Fresh Fava Spread

This recipe is great if you're waiting for your fava beans to mature, which we were this past July.

2 c hulled fava beans (you can leave the white thin skin on)
2 t chopped rosemary
2 T lemon juice
1/4-1/2 c olive oil
salt, pepper
1 or 2 cloves garlic

Food process/blend all ingredients. Depending on the age of the fava beans, you may want to steam them 5-10 minutes, but we just left 'em raw. I think next year I'll be asking around at the farmer's market to see if anyone grows favas and if they'd let me buy some early.

A Triumphant Return

Hello from the Land of the Blueberries! My computer is fixed! I can unleash my mass of food photos onto the unsuspecting internet!

My computer's been away on holiday, but it has decided to return (It's actually September 13th, so some of my posts will be back-dated, sneaky, eh?)

Okay, back to the food.

Mushrooms!

A few weeks back a hike on Oregon's misty coast turned into a mushrooming adventure. What a thrill to see them in the wild! First we were met by these oyster mushrooms, later the bright turkey mushroom (which isn't technically a mushroom, i believe), and then, da da dah!, chantrelles. Lots of 'em.



Apparently mycelium, the mushroom's "roots", in a way, rule the world (an honor they share with phytoplankton). This book even shows how they're being used to clean up toxic waste spills.


No recipe, we just sliced them up and gently sauteed them. Mmm mmm, I have seen the light.

I know, I know

A line has been crossed. I'm using tofu in sweet things. But, before you skip over this suspect post, you should know that a) the tofu was really fresh and b) it was done in the name of Project Blueberry. Since we're living mere steps away from a netted heaven of "bluebundance", Kyli and I initiated the Project, the goal of which is both single and simple: make as much stuff with blueberries as we can. We're currently taking a break from the Project, but this one made it in before our sweet tooth started to rot out. The first bite was a little weird--oh, tofu?!?--but after that I liked it. It couldn't compare to what we made next, but I'd make it again for a vegan affair, although I'd probably add a bunch more sugar to the base. Recipe here.

"First You Feast With The Eyes"

This mondo salad is the blog's introduction to King's Valley Gardens, the amazingly awesome organic farm I'm at in Oregon. Let's see, what didn't it have? The lettuce, broccoli, zucchini, peas, carrots, apples, and, of course, daylilies (yep, they're edible) were all picked right before dinner. Served with a Basil-Poppyseed dressing. Mmm, mmm.

Strawberry Fields

Summer's here! And in the Santa Cruz area, that means one thing: Strawberries from Swanton Berry Farm.

The first organic farm in the country to sign a contract with United Farmworkers, Swanton provides solid benefits and ownership opportunities for its workers. Check out their site for more info. And the strawberries ain't bad neither.

Strawberries are a great source of vitamin C and phytonutrients--great for your heart! The small seeds also serve to keep teeth scrubbed white and plaque-free.

The bounty back at home

I'm Never Eating Out Again

Okay, that's a blatant lie. But we recently discovered the joy of re-creating dishes at home. This round: Noodle & Company's Pasta Fresca. We had a little help with this one--much gratitude to the person who asked answers.com how to make this dish. Their answer here, my retelling of it here. The sauce is a white wine and balsamic reduction, a perfect glaze companion to the red onions and tomatoes.

Served with a spinach and strawberry salad complete with almond slivers and crumbly cheese and a very california avocado bruschetta. Topped with a view of the ocean!

Seaweed!

Dulse, to be exact. I've been meaning to up my sea vegetable intake ever since I got the chance to harvest some straight off the rocks in Maine last summer. A stirfry seemed (and proved) an easy route.

Dulse is a great source of iron, trace minerals, protein, vitamins B6 and B2, as well as fiber. I'm mostly attracted to the color, the healthy bit is just a bonus. You do have to like that fishy/sea taste, though.

The gist of the recipe is from the Maine Coast Sea Vegetable Company (you can also order sea veggies from their site, and rest easy that they are sustainably harvested). Maybe someday I'll work up to the "DLT" or "Dummus"...

This meal was also a last chance to eat "local" in Boulder, CO before heading to the Northwest.

Camera has a (tepid) love affair with seaweed here.

Fun with Garlic Scapes

If you don't think that garlic scapes are the most amazingly beautiful thing you've seen all day, raise your hand. And then leave.

I'm smitten with them, both visually and, er, victually (sorry, Webster). The women behind the stand at the farmer's market told me I was the first person to recognize (and therefore prize) the scapes, which surprised me, but I guess I was never aware of their existence before I spent some time on a farm.

My laziness and lack of a blender compel me to fry these up, with a sprinkle of cayenne and a splash of tamari--such a quick and spicy snack!--but I found a pesto recipe and a blog entry on said recipe that were both great. If you're feeling inspired, check them out:

What's a Garlic Scape? and pesto recipe
Garlic Scape Pesto...with pictures!

P.S. Some sites tell you to cut the scapes into 2 inch pieces before adding them to a stirfry, and I guess I see some logic there. But if you're making them solo, leave 'em whole, they're much more fun to eat that way (with your fingers, of course).

An Overdue Homage

Neeta's gone, y'all. Not that I just noticed (it's been two weeks), but I got some baby bok choy at the farmer's market today and it only served to highlight her absence. She's off to unleash pastries and slow-food galore on the unsuspecting and probably poorly-developed palates of her fellow med students. Good thing I stocked up on photos to drool over.

A Yellow Day

Corn Muffins, recipe courtesy of __?__. I found it scribbled into my recipe book. To put it nicely, these were boring. Before baking the second half, I added probably a tablespoon of vanilla and a heaping spoonful of honey. That helped (vanilla is my panacea), but I'd still consider these a blank canvas, in need of gorgeous fruit sauces--i'm envisioning criss-crossed blueberry and raspberry, although that's a little 4th of July for me--or, in the very least, maple syrup.

Yellow Split Pea Soup, recipe from the Tassajera Cookbook. I was intrigued by the use of lemon juice in this recipe (other than that, it features the regulars: bay leaf, cumin, paprika, black pepper...), but the lemon turned out to be too much for me. Maybe if had added it earlier it would have mellowed out, but whew, I didn't like it at all. I'm not going to bother to post the recipe, and the photoshoot was likewise uninspired. Sigh.

Tomato Time (Or, The Limits of My Camera's Focus)

Helped put some tomatoes in the ground at the garden (Growing Gardens, Boulder, CO) the other day, and picked up this trick: pluck off the early flowers and branches bearing baby tomatoes, as well as the first three branches up from the bottom (three is a guess). Then plant almost to the bottom remaining branch (deep!). This way the plant can focus on setting strong roots, which will grow out of where those lower branches used to be.

The itsy tomatoes were precious--too bad the cam couldn't handle the extreme close-up that I wanted. Oh well, these will have to do.

Red Lentil + Chickpea Burgers

Another Myra Kornfeld creation. We made it with the peanut sauce (one that doesn't use soy sauce--included with the recipe). Fairly quick and easy to make, though we had mixed success with trying to speed up the cooling process by throwing them in the freezer for ten minutes instead of the fridge for thirty; they were on the verge of falling apart. Our suggestion would be more spice--triple the cumin, double the coriander, get some chili pepper flakes in on the game, whatever, but don't trust her recommendation.

For a full photoshoot, both making and plating, click here.

"Millet Bars"

A recipe inspired by a local bakery's version. While it's true that the millet adds a lot of flair to these bars, they could just as easily be called oatmeal cookie bars. Once you skim the recipe, you'll see what i mean.

For our first attempt we spread them onto a baking sheet, which could possibly work, but it's hard not to overcook them. The goal is to have a crunchy, stable exterior and a gooey, barely cooked middle portion. So the first batch came out hard, like a hard granola bar. Still good, but not perfect (maybe perfect to crumble into granola...). I think you get a sense of the thickness in these two pictures.

The second round was made in a deeper baking pan, and cooked hardly at all. Perfect! And they're vegan, for those people out there who a) are vegan or b) worry about ingesting undercooked eggs. If you have leftover mash (i don't want to say batter, but we all know that's what it is), it seems well suited to be a crumble topping or eaten with vanilla ice cream.

No, It's Not Valentine's Day

I just passed some gorgeous rose bushes on my walk home from work, and there just happened to be three, count 'em, three types of chocolate mousse in the fridge that love to wear pink. Maybe if you're really nice to her, Neeta will post the recipes.

For the full photoshoot, click here.

Tempeh Trial

The recipe is from Myra Kornfeld's The Healthy Hedonist. My first tempeh experience! I had no idea what tempeh was (it's *fermented* soy, thanks Sandorkraut). Colin's departure (and that of his cookware) has required some kitchen innovation on our part--check the awesome steamer:

OMG I Live with a Pastry Chef Pt. 2

Last Days, First Crust

Colin suffered the fate of those of us who have birthdays close to major holidays--we combo'd his b-day and going away quiches. And I did the crust! The process made me realize two things: how completely i'd been a spectator for previous quiche crust-making adventures and how damn good i am at making said crusts. Well, maybe...I had quite a lot of supervision. But look at how pretty!

Crust recipe here, custard here. The spinach was a new twist for us--we sauteed it briefly with the onions and garlic before baking it in. We also used pink peppercorns (in addition to black pepper). Our spiciest quiche yet!

OMG I Live with a Pastry Chef

A pate sucree shell, pastry cream, and gorgeous fruit combine to create this mignardise. Neeta calls it a "pop-it-in-your-mouth dessert", but it took me slighty longer to consume, since it inspired a photoshoot.

Risotto!

A barley based version from Myra Kornfield's The Healthy Hedonist. Turned out to be low stress (you bake it!) and just as creamy as rice ones we've had.