another raw kale salad + a very green frittata

This is me using up more of our great CSA veggies. Simple but delicious. Raw kale, cut into ribbons, tossed with some pea shoots. Toast some walnuts (or pecans), add some cranberries (or cherries) for a little sweetness.

My other recipe did not photograph quite as nicely, but it was delicious and it did make use of three of our CSA vegetables: leeks, squash, and more of the pea shoots. Frittata is one of those great dishes where you can toss in whatever is in the fridge that you need to use up. I had a small piece of white cheddar cheese that got grated in, but Parmesan or Gruyere would be good, too.

I'm not going to write out a "recipe," but here is what I put in it:

very green frittata with caramelized onion, squash and leeks
5 eggs, 1 leek, 1/2 large onion, 2 baby patty-pan squash (could use 1 small zucchini), pea shoots (handful), parsley (1/2 cup), salt and pepper, 1/2 cup cheese (parmesan, or Gruyere, or cheddar)

summer vegetable pie with cornbread topping

I'm back in Ann Arbor just for a week, working during the new student orientation and getting some of my work in order. While I'm here I'm staying with two good friends of mine who are also great cooking companions (I've mentioned them a few times...). And they have a great summer CSA share, which is a plus. :) We got home from the airport and the fridge was stocked with veggies waiting to be transformed. We made this vegetable pie with lots of summer vegetables they had on hand. It would work with many other combinations though. Just be careful with the spice - if you add in hot peppers don't add in much other spiciness.

filling:
1 T olive oil
1 pepper (or poblano chile)
1 hot pepper (like jalapeno, if not using poblano)
1/2 red onion (or shallot)
1 clove garlic, minced
1 med yellow summer squash (or zucchini)
1 small eggplant
2 fresh tomatoes, cubed (or can diced)
1 tsp chili powder (if not using hot pepper)

other ideas: 1 ear corn, kernels cut from cob, fresh cilantro

cornbread topping*: 

1/3 cup flour
1/3 cup cornmeal
1 T sugar (or 2 T honey)
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 cup buttermilk
1 large egg
1 T unsalted butter
*may want to double, especially if using 10-inch skillet

1. Preheat oven to 450. In an ovenproof skillet (8 or 10 inch), saute the onion and peppers, then add garlic and cook until soft. Add the rest of the vegetables and cook until they cook down  and get soft. I covered them for a while and checked them occasionally while prepping the cornbread. Salt and pepper to taste, watch the spice level.

2. Make the cornbread. Mix the wet and dry separately, (not butter yet), then add wet to the dry, and stir in melted butter last.

3. Pour the cornbread mixture over the top of the vegetables and put in the oven 12-15 minutes. The cornbread will brown slightly.

inspired by a recipe from Cook's Illustrated, Cooking for Two

for dinner: turkey-arugula sliders with three sisters succotash

These are some more recipes I ripped out of my magazines while traveling last month... and my second night of cooking in a row! woo-hoo! :) Feels good. Except I put in a long day at the office, and by the time I got groceries, came home and started cooking dinner, I just had to have a bagel with lots of avocado on top before cooking... nearly spoiling my appetite for this veggie goodness. Oh well. I'm on the right track...

Three Sisters Succotash (green beans, corn, summer squash)
12 oz green beans, trimmed, cut into 1-inch pieces (about 3 cups)
2 large ears corn, husked
2 T olive oil

1 T butter*
2 small summer squash or zucchini, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
fresh ground pepper
2 scallions, finely chopped (or shallot, or onion)
*vegan if you sub oil for butter

1. Place beans in a large saucepan, add water to cover, salt, and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to simmer and cook 10-15 minutes until firm but starting to get tender. D

2. While beans are cooking, cut corn kernels from the cobs. Place an ear in a bowl and use a small sharp knife to cut off the kernels. Then scrape the cob with the back of the knife, scraping the corn "milk" into the bowl.

3. When beans are done, drain off water, saving some of the liquid (about 2 T). Add the corn and squash/zucchini to pot, with a little butter. (If using shallot or onions, add them at this point, too). Cook until the corn and squash are tender, 8-12 minutes. Cover if you need to, or add a bit more liquid. Season with salt and pepper, top with scallions.

From a recipe by Ronni Lundy in Eating Well (author of Shuck Beans, Stack Cakes, and Honest Fried Chicken: The Heart and Soul of Southern Country Kitchens )

produce from the Ann Arbor Wednesday farmer's market!

These Turkey Sliders are nothing special, but it rounded out the meal in a good way, adding a little protein. I ate them like meatballs without the bread, but Bon Appetit suggests serving them with little buns and red onion.

1/4 bunch flat-leaf spinach (I used arugula), chopped, about 2 cups
4 scallions, thinly sliced (or shallot or onion)
1-2 cloves garlic (depending on how much you like garlic...)
1/2 lb ground turkey
3/4 tsp cumin
salt, pepper
oil, for frying

Combine spinach/arugula, scallions/onion, garlic, turkey, cumin in a bowl, season with salt and pepper. Using a fork, mix gently just to combine. Form into 6-8 patties about 1/2 inch thick. Heat oil in a large skillet, cook until golden brown, about 5 minutes per side. These would also be good served with guacamole.

rich, creamy butternut squash lasagne with rosemary and garlic

This squash lasagne is a little bit rich and decadent...but very tasty. The roasted squash gets really sweet, and if you add some good salt and fresh pepper it balances it out perfectly. You need a salad or something raw on the side so it's not too rich (we served it with the winter slaw, but a green salad would be good, too).  I also discovered this recipe through the "Best of Epicurious," and Jessica and I had a big squash to get used up and were having intense German board game night for four. Perfect. Like all lasagne dishes, it's a bit time-consuming to make all the parts and assemble, but then it makes a huge pan. It's good if you have a friend in the kitchen to help you. :)

how to use your winter CSA, part II

The selection doesn't look any different yet from last time...The farm is still giving us a mix of some hoophouse greens and fall/winter storage vegetables. I am looking forward to spring! Here's what we made the last two weeks:

butternut squash (from last box): winter couscous and red curry butternut soup
celeriac (from last box): apple-celeriac salad
sweet dumpling squash: quinoa-stuffed squash, and we still have more to use up
carrots: minestrone, plus raw for lunches
kale: crepes and minestrone
red onions: beet risotto, winter couscous, got thrown in everything!
potatoes: minestrone and more of those delicious potato chips
beets: beet stew with lamb, beet risotto, Jessica also made a roasted beet salad, and still more beets....I'm afraid it's turning into a beet blog...

Also, take a look at this recent NYT article, Winter Poses Challenges for Chefs with a Local Ethos
From the article: "Locally grown. Market-sourced. Farm to table: These phrases have become the mantras of the American menu, promising ingredients that are supremely fresh, in season and produced within a tight radius of the restaurant. But what can they possibly mean in the dead of winter, in northerly climes where farms are battened down and the earth is as hard as a raw cabbage?"

see here for our last CSA box and what we made. Preview for next time: beets + greens, carrots, squash, greens, potatoes, kohlrabi

hearty soups IV: porotos granados, Chilean bean and corn stew

 This soup is adapted from Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's cookbook Veg: River Cottage Everyday. Again, another great British chef I had not heard of...I saw this book at Synne's and fell in love with the images and simple recipe ideas. I just had to have it, although it doesn't come out in the US edition until May 2013. So we're using grams and liters, and "tinned" beans instead of canned. :) If you have a kitchen scale, metric is easier anyways than measuring cups, and for things like soups the measurements don't need to be exact anyways.

This is a take on the traditional Chilean stew porotos granados, a combination of old-world ingredients that (according to the internet) pre-dates the Spanish, from the Mapuche Indians. I guess it is traditionally made with cranberry beans. See here for how beautiful they are, by "Hungry Sofia." I am dealing with winter and the lack of fresh most things, so I used canned cannellini beans.  Other recipes call for the addition of bell pepper and basil instead of cilantro. But the common ingredients are sqaush/pumpkin, beans, sweet paprika, corn. I followed the lead of a recommendation on Saveur to add a swirl of a garlicy-herb paste into the soup. I found it a bit bland without the addition of lots of salt, pepper and herbs at the end. Then it was nice and fresh tasting - so season well.

roommate dinner: quinoa stuffed squash and apple-celeriac salad

Jessica and I were both finally home on a Friday night, so we cooked and caught up on our Top Chef episodes (We love Sheldon! And we want to cook for the Iditarod mushers! That was the coolest challenge ever!). This was a recipe on our to-cook list for a while, plus a recipe to use up more CSA ingredients. The two recipes actually paired really well together, both using green apples. One hot and one raw dish. Even after a great dinner, watching Top Chef still made me hungry...especially for some seafood! (this episode took place in Alaska, and they had a salmon/sourdough challenge!) I wish I had access to my dad's freezer full of wild salmon...

Ottolenghi's ultimate winter couscous

This recipe is from Yotam Ottolenghi's Plenty, a vegetarian cookbook. Thanks to Synne for introducing me to this Israeli-born British chef, who also regularly writes for The Guardian. The flavors are always amazing in his recipes. This one was great for using our winter produce. I love recipes that are just so vibrant. This one, with the squash, carrots, parsnips, and warm spices, is very orange and very beautiful. 

how to use your winter CSA: what we made

 Jessica and I get a bi-weekly CSA share from Sunseed Farm, just outside of Ann Arbor. I thought it would be fun to track what we made with our produce, and do this regularly so you can also see how the produce changes as we move from the dead of winter to warmer temperatures. Today they told us this is a "transitional period" at the farm, as the spring stuff isn't up yet and they get to the end of winter storage items. He said in the hoophouses it is now April weather, so they will soon be growing spring veggies.

This is what we got last time and what we made:

Kale and Bok Choy - Green Soup
Carrots -Winter Slaw
Purple Potatoes - Cabbage-Beet-Borscht  also purple potato chips, also pizza with leeks and potatoes
Celeriac -Winter Slaw
Greens - Roasted Beet Salad
Butternut Squash - still in storage...
Beets -Cabbage-Beet-Borscht

and looking ahead, this is what we got today for the next two weeks. Expect recipes with squash, carrots, onions, beets, potatoes, kale... Any ideas for above items are welcome! :)

 

red lentil soup with squash and panch phoran

 I have been on the move and traveling the past two months - which has been wonderful, don't get me wrong - but it also feels good to be back home in Ann Arbor. Even if it's one of the many places I feel at home. For me, coming home means I get to use my favorite knife and favorite bamboo spoon again. And mandolin. And my wonderful roommate made the transition that much easier by welcoming me with a stocked kitchen, with fresh coffee for the morning and a treat from Zingerman's. :)

Jessica and I subscribe to a bi-weekly CSA share from Sunseed Farm, so there were also beautiful vegetables waiting at home. This week we got cute little hard winter squash with a pretty green-yellow pattern. I looked it up on localfoods and I'm pretty sure it's Sweet Dumpling Squash, which they describe as "starchy with a slight corn flavor." (After tasting, I definitely get 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.