Left over salad

Every once in a while I open the refridgerator and all i have are a bunch of small containers with not quite enough of something left to make a meal with. These odds and ends make for a great salad.

Toss them all together...a few sting beans, some chick peas, cheese, beets...with your favorite dressing and you are done.




I served this with Fettunta.

A couple of quick summer options

It seems to happen more in the summer, but every so often we get to dinner time with no real plan. The bounty of summer produce throws me off, I guess. This happened last night.

We had some string beans from Irv and Shelley's...

I quickly blanched them, then sauteed them in brown butter (more on this tomorrow) and threw in some pine nuts.


After eating this, we had no real plan. With our new herb plants on the deck, it was easy to make this pasta with brown butter and sage.

Cook the pasta and drain, reserving about a half cup of liquid. Toss with a touch of oil.
Brown butter and toss in fresh sage.




Add the pasta and coat with the butter and sage. If it is dry add some of the reserved stock.
Top with Parm.

Baked Eggplant with Cheese

Like everyone else I too get tired of making the same things over and over again, but sometimes you have a taste for something and the ingredients on hand. Often changing the structure will be enough to make it feel different without a lot of extra thought into a new recipe.

That happened last night. Rather than the typical Eggplant Parm I tried something new.

I once again started the same way, frying the eggplant.


This time I used some of the "sausage" to enhance the sauce. Also, we picked up some fresh basil plants at the market over the weekend. I finally got around to planting them.


I could not resist using some of the fresh basil in the sauce. (Here's hoping I do not kill the whole plant.)



Layer the sauce on the bottom.


Top with the eggplant.



Then add cheese. I used Parm, mozzarella and fontina.



Bake in a 400 deg oven, about 15 minutes. Then finish under the broiler to brown the top.


I also served this with a roasted tomato caprese.

Q & A: What do I do with the ton of Basil (cilantro) I got at the market

My brother called the other night and asked what he should do with the massive amount of basil that he got from his CSA. I also, got a similar question from our neighbor, she wanted to use fresh cilantro but never finishes it before it goes bad.

The easy answer is puree it with oil and freeze it.

Place the herb in the blender with a little oil and puree. Add enough oil to make a paste that is not too oily. This can be stored in the refrigerator in a squeeze bottle or frozen in an ice cube tray.

Then when you want a splash of fresh herbs, drop in a cube.

Cooking with Auden: Greek Salad

Well sorta... I wanted to make a salad last night to go with some left overs and remembered that we picked up some feta at the farmers market over the weekend.

I taught Auden to use a peeler in the process. After a couple of tries together he got the hang of it.


We had some teardrop tomatoes...what better way to explain the shape?


Toss the feta, tomatoes and cucumbers with lettuce and dill. Then a splash of wine vinegar, EVOO and salt and pepper and you have a quick Greek salad.

Cooking with Auden: Farmers Market

We love going to the farmers market and try to go at least once a week. There is nothing like seeing all the fresh fruits and vegetables displayed on tables. The variety of options is great and the chance to get to meet the people who actually grow the food is wonderful. You get to see all kinds of produce that would never make it into the supermarket. It is also a great place to take kids. Most of the farmers are very friendly and are more than willing to give a sample or two.

Here Auden is checking out the purple colored string "magical" string beans. When was the last time you saw those at the Jewel?


Eating a yummy sample of apricot.



We also picked up a few plants to try growing ourselves. This is purple basil.


Auden checking out the beans.

Taking the Show on the Road

We went to our friends Eric and Kellie's new house tonight for an open house/BBQ. I figured it would be perfect to make some grilled pizza.

The trick is to have everything ready before you start. The dough cooks quickly and you have to have everything ready once you begin or the dough will burn before the cheese has time to fully melt. The other thing is to keep the lid on, this will help trap the heat creating an oven effect. Also make sure that the grill is really clean, any debris may cause the dough to stick.




Roll out the dough and brush one side with oil.
Flip this onto the grill in one swift motion. Try not to touch the dough for a minute or so, this will seal it and prevent it from sticking. Close the lid and cook for several minutes. Once the dough is nicely browned on one side, brush a little oil on the top, then flip it over.


At this point you have to be ready to add your topping, so have them close by.



Close the lid and cook for a few more minutes, until the cheese is melted and the bottom is nicely browned. If the bottom is cooking too quickly, you can finish melting the cheese under the broiler.