When Food Bloggers Don't Have Time To Cook

Man alive!  What a busy week!  I am absolutely looking forward to the weekend and the Local Farmer Open House (it's tomorrow, people.  Don't miss it!)

It really seems like, when I'm busy at work, I just run out of time for everything else.  It's not that I'm blogging there, of course, for two reasons:

1. That would be wrong
2. Ever since my article in OnMilwaukee.com, I suspect that some of my co-workers/bosses might be reading this.

But mostly #1, of course!

I don't think that's the reason.  When we're busy at work, we're there longer.  We also get more tired.  Being stressed is tiring, and being tired means you don't want to do crappy stuff like cleaning your house, laundry, and cooking.  Yes, if you have to do it every day, cooking is a chore.  Even if you love to cook, it's still a chore.

So, since it's basically all I've eaten all week, I thought I'd take the time to talk a bit about how to locavore up your dinner if you don't have time to braise, bake, or make your own pasta.  All you need is a little pre-planning.  And it can be WAY pre-planning.  Most of the things I ate this week were in my freezer well before the start of the week.

Yesterday I had grilled sausages with carrots and mushrooms and baked potato wedges.   I forgot to take a picture...

We have a selection of sausages in the freezer, as well as a bag of sausage buns.  Bread freezes very well, so it's nice to have buns on hand for when just want that quick sandwich.

I started out by slicing the potatoes into wedges (actually, Jeff did this), and then boiling them until they just start to get soft.  Drain the potatoes, season with about a tablespoon of olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic powder, lay out on a cookie sheet so the slices aren't touching, and pop into a 425 degree oven for about 20 minutes, flipping them once half way through.

While the potatoes were baking, I chopped up the carrots into bite sized pieces, and boiled them again until they were about half way done.  Heat olive oil and saute thinly sliced shallot or red onion (about a tablespoon) for 2 or three minutes, then add 1 clove minced garlic and cook for another minute.  Add the carrots and one sliced portobello mushroom, and saute until the mushrooms are browned and the carrots are cooked through.  Add 2 tbsp honey, 1 tsp white wine vinegar, and a pinch of cayenne pepper.

Meanwhile, grill up your sausages, plop them in their buns, and dinner is served.

Wednesday, Jeff was playing at a bar and I had hot wings and fries.  Don't judge me!

Tuesday, we had pasta carbonara with spinach and mushrooms.

Pasta carbonara is really easy and really quick, and is something that can be made with nothing more than fridge/pantry essentials.  The addition of spinach and mushrooms mean that it's not a "true" carbonara, but it makes me feel better to get some vegetables.  If you want to make a true carbonara, you can follow this recipe and just omit the veggies, and I think you should use a spaghetti type pasta - but I'm not positive on that one.

Start out by bringing a large pot of salted water to a boil.  Chop up about 3 strips of bacon into 1 inch pieces.  (I keep bacon in my freezer.  When I buy it, I open it up and wrap it into 3 slice packages and freeze it like that.  That way, I can use just a little bit of bacon for cooking and not have to thaw the whole chunk.)  In a large frying pan, fry the bacon until it is just about to start getting crispy, then add about 1/2 cup thinly sliced mushrooms to the pan.  By this point, your water should be boiling, so drop in about 2 cups pasta.

Keep an eye on the bacon and mushrooms, and if the bacon looks like it might start to burn, take it off the heat.

While the pasta is cooking, whisk together one egg and two egg yolks with 1 cup grated Parmesan or Romano cheese.  Also, wash about 1/2 lb spinach and tear into bite sized pieces

Once the pasta is done, drain RETAINING SOME OF THE COOKING WATER.  I always forget this step.  The best way (in my opinion) to do this, is to place a bowl under your pasta strainer to catch some of the water.  You don't need all of it, but may need up to two cups.  Don't rinse off the pasta.  You want it to be hot.

Acting quickly so nothing gets cold, remove the bacon/mushrooms from the heat.  Slowly stir 1/2 cup of the hot cooking water to the egg/cheese mixture.  (I know I said act quickly, but you do need to stir it in slowly, so the egg does not cook.)  Add the hot pasta to the mushroom/bacon mix and stir to combine.  Add the egg/cheese/water and stir again.  Add the spinach, stir one more time, and cover the pan.  Allow to sit (no heat) for 5 minutes.  The heat of the pasta and water will cook the eggs and wilt the spinach.

Monday, we had Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms with Pasta Salad.

I removed the casings from one of those sausages and sauteed it up in a pan while I heated up my grill.  Once the sausage was cooked, I added about a tbsp of shallot and a tsp on garlic to the pan, and just cooked that down slightly - about three minutes.  I mixed that with about 1/2 a pound of spinach and 1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese and piled this onto three portobella mushrooms.  The mushrooms will look really full.  It's okay, they will cook down nicely:

Uncooked mushrooms

Place the mushrooms on a hot grill, cover, and cook until the mushrooms are cooked through, the spinach is wilted, and the cheese is melty.

I served this with pasta salad, which I made by combining Sunday's kohl slaw with some cooked pasta.

Which brings us to Sunday's meal: Grilled Chicken Wings with apple kohl slaw and zucchini fritters.

I like to season my wings with nothing but salt, garlic powder, and onion powder.  The kohl slaw was equal parts thinly sliced apple, carrot, and kohlrabi, with a splash of apple cider vinegar, a dollop of mayo, a sprinkle of dill, and salt and pepper.  I served it over lettuce because I had lettuce.

It was the fritters, really, which were the most exciting thing I've eaten all week, so it gets to be written as a real recipe.  I could eat these all winter!  I think this is good enough to make me remove my zucchini question off of my list of questions for the farmers tomorrow.  The more zucchini, the better!

Zucchini Fritters
(this only makes 9 small fritters, so make a double batch!)

• 2 cups shredded zucchini (if frozen, allow to thaw fully)
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp minced shallots
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 1 tbsp dried dill
• 1 beaten egg
• 3/4 cup grated Parmesan or Romano cheese
• 1/4 cup flour
• Oil for frying (not canola)

First off, please don't use canola oil.  Canola almost always contains GMOs, which I am against and which are bad for you.  Use sunflower or safflower or grape seed oil for frying.

Combine the zucchini and salt and allow to sit for 10 minutes.  Squeeze well to drain out all of the water.  Mix zucchini with all remaining ingredients except oil.

Fry the fritters by the spoonful in hot oil about 1 inch deep, flipping once.

As you are frying, keep finished fritters in a warm oven.

I served these with a dip that was 1/2 cup sour cream, 1/2 cup Greek yogurt, 2 tbsp fresh minced mint, 1 tsp dried dill, and one clove minced garlic.

So good!

A (Mostly) Local Superbowl Spread

I realized today, that I'm getting pretty good at this.  Granted, my year is just about up.  When I first started this project, everything was a question.  What am I going to eat?  Where can I find it?  What can I substitute for all these ingredients I don't have and can't get?

Two things have changed.  First, I'm getting better at finding stuff.  I'm not sure if the picking is getting better, or if I'm just noticing more.  Dairy, for example.  The Outpost, which I swear used to only have milk and occasionally buttermilk, now has the full Sassy Cow Creamery line.  I'm not sure if I missed it before or if it wasn't there.  And, joy of joys, I JUST found a place to order cream cheese online.  Cream cheese is one of those things I KEEP telling myself I'm going to make, but I just have never done it.  I should do it.  It looks pretty easy.  But I have to wonder if it's worth it.  I've been making my own mayonnaise, and from what I can tell it's not worth it.  It costs a lot more to make it myself, and I'm not sure it's better.  I know that when I substituted Olive Oil it definitely wasn't worth it.  The mayo turned a weird green color. 

Anyway, better at finding stuff, or maybe more stuff to find.  But I think I'm also just getting comfortable with the ingredients that are available to me.  The Superbowl is very much about food traditions, and I think that last year the hot wings would have broken me.  Not the wings themselves, but the celery.  It's February.  There's no celery.  Do I just skip that?  Carrots only?  That'd work.  But now, I know that I have a kohlrabi in the fridge, and that it's going to give me a watery crunch just like celery would.  It's not a question.  I know what I have, and I know how to use it, and that makes everything easier.  If nothing else, I feel like that's a huge success.  Yeah, I may want food I "can't" have, but I know more and more about how to get the best out of the ingredients I do have.  And more and more I'm turning to those ingredients first.  Instinctively.  Which is really what I was hoping to achieve over this past year.

Which isn't to say I didn't cheat.  Taco dip is another important tradition.  The dip part is under control, but I had to get some tomatoes to put on top.  It's not taco dip without tomatoes.

So we had taco dip with taco seasoning from Spice Hut (not the normal packet stuff I'm used to using.  It's better), local lettuce, and cheater tomatoes.  Chips and guacamole, homemade from a local Mexican restaurant.  I've already decided that counts!  And hot wings.  Delicious, delicious, honey and habenaro hot wings.  With just a splash of cheater Frank's Red Hot... because I love it on hot wings and I don't care.  Home made ranch and bleu cheese dressing, with carrots and kohlrabi.

I'm pleased.

If you know anything about me or Jeff, you're not surprised that the taco dip is already gone in this picture!

The only thing, I think, that could have made me happier, is if I would have thought to make CHERRY hot wings.  It didn't occur to me until I was setting the finished wings down to eat.  Oh well; I guess that means I'm going to have to make another batch of hot wings real soon.


Darn.


Honey Habenaro Hot Wings

• 12 chicken wings, separated at the joints, reserving that third part that no one eats for chicken stock.  Or, if you eat it, good for you.
• About 2 bottles beer, preferably something a little sweet like a honey wheat.
• Spicy dry rub (my recipe is top secret, because I made a big batch one time and have no clue what's in it.  Salt, garlic, onion, cayenne, white pepper, Chinese five spice, and some other stuff...  I don't know.  Google spicy dry rub and see what looks good to you.)
• 1 stick butter, divided into thirds
• 2 heaping tablespoons minced garlic
• 1 minced habenaro (wear gloves.  Don't touch your eyes afterward!)
• 1/4 cup franks red hot
• 1/4 cup honey, or to taste.  I prefer to use a buckwheat honey, but it's not necessary. 
  

Soak chicken wing pieces in beer overnight.  Once you're ready to cook, drain the beer and allow the wings to dry. Toss with about 1/4 cup of the dry rub.


Heat a grill to medium high heat.  Once hot, grill the wings until cooked through and crispy on the outside.


Meanwhile, melt 1/3 stick of butter in a large frying pan with curved sides over medium heat.  Add the garlic, and saute for 3 minutes.  Add habenaro and saute an additional two minutes.  Reduce heat to low.  Add the red hot, and second 1/3 stick of butter.  Bring to a simmer, and allow to cook, covered, stirring occasionally while wings grill. 


Once the wings are done, remove to a plate and set aside.  Add honey to hot sauce, and taste.  If it is too spicy for you, add more butter and/or honey.  If it isn't spicy enough, add more Franks, or some Tabasco sauce.  Once the sauce is ready, toss the wings in the sauce, transfer to a large bowl or platter, and consume!

So... No spring this year then?

Okay, I want to start out by saying that I have not starved to death.  I know you were concerned.  Nor have I started eating at Burger King every night.  Or ever.

Last week was crazy busy and I just did not have time to type everything up.  But a lot has happened, and I feel like I've fallen behind!  First off, my garden is in.  Yay!  And, Wisconsin decided to skip spring and jump straight from Winter to Summer, so the garden has been growing like crazy.  Or, at least the weeds are growing like crazy.  Now it needs to rain so I can pull those weeds out.  What I need to find is a recipe that features Creeping Charlie....

Garden shot #1.  Tomato plants, strawberries,
and weeds

Garden Shot #2: Herbs (in pots), radishes,
rhubarb, and other stuff... including weeds.

And, I finally have a lime tree!!!  After my lime tree fiasco, I did what I should have done originally and just went on Amazon.  And they sent me a lime tree... I got it within a week!  Not only that, I also got 6 other indoor fruit house plants!  Oh, but I should clarify, when I say "tree," I mean tiny, tiny stick with leaves.  I mean, they're in very good health, but most of them are shorter than a lime would be should it grow there!!  I guess I'm going to have to wait a few... dozen... years before I get a local lime.

Pomegranate (front) and fig (back)

Lime, Lemon, Tangelo, and Blood Orange

I have been eating well, though.  There's not a lot that grows in WI in the spring, so the fact that it's jumped straight to summer is fine by me... food wise at least.   Very little makes me happier than a quick summer dinner on the grill.  Really, the only thing would  be if my basil would get bigger so I could have a tomato, basil, mozzarella salad.  And, back to our previous topic, meals on the grill are quick and easy!  And you don't need to have a big kitchen.  Or any kitchen at all!  All you need fire...  If you have any questions, ask your local caveman!  To be very specific: Ebony, these are for you!!!

Oh, and thanks so much to EVERYONE who reads this getting me up over 1000 hits.  Those of you who live around here (or who want to come travel just for the fun!) I am going to arrange a trip to the Great Lakes Distillery to celebrate.  Let me know if you want to come with!!!

Grilled Asparagus and Mushrooms:
Active Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes

• Asparagus, bottoms trimmed (I didn't actually buy these, so they weren't local...)
• Mixed mushrooms. (MORELS!!) (L)
• Butter (L)
• Salt
• fresh ground Pepper
• 1/2 garlic bulb, minced (L)
• 1 tbsp fresh oregano, minced (L*)
• 1 tbsp fresh chives, minced (L*)

Place all ingredients onto a piece of foil and fold up so everything is sealed in.  Grill over medium/medium high heat until asparagus is just tender... about 10-15 minutes depending on how much asparagus you use and how thick the stalks are.

Grilled Mushrooms and Morels NY Strip Steaks

Active time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes

• 2 lbs fingerling potatoes (L)
• 1/2 lb morels (L)
• 3 tbsp Olive Oil (divided)
• Salt 
• Freshly Ground Pepper
• 2 tbsp minced chives (divided) (*L)
• 2 New York Strip Steaks (mine were Elk!) (L)
• 1/2 bulb garlic (L)

Wash potatoes and slice into 1/4 inch thick slices.  Soak and wash morels.  Toss potato slices, morels, 1 tbsp olive oil, salt, pepper, and 1 tbsp chives in a large bowl, and transfer to a grill basket (my new favorite toy!)  If you don't have a grill basket, wrap the whole thing up in aluminum foil.

Grill over medium high heat, until potatoes are soft and crispy.  If you're using aluminum foil, they might not get crispy, just soft.  Depending on how big your potatoes are, this should take 10-15 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine remaining 2 tbsp oil, 1 tbsp chives, and garlic in a glass pan big enough to hold both of your steaks.  Add the steaks, and turn to coat on both sides.  Allow to come to room temperature, turning occasionally.  Season steaks with salt on both sides, and grill over medium high heat for about 5 minutes on the first side.  Flip, and grill an additional 5 minutes on the second side.  Obviously, times will vary depending on how thick your steak was and how well done you like it.  Allow steak to rest for 5 minutes before slicing.


Grilled Chicken Wings with Spring Salad
Active time: 10 minutes
Total time: 30 minutes

• 6 chicken wings (L)
• Salt 
• Garlic Powder
• Onion Powder
• About 1-2 cups Mixed Greens, washed (L*)
• 6 Radishes, washed and sliced (L*)
• 4 mushrooms, washed and sliced (L)
• Bleu Cheese Dressing (L) (See below for recipe)

Season wings generously with salt, garlic, and onion, and grill over medium heat until done, turning once.  About 25 minutes, depending on how thick your wings are.

Meanwhile, combine greens, top with radishes and mushrooms, and dress with Bleu Cheese dressing.

Bleu Cheese Dressing:

• 2 1/2 ounces blue cheese, very well crumbled
• 3 tablespoons buttermilk
• 3 tablespoons sour cream
• 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 2 teaspoons white wine vinegar
• 1/4 teaspoon sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
• salt and freshly ground black pepper

Combine all ingredients in a jar and shake vigorously to combine.