)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced (L)
• Greens from 2 lbs beets, sliced into 1 inch strips (L)
• Salt and freshly ground pepper.

Place potatoes into a large pot, and just cover with cold water.  Salt water, and bring to a boil, cooking at a gentle boil until potatoes just start to be tender.  Drain.

Meanwhile, add butter to a large skillet and melt over medium high heat.  Add garlic, and saute for about two minutes.  Add potatoes and greens, and cook until greens are well wilted, and potatoes are cooked through and golden brown.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Grilled Beets and Other Things

This is a side dish that was almost perfect.  Almost.

I always look at the pretty piles of beets at the farmer's market and wonder what in the heck to do with them.  They are pretty, but "beet" is not a thing that I immediately think I want to eat.  There are just words that have automatic negative food connotations in my mind.

But, after all, I am trying to overcome those negative impressions here, right?  I mean, if I can be a champion for the deliciousness of dandelions, I certainly should be able to eat a beet!

By the way, I totally want to have a dandelion dinner next spring.  In my food related fantasies, it will be top chef style, with 5 courses, all of them featuring dandelion.  For dessert I am thinking about a dandelion and creeping charlie sorbet with candied dandelions on top.  Whatta ya think?  If I was a famous (or even just actual) chef, I could charge for the meals and give all the proceeds to a good cause.  Maybe Growing Power.  I'm not a famous (or even just actual) chef, so what I will probably do is just make some more soup and salad for myself and call it a night, but it would totally be fun.  If anyone wants to come to my dandelion themed charity dinner, let me know!

Raw veggies

Anyway, beets.  They're pretty.  They have a terrible name.  It's time to try them.

I got a variety pack of beets - some pink, some red, and some striped.  The first thing I learned is that beet juice stains.  A lot.  Not just your clothes, but your cutting board and your hands.  I kind of looked like I murdered someone.  I am not a huge fan of wearing gloves while handling food (I tend to cut of the tip of the finger of my glove off, and then have to throw out whatever I'm working on because there's a tiny tip of plastic glove hiding somewhere in it) but this might be the right time to wear them.  Unless you want to go to work the next day and have to defend the beet blood on your hands...

I couldn't find much on the good old interwebs about cooking beets. I really wanted to grill them, and all I could really find was that it could be done, and they didn't take that long. Unfortunately, I mixed the all up with zucchini and yellow squash, which really don't take that long, and the beets ended up a little on the under cooked side.  Like raw.

Now, again according to the interwebs, the best way to eat a beet is raw.  Apparently they help fight cancer.  But the thing is, they're really hard.  So... yeah.  If you're going to eat them raw, cut them small.  These needed to be cooked more.  They hurt my teeth.  But even still, they tasted delicious.  For looking like dirty little potatoes, beets are very sweet.  Almost apple like, but maybe even sweeter.  And more colorful!  I feel like a beet and pork recipe would work exactly in the way an apple and pork recipe works. 

So this recipe is right in terms of content.  In terms of directions, this is what I should have done, not what I actually did.  Also, beets give you less than what you think they will, so buy more than one bunch!

Grilled Beets and Summer Squash

• 5 or so medium beets, cut into bite sized chunks (L)
• 1 small zucchini, cut into bite sized chunks (L*)
• 1 small summer squash, cut into bite sized chunks (L*)
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp minced mint (L*)
• 1 tsp balsamic vinegar
• Salt and freshly ground pepper

Cooked (mostly) veggies.  So pretty!

Place cut beets and cut squash into two separate small bowls.  In a third bowl, combine remaining ingredients and whisk together well.  Pour over the beets and the squash and stir each to coat.

Heat a grill to medium high.  In a wire grill rack, cook beets for about 8 minutes, or until beets start to get soft, stirring twice to flip.  After beets start to soften, add squash and continue to cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until beets and squash are cooked through.

This was very cool, and a little sweet from the beets.  It went perfectly with Jamaican Jerk chicken - and would have gone even better if the chicken had been hotter!