Recipe: French Leek Tart

Last year, we tried growing leeks for the first time. We did well with them, but I should have cut them down a bit and planned better for hilling. I did start with them planted too close together but was able to spread them out as I pulled mature leeks for use, which was an interesting way to keep cycling through them since as I moved them to have more space, they would grow larger. Anyway, here's a tasty way to use them. I think I might try this with some Spring onions.

Ingredients:
1 (9 inch) refrigerated pie crust
2 teaspoons butter
3 leeks, chopped
1 pinch salt and black pepper to taste
1 cup light cream
1 1/4 cups shredded Gruyere cheese
2-3 strips of bacon, cooked and crumbled
2-3 cloves of garlic, diced

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
Cook up bacon. Set aside to cool, then crumble.
Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium-low heat. Stir in leeks and garlic; cook, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes, or until soft. Season with salt and pepper. Reduce heat to low. Stir in cream and cheese, and warm through (about 2 minutes). Pour mixture into pie shell.
Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until custard is set and golden on top. Allow to sit 10 minutes before cutting pie into wedges.

Good served with large salad.

Yay for eggplant

This looks so divine! Melanzane sott’olio (pickled eggplant under oil). Will have to try this! Yum.

Recipe: Middle Eastern Inspired Chickpea Salad

I love chickpeas. And I've been trying to think of ways to incorporate them more into my cooking. Last weekend I bought some supplies to make a chickpea salad, but didn't get around to actually making it. But today I did and I was pleasantly surprised at how it came out.

I kept it pretty simple, which is what I've learned to do when I'm first "creating" a recipe. In the past I got too creative and ended up with stuff that wasn't so tasty. But starting basic, with combinations you know are good together (like carrot and cumin), make for a good foundation to see how it works. Then, you can go crazy. ;) I think this would also be good with the addition of artichoke hearts, corn, and maybe even some marinated mushrooms.

Ingredients:
- 2 cans of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 1/2 red onion, diced or minced
- 2 cucumbers, seeded and diced
- 3 carrots, diced
- 1/2 red pepper, diced
- 2 TBSP balsamic vinegar
- 1 TBSP apple cider vingar
- 1/4-1/3 cup olive oil (I didn't measure but it's around there...taste as you add)
- 1-1/2 TBPS Dijon mustard
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 TBSP cumin
- 2 TSP oregano
- 2 TSP onion powder
- 2 TSP garlic powder
- Salt & Pepper to taste (Wait to add salt until it's sit for a bit, because you don't want the salt to pull too much moisture out of the veg).

Directions:
In a bowl, mix your vinaigrette dressing by combining the vinegars with the olive oil and whisking together. Add garlic, cumin, oregano, onion and garlic powder. Whisk again to combine. Add in the onion, chickpeas, cucumber, carrot and red pepper. Stir to coat with dressing.

Then put it in the fridge to let all the flavors combine for at least an hour or two.

Then add in some fresh chopped parsley, and grape tomatoes if you desire. You could also add in some cilantro and feta.

Eat it as is, or serve in pita pocket with dollop of tahini or thick yogurt (like greek style).

Recipe: Green Fingerling Potatoes

Made up this side dish earlier this month and was happy with how it came out. I figure if I was happy with it, you lot might want to give it a go.

Ingredients:
1 lb. fingerling potatoes (diced into bite size pieces (halved or whole would work too depending on how you want the finished product to look)
2-4 pats of butter or olivio
1 TBSP olive oil
1/4-1/2 red onion, minced or diced + sliver
5 cloves garlic - 4 minced, 1 smashed
handful of fresh parsley, chopped fine
1/2 handful of fresh mint, chopped fine
4 scallions, diced
2-3 TBSP of basalmic vinegar
salt & pepper

Directions;:
Fill a pot (the one you use for boiling potatoes) with the fingerlings and then add water just to cover. Smash a garlic clove with the back of a knife (or a clean soup can), and add it to the pot. Cut a sliver of the onion, smash it and put it in the pot. Add salt. Cover and let cook until the fingerlings are a dente (you will cook them again, so you don't want them to overcook).

While the potatoes cook, prep for the next step.

When the potatoes are done, drain away the water and set aside.

In a saute pan, melt the butter. Add minced garlic. When the garlic is arromatic, add the fingerling poatoes. Stir gently to combine and coat the potatoes well. Add your mint, scallion and parsley. Stir. Add balsamic vinegar, stir. Add salt & pepper to taste.
Enjoy.

Leftovers ROCK in a frittata.

Potato Planning

Last year we grew potatoes from potato seed which we purchased from Wood Prairie Farm. We tried the All-Blue (a late season potato) and Cranberry Red (early season potato). Additionally, I threw in some Yukons purchased at the supermarket.

All in all the All-Blue seemed to be most prolific in terms of quantity and were tasty, as well as pretty (blue mashed potatoes were interesting!). The Cranberry Reds were OK, but I think I want to try something different this year. They claim to be a heavy yield, but we just didn't have luck with them. The few Yukons did well too.

Since it's about that time of year again, I'm thinking of Yukon Gold, and maybe their exclusive Prairie Blush. Might do the All-Blue again as well, depending on space.

Guess I need to start figuring out the beds, so I can figure out quantities.

Recipe: Israeli Couscous with Cranberries and Pecans

The internet is awesome for crowd-sourcing information. Last year, I was at a BBQ and someone brought this awesome couscous salad from Whole Foods. A quick google search and voila--I found what appeared to be at least--a very close recipe to try to replicate it on my own. After enjoying this recipe a few times, I think Israeli couscous is my preference over the smaller sized couscous, only because it's got a bit more meat to it. Of course, couscous in any shape is delicious.

Israeli Couscous with Cranberries and Pecans (a la Whole Foods)
(via chowhound)

Serves: 4-6

Time: 30-40 mins

Ingredients:

Salad:
2c Israeli couscous, uncooked
1c dried cranberries
1c toasted pecans, quartered
2 scallions, minced

Dressing:
3T canola oil
1.5T champagne vinegar
Zest of 1 orange
Juice of 1⁄2 the orange you just zested
1⁄2 t turmeric
1⁄2 t dried thyme
1⁄2 t dried tarragon
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil, and add the couscous. When it's done (roughly 8-10 mins, or when it's al dente), drain it but do not rinse. Set aside and let cool while you mince the scallions, toast and chop the pecans, and make the dressing.

2. In a small bowl, whisk together the canola oil, vinegar, orange zest and juice, spices and salt and pepper.

3. In a large bowl, combine the couscous, cranberries, pecans and scallions. Pour the well-whisked dressing over it and toss to combine.

4. Serve immediately, or chill in the fridge for a few hours to blend the flavors. Enjoy!

New Blog Name, New Blog Channel

It's been ages since I've posted last on this blog. And I've decided I want to make it a bit more all-encompassing to cover more than just cooking but gardening as well. So I've renamed it. The URL has changed as well to reflect that. Now, I'm really no diva but, I suppose I can pretend. :)

What this blog will be:
- Foodie stuff
- Recipes
- Gardening
- Photos
- House Stuff

And any other things I find interesting, useful or whatever.

Harvest of garlic from the garden 2010.

Bundt Cake Day & Marble Cake

So Saturday was national Bundt Cake Day, apparently. I'm a fan of the Bundt cake, for a few reasons. First, the majority of recipes for them are rather simple, quick and easy. Secondly, there are tons of options and variations out there. Thirdly, it's a good starting point for novice bakers to experiment and take a recipe that they receive and make slight alterations to make it their own. And, fourthly, I adore the Bundt pan designs...there are so many of them and some really funky ones to be found.

So, in honor of the day, mybakingadventures shares a nice marble bundt recipe. I'll have to try it and see how it stacks up to my grandma's. I might have to do some digging to see if I have that recipe or if I need to go knocking on relative's doors to see who ended up with that. My grandmother's cupcakes and her marble cake are two of the sweets I will forever associate with her. I even had one layer of my wedding cake as marble for that reason.

Dark Chocolate Bacon Cupcakes

Dark Chocolate and Bacon Cupcakes sounds like a deliciously evil treat. Will have to attempt these the next time my VT friends come to visit.

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies! Yes. Yes. Yes.

Penguin Teaboy

OMG this is too cute! I want one :)
Penguin Teaboy

Links

Imcooked.com is a video community site for sharing recipes.

Watch Waz and Lenny cook at Crash Test Kitchen.

Christopher Walken Cooks

Farmer's Market Cravings

This week my goal is to try to hit one of the area farmer's markets. I want fresh locally grown produce. I want real food. Recently I've been working such long and crazy hours that real food has been more fast food than anything else. And by fast food I don't mean just burgers and fries.

Depending on what I find at the farmer's markets, I might have to scour up some recipes. Thing is, I'm not sure what I'll find so looking now for them is sort of counter-productive, in a way. But I'm craving that freshness you really can't find at the supermarkets. And "cooking" would take that away. Maybe more salad type recipes is what I want to help emphasize the freshness.

Sadness too as apparently I'm not good enough to be posted to tastespotting. :(
Oh well.

Corn and Black Bean Salsa

One supermarket near where I work has a decently large take-out section for the working folk in the area. One item that I was drawn to try was their corn and black bean salsa. And I was glad for it as it was very tasty. So tasty in fact that it inspired me to try to make my own creation.

Since it's corn season, I decided to try this with fresh, sweet corn on the cob. It added a perfect sweet balance to the concoction. When corn is not in season, I'd think you could get the same results with canned or frozen corn.

I figured I'd start out simple and if that was successful, in the future I could experiment to make it more fancy. Although, sometimes simple is good enough on its own.

Corn and Black Bean Salsa

1 15.5oz. can black beans
3 cobs of corn
1/2 red onion, diced
Canola oil
Olive oil
Vinegar
Oregano, dried
Kosher Salt
Pepper

1) Get a pot of water boiling. Add fresh corn cobs and cook for about 8-10 minutes.
2) When the corn is finished, take them out of the pot and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking process, or you can place in an ice water bath.
3) Using a knife, cut off the corn kernels from the cob. (Be careful as they do have a tendency to bounce all over the place as you cut them from the cob.) Place in a mixing bowl.
4) Open can of black beans. Pour into colandar or something so you can rinse them off. (You don't want to have any of the liquid from the can on it as it's very starchy). Place in mixing bowl with the corn kernels.
5) Dice 1/2 a red onion and add to mixture.
6) Start by adding about 3 TBSP canola oil (this is approximate, I didn't measure the oil this time.) Stir to coat. Then add 1-2 TBSP olive oil until the entire mixture is well coated.
7) Add about 1 TBSP, or slightly less, vinegar. Stir to combine.
8) Season with about 1 TBSP dried oregano, salt and pepper to taste.
9) Mix to combine.
10) Use immediately or cover and put in fridge to allow flavors to mingle.



I ate this right away, but am looking forward to see how it tastes after the flavors have had chance to mingle together. I'm guessing it will be even more fantastic.

Another way to cook the corn would be to throw it on the grill for a bit. And I'm sure that would be fabulous too, giving it a bit of smokey flavor. Also try adding some fresh parsley and cilantro into the mix, which I would have done if I had some on hand. And perhaps a bit of garlic would be good, since that always makes things even more tasty.

Try this on tacos, on grilled meats, or alone as a side. Your imagination is the limit. :D

mmmm beer!

Beer Cupcakes!!!
(via tastespotting.com)

Blueberries

ApartmentTherapy has a nice spotlight on blueberries. Yum!

Tasty Link: 060807

The Butcher Block is a blog about meat.

Boston Area Farmer's Markets

Thankfully there's Russos for the winter months, but I have to say I'm rather disappointed that the Farmer's markets in my city don't open until after the 4th of July. The other frustrating bit about it is that their hours are not at all accommodating for those who work the 9-5 grind. I guess we aren't worthy of fresh, locally grown produce or something. *smirk* Neighboring cities like Waltham have their farmer's market open mid-June (16th) - and note: it's on a Saturday so everyone can go.

Working downtown the options go up and many of the markets seem to start a bit earlier (in May). Copley Square has had its market open now for a couple weeks, which is handy if you work in the area.

The Federation of Massachusetts Farmers Markets lists some locations and other important info - days and times - for the markets they manage.

Brookline has a farmer's market at the Centre Street Parking Lot that runs every Thursday from 1:30pm until dark from June 14 – Oct 25, 2007.

This one is apparently by South Station in Dewey Square. Monday, Wednesday and Thursday from 11:30 am to 6:30 pm between May 21 - Nov 8.

Another great resource for finding farmer's markets is LocalHarvest.org, which also has lots of other handy info on farms and pick-your-own and other good foodie stuff.

And then there's the Mass Dept of Agriculture with another list of farmer's markets by county.

Tasty Links: 060207

Fried Baby Artichokes! Oh that prickly green tasty treat! It's funny that when I moved to the East coast from the West coast, it seemed most people I met had never tried one before, or didn't even know what one was. Thankfully they are plentiful and easy to find now. Downside is that they have traveled rather long distances by the time they get to the supermarkets here that they aren't always worthwhile. When shopping for your 'chokes, make sure you look for tight heads and check the cut end of the stem - you don't want it to be too brown and dried out.

Ginger Carrot muffins sound delicious. I'd love to try these with a Cream Cheese Frosting. Ooooh yes. :)

Baking911 seems to be an interesting site that might be handy down the road for, well, baking.

Fried apples sound fantastic. A wedding possibility? hmmm. Sounds like Maple Roast Chicken would be good too.