cheesy baked orzo with leeks, asparagus, eggplant and oregano

My somewhat crazy summer begins this week, as I head to Minnesota for a month. I get to see my friend Sarah get married in Duluth, take care of my parents' dog while they're on a trip, run Grandma's marathon with Michael and see Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros in Minneapolis. And spend the Fourth of July with the extended family. I'm really looking forward to some time at home. And after that I'm off to Germany, and then soon thereafter Providence, with a brief trip to North Carolina for Michael's family reunion. Quite a lot ahead - and somehow I have to be working along the way...

So last night I had a little potluck gathering to get friends together before I head out of town. Potlucks are my favorite. Especially when you have friends who are super talented cooks. Although it was a bit last-minute, people showed up and brought delicious food: a spicy vegetarian vindaloo, a rice pilaf, thai coleslaw, dulce de leche and a citrus champagne punch... It was really wonderful. Good food and good friends.

This recipe is inspired by the baked orzo from Yottam Ottolenghi (via the Guardian). I changed the veggies slightly to make it more seasonal (asparagus and leeks). It takes a while to do all the vegetable prep, but the flavors are great and it's both fresh and comforting.  I also made these sesame noodles (pictured above left) and an apple cake, which I will post later. I shouldn't even be taking the time to post this one right now... but blogging is so much more fun than packing for a month, cleaning my room, and organizing my office! :)

a fancy ham and cheese sandwich

Katie and I had lunch at TeaHaus in Ann Arbor last week, and had the best pairing of a fresh spring mint pea soup and a very grown-up ham sandwich. This can hardly be called a recipe, but it's more an inspiration. As a pairing, it was wonderful, and the addition of a garlic herb butter to the bread did wonders for the sandwich. Yum. Oh, and you can just make out the gorgeous pastry there in the photo on the left...pear-cherry-marzipan. Double yum. Wish I had another one like that right about now.

ham and Swiss with herb-garlic butter on baguette
thinly-sliced ham
swiss cheese (Emmenthaler, Jarlsberg, Gruyere)
garlic-herb butter*: (mix some butter with mix-n-match herbs: chives, pressed garlic, parsley, basil, oregano) - I used tarragon
slice of thin baguette (might need to remove some of bready middle)

*see this link from bon appetit about how to make a compound butter. This was just a quick version and the butter was warm enough to just mix with the herbs, but if you want to keep some of your herb butter on-hand, try this technique

serve with a green soup, like this one (spring green minestrone) :)

spring green minestrone

This is another recipe inspired by Anna Thomas's Love Soup and Nigel Slater's post for a green minestrone. I got all kinds of green things at the farmer's market and wanted to try a green spring soup. Anna Thomas purees her green soup, but I liked the idea of keeping things small and whole so you can see all the good veggies swimming around. :) It was veggie-packed and tasty, but rather subtle and needed some red pepper flakes and/or ground pepper at the end for a little kick.

2 leeks, white and light green parts
2 T olive oil
garlic
sea salt

2 small green zucchini, halved and cut in thin slices
half bunch asparagus, cut in small slices
1 can cannelini beans (or potatoes)
about 3 c basic light vegetable broth
fresh lemon juice (2-3 T)

sorrel and chives
red pepper flakes
fresh ground pepper
garnish: spring onions, parmesan or pecorino romano shavings

Wash and drain leeks, slice. In a soup pot, saute leeks with butter or oil and a little salt. Try not to get brown, just soft. Add garlic and zucchini and asparagus, cook a few minutes then add liquids (stock and/or a little water). Add beans or potatoes, let simmer a few minutes until everything is hot. Top with fresh chives, sorrel, a squeeze of lemon juice and garnish with spring onions and cheese. 

Serve with good bread and cheese.

soba noodles with mango and eggplant and lime dressing

This recipe is - big surprise - another one of Synne's from Yottam Ottolenghi. It's one of my favorites, so many good flavors. Eggplant and mango, who would have thought?  But the colors look beautiful together, it feels light and fresh and summery with the lime-vinegar dressing.  In his cookbook Plenty Ottolenghi also writes that "this dish has become my mother's ultimate cook-to-impress fare. And she is not the only one, as I have been informed by many readers." So true!

I made this for friends who came over last night...and it was even warm enough (barely!) to sit outside. Although I know it's bad form (and risky), I often try out new recipes when cooking for friends and guests. I knew the soba noodles would work, but I tried making wild rice burgers for the first time...and that recipe needs some work. I will post it when I re-make them and make some adjustments. they were tasty, but there was something that needs some tweaking so they stay together more as burger-like patties. I'll get back to you on that.


soba noodles with mango and eggplant

1/2 cup brown rice vinegar
scant 1/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
1-2 garlic clove(s), peeled and crushed (depending on how much raw garlic you want)
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
grated zest and juice of one lime 

1/3 cup olive oil
1 medium eggplant/aubergine cut into 1/2-inch chunks 

8 ounces / 225g dried soba noodles
1 large ripe mango, cut into small chunks (how to cut a mango)
1/4 - 1/2 medium red onion, sliced paper-thin
fresh cilantro, garnish

Dressing: combine vinegar and sugar in a small saucepan, stir until sugar dissolves. Add salt, garlic, red pepper, let cool. Add sesame oil and lime juice and zest. Set aside.

Eggplant: Saute eggplant cubes in a saucepan with some oil and a little salt. Do this over med heat so they slowly cook and start to caramelize. Stir occasionally  but you can prep onion and mango while this is happening if you keep an eye out and can multitask. :)

Noodles: Follow package directions, but warning: they cook very quickly. So be ready to watch them once the water boils again, and drain. Rise with cold water and shake off excess water.

In a big bowl: Add noodles, dressing, eggplant, mango, red onion, and cilantro. Toss together. Enjoy!

Optional: You can also add firm fried tofu to make it more of a substantial meal.

buttermilk ginger-rhubarb muffins

Walking through the farmer's market on Saturday morning, I knew I had to go home and make rhubarb muffins. What says spring like rhubarb? My mormor makes an awesome rhubarb muffin...super moist with a sweet brown-sugar topping. This version is more of an everyday muffin, not as sweet and with a bit less fat. The little chunks of ginger add a nice spiciness - but you could leave it out.

2 cups flour (1 cup white, 1 cup wheat)
1 T baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp grated ginger
1/4 tsp grated nutmeg

2 large eggs
1 cup buttermilk
2/3 cup sugar
4 T butter (or oil)
1 tsp vanilla

1 cup rhubarb, finely chopped
1/8 - 1/4 cup candied ginger, chopped fine
optional: nuts (walnuts or pecans)

Preheat oven to 400. Mix dry ingredients, mix wet ingredients separately. Add rhubarb and ginger to dry ingredients and mix. Then add the wet to dry and try to mix it together with the fewest possible spoon strokes. Pour in greased muffin tin. Bake at 400, about 17 minutes. Makes 12 muffins.

variations on a theme: spring pasta with peas and asparagus

I just made a pasta with peas recently, but this is a lighter version. No cream sauce - but added asparagus, mushrooms, parsley, pine nuts... It tastes so fresh and spring-like. And I loved how the conchiglie pasta held the pine nuts and peas inside. Yum. I think it would also be good cold as a pasta salad for lunch. Don't skip the toasted pine nuts, and don't skip toasting them. It's an extra pan and an extra step, but they are soo good!

for two hearty portions:
1/3 lb conchiglie pasta - or shells - you want it to catch the peas and pine nuts.
2 shallots
1/2 lb asparagus, woody ends snapped off and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 cup mushrooms, cut into quarters or slices
1 garlic clove, minced
1 cup fresh or frozen peas
1/3 cup parmesan
1 tsp lemon zest
chopped parsley (and/or other herbs you have around: mint, tarragon, chives)
1/2 cup toasted pine nuts
salt, pepper, red pepper flakes

Cook the pasta according to the package directions, minus 2 minutes. Drain and reserve 1/2 cup of the pasta water.
Saute the shallots, then add garlic, and asparagus, then mushrooms, and frozen peas - waiting a few minutes between each addition. Then add all this into the pot with the drained pasta, plus 1/2 cup pasta liquid. Add lemon zest, herbs, toasted pine nuts, red pepper flakes. Cook everything together. Garnish with a heap of parmesan, and a drizzle of olive oil if you like.

quinoa salad with snap peas and dill

Saturday we got invited over to grill with our friend Zach, who made an amazing chimichurri sauce for steak and chicken, grilled portabellas and asparagus...and a super tasty rice pilaf with cardamon pods. This was the perfect pre-race meal - we ran 16 miles the next day, including a half marathon, in training for Grandma's marathon which is coming up in 6 weeks!

This salad was our contribution to the grill feast. It's a nice, fresh spring salad. I adapted the recipe from Eating Well magazine, which just had an article featuring quinoa. I ended up leaving out the mushrooms, because I don't particularly love raw mushrooms, but there are lots of other things you could add in to this salad. Radishes, feta cheese, some fresh peas... This also keeps a few days and travels well in tupperware...would be great for lunches.

2 cups water
1 cup quinoa

2 cups fresh snap peas
1/3 cup thinly sliced or fine diced red onion
1 T fresh dill
optional: fresh mushrooms, quartered
this would be good with some radishes too

dressing:
1/3 cup white balsamic vinegar or white-wine vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tsp lemon zest
1 T lemon juice
1 tsp pure maple syrup

1. Add 1 cup of quinoa with 2 cups water in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, then simmer covered 10-15 minutes, until the quinoa opens up. Fluff with a fork and let it cool slightly.

2. wash and trim the snap peas and cut in half or thirds. Thinly slice or fine dice the red onion. Lightly chop the dill.

3. Mix the dressing. When the quinoa has cooled, add everything together.  Makes about 6 one-cup servings.

margherita pizza with swiss chard

#Nofilter. That's how good this pizza looked. :)  It's pretty easy, too. Doctor-up some tomato sauce from the can, add cheese and greens (saute first), and pop it in the oven - hot as it can go. This is also inspired by Smitten Kitchen's margherita pizza, when we got chard and fresh oregano in our (last) CSA installment. Now it's time for summer produce and the Ann Arbor farmer's market!

"rushed" pizza dough from Smitten Kitchen: 
1 1/2 cups flour (combo of white/wheat)
1 1/4 tsp yeast
1/2 cup warm water
1 tsp salt

Put the yeast in water, let sit five minutes, then mix with flour and salt. Knead 5 minutes, then put in an oiled bowl in a warm oven (turn on low for 5 minutes then off) 30 minutes, covered with plastic wrap. Then you can use it!

pizza sauce:
1/2 cup diced tomatoes (from can, or pureed tomatoes)
1 clove garlic, pressed
a bit of salt and pepper
red pepper flakes
salt and pepper

1/2 ball fresh mozarella, torn into pieces (about 5 oz)

a good pile of swiss chard leaves, stems removed, cut into strips: saute these first before putting on pizza

optional: sprinkles of parmesan on top and fresh oregano

spring pea pasta with pancetta, spinach and shallots

This was dinner from my regular St. Olaf friends gathering. It's finals, the end of the semester, so we wanted a quicker, easier recipe. This one is delicious, and comes together quickly. Nicole brought an awesome salad and a grapefruit cake with candied violets on top. So pretty stellar for an "easy" mid-week meal, although a bit rich and indulgent. :)  It's easily made vegetarian by omitting the pancetta.

ingedients: shell pasta, peas (we had to use frozen rather than fresh because of this cold cold spring), spinach, pancetta, shallots, lemon, parmesan, half/half, mint or parsley. 

Boil the salted pasta water, add pasta (about 1/2 lb for 3 servings). When the pasta is done, strain and set aside.

While pasta is cooking, chop shallots, pancetta. Cook pancetta till near-crispy in a separate pan, then add the shallot to soften.

Zest 1/2 lemon and 1 c parmesan.  Roughly chop spinach leaves and mint or parsley for garnish.


Melt some butter in the (emptied) pasta pot, then add 1 cup half/half (or cream). Let it simmer and reduce a bit. Add peas to let them cook. Then add shells back in, plus zest, parmesan, salt and pepper. Mix together, add pancetta and shallots back in, with spinach, just to get it wilted. Top with mint and an extra shaving of cheese. 

toasted millet with sugar snap peas, avocado, radish and ginger-honey dressing

This is another recipe inspired by Dennis Cotter (For the Love of Food). This one had a shorter list of ingredients, among some truly complicated recipes in his collection... :) He always has such enticing sounding combinations. I also love how in British English they say "spring onions" instead of "green onions." It's nice. This recipe did feel very spring-like. And it made a great packed lunch. I actually whipped it together in 25 minutes while I was having my morning breakfast and coffee, and then took it with me to the office.

Eating millet makes me feel slightly hippie-ish, bird-like...just because my sisters had parakeets when we were growing up, and they would put sprigs of millet in their cages. And now I am eating bird food. And it is delicious. As Cotter notes, you could easily substitute couscous or bulgur wheat here.

I made half of the below portions, and it made 3 largerish side-salad portions.
300 g millet / couscous / bulgur wheat
4 spring onions, finely chopped
150 grams sugar snap peas, cut in half
2 avocados, cut into slices or dice
4 radishes, sliced thin
optional: sprouted bean, handful of micro salad leaves
salt and pepper
garnish: toasted pumpkin seeds, chopped mint

First toast the millet about 7 minutes with a bit of olive oil in a saucepan. Add water (2:1 ratio, so 600 mL for 300 g millet) and let it cook, covered 15 minutes. Then prep the other ingredients. When the millet is done, mix everything together.

ginger-honey dressing:

juice of 1 lemon
2 T grated fresh ginger
1 T honey (or other sweetener)
125 ml olive oil

Cotter says to grind the pumpkin seeds and then mix them with the dressing. It seemed like an unnecessarily difficult step, to dirty the food processor...so I just tossed the seeds with the salad, and I liked them like that. 

frohes Neues! happy new year!

I have decided to start the new year off with -- like so many of us -- some new goals and the best of intentions of keeping them. Cooking is one of my true joys in life, bringing balance to my life and making me healthier and happier. So why not start documenting some of the meals worth documenting?

I got several new cookbooks for Christmas and can't wait to cook my way through them. I'm mostly a follow-the-recipe cook, inspired by some of my favorite cookbook authors and bloggers (see the list in the sidebar). I try to incorporate seasonal and local ingredients, and am a member of a CSA, which forces me to eat more vegetables.

Oh, and the name of the blog? Zweites Frühstück. In Germany after your early "first breakfast" there is sometimes a second...what we might call a "mid-morning snack." It's for people who get up early and are so productive they're hungry before lunch. :) I love how some cultures have these other meal traditions...in Germany it's not only the second breakfast but also the mid-afternoon Kaffee und Kuchen, one of my favorite things about that country which has become a second home to me. So aside from the cookbooks I read like novels before bed, and the recipes I find online or from friends, my cooking is also inspired by my time spent abroad and the meals I've had there.

I hope you enjoy!

K.