BLT Salad

BLT Salad

Tuesday is CSA bag pick-up day at work. CSA stands for community supported agriculture and our family has one share in the Good Natured Family Farms CSA. I love having a share and I look forward to every Tuesday. What can I say? I am a foodie. Also our CSA is amazing. We get everything from fruits and veggies to meat to dairy to honey. Each week is a surprise.
I don't look in the bag of goodies until I get home and then we go through the bag together. I know it sounds kinda dorky but we think it is fun. Katie is hoping for honey sticks or chocolate milk, Steven wants cheese and I want tomatoes. 

I love this lettuce!

This Tuesday I pulled Boston lettuce out of the bag and we all knew we were going to have a BLT salad. It might be my favorite salad but then I am crazy about BLTs. It is an amazingly easy salad to make. If you haven't tried it; trust me-- make it. I am on a healthy kick (my family hates it when I start counting calories) so I only used 4 slices of bacon. You can use more if you like (I have). I think 4 slices is the bare minimum. Also I make my own croutons out of stale bread. I had some stale bagels so I tossed them with some oil, pepper, and dried herbs and put them in the toaster oven. Voila! Croutons! I also use light mayonnaise and low fat milk. Sometimes I use a combination of mayonaise and sour cream. 

The lettuce stays fresh longer because the roots are still attached and have water

BLT Salad

3/4 Cup (180 g) of Mayonaise 
1/4 Cup (60 ml) of Milk
1 Clove of Garlic, Minced
Black Peper, To taste

1 Head of Lettuce, Torn into Bit-Sized Pieces
2 Tomatoes, Diced (or a container of cherry or grape tomatoes halved)
4 Slices of Bacon, Cooked, Cooled, and Crumbled
1 1/2 Cups (45 g) of Croutons

In a small bowl whisk together mayonnaise, milk, garlic, and pepper. In a large bowl combine lettuce, tomatoes, bacon, and croutons. Toss the salad with the dressing. Serve immediately.

Katie grabbing a crouton out of the salad

The bottom line: will I make this again? Yes. It is lovely. It is beautiful with different colored tomatoes.

Mustardy Potato Salad

Perfect potatoes

While I have tried several potato salads I have not liked, generally I am a huge fan of potato salad. I prefer vinegar and mustard-based potato salads not the creamy ones. I make two different potato salads- one I use for the base of a nicose salad and a mustard and vinegar based potato salad. Does that mean that my potato salad always tastes the same? Oh my goodness no! I vary the mustards and vinegars I use. I have a great love of vinegars and mustards and it is almost like I collect them. I love Cajun mustard, coarse German mustard, and coarse mustard with horseradish in this potato salad. Often I use rice wine vinegar (I love rice wine vinegar).  I have also been know to use a white wine vinegar or an infused vinegar. The possibilities are endless.
The potatoes are key. There are so many choices of potatoes. I like to use Yukon or new potatoes. Thankfully I get new potatoes from our CSA. I used a mix of Yukon and new potatoes and it was awesome. I peeled the Yukon potatoes and left the skins on the red potatoes.
For the bacon I use slab bacon. I am very picky about my bacon and I try to get local bacon. If I have to get bacon at the grocery store or a butcher, I get a good quality slab bacon. You can also substitute ham for the bacon.
As a final touch,  you can also throw some diced herbs on top when serving or mix in some boiled egg.

Mustard Potato Salad

About 2.5 lbs (1.13 kg) of Potatoes, Diced
4 oz (115 g) of Bacon, Thinly Sliced
1/2 Cup (120 g) of Onion, Diced
1/4 Cup (60 ml) of Mustard
1/4 Cup (60 ml) of Vinegar
2 Boiled Eggs, Diced (Optional)
Handful of Chopped Herbs (Optional)

Boil the potatoes in water until fork tender (about 15 minutes). Drain the potatoes. While the potatoes  are boiling, fry the bacon until slightly crispy (about 5 minutes) and add the onions.

Frying bacon

Sauté until the onions are starting to brown. Take the skillet off of the heat and add the mustard and vinegar.

Mustard bacon mixture

Toss the bacon mixture with the potatoes. Add boiled egg or diced herbs. Serve warm or cold.

The finished potato salad

The bottom line: Will I make this again? Of course I will. It is amazing that only a few ingredients can create something so good. I hope to make this salad with my own home grown potatoes (maybe even the potatoes growing in the compost pile).

Quinoa and Couscous Mediterranean Salad

Quinoa and Couscous Salad

I have a new love-- quinoa (pronounced keen-wa). Quinoa is a grain-like crop; it is also referred to as a pseudocereal. It is grown for its seeds which have a nutty taste to them. It is delicious and nutritious. It is a complete protein (meaning it has all eight amino acids). It is easy and quick to prepare. My favorite way to make quinoa is to mix it with pearl or Israeli couscous. I mix two parts quinoa (make sure you don't have to presoak it) and one part couscous. When I can find it I use Bob's Red Mill multicolored pearl couscous and red quinoa (because it is so pretty). The same directions apply if you use just couscous or quinoa.

Quinoa
1 3/4 Cups (420 ml) of Water or Broth (I like using vegetable broth)
1 Tsp of Olive Oil
1 1/4 Cups (200g) of Quinoa/Couscous Mixture

Quinoa and pearl couscous

In a medium sized pan bring the broth to a boil and add the olive oil.

Cooked quinoa and couscous

Quinoa and Couscous Salad

2 Cups of Cooked and Cooled Quinoa and Couscous
1/2 Cup (30 g) of Chopped Parsley
2 Tbsp of Chopped Mint
2 Tbsp of Chopped Basil
1 Clove of Garlic, Minced
1/2 Cup (60 ml) of Lemon Juice
1/4 Cup (60 ml) of Olive Oil

Fresh herbs

Combine all of the ingredients and let set for at least one hour.

Optional ingredients to add a handful of sliced kalamata olives, feta cheese, diced shrimp, or diced veggies (I really like tomatoes and cucumbers). Also the herbs can be changed depending on what you feel like. You can switch lime juice for the lemon. I really like the idea of sun dried tomatoes, basil, and fresh mozzarella.

The bottom line: will I make this again? Yes- I love easy flexible dishes. This one went as fast as I made it. It didn't get enough time for the flavors to mingle. Oh, well maybe next time. [Note- I have made this two more times since I typed up the blog post- yum!].

Blueberry Sorbet

Blueberry and strawberry sorbet

It's blueberry season!  I am not as crazy about blueberries as the rest of my family and that it a huge understatement.  I am crazy about blueberry sorbet. It is delicious.  It is fresh and full of flavor. It is more blueberry than blueberries.
I love this time of year. I am busy making all kinds of fruit sorbets. My all time favorite is watermelon sorbet but it is way too early for watermelon. I planted a watermelon plant this year hoping for fresh watermelon for sorbet. Meanwhile it is blueberry season and I believe in making the most of what's in season. This is definitely making the most of the blueberry season.

Blueberry Sorbet
5 Cups (700 g) of Blueberries
1/4 Cup (50 g) of Granulated Sugar
1/4 Cup (60 ml) of Honey
3 Tbsp of Lemon Juice

Combine all of the ingredients in a bowl, cover, and refrigerate overnight.

Blueberries, honey, sugar, and lemon

Puree the mixture.

Pureeing the blueberry mixture

Strain the puree- you will have to use a spatula or spoon to get all of the puree through the strainer.Be patient it takes a while.

Straining

 Process the sorbet according to your ice cream maker's directions.

That's it! The result amazing concentrated blueberry sorbet. The bottom line: will I make this again? Yes- it is incredible.

Blueberry Sour Cream Pie

Blueberry sour cream pie

My husband and daughter love blueberries. I try to like them. I know I should; they are a super food. They may be one of the best food for you and they are absolutely lovely. I love the color. I even grow them. The bushes are currently under netting and we will see who gets to eat the blueberries- the Sokols or the birds. I have my money on the birds. So in the meantime, my family is going through quart after quart of blueberries. Katie can eat a pint at one sitting. It is amazing to watch her eat them. I decided that I was going to make a blueberry pie. Not just any blueberry pie but a sour cream pie. I used to work at a restaurant that sold sour cream fruit pies. I loved them. I was never able to talk them out of the recipe so I have made them up over the years. How can you go wrong with sour cream? Especially when you add a strudel topping.  I double the strudel layer and use the leftovers on french toast the next day. Oh! I normally use light sour cream but for this pie I use the full fat full taste version. I think it makes a difference.

1 9 inch (23 cm) Pie Crust
3 Cups (420 g) of Fresh Blueberries

Sour Cream Layer
1 Cup (200 g) of Granulated Sugar
1/3 Cup (40 g) of Flour
A Couple of Dashes of Salt
2 Large Eggs, Beaten
1/2 Cup (120 g) of Sour Cream

Strudel Layer
1/2 Tsp of Cinnamon
1/4 Cup (55 g) of Brown Sugar
1/4 Cup (30 g) of Flour
2 Tbsp of Butter

Everything is ready- some assembly required

Preheat the oven to 350F/176C/Gas Mark 4. Place the pie crust in the pie pan. Pour blueberries into the pie crust.

Blueberries int he pie crust

Combine the sugar, flour and salt in a bowl. Stir in eggs and sour cream. Pour over blueberries.

Combine cinnamon, sugar, flour and butter together until crumbly. Spread strudel layer on top of the sour cream layer.

Ready for the oven

Bake for 45-65 minutes until golden brown. Cool completely and then refrigerate. Serve cold (it is a lot easier to slice).

The bottom line: will I make this again? Yes, it is wonderful. I will also continue to double the topping for french toast.

Strudel french toast

Garden and CSA Update

My birthday present.

This year my wonderful husband built me eight raised beds for my garden. It was what I wanted for my birthday and while some people may think it is boring, I couldn't be more excited. The raised beds have made a huge difference. My garden has never looked better. Some of my garden's success has been the incredible spring we had; however, the large part of its success is the grids we put in the raised beds. These have forced me to be organized. Normally I am not an organized gardener. Left on my own, I over plant and place plants in no particular order. The grid system forces me to be organized. One plant type per square. I mostly followed that rule.  I even drew it out on grid paper and decided which plants to plant where. Such fun. The planning kept me busy and happy all winter.

My tomatoes are ahead of schedule

Today I will be planting more beets, carrots, and lima beans. Our carrots and beets look great and I don't think I could plant too many beets and carrots. I love them. Katie is crazy about lima beans and just like the peas I think they will be mostly eaten in the garden. 

My beautiful carrots- a mixture of heirloom carrots

 In addition to my gardens, we joined a CSA (community supported agriculture) this year. Kansas University Medical Center has paired up with Good Natured Family Farms to create a CSA for its students, faculty, and staff. They filled 170 slots and have additional people are on a waiting list. I am so glad to be able to participate. I love the opportunity to support local farmers and feed my family fruits and veggies picked that day. It is good for Kansas City, the environment, and my family. Our first pick up is this Tuesday. I can't wait. 

Romaine lettuce

If you have never participated in a CSA- it is a program where subscribers share the risk with the farmers. Subscribers normally prepay for their share. This allows the farmers to buy seed and equipment for growing their crops. In return, each week during the program the subscribers get a bag of food. If it is a good year then you get more of a share. If it is a bad year then your bags are less full. I have participated in good years and bad years and have never been disappointed. I have participated in CSA where it was just fruit and vegetables. The current CSA is much more than that.

Lettuce from our garden- we went ahead and picked it because we should be getting lettuce this week form the CSA

Good Natured Family Farms is comprised of more than 100 family farms in the Kansas City area.They banded together so they could offer their products in sufficient quantities to supermarkets (and our CSA).  I think it is an incredible model. So our CSA- has fruits and veggies and dairy (milk and cheese) and eggs and beef and pork and bison and turkey and honey. I am so excited I can hardly stand it.

Squash plants- one per square foot

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I was concerned about us having too much food. Of course I will can, pickle, and freeze for the winter, but I did plant a lot. I love gardening; it in incredible to have your hard work pay off with wondrous fruits and veggies. Thankfully Kansas City has a Plant a Row for the Hungry Program  How great is that? If we have an abundance of food we can help others. I don't know about you but I really like the idea of growing food to help others. Here are the fruits and veggies they prefer because they keep:

·  Beets Broccoli ·  Cabbage  Cantaloupe Carrots Cauliflower Cucumbers ·  Eggplant ·  Green beans ·  Onions ·  Parsley Peas Peppers Pole lima beans ·  Spinach Summer squash ·  Tomatoes Turnips ·  Watermelon ·  Winter squash ·  Zucchini

I have enough pepper, squash, zucchini, and cucumber plants that we should be swimming in them. I thought about designating plants for Harvesters and I still might. I also need to check with our local food pantry to see if they want fresh produce.  

More squash

I will be blogging all this summer- what I get at the CSA and from our garden and what I make with it. We will be eating a lot of food-- but don't worry the lake is warm enough so we can start swimming across it and work off our meals. 

Our first "big" harvest of the year

 We made an incredible salad from our garden- with local eggs and bacon.

Chopped salad- made with ingredients within 100 feet and 30 miles from our house- there is a difference

The bottom line- supporting local farms is good for the environment, the local economy, and your taste buds.

Creme Brulee French Toast

Creme brulee french toast

My daughter decided to make me breakfast for mother's day. Of course I was delighted and a bit nervous about what my kitchen would look like when she was done.
We discussed and debated what she wanted to make and decided on one of her favorite breakfast dishes. The winner was creme brulee french toast. It is absolutely incredible and the majority of the work is done the night before.
Since we are trying to be healthier we lightened the recipe by using egg substitute and fat free half and half. It is still amazing. If you want the full-fat version use eggs and cream. If you have a bigger crowd- just double the recipe and make in a 9 x 13 (23 x 33 cm) baking dish. I like to use fairly thick slices of French bread or Italian bread for this. I think it holds up better.

1/4 Cup (55 g) of Butter
1/2 Cup (110 g) of Brown Sugar, Packed
1 Tbsp of Maple Syrup
Slices of Bread to Cover Bottom of 9 x 9 in (23 x 23 cm) Baking Dish
3/4 Cup (180 ml) of Egg Substitute or 3 Eggs, Beaten
3/4 Cup (180 ml) of Fat Free Half and Half
1 Tsp of Vanilla
1 Tsp of Orange Flavored Liqueur

Over low heat, melt butter, brown sugar, and maple syrup in a small saucepan. Stir until sugar is dissolved. Pour into a 8 x 8 in (20 x 20 cm) or 9 x 9 in (23 x 23 cm) baking dish.

Place slices of bread on top of caramel mixture.

In a separate bowl combine eggs, half and half, vanilla, and liqueur. Pour cream mixture over bread.

Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 8 hours or overnight.

When ready to bake, remove from refrigerator and preheat oven to 350F/176C/Gas Mark 4. Bake for 35-45 minutes until puffy and lightly browned.
 

The bottom line: will I make this again? Yes- wonderful and amazing.