Recipes
Bean And Bacon Soup
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 10-16 ounces applewood-smoked slab bacon,
cut into 1/2-inch slices
2 medium onions, finely chopped
1 large shallot, finely chopped
2 quarts homemade or low-sodium store-bought
chicken stock
4- 15 ounce cans assorted beans (Cannelini, White Northern, Pinto, Black)
3 large thyme sprigs
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 garlic clove, minced
Freshly ground pepper 1
bunch each, kale & Swiss chard, sliced into slivers
Heat oil in a large, heavy saucepan over medium heat until hot but not smoking. Add bacon, and cook, stirring occasionally, until crisp, about 12 minutes.
Using a slotted spoon, transfer to a plate. Add onions and shallot to pan. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are translucent and soft, about 8 minutes.
Return bacon to pan. Stir in stock, beans, thyme, and cayenne. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat. Add garlic glove, cover, and simmer 30 minutes.
Stir in chard and kale. Cook 8-10 minutes. Season with fresh ground pepper. (I omitted salt with the bacon & chard being salty already.)
Refrigerator Garlic Pickles
Note: As long as the garlic is submerged in vinegar and kept in the
refrigerator, the pickles should keep indefinitely.
Loosely fill clean glass jars with peeled garlic cloves.
Add enough red or white wine vinegar
(1 TBS sea salt per C of vinegar)
to cover cloves.
Dried, not fresh herbs such as red pepper flakes, bay leaves
and/or oregano may be added to taste.
Cover jar with tight fitting lid and shake to distribute salt and
herbs.
Refrigerate.
Tomato Chard Tart
This is a simple one, and you have to use your judgement for how many tomatoes/chard leaves to use, based upon their size. 3 medium tomatoes and about 4-5 big leaves is about right. Adapted from Happens Every Day: An All-Too-True Story.
Ingredients
• Pie crust
• 1 egg yolk, beaten
• Tomatoes (see note above)
• Chard (see note above)
• Chopped, fresh thyme, about 1 tsp. more or less to your liking
• 1 cup shredded Gruyere
• 1/4 cup shredded Parmesan
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Pre-bake a pie crust (your own or one from the refrigerated/frozen section of the market). Line the bottom of the pie crust with aluminum foil and weight it with dried beans or pie weights. Cook about 10 minutes, remove weights and foil, and brush with egg yolk all over while still warm.
3. In the meantime, take the rib out of the chard and slice into 1" strips, then chop the strips in half or thirds to make them manageable to distribute in the tart.
4. Slice the tomatoes into 1/4" rounds
5. Layer the tart as follows. Chard, Tomato, Gruyere, Chard, Tomato, Gruyere, Tomato, Gruyere, thyme, parmesan. Add fresh ground pepper as desired.
6. Bake in the oven @ 425 degrees for about 20 - 30 minutes or until everything is set and bubbly.
Note 1: The omission of salt is intentional, as swiss chard has a high sodium content.
Note 2: This tart produces a bit of liquid from the super fresh tomatoes and chard. If there is a lot, you can use a baster to pull some of the liquid out...but honestly, everything is so flavorful that no one seems to mind it. Would love to hear any suggestions to help mitigate that if anyone has a good trick!
Zucchini Bread
Preheat over to 350
Prepare 2 loaf pans – grease and lightly flour
3 C Flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
¼ tsp baking powder
3 Eggs
2 ¼ C sugar (original rec. called for 3 C and way too sweet)
– I usually use a tad less than 2 cups
1 C oil
1 tsp vanilla
2 C shredded zucchini
½ C sour cream
1 C chopped nuts & raisins (whatever nuts you like)
Sift Flour, cinnamon, salt, baking soda, baking powder together and set aside
Beat eggs, then add sugar, oil, vanilla, zucchini, sour cream
Add flour mixture
Add nuts and raisins
Bake at 350 degrees for about 1 hour perhaps more. I test after one hour.
*Notes: I tried it with agave syrup instead of sugar and did not like the texture; I have used low fat sour cream and it was still good; pecans are perhaps a little too strong while walnuts and macadamia nuts are great
Tomatillo Salsa
This bright-tasting sauce is a great accompaniment to grilled foods of all descriptions – steak, chicken, shrimp, or vegetables – and it is also wonderful as a dip for tortilla chips or as a sauce for tamales.
Remove the husks from:
1 lb. tomatillos (about 12 medium)
Rinse them and put them in a saucepan with water
barely covering.
Add a pinch of salt, bring to a boil, lower the heat
and simmer until just soft, about 4-5 minutes.
Drain, reserving the cooking liquid. Measure ½ cup of the cooking liquid into a blender with:
2 jalapeno or serrano chiles, seeded and sliced (I used serrano)
1 C chopped cilantro leaves and stems
1 garlic clove, sliced
Salt
Add the cooked tomatillos and blend briefly. The sauce should have a coarse texture. Taste for salt and add more as needed. Let the sauce sit to develop the flavors. It will thicken as it cools and may be thinned with more of the cooking liquid.
Variations
For a more spicy salsa, add another jalapeno or serrano chile
This salsa is also delicious with a mashed medium avocado mixed in.
Make the sauce with chopped raw tomatillos and with water instead of the cooking liquid.
If you have the opportunity, substitute the rarer purple tomatillos, which are a little sweeter and especially wonderful used raw.
Comment: This salsa does not have a long shelf life and can be frozen. I’d say about 2 weeks at the most.
Makes 2 Cups
Source: The Art of Simple Food – Alice Waters
Pickled Eggplant
Skin and thinly slice eggplant.
Layer slices in a deep dish (8x8 baking pan) with a good
amount of salt between layers.
Place a plate on top of layered eggplant and weigh down
plate to press eggplant for about 3 hours.
Remove eggplant from dish and squeeze by hand.
Layer eggplant back in dish and cover with vinegar.
Place plate on top of layered eggplant and press again for at about 12 - 24 hrs.
Remove eggplant from dish and squeeze by hand again.
Mix eggplant in bowl with oil (vegetable or olive), hot pepper flakes, oregano and sliced fresh
garlic.
Layer eggplant mixture in jar with oil. Note: when layering in jar, do not leave any dry pockets .
Make sure oil goes between all the layers of eggplant.
Seal jar and enjoy!
Source: Tony R’s Mom
Grilled Eggplant with Ricotta and Tomato
1 medium eggplant, sliced
2 tablespoons olive oil
250 g cherry tomatoes, halved
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 teaspoon capers, drained
3 tablespoons ricotta cheese, fresh rather than from a tub
salt & freshly ground black pepper
12 small fresh basil leaves
Heat the grill to high.
Brush the eggplant slices with some of the oil.
Grill the eggplant slices on both sides until brown, then place them in the bottom of a lightly greased, small shallow baking pan that will fit under the grill, and set aside.
Over a medium heat, add the rest of the oil to a small sauté pan (preferably non-stick), add the cherry tomatoes and garlic and sauté for a couple of minutes, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes begin to soften.
While still stirring, add the capers and leave the pan over the heat for an additional minute.
Remove the pan from the heat.
Cover the eggplant slices with the tomato, garlic and capers, season to taste and spoon the ricotta over the tomatoes. (The amount of ricotta included in the ingredients may not completely cover the tomatoes; if you want to cover the tomatoes, use more ricotta.).
Place the baking pan under the grill until the ricotta starts to bubble.
Scatter the basil leaves over the top and serve.
Oven Fried Eggplant
1⁄2 cup fat-free mayonnaise
1 tablespoon minced onion
1 lb unpeeled eggplant, sliced-about 12 (1/2 inch slices)
1⁄3 cup fine dry breadcrumb
1⁄3 cup grated parmesan cheese (or parmesan alternative,
like asiago)
1⁄2 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
vegetable oil cooking spray
Combine first 2 ingredients, stir well.
Spread evenly over both sides of eggplant slices.
Combine breadcrumbs, cheese, and Italian seasoning in a shallow bowl; dredge eggplant in breadcrumbs mixture.
Place eggplant on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray.
Bake@ 425 degrees for 12 minutes.
Turn eggplant over; and bake an additional 12 minutes or until golden.
Purslane, Zucchini, Tomato skillet
2 cups purslane Chopped into 1/2 -1 " pieces * see below
1 medium zucchini diced into small pieces (1" cubes)
3 medium tomatoes (peeled and cut in small pieces
Some water
1 Tbsp vinegar or Lemon juice
Seasoning salt to taste (a dash of garlic Powder, too if you like)
Fresh basil to taste (and/or other Italian herbs you wish)
2 Tbsp olive oil
Heat oil in large skillet and saute the purslane until change in color ( 5 minutes or so)
Add a little water and lemon juice (Vinegar may be substituted, if you want)
Add diced zucchini and stir around to heat (about 10 minutes)
Add tomatoes and simmer until zucchini is as tender as you prefer (I like "tender crisp")
Add basil and seasoning salt and pepper to taste
* Purslane is a succulent "weed " with thick reddish stems and small thick green leaves. It has a taproot and spreads out, and sometimes up, in a circular fashion.
It is high in Omega threes and has a pleasant taste that is good in cooking and raw in salads.
Use the ends and leaves for salad, as they are more tender.
Recipe by Bill Sheehan
Spicy Thai Cucumber Salad
2 lbs cucumbers, peeled and thinly sliced
1⁄2 cup rice wine vinegar
1⁄2 cup sugar
1⁄2 cup water
1 teaspoon salt
1⁄4 cup chopped shallots or 1⁄4 cup chopped purple onion
1 fresh hot chili pepper, finely chopped
1⁄4 cup dry roasted peanuts, crushed
1⁄4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
Place sliced cucumber on a platter.
Meanwhile combine vinegar, sugar, water and salt in a small saucepan and heat until sugar and salt are dissolved.
Remove from heat and allow to cool.
Place shallots and chili pepper in vinegar mixture and stir.
Pour mixture over cucumbers just before serving and sprinkle with peanuts and fresh cilantro.
Don't be concerned about the strong smell when heating the vinegar.
