Summertime in the City

It's Laurie's fault that we haven't posted in awhile (sorry to throw you under the bus, but it's true)!

Laurie cooked. I plated. :)

Last Wednesday, Laurie made these awesome turkey meatballs with zucchini and peppers in them and braised Swiss chard with Parmesan.  She promised that she would write a post and share the recipe (recipe forthcoming) but just was too busy to do so.  I guess working on a massive construction project and spending 70+ hours of week at work is a pretty good excuse, but I still have to give her a little guilt trip! :)  I'm not always a huge fan of meatballs, but Laurie's blew me away.  The sauce was so good that we saved some and reused it on Thursday for stir fry.

Swiss chard can be a little bitter, but the combination of the Parmesan and red onion mellowed out the flavor.  Also, by using the chard and the spring onions to garnish the meatballs, we were able to use up all of our veggies from the past two weeks.  Seriously, it can be hard to use up the veggies before they go bad (especially if one of the two people sharing the basket is working her tail off).

Look at that basil (ignore the sweet tea vodka)!

Which brings us to this week's basket.  On Thursday, we picked up our new CSA basket, which contained Swiss chard, radishes, spring onions, scapes and basil.  While we have gotten scapes and onions every week so far, I think those veggies are so versatile that they've been the first items used up every week.  You can't beat fresh spring onions as a garnish or scapes in a frittata on Sunday morning.

I think I was more excited this week than I have been with any of the other boxes.  My mom laughs at me when I say this, but I love radishes, so I was super excited to cook with them.  Also, the basil was too beautiful to cook down, so I chopped up a juicy pineapple and prepared a pineapple and basil salad drizzled with local honey.  I'll admit that I'm often guilty of ignoring the fruit group in the food pyramid (if they even call it a pyramid anymore), especially in the wintertime, but there's nothing I like better than a sweet and savory fruit salad as a side dish on a hot day.

Since Laurie and I spent yesterday afternoon bronzing ourselves by her apartment complex's pool, we were both craving something cool and fresh for dinner, so I decided to make Poke.  If you're not familiar with it, Poke is a raw yellowfin tuna salad that is a Hawaiian delicacy.  While it may sound strange, I was introduced to poke by my Japanese/Hawaiian friend, Joe, when I lived out in Idaho.  I'd never had it before then, and now, I always check for ahi poke on the menu whenever I'm at a good sushi restaurant.  I've been craving it for weeks.

As you might imagine, the most important part of making Poke is the fish.  I recommend going to a Japanese

market, local fish market, or upscale grocery store (Whole Foods or Fresh Marker) and asking the fishmonger if there's any sashimi grade tuna available.  It's kind of a no-brainer.  The freshest tuna makes the best salad.  You can find all sorts of Poke recipes on the internet, but traditional Poke is so easy to make that I could do it in my sleep.

Cameron looks like a Chopped judge in this picture. I love it!

Ahi Tuna Poke

2 lbs fresh tuna steaks, cubed
3/4 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup green onions
2 tablespoons sesame oil
1 tablespoon sesame seeds

In a medium size bowl, combine all the ingredients.  Garnish with additional diced green onions if you're feeling fancy.  That's it...so simple.  Enjoy!

I served the Poke over an Asian inspired slaw that included the radishes from the CSA, cabbage and jalapenos (for a little kick).  Yes, I cheated and did not make the dressing for the slaw, but after a full day in the sun, I let Whole Foods do the work.  Their ginger and garlic sauce is just as good as anything I could have made on my own...probably better, if I'm being completely honest.

Well, I don't know about you guys, but I"m looking forward to a short week of work and a great 4th of July!  Safe travels to those of you hitting the road later this week.  I'll try to post again before I take off the for the beach, but I'm making no promises!

Lauren

It's Not Easy Being Green

I lamented in my last post that we were up to our ears in green leafy vegetables...kale, swiss chard and

especially lettuce.  Honestly, if I don't have to look at a salad again for the next few days, I'm okay with that.  Well, I found a solution to my problem.  Soup!

Before you go shaking your head and thinking I'm a nut for making soup when it's 90 degrees outside, think about your ultimate "go-to" comfort food.  It's probably something along the lines of chicken noodle or tomato soup and a grilled cheese sandwich.  And when you're craving something simple, hearty and comforting, it really doesn't matter what the heck the temperature is outside, which brings me to dinner last night.  While Laurie was a skeptic about a lettuce and kale soup (and I'm sure many of you are as well), I'm a huge fan of cream of spinach and thought that any leafy green vegetable in a soup could be delicious and healthy.  Here's my recipe!

Lettuce and Kale Soup with Scape Pesto Grilled Cheese.  Yum!

Lettuce and Kale Soup

6 cups of lettuce
2 cups of kale
1/2 cup garlic scapes
1/2 cup spring onions
3 cups broth (veggie, chicken, or beef)
3/4 cup plain yogurt
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper to taste
Pinch of cayenne pepper

Start by finely chopping your scapes and spring onions and sauteeing them in a deep skillet with a little olive oil.  While the aromatics are softening up, do a rough chop on your leafy greens, and when the kitchen is really starting to smell great, throw your greens in the skillet as well.  On another burner, heat up your stock.  When the greens have begun to wilt, transfer them to the stock pot and add the yogurt.  Stir until the yogurt is combined with the stock and the soup looks creamy.  At this point, add the cheese, salt, pepper and cayenne (if you like the flavor).  Carefully transfer the soup to a blender or processor.  Be careful processing hot liquids!  Pulse the soup until you're satisfied with the texture, then transfer it back to the stock pot.  Let the soup continue to cook on low while you fix your grilled cheese.  Enjoy!

Since we had extra scape pesto left over from last week, we added a spoonful of pesto to our Vermont cheddar grilled cheese sandwiches.  I'm a huge fan of dunking my grilled cheese into soup, and the combination of flavors last night was amazing.  Once again, Laurie ribbed me for not including meat in the meal, but I don't think either one of us missed it at all.

Just a quick side note before I actually get some work done today.  I'd be remiss without sharing that yesterday was Cameron's birthday.  We celebrated by taking her swimming, to the park and to the Muddy Mutt for a bath (that was more for our benefit).

It's hard to believe that she's four years old now.  Honestly, it seems like yesterday that she fell asleep on my chest while bringing her home from the breeder.  I never thought that owning a dog could change my life, but she has, without a doubt.  Here's to many more years of hikes, swimming, long runs and cuddles with my best friend in the world!  Happy Birthday, Cameron!

Lauren

My First Recipe

I apologize.  There will be weeks that I skimp on the blogging, but I didn't plan on slacking off so quickly.   I know...I've completely neglected this blog over the past week, but it has been the week from hell.  Seriously, I think that the world just threw everything at me.  Hey, we all have those weeks though, right?  I am just so glad it's Friday, tomorrow is the first official day of Summer and I have a ton of great World Cup matches to watch this weekend!

Cameron was not pumped for the CSA pick-up selfie. Nope.

Yesterday, Laurie, Cameron and I picked up our second box of veggies from the CSA.  Laurie was off early, so I forced her to come with me (there's a crazy person who lives across the street, so I needed to bring backup).  This week, we got kale, beets, garlic scapes, zucchini and MORE LETTUCE.  The fridge looks like Peter Rabbit lives there - never thought I would say that.

Over the last week, we did a pretty decent job using up the zucchini, spring onions and kale (I fixed a huge frittata with tomatoes, arugula, onions, kale and peppers on Sunday), but I swear, we have lettuce coming out of our ears.  I feel like a bunny.  If anyone has innovative ideas of how to use up lettuce, please let me know!  I don't want the lettuce to go bad, and I'm not sure that Cameron would be too excited for me to start sneaking her lettuce.

Since we hadn't cooked with the scapes yet, Laurie and I made a garlic scape pesto for dinner last night.  If you're not familiar with scapes or have never cooked with them, they are the "flower stalks" of hard neck garlic plants.  They can be chopped up and used like scallions in salads and to garnish dishes, but one of the most popular way to use the scapes is in pesto.  Now, scapes are very aromatic, so it's important to keep that in mind when using them in a pesto - I used a lot of arugula and basil to mellow out the flavor.

Garlic Scape Pesto

1 bunch Scapes (I had 4 stalks)
4 cups Arugula
2 cups Basil
1/4 cup Pine nuts
1/4 cup Parmesan
1/2 cup Olive oil
Salt and Pepper to taste
Pinch of Red Pepper

Finely chop up your scapes, then mix all your leafy greens in a bowl with a little salt and pepper.  Then, put the greens in a food processor.  Add the pine nuts, parm and olive oil and process until the mixture becomes a paste.  At this point, I added a pinch of red pepper and more salt and pepper.  If your pesto seems too thick, add a little more olive oil and pulse again.  Enjoy!

Since we had a lot of fresh pesto, Laurie and I decided to use some in a quick and easy pasta and save the rest for later.  I peeled and deveined about a pound and a half of shrimp and tossed them in a pan with spices, while Laurie chopped up tomatoes and green and yellow peppers to add to bow tie pasta with the pesto.

The finished product (with a little shaved Parm). :)

Given a choice between cooking/eating seafood and poultry or beef, I will always choose seafood, and I absolutely love shellfish in a pasta (pretty much in anything, honestly). I cautioned you earlier that the pesto can be very strong, so adding the sweetness of the shrimp and the fresh bite of the peppers in the pasta really made a nice combination.  In fact, Laurie said it's the best pesto she's ever had. :)

Now, we can really eat, but we may have overestimated our appetites last night, which is a really good thing.  We had enough leftover pasta for two lunches, and I actually think the pesto is something that will be even better cold the next day.  Also, I cooked way too much shrimp, so we were able to make salads with the shrimp, peppers and tomatoes with miso ginger dressing  for today.

Yum!  Salads and kale for kale chips!

Hope everyone has a great weekend and is able to get outside and enjoy the Summer Solstice.  If you get a chance, I highly recommend drinking an Anderson Valley Summer Solstice (in a can of course) on the Summer Solstice.  I plan on spending as much of the weekend by the pool as possible and watching Argentina and the U.S. play in their respective World Cup matches.  While I prefer American football to futbol, I can say that I have really enjoyed watching the World Cup this year, and though handsome, I can't wait to see Ronaldo (and Portugal) lose to the U.S.!  I find him to be extremely obnoxious.

I'll try to be better about posting less sporadically and including more recipes in the posts.  I plan on making a salad with the beets and swiss chard tomorrow night, so I'll be sure to share that with you guys!

Lauren

And It Begins...

Our first produce box...yay!!!

Yesterday after work, I picked up the first box from the CSA.  I was afraid we would end up with a lousy box, and I was overjoyed when I got to the CSA drop point and found a beautiful head of lettuce, curly kale, garlic scapes, spring onions and my favorite, zucchini.

Since I was getting a late start on dinner, I decided to make a quick, easy stir fry with the zucchini from the box, carrots, peppers, broccoli, onions and mushrooms.  It doesn't happen often (I think Laurie was pretty shocked), but I wasn't really in the mood for meat last night.  Plus, I always like making stir fry because it gives me the chance to show off my knife skills.

Laurie needs to get on my knife skills level. :)

Tonight, I'm planning on preparing a steakhouse salad (making up for the meat I didn't eat last night) with the lettuce and spring onions from the box, sirloin strips, bacon and homemade blue cheese dressing.  If you're lucky, I might even share my blue cheese dressing recipe!  I think that Fridays are just made for a little indulgence, and I plan on stopping by the wine store to pick up a nice bottle of Cabernet to have with dinner.  Hey, what's life if you can't enjoy it a little bit?

I hope everyone has a happy Friday and a great weekend!  Maybe this rain will go away, so we can play outside.

Lauren

In Season

We love food. Well, Laurie loves food, but I (Lauren) LOVE food. I really do. I love food shopping, reading magazines like Food & Wine and Saveur, venturing to new restaurants, discovering recipes, cooking and especially eating. Like most Americans, we are far too often guilty of valuing convenience over quality and grabbing take-out Thai food or ordering pizza, so back during the long, snowy winter, Laurie and I decided to join a Community Supported Agriculture program and split a small share of vegetables from Earth Spring Farm in Pennsylvania.

What the heck is a CSA you might ask? Essentially, it is a simple way to purchase fresh, local produce while supporting a small farm. Both Laurie and I grew up in the country and could find decent vegetables in our families’ gardens or at roadside produce stands, but here in D.C., there’s neither the space nor opportunity to grow our own produce. By purchasing a small share of vegetables from the farm, we will receive a weekly box of seasonally available vegetables from early June through late November and pick up the box from a neighbor’s porch every Thursday. In our “pre-harvest” e-mails we’ve received from Earth Spring, we’ve been told to expect everything from kale, collards and carrots to winter squash, cauliflower and kohlrabi.

I consider myself to be a good cook (with the exception of my risotto, which is always a little crunchy), but this will be a new experience for me given that we won’t have a choice with regard to the vegetables we receive weekly. Friends that have been members of CSAs before have given the experience mixed reviews, and some have gone so far as to swear off kale for the rest of their lives. Still, I’m optimistic. This whole experience will probably be fun – it might be challenging, but it will most definitely be interesting.

Tonight is the first pick-up day for our CSA, so get excited for the great vegetable unveiling!

Lauren