eatwithana

Passionate about everyone eating better!

Nasturtium Pesto

Posted on October 6, 2014 by eatwithana

Oh yes I did! The garden as a whole did ok this year, but the Nasturtium are going gangbusters. It’s been a busy fall but I had to take a minute to share this. It’s delicious and pretty, and would accompany a hard strong cheese just beautifully.
Blend your flowers and some oil and lime juice and see how much you’ve really got, before adding the rest. The flowers look like a lot more when they are whole.
As many Nasturtium as you can gather, others quantities relative to that.
Papita ( raw green pumpkin seeds)
Raw sunflower seeds
Olive oil
Lime juice
A fresh Garlic clove
Salt
Pinch of paprika (I like it hot)
I also froze some for a winter treat too!

Kid Friendly Chili

Posted on November 6, 2013 by eatwithana

Three Bean KaIe and Turnip Beef Chili.
I know you all probably don’t need another chili recipe, but this all day simmered stew was very popular with the girls. The turnips and kale blend in and are inoffensive after all that simmering. They are the two CSA vegetables that tend to languish in the drawer the longest, I needed to use them up. Really the secret I wanted to share was instead of using a chili powder I used ground cumin and unsweetened cocoa, then a touch of liquid smoke. My kids won’t eat anything remotely spicy and I’m quite the opposite. This mole-like spice combo gives it that chili depth of flavor. Grown ups can add hot sauce to taste. I served it over organic barley for a change of pace.

Fall Fennel Slaw

Posted on November 1, 2013 by eatwithana

There are not many things left I haven’t tried making into a slaw. This one dressed with a Sherry Vinaigrette. This combo would be great accompanying Thanksgiving leftovers. Even for the event itself for some fresh raw crunch. I could imagine adding some roasted chestnuts for a hardier dish.
2 Fennel bulbs
1 small organic cabbage
2 Asian Pears (round lite brown)
– Slice the fennel and cabbage on a mandolin or very finely with a knife.
– peal and grate the pears.
Mix up Sherry Vinaigrette in a separate bowl with a whisk until emulsified and then stir all together. Make as much dressing as you like, my amounts are in descending order.
– Sherry Vinegar
– Olive oil
– Honey
– Salt and Pepper
– Diced Shallot
– Diced fresh garlic

Pumpkin Chowder

Posted on October 31, 2013 by eatwithana

I was trying to think of something different to do with the sugar pumpkin that came in my Enterprise Farm CSA. This chowder worked out really well! I made it vegan but stock would give it some extra depth.
-Roast the seeded pumpkin in half at 400* until soft. Skin side up. Don’t discard the juices that come out during baking. Do this the day before if you want.
– A couple of diced onions and a whole head of chopped garlic caramelized in olive oil in the soup pot- then about a cup of Madeira to deglaze.
– Add pealed pumpkin and about 3 cups water.
– Purée with stick blender, add Cumin, Curry, Sweet paprika and cinnamon. To taste but my amounts are in descending order. Then 1 cup Unbleached sugar, salt and Pepper and juice of one lemon.
– Dice about 2-3 cups of potato and simmer in soup until tender. Lastly add a bag of organic frozen sweet corn. Adjust water and salt so it’s not too thick.
Finishing with some butter and a touch of cream would be delicious, I opted to stay lite and just garnish with some whole milk yogurt before serving.
I’m all about the vegetables these days, I have some great sides I’ll write up soon. Thinking of the Thanking.

Stuffed Poblano Peppers Or Best CSA box ever

Posted on October 11, 2013 by eatwithana

Having received the best ever box of vegetables from Enterprise Farm, I was inspired to actually publish a new post.
Flame roast those peppers directly on your gas flame if you have one. About 30 seconds a side or until you get a nice char. Ummmm- be careful too, open flame and all.
Peel and slice in quarters some white yams, toss them in olive oil, S&P and roast in the oven at 400 for about 30 minutes.
Chop about 8 tomatillo and 1/2 a red onion, toss with a dash of olive oil and cider vinegar, and S&P .

Stuff the peppers with any number of delightful things. I used shredded cheddar, ground beef ( browned with onion, garlic, cumin and cayenne ) and black beans. Put the stuffed peppers in the oven for the last 10 minutes of the yams roasting. I served it with plain yogurt to counter the heat of the spice and acid of the salsa.
We also had the most delicious romaine and fennel salad with this. I really love when my weekly box of veggies come, and therein lies a complete meal.

Use What you Gotta Frittata

Posted on November 16, 2012 by eatwithana

When I had my restaurant our quiche of the day was one of our most popular lunches. It worked out well for everyone, as that was where all the unused prepped vegetables from the night before ended up. My formula was always non- traditional with the egg mostly a binder to hold a ton of vegetables and some cheese together. I often use fresh herbs or spices too, it’s still my go-to at home for using up vegetable sides.

Before writing this I happen to Wikipedia Frittata up make sure I had the proper amount of t’s. Turns out the crustless dish I make at home is more akin to the Middle Eastern dishes Eggah and Kuku. Needless to say, anything cut into triangles seems to be a hit with my family. Leftover leftovers are great breakfast sandwiches as well! This at least serves 4-6 with some salad and bread. I made in 8×8 glass casserole.
For this one: oven to 375*
6-8 eggs depending on egg size
1 cup skim milk
About 1 cup leftover baked acorn squash
1 cup roasted w/ olive oil, S&P, celery root cubes
About 2/3 cup braised collards w/garlic
4 Slices of Muenster cheese
Beat eggs, add milk and beat till really frothy, add squash and mix well.
Then stir in collards and celery root.
Pour in pan and place sliced cheese on top. Bake for 45 minutes or until knife comes out clean from center.
Please, by all means improvise ! love to hear about crazy combos .

Gifts from the Garden!

Posted on November 6, 2012 by eatwithana

These two little gems were volunteers in the container garden in our parking spot. After the zucchinis died back, I noticed this new little vine growing and recognized it as melon. The seeds must have come in from our basement worm composter fertilizer. Well they were not going to have time to ripen.
So I picked them to see what we got.
Wow were they delicious ! I pealed them and they had the texture and crunch of a cucumber and the slight hint of sweet watermelon flavor . It was wonderful in a salad. I might do this on purpose next year.

Autumn Grilled Lamb Roast

Posted on October 25, 2012 by eatwithana

The end of the season BBQ is bitter sweet. Bitter because we love to cook outside, but not so much when it’s not comfortable. Sweet because we go back to long slow charcoal projects. The heat of summer makes us want to cook quick things on the gas grill.
I took the last of the half lamb we bought from Pygarus Farm in New Boston, NH out of the chest freezer and gave it a good rub down. If you want my rub and details about “indirect heat charcoal grilling” , see the post; “Where the Buffalo Roam”.
This was a bone-in shoulder roast and it was done in about an hour, I made a mop of beer, honey, garlic and kalamata olive juice.
This post really honors Food Day, as our whole dinner was from local farms.
We had roasted butternut squash and sweet potato cubes, and braised kale and tomatoes from our Enterprise Farm -Year Round CSA.
Also amazing huge sweet corn from Greaney’s Farm and Ice Cream stand, 114 in South Weare, NH.
Home of the ice cream eating chickens!
The kale was braised with caramelized onions and diced tomatoes, beer, diced kalamata olives and also some of the same potion I used for the mop.
Our Enterprise Farm share had contained a bunch of lovely leeks which inspired what I made with the leftovers. I’ll get to that in my next post.

The Yam Lunch

Posted on October 8, 2012 by eatwithana

I’m a big fan of the lite breakfast and lunch, so you can splurge a little for dinner, program. When eating alone, I often opt for something vegetarian. Around this time a year I’m sick of salads and I return to my old fav, The Red Garnet Yam. So totally satisfying, I end up doing this several days a week for a few months. The red garnet yam is the long skinny, thin skinned cousin of the sweet potato, and many other assorted varieties, I like it the best for eating whole. Because of its long skinny shape, it cooks quickly and evenly in the oven or microwave. The peel is very tender and tasty and that is where so much of the nutrients are. A great lunch to bring to work too. When I was in the office world I would leave a jar of salsa and a tub of hummus in the work frig for my almost daily yam.
Wash with a vegetable scrubber, wrap in a paper towel and then parchment paper and it’s ready to travel. Wet the paper towel, wrap back in parchment and microwave for 4-5 minutes when ready to eat. Split it down the middle and top with your favorite toppings- handful of greens, Greek yogurt and roasted red peppers, endless possibilities. My strange favorite is Green Mountain roasted garlic salsa and some hummus.
For a regular or toaster oven, wrap in parchment paper and then aluminum foil and about an hour at 425*.

The Last Peppers

Posted on September 20, 2012 by eatwithana

I just harvested the last of my garden, which included assorted hot peppers. To save for later use I halved and seeded, then tossed generously in olive oil and sea salt. On parchment, in the oven for one and a half hours at 200, they curled up and mellowed out their heat. I packed them in a recycled jar, topped off with more olive oil. They’ll be great tossed in pasta or sliced on a flatbread. I love having the taste of my garden to enjoy all winter long.