Tag: seasonal

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Recipes

corn chowder with tomato salsa

It might be chilly and foggy here in SF, but that doesn’t stop us from enjoying summer produce. Those 100+ degree days in the Sacramento valley are good for something, and that something is corn and tomatoes. Nothing tastes more like summer.

This soup combines both of those flavors, plus a little southwestern flare thanks to a tomato and corn salsa. It is great for a summer day because it is quick to make and doesn’t require turning on your oven. I haven’t lived in San Francisco long enough to forget what that is like.

Corn Chowder with Tomato Salsa
For the soup
1 small onion, diced
2 leeks, sliced
1 carrot, diced
1 T butter
4 ears of corn, removed from the cob
1 sprig of thyme
1 bay leaf
4 cups broth (we used vegetable, but chicken would also be good)
1/4 cup cream
salt and pepper

In a large stock pot or dutch oven, melt the butter over low heat. Add the onion, leeks and carrot and saute until softened, about 10 minutes. Add the corn, thyme and bay leaf and saute two minutes more.

Add the broth and simmer for 10 minutes. Puree the soup in a blender and return to the pot. Bring back up to a simmer and add the cream. Season well with salt and pepper.

If you find that your soup is too runny once you’ve pureed it like I did, make a quick roux in a small saucepan. Melt two tablespoons of butter over medium heat. When the butter is foamy, add two tablespoons of flour. Stir to combine.  Cook for a few minutes, stirring constantly, until the mixture is light brown. Whisk into the simmering soup to thicken.

For the salsa
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1 ear corn, removed from the cob
zest and juice of one lime
chipotle or cayenne pepper – we used dried
salt and pepper

If you’re feeling up to it, grill the corn (or char it over your gas burners) before you shave it off the cob. The smokey flavor of charred corn plus the chipotle pepper would be great in contrast with the sweetness of the soup. In a small bowl, combine cherry tomatoes, corn kernels, lime juice and zest. Season with a pinch of cayenne or chipotle. Season with salt and a bit of freshly ground pepper. Set aside.

To serve, ladle the soup into the bowl and top with a few spoonfuls of the salsa. We also made a grilled cheese on some of my sourdough. Soup and grilled cheese is a special type of satisfying.

-Emily

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zucchini banana bread

This is what you make when you have bananas going bad on your counter and zucchini lingering in your refrigerator, but not enough of either to make its own cake. Adapted very liberally from the Tartine Bakery cookbook, this breakfast bread turned out surprisingly well. It is balanced, not overly sweet and the flavors got along with one another just fine.

Zucchini Banana Bread 
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 very ripe bananas
2 large eggs
1 1/1 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups shredded zucchini
1 cup walnuts or pecans, chopped

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Butter and flour a loaf pan. In a medium bowl, combine flour, cornstarch, cinnamon, baking powder, and baking soda.

In another bowl, mash the bananas. Combine with eggs, vanilla and salt and stir.

In the bowl of a mixture, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the banana mixture. Scrape down the bowl and then add the zucchini and walnuts. Mix until combined. Fold in the flour mixture and pour into a loaf pan.

Sprinkle the batter with 2 tablespoons of sugar for a crunchy top crust. Bake about one hour, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

-Emily

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Recipes

mussels and crispy rosemary roasted potatoes

We’ve just been looking for excuses to make these rosemary roasted potatoes from the Zuni Cafe Cookbook—and mussels and fries is a pretty classic combination.  I made these potatoes for the first time a few weeks ago and they are wonderful. The larger chunks will approximate the best french fries you’ve ever had, the smaller mashed pieces will brown into amazingly crispy potato chips. The best part—you don’t have to stand in front of a vat of fry oil to make them.

Mussels in White Wine and Herb Broth
1 lb mussels, scrubbed with beards removed
1 onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, diced
1 1/2 cups white wine
1/2 cup broth or water
2 sprigs thyme
2 sprigs rosemary
1/2 teaspoon fennel seed
1/2 teaspoon chili flake
salt, pepper, olive oil

In a large stock pot, saute the onion in a little olive oil until translucent. Add the garlic and saute for a few more minutes. Add the white wine, broth and herbs and bring to a simmer. Season with salt and pepper.

When you’ve got about 10 minutes left on the potatoes, add the mussels to the broth. Give it a stir and cover. Stir every few minutes to rotate the mussels. When most of the mussels have opened, they’re done. Pour mussels and broth into a large dish to serve.

Crispy Rosemary Roasted Potatoes, from The Zuni Cafe Cookbook by Judy Rodgers

1 1/2 lbs yellow potatoes, peeled and cut into 1″ chunks
salt
1 – 2 sprigs of fresh rosemary
1/4 cup olive oil

Preheat an oven to 400 degrees.

Peel the potatoes and cut them into rough 1″ chunks. Put them in a large saucepan and cover with cold water. Season the water liberally with salt. When you taste the water, it should be well-seasoned. Bring to a simmer over high heat and cook about 10 minutes, until the potatoes are fork tender.  Drain and return to the pot.

Strip the leaves from the rosemary and crush lightly. Add them to the warm potatoes and drizzle with olive oil. Stir to coat. Some of the potato chunks will break apart and some of the smaller pieces will become mashed. This is good news. Pour the potatoes onto a parchment-lined baking sheet and spread into an even layer.

Bake 30 – 35 minutes, until crispy and browned. Toss or flip the potatoes a few times while cooking so they brown evenly.  Trust me, this blanche then roast method is worth the extra step.

-Emily

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Recipes

fennel and rice soup

This is another recipe from David Tanis’ The Heart of the Artichoke. I decided to go for it because I’ve never had a fennel soup. It did not turn out as I expected, but was good nonetheless. I had anticipated a much more prominent fennel flavor, but the fennel was subtle and balanced by chicken broth, onion and rice. Jordan thought that the soup was super comforting and he was a big fan of the herb sauce on top. Not only is this soup inexpensive, it will also use up any herbs lingering in your fridge.

Fennel and Rice Soup with Herb Swirl, adapted from The Heart of the Artichoke by David Tanis

For the soup
1/4 cup olive oil
2 – 3 fennel bulbs, sliced
1 onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves
salt and pepper
1/4 cup long grain rice
6 cups chicken broth or water

For the swirl
1 cup fennel fronds, roughly chopped (from the tops of your bulbs)
1/2 cup parsley
1/2 cup basil (I didn’t have basil and instead used dill)
1/4 cup scallions (I didn’t have scallions and instead used shallot)
1/2 cup olive oil
salt and pepper

In a dutch oven or stock pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the fennel, onion and garlic. Season well with salt and pepper. Saute until the vegetables are softened and lightly browned.

Add the rice and broth. Bring to a boil and then lower the heat to simmer. Add more salt. Simmer for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the herb sauce. In a food processor or blender, puree the herbs and scallions with the oil. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.

Puree the soup in a blender until you have a smooth puree (or, in my case, with an immersion blender until you have a chunky puree). David recommends that you strain the soup after you’ve pureed it, but I skipped that step. I like rustic food and I was attached to the idea of little rice pearls in the soup.

To serve, ladle the soup into a bowl and then spoon some of the herb sauce on top. Jordan requested that I bring the herb sauce to the table, so I’ll recommend that to you as well. Some cheesy toast never hurt either.

-Emily

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Recipes

nectarine sorbet

It is officially summer and nectarines have just begun to show up at our farmer’s market. I love nectarines and was so happy to see them that I went a little crazy and bought several pounds without blinking an eye. And then I realized that I rode my bike to the market. I carefully placed my bounty in my backpack, but those tree-ripened nectarines were no match for the streets of San Francisco in pack. Sadly, they arrived home a little worse for wear. So I decided to turn those bruised (but still delicious) nectarines into sorbet.  It was a success – one that I hope to repeat again this summer.

Nectarine Sorbet
6 – 8 nectarines, chopped into 1 – 1.5 inch pieces (no need to remove the skins)
3/4 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
1 lemon, juiced

In a saucepan, heat the nectarines and water until the nectarines are soft and juicy, about 10 minutes. Add the sugar and turn off the heat. Stir to combine. Puree in a food processor until smooth. Add the lemon juice. Chill the mixture until cool. Freeze according to your ice cream maker’s directions. It will lighten considerably in color once it is sufficiently frozen.

I served the sorbet with fresh berries and a whole wheat shortbread cookie.

-Emily

Categories
Recipes San Francisco

our csa from eatwell farm

Jordan and I have been enjoying the bounty of spring through our CSA with Eatwell Farm. We’ve been obsessed with their strawberries and fava beans (maybe you’ve noticed), and we now count cherries and radishes among those obsessions as well.  The cherries were so good that they didn’t even make it into a recipe. We ate them straight from the bag the day we got them. The radishes were also wonderful – crunchy and spicy. We used them in a salad and also pickled a few. I’d never had them before, but pickled radishes are a good idea. Trust us.

 

 

Pickled Radishes
1/2 bunch radishes, quartered
1 t salt
1 t sugar
1/4 cup vinegar
1 clove garlic
1/4 t fennel seed

Heat the sugar, salt and vinegar in a small pot until dissolved. Pour over the radishes, garlic and fennel seeds. Seal the jar and place in the fridge to marinate overnight or up to 1 month. We ate these with some leftover cheese nubbins from a dinner party and they were awesome.

If you are interested in joining a CSA and getting in on this incredible produce, check out LocalHarvest to find on in your area.

-Emily

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Recipes

fava beans, four ways

How do I love thee fava bean? Let me count the ways. Sauteed, over pasta with parmesan, on pizza with onions and cream, pureed into a soup and chilled.

Jordan first introduced me to fava beans last spring with one of his favorite pasta dishes. He raved about the buttery and fresh quality of these beans. After trying his pasta, I was also hooked. This spring we’ve received several bunches of fava beans in our CSA and we’ve experimented with new recipes from a chilled soup to pizza.

Fava beans are available only in spring. They come in a large, green, slightly fuzzy pod. You need to first remove the individual beans from the pod and then remove their tough exterior skin. It is a fair amount of work to shell fava beans, but they are worth the effort. When purchasing the beans keep in mind that you should buy more than you think you’ll need since the actual size of the bean is small compared to the size of its pod. Now for the recipes!

Sauteed Fava Beans with Parmesan 

1 lb fava beans
1 clove garlic, sliced
zest and juice of 1/2 lemon
olive oil, salt, pepper, chili flake
shaved parmesan cheese (we like to shave slivers with a vegetable peeler)

Shell the beans. In a saute pan, heat some olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and chili flake. Saute briefly. Add the fava beans. Saute until the beans are crisp-tender, about 3-5 minutes and add lemon zest. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Top with slivers of parmesan and lemon juice.

This dish is good as a side or as main course with some bread and salad.

Pasta with Fava Beans, Parmesan and Fresh Herbs
1/2 lb dried or fresh pasta
1 lb fava beans
1 clove garlic
zest and juice of 1/2 a lemon
olive oil, salt, pepper, chili flake
grated parmesean
chopped fresh herbs (we like parsley)

Boil a pot of salted water. Cook the pasta according to the package directions. If using fresh pasta, saute the fava beans first. Saute the fava beans following the recipe above. Drain the pasta, reserving a little bit of the pasta water. Add the pasta and parmesan to the saute pan. Toss to melt the cheese and distribute the beans. Top with fresh herbs to serve.

Pizza with Fava Beans, Spring Onions and Creme Fraiche 
1 ball fresh pizza dough (Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s sell fresh pizza dough that is pretty darn good and saves you an hour)
1/2 lb fava beans
1/2 spring onion, sliced thinly
1/4 cup creme fraiche (you could also use marscapone or ricotta)
salt, pepper, olive oil


Heat an oven to 425 – 450 degrees. We have a pizza stone in the bottom of our oven that we cook our pizzas directly on top of, but if you don’t have a pizza stone use a baking sheet dusted with corn meal. Roll out your pizza dough. Spread the creme fraiche in a even layer, leaving a 1/2 inch border. Sprinkle evenly with onions, fava beans and salt. Bake for 8-12 minutes, until the crust is golden brown. Top with fresh ground pepper and a drizzle of olive oil.

We had our first pizza with cream at Pizzeria Delfina in the Mission. It was a life-changing experience. The creme fraiche offers subtle tanginess and richness without overpowering the flavors of the vegetables. If you’ve never had a pizza sans cheese, I recommend you give it a go. This pizza is amazing, and wouldn’t be half bad with a bit of prosciutto on top as well.

Chilled Fava Bean Soup
2 lbs fava beans
1 medium onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, sliced
¼ cup olive oil
1 quart chicken or vegetable stock
salt and pepper
creme fraiche and lemon juice, for serving

Shell and peel the beans. Peel and dice the onion. Thinly slice the garlic. In a dutch oven or heavy stock pot, sauté the onion in the olive oil until quite soft, 10 – 15 minutes. Add garlic and cook for two more minutes. Season with salt. Add the fava beans and cook for two more minutes. Add just enough stock to cover the beans. Chill the remaining stock. Cook the beans until tender. Puree in a blender until smooth, adding the leftover chilled stock until the desired consistency is reached. You might not use all of the stock. Check for seasoning. Chill and serve with a dollop of crème fraiche and a squeeze of lemon juice.

This soup is really simple, healthy and easy to make. We served it at our cooking demonstration a few weeks ago and it was a huge hit. We got more compliments on this soup than any other dish we prepared. In my mind, it means a lot when a chilled soup is the star of the show. This soup is not the heartiest of dishes and so it would be the perfect accompaniment to any grilled meat or fish.

Just in case it’s not totally obvious, we love fava beans in pretty much any incarnation. They are delicious and only around for a short time so go out and enjoy some while you can! I’m still brainstorming a fava bean dessert …

-Emily

Categories
Recipes

shaved asparagus and parmesan salad

The only thing more spring that fresh strawberries might be raw asparagus. This salad is perfect, simple and balanced.  The nuttiness of the parmesan and the sharpness of the dressing compliment the asparagus wonderfully. This was out first foray into raw asparagus territory and it turns out that the distinct asparagus flavor is actually more mild when it’s raw. I also was worried about the asparagus being tough, but you shave the spears so thin that they become really tender – think asparagus fettuccini.

Shaved Asparagus and Parmesan Salad, from the Chez Panisse Cafe Cookbook

1 shallot, diced
2 T white wine or champagne vinegar
2 T lemon juice
salt
1/3 cup olive oil
1 bunch asparagus spears
pepper
Parmesan cheese, shaved

Dice the shallot and let it marinate in vinegar, lemon juice and a pinch of salt.

Carefully shave the asparagus spears into thin ribbons. I used a japanese mandolin, but you could also use a vegetable peeler or a very sharp knife. This step takes a while, but the end result is worth it. The asparagus is so tender and wonderful and not stringy at all. Jordan also suggested using a mandolin to cut the spears into asparagus coins instead of ribbons as a time saver. You could cut multiple spears at once and your fingers are in less danger as you cut. We think this would be just as tasty.

Whisk the olive oil into the shallot mixture. Pour over the asparagus and toss to coat. Plate each serving and top with generous amount of shaved parmesan.

-Emily

Categories
Randomness

celebrity chefs!

Who are these talented, creative celebrity chefs giving a revolutionary cooking demonstration at a first-class, exotic locale? Why, yours truly, of course!

Next Sunday, Jordan and I will be giving a seasonal cooking demonstration at El Dorado Nursery and Garden. Our demo is paired with a discussion on fruit and vegetable gardening by Farmer Fred from the KFBK Garden Show.  This event is your one-stop-shop for local and seasonal produce from start to finish. If you’re in the area, please stop by!

Event Details
Sunday, May 22nd
1 pm – 4 pm
El Dorado Nursery and Garden
3931 Durock Rd. Shingle Springs, CA
FREE! No reservations are needed.

We’ll post the recipes we prepare after the event, if you can’t make it but still want to expand your seasonal cooking repertoire.

-Emily

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our csa from eatwell farms

We’ve been a member of the Eatwell Farms Community Supported Agriculture program for several months now and we couldn’t be happier! The produce is amazing, the variety inspiring and we’ve been forced to experiment. So many great recipes have been born out of “tricky” ingredients. Another awesome thing about eating with the seasons is how excited we get about new produce as it comes into season. We haven’t had strawberries since last July and that makes the first spring strawberries absolutely amazing! Perfectly sweet-tart, a deep red all the way through, and they go bad in about a day – that’s how you know they’re the real deal.

In this week’s box we received: strawberries, navel oranges, marjoram, parsley, lemons, sugar snap peas, green garlic, spring onions, stir-fry mix, radishes and carrots. Yum!

If you are interested in joining a CSA, please visit Local Harvest to find one in your area.

Happy Spring!

-Emily