The Garden Apartment

Zucchini and Potato Pancakes

Zucchini season is here and we're all looking for ways to use this abundant vegetable. Here is my recipe for Zucchini and Potato Pancakes served with yogurt-chive topping and southwestern style corn.

It seems to be the big joke among those of us who eat seasonally. Nobody really likes zucchini. But for whatever reason it grows abundantly and to seemingly impossible proportions.

This weekend I purchased three enormous zucchinis for $1. See what I mean? Even the farmers are trying to get rid of it. In my naivete, I plotted to use these three zucchinis in a zucchini bread. After making enough zucchini bread to last through the Apocalypse, I can confidently tell you that I barely knocked out one of those zucchinis last night. It turns out that zucchini bread tastes delicious because there are a lot of other ingredients in it (sugar, cinnamon, oil, chocolate chips).

I eliminated another half of a zucchini tonight with these zucchini and potato pancakes, topped off with a chive yogurt sauce and some southwestern style corn. You could serve them without the corn, but I do recommend having either a yogurt or sour cream topping.

Zucchini and Potato Pancakes, Makes 6-8 medium pancakes (serves 2-3 people)

Pancake Ingredients and directions

• One cup finely shredded zucchini
• One cup finely shredded potato
• 1/2 cup diced red onion
• One egg, beaten
• 3 TB cornmeal
• 3 TB flour
• 1 tsp garlic salt
• pepper, to taste
• Oil and butter (butter optional)

Mix all of the ingredients thoroughly. In a large saucepan, heat oil and butter over medium-high heat. Using an ice cream scoop, drop batter into the hot oil. Press down with a spatula to make a circle (about 1/4 inch thick). Fry until each side is golden brown.

To Make the Yogurt Sauce: You can substitute sour cream for the yogurt.

Simply mix a few dollops of unflavored yogurt (or sour cream) with 2 TB of chopped chives.

Southwestern Corn (optional)

• One ear of corn
• 2 TB diced red onion
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp garlic salt
• pepper, to taste
• 1 tsp butter

Boil the corn for about 4-5 minutes. Run under cold water, then remove corn from ear. Heat butter in saucepan. Combine corn, onion, chili powder, garlic salt, and pepper. Cook until onion begins to soften and corn kernels brown slightly.

Serve zucchini and potato pancakes topped with southwestern corn and a dollop of the yogurt-chive sauce.

The Amish Market Di(sh)patch: Ratatouille

This weekend I ventured out of northern Virginia to experience the Amish market in Charlotte Hall, Maryland. After bringing a remarkable amount of produce home, I made ratatouille. Read here about my experience at the market, or scroll down for the ratatouille recipe.

North St. Mary's County Farmers Market
37600 New Market Turner Road
Charlotte Hall MD 20622
301-475-4200 ext. 1404

Open Monday – Saturday, seasonally.  Produce, flowers, and Amish baked and canned goods.  Located in the parking lot of the Charlotte Hall Library.

Horse drawn buggies full of farm fresh produce clip-clopped into the Charlotte Hall, MD market. I had arrived at the Amish market. "This is the real deal," I commented to Mike and Bethany, friends who had suggested I join them on a trip to this remarkable place. These products were certainly farm fresh, transported from farms right down the road from the marketplace.

Despite the localness of the produce at this market, I had traveled much further than my usual Saturday morning trot into Old Town or Del Ray in Alexandria. In fact, I had been a little skeptical about making the forty minute drive out there. Once arriving, however, I knew it was well worth the drive just to experience such an authentic place.

 

One of many stands at the Amish market. In the background, a horse rests in the shade of trees.

Charlotte Hall, in Saint Mary's County, MD is home to many Amish families. Every day, Monday through Saturday, Amish families carry their produce to market by horse and buggy. 

In addition to the abundance of produce, one of the benefits of this market were beautiful baked goods, including pies, homemade noodles, and cakes. There was also homemade butter- mine was imprinted with a pretty floral design.

As a city-dweller shopping at urban farmers markets, an advantage of this market was the very low cost of buying vegetables. I spent $33 and was able to purchase about three times what I would normally buy at one of my regular markets. Of course, having a male friend willing to carry heavy bags of produce back to the car in between each stand also encouraged me to buy more. Most of what I bought is being frozen for the winter.

Here are some of the market highlights:

 Two types of eggplants- I bought one of each.

 

Corn was everywhere. This sweet corn had been picked just hours before I bought it.

Beautiful flowers. They also sold potted plants, including some large hydrangeas.

I brought home some enormous sunflowers, a combination of traditional yellow and red tinted.

In total I bought:

Fruit- cantaloupe, five peaches, and half of a sugar baby watermelon

Vegetables- baby tomatoes, two large tomatoes, a few pounds of pole beans, one extra-large red onion, two eggplants, three over-sized zucchinis, three green peppers, ten ears of corn

Other- a dozen eggs, homemade butter, homemade egg noodles, and a bundle of sunflowers.

I was recently given the River Cottage Cookbook, a wonderful cookbook for anyone trying to eat more seasonally. It also has great guidelines on gardening and how to sustainably raise different types of livestock. As I won't be raising- or butchering- any cows or chickens any time in the near future, I settled on making ratatouille with my market load.

I changed the recipe a little. River Cottage suggested cooking each vegetable separately in order to avoid some vegetables over cooking. I really didn't feel like washing four greasy pots and pans- and our kitchen is very small- so I settled on a different method. I simply started with the vegetables I knew would take the longest to cook, then added vegetables with shorter cook times toward the end.

Ratatouille

Ingredients:

• 8 ounces of eggplant, diced into one inch cubes
• 8 ounces of zucchini, thickly sliced
• 1/2 medium onion, thickly sliced
• 8 ounces cherry tomatoes, left whole
• 4 cloves of garlic, finely minced
• olive oil
• a few basil leaves, torn
• salt and pepper

Directions

Heat a few TB of olive oil over medium heat in a large saute pan. Add eggplant and zuchhini. Saute until it starts to get tender. Increase heat a little to brown both vegetables. Add garlic and saute for about one minute.

Reduce heat back to medium. Add onion slices and remaining garlic. Cook until onion begins to soften, then add cherry tomatoes. Cook until the cherry tomatoes begin to wrinkle, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in basil leaves.

Add salt and pepper to taste.

Note: Throughout the cooking process, I continually added olive oil since the eggplant really soaked it all up.

The results:

I, singularly, really enjoyed the ratatouille. John dislikes eggplant and zucchini so this was difficult for him. In fact, he was so hungry after dinner that two scoops of ice cream were required to fill his belly. 

Some of you may consider me to be a mean wife forcing him to eat two vegetables he hates. I prefer the adjective optimistic, but in the future I'll prepare this when he's out of town.

 

Summer Salad Di(sh)patch

After being out of town for a week, I really anticipated Wednesday's Foggy Bottom market. My fridge was empty and I knew that July would bring a wider variety of produce selections.

D & S Farms had ripe peaches, delicious nectarines, raspberries, and enormous blackberries.

Freshly dug red, white, and blue potatoes from Quaker Valley Orchards. They also had delicious ripe bing cherries.

A new favorite vendor is Long Meadow Farms. One of the major appeals is that the produce is organic (non-certified, but they will happily talk to you about their practices). The farmer, Marvin, is usually at the booth with his sister. He's very friendly, helpful with recipe ideas, and seems to enjoy joking around with customers. For example:

Customer: What's the best way to take care of this basil?

Marvin: Use it all up and come back next week to buy some more.

He, of course, answered the question properly after his joke. I've found that their booth has interesting  variety, including heirloom varieties of tomatoes, various types of squash, and yellow pole beans (which have a more buttery flavor than green beans).

As usual, I was drawn to the Sunnyside Farms and Orchards stand. The folks there always have a good selection, meaning that my arms are overflowing with produce by the time I check out. I found two varieties of green beans: regular old green beans and their expensive sister haricots verts (which were about 5 times the price!). I bought the same cost value of both beans, meaning my bag of regular folks style green beans was much fuller. In addition they had tomatoes, onions, broccoli, cabbage, and much more. They also placed a very helpful warning by their blueberries: "Last Week for Blueberries!" Although my bag was too heavy for any more purchases at this point, their warning has inspired me to buy large quantities of blueberries for freezing this weekend.

After a quick stop for the necessary meat component at Smith Family Farms, and the corresponding bread from Atwaters, I headed home.

Here's (some of) what I brought home with me:

I wanted to do something simple after a long workday, so I put John to work recreating our sliders from a few weeks ago. With the intention of making something healthy to counterbalance the meat and cheese, I put together a summer salad.  You could do this with any variety of vegetables. Peppers or roasted eggplant would be a delicious addition/ replacement later in the summer. Here's what I did:

Summer Salad with an Herb Vinaigrette

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup mixed pole beans (I used haricots verts and yellow pole beans), washed and steamed for 1-2 minutes
• 1 cup diced potatoes, boiled until just tender and immediately chilled (I used my multicolored variety)
• 1 cup tomato, cut into large sections (I used red and yellow tomatoes)
• 1 shallot, minced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 TB fresh basil, finely chopped
• 1 tsp fresh oregano
• 2 TB olive oil
• 1 TB red wine vinegar
• salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

In a large bowl, whisk olive oil, vinegar, shallots, garlic, basil, oregano, salt and pepper. Add vegetables to the bowl and stir to mix. If desired, you can refrigerate the salad for 15-30 minutes prior to eating. It will help the flavors to marinate. Otherwise, serve immediately.

This made for a fairly healthy and light compliment to the less healthy sliders. However, when comparing the two side by side, my husband felt that the sliders had an unfair advantage of meat, cheese, and bread. I had to agree, but still enjoyed this colorful and tasty salad very much.

Mileage for this meal:

• Potatoes- Quaker Valley Orchards, 91.2 miles  
• Red tomato, scallion, and haricots verts- Sunnyside Farm and Orchard, 71 miles
• Yellow tomatoes and yellow pole beans- Long Meadow Farms, 90 miles
• Garlic- Sunnyside Farm and Orchard, 71 miles
• Basil and Oregano- my garden, 0 miles
• Not Local: oil, salt, pepper, vinegar

Eastern Market Di(sh)patch: Stuffed Squash Blossoms

And. . . Week Four of One Local Summer!

 

I've always been a big fan of Washington DC's historic Eastern Market, especially considering that you can arrive with the intention of buying vegetables and leave with an artwork, a dress, and some funky jewelry. Yesterday was no exception: I did in fact bring home a fashionable market abundance including a hot pink dress, several pairs of earrings, a few pieces of squash, some tomatoes, and some nectarines. For once, my market bag was not too heavy (grocery money = clothing money). In reality, this was money well spent since I will be on vacation next week.

Though I have shopped at Eastern Market countless times, this was the first time I really opened my eyes to how "local" the vendors were. When I saw one vendor selling olive oil with a Virginia label, I had to laugh out loud. I looked at him and said in disbelief: "Olive oil?" Ah, an import from California with a Virginia label. Perfect.

Okay, so I'd have to ask a lot of questions while I walked around. Sure enough, there were wholesalers selling produce from California and South Carolina.  But, there were also many vendors from southern Maryland and the Eastern panhandle area of West Virginia. I was very careful to buy only from these folks. Some of the highlights included:

Lettuce! Apparently lettuce is still available in some places. This vendor from southern Maryland had several interesting varieties including a beautiful gourmet mix with edible flowers. I also read in my Fresh Farms update that DuPont circle has greenhouse grown lettuce throughout the summer.

Squash was everywhere. These guys were all so cute that I couldn't resist a photo. Of course, by the end of the summer, I will probably not feel inspired to photograph (or eat) zucchini or squash.

One of the vendors made several varieties of homemade hommos, garden salsa, and black bean dip. The salsa was very good, and the garlic chive hommos was also very tasty. I look forward to returning and buying a few of their homemade goods.

The real excitement, however, was a vendor selling squash blossoms. I had heard about squash blossoms being used in Mediterranean cooking, but this was my first time actually seeing them sold at a market. I had to have them, and I was pretty sure I knew what to do with them.

Stuffed squash blossoms

 

• 6-8 large squash blossoms, rinsed and prepared*
• 1 TB olive oil, plus more for drizzling
• 1/4 cup diced onion
• 1 garlic clove, smashed and minced
• 1/4 cup diced zucchini or squash
• 1/4 cup diced tomatoes
• 1/4 cup bread crumbs
• 1/4 cup feta cheese
• splash of white wine
• salt and pepper

* In order to make the stuffing process a little easier, I made a small slit down the squash blossom, and then twisted the ends of each blossom together once stuffed. I'm sure expert blossom chefs have a better technique, but this worked okay for me. . . they didn't really stay together very well, but their "bite size" was perfect, albeit a little messy.

Heat olive oil on medium heat. Saute onion, garlic, and zucchini until tender (about 5 minutes). Set aside and allow to cool off a little.

Add bread crumbs, tomato, white wine, feta, salt and pepper to the onion mixture. Scoop a spoonful of the stuffing into each blossom. Twist the ends of each blossom.

Return the blossoms to the saute pan and cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes. Drizzle additional ollive oil if desired, and serve warm.

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So, what did I think? Besides feeling slightly strange eating something I hadn't really considered food, these were pretty good. The blossoms had a mild and sweet flavor.

Other recommended cooking methods for these included stuffing them with sausage or a variety of cheeses; battering and deep frying them; or sauteeing them in an omelet or frittata.

Kohlrabi Two Ways: chips and slaw salad

I love to try new things. Recently, a vegetable I had never even heard of-- kohlrabi-- has been popping up in local farmers markets. In this post, I will describe two ways to prepare kohlrabi: kohlrabi chips and the featured recipe: an Asian slaw salad.

Shortly after seeing kohlrabi at the Foggy Bottom market a week ago, I received an email from one of my former professors with the following note: "I got kohlrabi in my CSA box this week. What do I do with it?!!"

Intrigued, I set off to find the answer for her. What exactly is this curious little vegetable kohlrabi? According to my semi-reliable source (Wikipedia) the kohl is German for "cabbage" plus rube (rabi) is German-Swiss for "turnip." Though a member of the cabbage family, kohlrabi's bulbs contain a lot of tender and crisp flesh and only a thin layer of skin. They're healthy: just one cup served raw meets 100 percent of your daily need for Vitamin C.

The real issue was whether or not they would be tasty, especially after eating sliders the previous night. I wonderered and worried, "Am I setting myself and my husband up for a disappointment?"

As I researched how to serve these, the simple idea of making them into baked chips emerged, which sounded easy enough to try. In addition, Epicurious had a recipe for Asian slaw salad. The Asian slaw reminded me of a recipe I made with purple cabbage last Fall, which I have recreated here using this new vegetable.

A Snack: Kohlrabi Chips

It couldn't be easier. Simply slice the kohlrabi into thin pieces. Toss with olive oil and Kosher salt. Bake in the oven at 350 F for about 20- 25 minutes until they start to brown.

As for the taste, I don't think this is the best way to serve them. The chips were a bit on the bitter side. However, they do make a unique and healthy snack. They may be improved if served with a yogurt dip. I plan to try them again with a sweet potato chip mix this Fall. I think the combination of sweet and bitter would be very complementary.

Asian Slaw Salad

Vegetable ingredients:

• 2 small kohlrabi bulbs (any variety is fine), peeled and julienned
• 1 large radish, julienned
• 3/4- 1 Cup of sugar snap peas; peas and pods separated, pods thinly sliced
• 1 scallion, thinly sliced

Other vegetables that would be nice to try with this recipe: red cabbage, carrots, red bell pepper, bok choy, or snow peas.  Anything crisp and crunchy would result in a refreshing and satisfying salad.

Simply slice each vegetable and mix together.

Making the sauce:

• 2-3 TB soy sauce
• 1 1/2 TB rice wine
• 1/2 tsp toasted sesame oil
• 1 tsp of olive oil (use a citrusy olive oil or try grapeseed oil instead)
• black pepper, to taste

Whisk all of the ingredients together and combine with the vegetables. Top with toasted sesame seeds and serve immediately.

The results: an amazingly satisfied and relieved Tiffany and John. The salad was so light, refreshing, and delicious. We ate it all in one sitting.

PS. My former professor reports that her kohlrabi was delicious simply stir fried with garlic.

Di(sh)patch of summer bounty AND Mini burger "Sliders"

Do you see all of the amazing vegetables and fruits pictured here? Now, do you see the package of ground beef in the bottom right corner? Call me a bad person if you like, but the idea of burgers on fresh baked rolls with juicy tomatoes was more tempting to me than anything else in my market bag (sorry vegetarians!)

Yesterday was a fantastic day at the Foggy Bottom market. I began at D & S Farms first. Ever since a disappointing experience with raspberries selling out, I always purchase my fruit first. Yesterday, I felt the need to rush for the peaches. Apparently my desire to hoard peaches was completely unfounded: Sue of D & S Farms informed me they will be in season until September. They also had raspberries, currants, blackberries, zucchini, and tomatoes. You can find them at the Del Ray market on Saturdays.

Next, I stopped by Sunnyside Farm and Orchard where I bought garlic, a large bunch of radishes, and beautiful purple kohlrabi (recipe coming soon!). . .

and a variety of different squashes. The patty-pans are from Long Meadow Farm.

After purchasing a pound of ground beef from Smith Family Farms, I wanted to buy hamburger buns.  Atwaters Bakery had really small rosemary herb dinner rolls. They were much too small for a real burger.  Sometimes when you shop at the farmers market you have to get a little creative with your options. Sliders anyone?

To make the sliders I simply made extra small burger patties (seasoned with salt, pepper, and garlic powder). They were pan fried over medium- high heat. In the meantime, I toasted the rolls in the oven. For the toppings, I sauteed some sweet onions very slowly until they caramelized.  I sliced some Ugly tomatoes, tore up a little lettuce, and added the usual condiments.  Here's to a meal that made my meat-eating husband very happy!

Stuffed Zucchini: One Local Summer Week Three

 

Apparently I'm not very good at math (or following directions, for that matter).  My One Local Summer post summaries have been one week behind every week at Farm to Philly. I finally figured out that this is because I didn't follow directions and started posting a week earlier than I was supposed to (woops).  So, with this in mind, I am clarifying that this is my Week Three post.  You can link to last week's post Mozzarella Omelet with fresh herbs to read about a 100 percent local breakfast last weekend.

Let's get down to business. I purchased an enormous zucchini this week. While I initially had zucchini bread in mind-- which is the only way my husband claims to like zucchini-- I decided to see if I couldn't get him to like zucchini in the flesh after all by making a stuffed zucchini with a tomato, garlic, and cheese topping. 

His reaction: "Can we scoop out a big helping of all the toppings and just eat those?" (If he only knew that the zuchhini pulp was mixed into that delicious topping.)

Stuffed Zucchini with Tomato, Garlic, and Mozzarella topping

 

Stuffing Ingredients:

• One large zucchini
• 1/4 Cup fresh bread crumbs (I used a whole wheat baguette)
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 TB olive oil
• 1 scallion, thinly sliced
• 2 cloves garlic, smashed
• 2 TB fresh basil, chopped
• 2 TB fresh oregano, chopped
• Salt and pepper

Topping Ingredients

• 1/2 cup diced tomatoes (I used a mixture of two heirloom varieties)
• 1 scallion, thinly sliced
• 1 garlic clove, smashed
• 1 TB red wine
• 1 TB fresh basil, chopped
• 1 TB fresh oregano, chopped
• salt and pepper
• 1/4 Cup Buffalo-style mozzarella, sliced

Stuffing Instructions

Pre-heat the oven to 350F.  In the meantime, bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil.  Slice the ends off of the zucchini.  Cook the zucchini in boiling water for about 5-6 minutes.

 

Heat 1 TB olive oil in a medium saucepan.  Saute the onion and garlic for a few minutes.  Turn off the burner.  Add the basil and oregano to the pan and stir. Combine this mixture with the bread crumbs, egg, salt and pepper. Mix well.

 

When the zucchini is finished, remove from the pot. Slice the zucchini in half and remove the pulp. Chop the pulp, then add to the stuffing mixture. Fill both halves of the zucchini with the stuffing mixture.  Place in a large baking pan and bake in the oven for about 20 minutes.

 

Topping Instructions

 

Combine all of the ingredients, except the mozzarella, and set aside.

 

Remove the zucchini from the oven after the 20 minutes are over.  Turn the broiler on.

Add the topping to each zucchini half.  Place the mozzarella slices on the top, then move the zucchini to the broiler for about 2-3 minutes, or until the cheese has melted.

 

Enjoy this cut into smaller pieces as an appetizer, or each zucchini half as a main course.

 

And finally, the mileage. . .

 

Mileage for this meal:

Zucchini-- D & S Farms, 38 miles

Tomatoes-- D & S Farms, 38 miles

Scallions-- Sunnyside Farm and Orchard, 71 miles

Garlic-- Sunnyside Farm and Orchard, 71 miles

Basil-- my garden, 0 miles

Oregano-- my garden, 0 miles

Bread Crumbs-- Bonaparte Breads, 38 miles

Egg-- Highfield Dairy, 120 miles

Mozzarella-- Blue Ridge Dairy, 44 miles

Not Local-- salt, pepper, oil, wine

A Rainy Dishpatch: Bok Choy Stirfry

When the skies darkened at 3:00 Wednesday, I watched from my downtown office as people raced through Lafayette Park looking for cover.  The heavy rain and strong winds made my heart sink with fear that the Wednesday Foggy Bottom market would shut down.  I had just read in my Fresh Farms newsletter that cherries (and maybe even raspberries-- raspberries!) would be at market. Forget fears about bad weather, my greatest fear was that I wouldn't get any delicious fresh fruit.

At 5:00 the skies seemed a little bit better, so I decided to take a risk and meander off to Foggy Bottom to scope out the situation. As I approached the metro station, I could see the white tents in the distance. The farmers had toughed out the storm. The thunder rumbled in the distance, and I dashed around grabbing up my favortites, also taking note of the newcomers. 

At D & S Farms I found butter lettuce with the roots still on. Apparently it can last up to three weeks kept in water, but I think I will be eating mine within a few days.  I also picked up some more of those Mr. Ugly tomatoes I raved about this weekend. As I was about to pay for my produce I spotted three containers of sweet cherries. Sweet cherries!  Without a second thought, I grabbed a box.  Sue (of D & S Farms) told me that the sweet cherries won't be around for very long, but that she should have them again on Saturday at Del Ray.  She said that it's possible some of the Pennsylvania farms will have them after our immediate area is finished with them. After taking the cherries home, it was proven that cherries don't last long in my house.  We have already eaten all of them.  I will have to buy a few cartons this weekend. 

Next I got my favorite goat cheese spread from Highfield Dairy, a garlic flavored goat cheese that is delicious with raw veggies or fresh bread. As the rain started to pound down on me again, I ran under the tent of Sunnyside Farm and quickly grabbed several things that looked good: bok choy, fresh garlic, scallions, and new potatoes. Finally, I spotted a vendor with one box of sugar snap peas left while running towards the metro. I quickly paid for them in the pouring rain, then ran to catch my train.

This may seem like a lot to go through for a few bags of fresh veggies and fruit.  I even wondered if I was reaching new levels of ridiculousness. . . . That is, until I got home and began to cook.  I know I preach the "eat local" mantra plenty already.  However, I must tell you: the items I bought at the market Wednesday were some of the freshest and tastiest ingredients I have ever used in my kitchen.  If I did pay more for them than I would at the grocery store (which I'm fairly certain the prices were close), it was completely worth it.

  

Pictured here is my market abundance from today.

When I got home it seemed natural to throw together the bok choy and sugar snap peas into a nice stirfry.  I began by chopping up some of the scallions and garlic.  This garlic-- with the greens still attached-- was by far the freshest garlic I have ever purchased.  The outer skins were barely papery and the inside flesh was actually fleshy and creamy white-- not rubbery and yellow like some of the garlic I've bought from the grocery store. As I was mincing the garlic, John yelled from the living room that he could actually smell it. Depending on your tolerance for garlic, this may or may not convince you to shop at the farmers market.

As I was sauteeing the various ingredients for the stir fry, I grabbed a sugar snap pea out of my wok.  It would not be an exaggeration to say that I was astounded by its sweet flavor and crisp texture.  Clearly these ingredients were about as fresh as you could find without actually growing them in your own backyard (or lack of, as we have already established).  Similarly, the bok choy was very tender and had a slightly peppery flavor. My adventure through the torrential downpour resulted in a very satisfying dinner.

All told, it only took about 20-30 minutes to make this delicious meal.  And just like some of the other recipes you'll find here, the best thing about it was the wonderfully fresh flavors of good quality food.

Without further ado, here's the recipe:

Stirfry with Bok Choy and Sugar Snap Peas

Prep time: 5 minutes ---  Cook Time: 15 minutes--- Total Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

• 2-3 TB vegetable oil
• 2-3 cloves of garlic, smashed and minced
• 3 scallions, roughly chopped into half inch pieces (set aside green parts)
• One pound of chicken, sliced into thin pieces (chicken is optional: this meal would be delicious vegetarian)
• One Cup of sugar snap peas
• One small head of bok choy, roughly chopped (chop the leaves separately and set aside)
• 2-3 TB soy sauce
• dash of white wine
• salt and pepper to taste

Season the chicken pieces with salt and pepper.  Set aside.

Put 1 TB of the oil in a wok.  Sautee the scallions over medium heat for about 3 minutes.  Add 1 TB of soy sauce and the garlic to the wok. Saute for an addional minute.  Remove. This allows the oil to pick up the flavors from the garlic and the scallions before you cook the chicken. This will give the chicken more flavor.

Add more oil to the wok if necessary.  Sear the chicken pieces for 2-3 minutes on each side until the chicken in nicely browned.  Return the garlic and scallion mixture to the wok.  Add the sugar snap peas, one more TB of soy sauce, and a dash of white wine.  Cover and cook for 1-2 minutes. 

Next, add the chopped bok choy slices.  Cook covered for about two minutes and then add the bok choy leaves.  If you would like, you can add the green parts of the scallions at this time also.  In addition, I put some of the green stems from my fresh garlic into the mixture.  You can also add more soy sauce, if you desire a little more seasoning. Cover and cook for about two more minutes until the bok choy leaves are bright green.

Remove mixture from the wok and serve over rice.  Enjoy!

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This was my first time cooking bok choy.  It was so simple to make and delicious served in a stir fry.  I still have one head of bok choy left.  If anyone has suggestions on how to prepare it, I would love to hear from you.

Basic Bruschetta

The secret to this recipe is using the freshest possible ingredients.  Ripe red tomatoes, garden basil, and buffalo style mozzarella are all complimented by crusty bread brushed with garlic flavored olive oil.

I am a confessed tomato snob.  For years I have scoured grocery stores for ripe tomatoes through the darkest of winter days only to be disappointed with pink mealy results.  It's pretty simple: to make any good bruschetta you need the freshest possible tomatoes.  In this case it has little to do with culinary expertise and a lot to do with fresh ingredients.

At this time of the year, tomatoes are not quite in season, but many locally grown greenhouse tomatoes are available at farmers markets. Though they're not quite as good as just picked summer tomatoes, they come close enough for a tomato lover like myself.  I've been buying a lot of delicious greenhouse grown tomatoes from Sunnyside Farm and Orchards (Sunday DuPont farmer's market and Wednesday Foggy Bottom market). 

I might as well admit to being a mozzarella snob as well.  I can't believe that I lived most of my live thinking that mozzarella only came shredded in a resealable plastic bag.  Thank goodness some good friends rescued me from my ignorance a few years ago!  Life has been much better since.  Most recently, my favorite buffalo style mozzarella (large ball of fresh mozzarella in water) comes from the Blue Ridge Dairy.  They can be found at Sunday's DuPont Circle farmers market and are also sold at some Whole Foods stores in the DC area.

Between these fine ingredients and my garden basil, I've been making a lot of my favorite bruschetta. The first few times I made bruschetta I used fresh minced garlic. This still tasted good, but the garlic really overwhelmed all the other wonderful flavors.  After a little ruminating, I came up with a great way to make the garlic flavor more complementary: garlic flavored olive oil. Thus, the secret to this bruschetta's delicious flavor is that the garlic merely enhances (rather than overwhelming) the fresh tomato and basil. 

Basic Bruschetta Recipe:

• 1 loaf  of bakery baguette
• 3 TB olive oil
• 1-2 cloves of garlic, sliced
• 2 medium-large ripe tomatoes, chopped
• 1 ball of Buffalo style mozzarella, sliced into 1 inch pieces
• 1 bunch of fresh basil leaves, sliced
• salt, to taste

Preheat the oven to 400 F.  Slice the baguette and place the pieces on a foil lined cookie sheet.

In the meantime, heat olive oil in small sauce pan.  Add the garlic slices and allow them to simmer for a few minutes.  Do not let it overcook or the oil will have a burnt flavor.  Set aside. 

Combine tomatoes, mozzarella, basil, and salt. 

Place the bread in the oven.  Bake until the edges are golden brown (8-10 minutes).  Remove bread from oven and brush each slice generously with the garlic flavored olive oil. Add tomato mixture to each slice.  If desired, drizzle each piece with a little bit of the leftover oil. 

Voila!  So simple and yet so delicious.

Old Town Di(sh)patch: Grilled Steak with Argula Pesto sauce and Roasted Potatoes with Ramp Mustard and Spring Onions

I became wary of the Old Town Alexandria Farmer's Market in early springtime.  The first annoyance was a booth that was selling produce from California.  The second turnoff occurred when a vendor claimed to be selling me "just picked" asparagus. I returned home to unwrap my local asparagus only to discover rubber bands stating clearly "Produce of Mexico."  Ugh.  Maybe he just had those rubber bands laying around before he bundled the asparagus. Right.

The other markets I frequent are all run by the Fresh Farms non-profit which ensures producer only markets. This morning I decided to give Old Town another chance.  This time I was determined to be selective about my purchases and to ask a lot of questions. I was reminded that despite a few booths like the above mentioned, there are some fantastic producers selling unique and authentically local goods in Old Town.

One of my favorites is the Bigg Riggs Farm booth. They produce everything they sell on their family farm.  Their West Virginia farm has been there for five generations, but the idea to turn their fruit products into a year round product (jams, jellies, apple butters) came when one family member (the young man who you'll usually find running the booth) was deployed in Iraq in 2003.  His fellow marines encouraged him to expand the family business to a wider regional audience.  You can usually find farm fresh eggs at their booth, and now that the weather is turning warm, fruits and vegetables will emerge soon.  Their hot pepper jelly is incredible served alone or mixed with cream cheese. 

Today I bought the Ramp Mustard.  The taste is phenomenal-- like a gourmet mustard you'd find at a specialty store.  It was recommended as a pretzel dip.  This di(sh)patch recipe will feature the mustard in roasted potatoes.

After finding the mustard, I was off to look for something to grill. I've had great products from the Virginia forest fed pork producer Babes in the Wood this winter, but my pork intake has been a little too high lately, so I made a healthy choice and headed off to buy some red meat. 

I ventured on to the Smith Family Farm booth.    As I waited for my grass-fed Porterhouse steak, I was informed about their 5th generation family farm in Gainesville, Virginia. Since the 1980s, developers have been pressuring them to sell the farm.  The family has been tenaciously holding on to their land while housing developments have cropped up all around them on former farmland.  It is one thing to read the statistic that two acres of farm land disappear every minute.  It's quite another experience to talk to a farmer facing this and know that the money paid for his products is helping a family to carry on their livelihood.

With these purchases, I had just what I needed for tonight's dinner.  I already had some fresh arugula, basil, new potatoes, and spring onions at home. 

Gorgeous and Enormous Spring Onions

Following is my di(sh)patch recipe for: Grilled Porterhouse Steak with arugula pesto, served with a side of Roasted Potatoes with Ramp Mustard and Spring Onions.

Grilled Porterhouse Steak with Arugula Pesto Sauce

• 16 ounce Porterhouse (T-Bone) Steak

Rub the steak with salt and pepper.  Set aside for 30-45 minutes while the grill heats.

Prepare pesto and begin roasting potatoes at this time.  When potatoes are beginning to brown, place steak on grill.  Grill 6-7 minutes on each side. Serve with Basil-Arugula Pesto sauce drizzled on top.

Basil- Arugula Pesto (adapted from www.epicurious.com)

• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 2 cups fresh basil leaves
• 1 cup arugula leaves
• 1/4 cup toasted walnuts or pinenuts
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 2 garlic cloves
• dash or two of lemon juice
• water (if needed)

In a food processor, pulse the first six ingredients.

Add a dash or two of lemon juice.  Pulse again.  If you'd like the consistency to be a little thinner, add some water.

For Steak Sauce:

Melt 1-2 TB butter.  Add a small amount of the Basil-Arugula pesto to the melted butter (to taste). 

* Note: You will have leftover pesto to serve up with bread, over pasta, or in future recipes.

Roasted Redskin Potatoes with Ramp Mustard and Spring Onions

• 1 lb redskin potatoes (skins on), chopped into 1 inch pieces
• 2 TB Ramp Mustard (any mustard of choice would work; whole grain mustards are great with potatoes also)
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 2 tsp butter, melted
• 1-2 tsp white wine
• 1-2 tsp honey
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 spring onion chopped
• sprig of fresh oregano (optional)

Pre-heat oven to 425 F.  Place foil over a cookie sheet and set aside. 

Whisk mustard, olive oil, butter, white wine, honey, garlic, and oregano together in a large bowl.  Add potatoes to the bowl and toss until evenly coated.  Pour potatoes onto the cookie sheet.  Salt and pepper.

Place in oven and bake on top rack for 20-25 minutes.  Remove from oven and turn potatoes.  Toss chopped spring onion on top. 

Return to lower rack of the oven for another 20-25 minutes, until potatoes are browned and crispy on the outside.

Serve potatoes with fresh oregano on top (optional).

Grilled Steak with Arugula Pesto and roasted potatoes with Ramp Mustard