Baby Bok Choy + Lemon + Fish = Heaven!

Fresh, Quality Ingredients Make for Better Meals

Yesterday, I received my second delivery of the season from The Produce Box, a local Community Supported Agriculture group that provides a box of farm-fresh, local fruits and vegetables right to my door. To find a CSA near you, check out LocalHarvest.org.

I was pretty excited to see baby bok choy and scallions inside!

Fish with Lemon, Mushroom, and Baby Bok Choy

• 2 bunches baby bok choy, trimmed, leaves separated
• 2 scallions or spring onions, halved lengthwise and cut into 4" sections
• 2 shiitake (or any other kind) mushrooms, halved if large
• 2 servings of fish - tonight, I'm using flounder
• coarse salt
• black pepper
• 4 thin lemon slices
• 1 TB extra-virgin olive oil
• parchment paper

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Tear off 2 pieces of parchment paper, each just over a foot long. You'll need to fit half of the ingredients inside each... too big is better than too small!

On each piece, layer 1/2 the listed ingredients. Put the vegetables on the bottom, the fish (sprinkled with salt & pepper) in the middle, and the lemon on top. 

Drizzle 1/2 TB olive oil over each of the stacks of vegetables & fish. 

Folding:  Hold the long sides of one of the parchment paper pieces, and bring them together. Fold the ends together a few times to be sure no moisture can escape during the cooking process. Fold the short ends underneath the packet, and place the packet in a baking pan. Repeat process for the other parchment packet. 

Bake for about 12-15 minutes... Serve immediately. 

When you open each packet, the fish should be opaque (i.e. not transparent) throughout and flake easily. If it doesn't quite seem done, just fold the packet back together and give it a few more minutes in the oven. 

I served this dish by placing the packets directly on dinner plates, but you may find it's easier to just dump the contents out onto plates. 

 - - I'll add pictures soon!

Tomato Pie

Making Pie Dough and Tomato Pie
It may not be as hard as you think!

One of my favorite summertime dishes is Tomato Pie! All you need is mayo, cheese, and fresh tomatoes, green onions, and basil. It's not as hard as you might think to make your own pie dough, but you can always use store-bought, too.

Pie Dough

• 1 c. flour
• 1/3 c. vegetable shortening
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2-4 TB cold water

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. 

Mix the flour, salt, and shortening together. 
This is most easily done with a pastry cutter/blender; however, you can also use two knives or even just your hands.

If it's particularly warm at your house, you may want to chill the flour, shortening, and even the pastry cutter and bowl before using them for pie. However, I don't do this, and I've had no problem making pie dough. (Our house stays between 68 and 78 degrees.) 

Blend the flour, salt, and shortening together until the mixture looks like crumbs. You don't want areas with plain flour - the entire mixture should be lumpy, like in this photo. 

Do not overwork the flour and shortening.
In fact, that instruction goes for this whole process: handle the dough as little as possible, to keep it from getting tough.

Add 2 TB of cold water and mix it in with a fork. 
Continue adding water until the dough begins to all clump together.

What you're going for is the dough being willing to clump together. Your goal here is to have it just tacky enough to make a ball.

My mom says to just use 2 TB of cold water, but I find that I have to use double that amount.
You should not have any dry flour hanging out in the bottom of the bowl when you're done.

See how it's forming into bigger balls in the photo above? As you stir, you should see the loose flour/shortening bits picked up and formed into balls.

Use your hands to form a big ball with all the dough. If some of it won't join the ball, then it's too dry. You can add a bit of water to the dry parts left in the bowl, mix it with the fork, then add it to the ball.

As you make the ball of dough, shape it a bit like a mushroom cap - have an indentation on the bottom. This will help as you roll out the dough.


Place your dough ball on a floured surface.

• This is what a pastry cloth is for. If you're making pie dough regularly, go ahead and get or make one. A cotton pillowcase will do the job, too. 

• When you're done with the pastry cloth, scrape or shake off loose flour/dough bits, then fold it & put it in a ziptop bag, and put it in the freezer. This will keep little beasties from making it their new home. 

Roll out the dough with a floured or covered pin.

Start at the center and roll out to the edge. Let's call that direction north. Now come back to the center and roll out south. Then east, west, north-east, south-west, north-west, south-east ... get it? You just go around and around, from the center out.

My dough never comes out perfectly circular, and the world has not yet stopped. So, don't worry about it if yours isn't perfect either.

If you're not sure if the dough is big enough yet, just place your pie tin on top. You want the dough to extend past the pan, like in the photo to the right.

Now, you should be able to fold the dough in half, pick it up, and place it in the pie dish. I'll be honest with you, though... it took me about 2 years of making pie dough to be able to do that. For years, I could not use a glass pie dish, because my method was to lay the dish upside-down on the dough, sneak my hand under the pastry cloth, and whammo! flip the whole thing over.

 











The goal is simply to get the dough in the pan, whether you fold and lift or do a whammo! flip-it-all-over method.

Do not cut off the spare edges!  Instead, moisten the edge, then fold all the extra over to make a nice, tall pie edge.

Flute the edges. Use your thumb and first two fingers and press all around to make it more stable.  

If you were making a covered pie, you would fill the pie then cut the edge. Then you would moisten the flat edge before adding the top piece.

What if the dough cracks? Add a bit of water and stick it back together!

Prick the dough, then bake it. Use a fork to prick the dough all over, then bake it for 25 minutes at 425 degrees.











As you can see, my dough got a bit too brown... ah, well.

The dough is now ready to be filled. What shall we fill it with? Tomato Pie, of course!


Tomato Pie

• 4 tomatoes, peeled and sliced
• 8-10 fresh basil leaves, sliced
• 1/3 c. chopped green onions
• 1 c. shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1 c. shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 c. mayonnaise

Set your oven to 350 degrees. 

Bring a pot of water up to a simmer; place the tomatoes inside for a few minutes. Using tongs, remove the tomatoes and place them in a bowl of ice water. The peel should now slide easily off!

Layer the tomatoes, green onions, and basil inside the prepared pie shell. Isn't that pretty?

Mix together the cheeses and mayo, then spread that on top.

Okay, now it looks less attractive. It'll be delicious, though!


Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees, or until browned on top.

The pie will hold its heat well, so you can plan to have it come out of the oven as much as 30 minutes before you're ready to serve, if needed.

And that's it! All told, it takes me about 20 minutes to get this pie in the oven.

Let me know how it works out for you. I'd be glad to help trouble-shoot any pie dough preparation troubles you're having.

Giant, Beautiful Tomatoes

I received two large tomatoes in my produce box this week. What better use could there be than stuffed tomatoes?

If you're cooking for just a couple people, I advise you to go ahead and make the full quantity of the stuffing. Stuff the tomatoes you're cooking today (or refrigerating to cook tomorrow) and freeze the remainder of the stuffing. Next time, they'll be super-easy to make: just defrost, stuff, and bake!

If you make a little extra each time you cook a freezer-friendly recipe, you'll quickly build up meals to defrost & cook for those nights when take-out looks awfully tempting. Don't ruin your budget; just plan ahead a bit. 



Spiced Lamb Stuffed Tomatoes

• 2 large, ripe tomatoes, each about the size of your fist - - don't worry if they're not super-ripe. I think this recipe works best if they're still a bit firm. 
• 4 more tomatoes if you're not freezing extra stuffing for later
• 2 TB butter
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 pound ground lamb
• 1/2 c. dry red wine
• 1/4 c. chopped fresh mint
• 2 TB chopped fresh parsley
• Additional chopped parsley for garnish (1-2 tsp per tomato) 
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp salt
• 3/4 c. cooked rice (I used brown) - - just put some stir-fry on your menu a couple days before, cook extra rice with it, and you'll be ready to go when it's time to make these!
• 2 tsp dry, plain breadcrumbs (1 tsp per tomato)
• 2 TB grated Parmesan cheese (1 TB per tomato)

Slice the top 1/3 off each tomato. Chop this slice after removing the core.

Scoop out the inside of the big tomato piece.

When done, you'll have something that looks like this --->   

On the bottom right in the photo, you can see the innards I scooped out of each tomato. If you're making the recipe using 6 tomatoes (and stuffing all of them), you'll dice all the tops but save the innards for a different use (or discard). But if you're making the recipe using only 2 tomatoes, make up for the missing slices (like I did) by using both the tops and the innards as ingredients in the stuffing. 

Melt the butter in a large, heavy skillet (cast iron works great).

Saute the chopped onion until tender and golden.

Add the lamb and cook until browned. You also can use leftover leg of lamb; if doing so, just cook it with the onion long enough to warm it up.

While the onion and lamb are cooking is a great time to gather the rest of your ingredients.

Once the lamb is browned, add the tomatoes, wine, mint, parsley, cinnamon, and salt.

Reduce heat and simmer until the mixture thickens. This only takes a few minutes.

Stir in the cooked rice. The resulting mixture isn't the prettiest thing I've ever seen, but it tastes great! 

Spoon the mixture into your tomatoes. Sprinkle each tomato with about a teaspoon of breadcrumbs and a tablespoon of Parmesan cheese.


Bake at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes, until heated through. Before serving, sprinkle with a bit more chopped parsley.

You can make these ahead, too. Once the tomatoes are stuffed, cover and refrigerate. When you're ready to bake them, you'll just need to add about 10 minutes to the cooking time.

If you're only stuffing a couple of tomatoes now, you can freeze the leftover stuffing for 2-3 months or refrigerate for 3-4 days. If you're not sure how long leftovers are safe, check out stilltasty.com!

I can't wait until I receive more large tomatoes from The Produce Box; I have stuffing in my freezer, just waiting for them.

Homemade Salsa

Homemade salsa is one of the great joys of summer!

You can make salsa to be enjoyed fresh, and you can also preserve your own salsa. Fresh salsa is particularly enjoyable - you can mix up your own salsa at home and keep it refrigerated for about a week or in the freezer for up to 2 months (stilltasty.com).

When you're making fresh salsa (not to be canned), you can use whatever recipe you'd like. Personally, I love fresh melon salsas. They make a great use of leftover melon. Just mix together melon, onion, cilantro, garlic, and a bit of lime juice, and you're ready for a snack!

If you've never canned your own salsa before, I highly recommend giving it a try as well.

• You can have great-tasting salsa all year long, at an affordable price, too! If you make it year after year, you'll more than recover the cost of your materials. 
• Homemade salsa is an appreciated gift, especially in the dead of winter, when fresh tomatoes have passed from memory.

 

Warning - 
Use Approved Canning Recipes & Instructions

It is very important to note that not just any recipe may be canned. Use a recipe found at the National Center for Home Food Preservation (approved by the USDA) or from a site like Ball.

Botulism, a type of food poisoning, is caused by a toxin produced by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum. This bacteria grows quite happily in an oxygen-free environment... like jars of canned low-acid foods. To keep from getting sick, you must be sure to follow proper canning instructions and use laboratory-tested recipes.

Acidic foods (pH less than 4.6) can be preserved in a boiling-water-bath canner. Low acid foods (pH greater than 4.6) must be preserved in a pressure canner.

Tomatoes are on the border between high- and low-acid content.

Vinegar or lemon juice is added to salsa recipes to increase the acidity, allowing the salsa to be canned with a boiling-water canner. But you must have the right balance of high- and low-acid foods and vinegar/juice. This is why you should use an approved recipe.

One more time, for good measure: Use an approved, tested recipe. Grandma's salsa recipe is great - but enjoy that one fresh, then freeze leftovers.


Supplies

In addition to the standard kitchen items you'll use in making the salsa (knives, cutting boards, an 8-quart pot to cook the salsa in, a large spoon, etc.), you'll need these canning items:

• Boiling Water Cannner (or a really big stock pot) preferably with a Wire Heat Diffuser in the bottom - this keeps the jars from sitting directly on the bottom of the pot, too.
• Jar Lifter
• Funnel
• Mason Jars, Sealing Lids, and Rings (pint size)

Check yard sales and your local craigslist - I saw multiple canners listed for $10. You should also ask around - I happened to mention to my mother that I wanted to start canning, and she found materials in her attic for me.

For step-by-step canning instructions, check out the National Center for Home Food Preservation.
 

Fresh Ingredients

Roma tomatoes (also known as paste tomatoes) work best for canning. As you can see in the photo, the roma tomatoes (on the left) have less seeds and liquid inside than the regular slicing tomatoes (on the right). Ask around - you may be able to buy them in bulk from a local farmer - - or get some from a friend with an over-active garden!


For all your ingredients, choose items in good condition - they don't have to be pretty, though! They can be misshapen, just not damaged. They should be firm and ripe, free of bad spots and mold.

Check out your local farmers market for a variety of peppers!  I used mostly Anaheim and Poblano, with a couple jalapenos and banana peppers, too.

Be sure to use gloves when handling hot peppers.

Roasting the peppers adds great flavor to the salsa. Just put them on the grill or under the broiler, then peel the peppers and remove the seeds and stems.


Great Fresh Salsa Recipes

• Fresh Melon Salsa
• Fresh Peach Mango Salsa
• Fresh Tomato Salsa

Safe Canned Salsa Recipes

• Hot Chile Salsa
• Mango Salsa 
• Tomato Salsa with Paste Tomatoes
• Salsa Verde 

Chicken Tetrazzini - now & later

It's nice to have some meals frozen, ready to go. In preparation for the birth of my daughter, I froze a lot of meals, one of which was Chicken Tetrazzini. I didn't notice any difference in taste between the freshly made version and the one that had spent a couple months in the freezer!

Chicken Tetrazzini is a great recipe to use for leftover roast chicken. This time, though, I started with raw chicken, and I made a double batch. The original recipe ingredients are located here.

Start-to-finish, it took me 1 1/2 hours to get four pans of tetrazzini ready for baking. We had one pan for dinner, and I have 3 more in the freezer. I'm actually giving some to a friend who just had a baby, but I otherwise would have had 3 nights' meals ready to go, no additional prep needed. Just defrost & bake!

I used 5 1/2 pounds of bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs. As a bonus, since was cooking the chicken right then, I could use the water I cooked it in as the chicken broth that the recipe calls for.

We love mushrooms! 
 
I used about 6 cups. The original recipe lists 2 cups of mushrooms, so I really only needed to use 4 cups. I may have used a few extra. Just maybe. :)

Boil the chicken in enough water to cover it. My pot of water & chicken took about 20 minutes to come to a boil. Once the water boils, let it continue to cook another 10 minutes, then take the thighs out of the water. Let the water keep boiling, so it condenses down some for use as chicken stock.

While the chicken cools, prep the rest of the ingredients. 
(Measurements here are for a double batch.)

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup half-and-half
2 TB chopped fresh parsley
2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp black pepper
6 TB white wine (or extra chicken stock)
1 pound spaghetti, cooked and drained
1 1/2 cups Parmesan cheese


Once the broth has condensed down a bit, pour it into a bowl (or large measuring dish) and skim off the fat. I find that using a measuring cup inside the bowl works for this. Just push the measuring cup down into the liquid, and allow the fat to run over the rim of the little cup. That way, you're not disturbing the surface too much, so the fat won't get mixed back in.

Once the chicken has cooled, remove the skin and bones, and tear/chop it into small pieces. I tear it up with my hands, then I use kitchen scissors to chop it some more once it's in the bowl.

Are you picturing me holding one little piece of chicken at a time and snipping it in half? Nah! Just stick the scissors in the bowl and start snipping.

It's time to get that pasta cooking! Separately, saute the mushrooms in the butter.

Once the mushrooms have softened, add the flour. Then, gradually add the broth. Once it boils, remove the pan from the heat. Add the cream, parsley, salt, nutmeg, pepper, and wine.

Now, combine the pasta and chicken with the mushroom mixture. 

The biggest skillet I have (12" cast iron) cannot hold all this! I drained the pasta & put it back into the pot. Then I dumped in the chicken and the mushroom mixture and stirred it all together.

This made enough for two bread pans and two 8" square pans. I lined three of the pans with foil (one was for dinner that night, so no need for foil).

Next time, I think I'll divide the chicken and pasta into the pans and then add part of the mushroom mixture to each pan.

Some for Later: Once the foiled pans were full of tetrazzini, I put more foil over the top and sealed up all the edges. Into the freezer the pans went! Once they are frozen, I can pop the foil packet out of the pan, and drop it in a gallon freezer bag. That way, I get my pans back! When it's time to bake it, I'll take it out of the freezer and put it back in that pan; I'll put that in the refrigerator to defrost.

I also find it handy to write the recipe name and cooking instructions on the foil packet (before it goes in the freezer).

Some for Now: Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes, and you're done! I sprinkled some Basil Pesto on top just for fun. Ta-da!

What are some meals you've found that freeze really well? Please share!

In Search of a Healthier Muffin

So, I found this recipe for blueberry muffins a few weeks ago, and it makes amazing muffins. In fact, my husband and neighbors all agree they've had none better.

Blueberry Muffins - A Healthier Muffin

So, what's the problem, you ask?
217 calories
8 grams fat
573 mg sodium
1 lonely little gram of fiber
17 grams sugar

AND that's without the crumb topping, which adds another 33 calories, 1 g fat, and 5 g sugar. For you Weight Watchers fans, that makes each muffin 6 points. 
Thanks to recipes.sparkpeople.com for the nutrition data.  

Once I realized how unhealthy these muffins were, despite their delightful flavor, I began work on creating an equally tasty but healthier muffin. 

Blueberry Muffins - A Healthier Muffin

Dry Ingredients

• 1 cup quick oats (the kind that cooks in 1 minute)
• 1/4 cup regular rolled oats
• 1/2 cup white flour
• 1/2 cup oat bran (for a less oaty taste, replace with flour)
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 TB baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt

 

Wet Ingredients

• 1 cup milk (I used 1%)
• 1 egg
• 6 TB unsweetened applesauce (about one of those individual-serving cups they sell in packs)

 

Don't Forget: 1 1/3 cup fresh blueberries


Topping

• 2 TB regular, rolled oats
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon

Instructions 

Combine wet ingreds into dry

1. Preheat oven to 415 degrees. 
2. Combine all dry ingredients in a mixing bowl. 
3. In a separate bowl, combine all wet ingredients. 
4. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ones until mostly combined - you'll still see some areas that look dry. 
5. Mix the blueberries in gently. 
6. Divide into ten greased muffin cups (or use paper liners). Note: I've heard it's helpful to put water in the muffin pan cups you're not using. I don't do this, though, because it always ends with spilled water and burns at my house.
7. Bake 15 minutes at 415 degrees. To tell if they're done, stick a toothpick down the center of the biggest muffin. If it comes out clean or with just crumbs, they're done. If it comes out with batter on it, give them another 2 minutes.

Allow the muffins to cool for 5 min in the pan before removing. I find it helpful to run a knife around the edge of each of the muffins before trying to pop them out.

And the best part -

129 calories
1.5 grams fat
397 mg sodium
2.5 grams fiber
11 grams sugar

Per muffin, that's just 2 Weight Watchers points!

Corn Pudding - - with fresh corn!

Corn Pudding is a staple of our family's Thanksgiving and Christmas meals. However, when you make this with fresh corn in the summer, it doesn't feel wintry at all. We just had it last night, and it was amazing!

The ingredients are pretty simple - except for the corn, the ingredients are all items you probably keep in stock.

2 eggs, lightly beaten


1 cup evaporated milk

1/4 cup sugar

2 1/2 TB flour

2 TB melted butter

Salt, to taste


1 1/2 to 2 cups fresh corn, cut from the cob

I found that I needed 4 ears of corn; however, the ears I was using were medium-sized.

To cut the corn from the cob, hold the corn steady over a cutting board, and use a straight-bladed knife to slice down the cob. Don't cut so close that you feel much resistance - that means you're getting too much of the cob. I've read you should slice off 2/3 the height of the kernels, if that helps.

As you can see, the kernels sort of fly everywhere. Upon reflection, I should have used a larger cutting board, to help catch them. A few found the floor, too. (Okay, okay, more than a few!)

Many kernels will be stuck together, but they will break apart when you mix them into the batter. In no particular order, combine all the ingredients in a mixing bowl, and pour them into a greased baking dish. An 8" or 9" round (or square) pan would work well. I used an 8" diameter, round glass dish.

Bake for 50 to 60 minutes at 350 degrees, or until the top and sides are lightly browned. 

You can also tell if it's done by sticking the tip of a butter knife into the center. If you can see the bottom of the dish without the pudding running over, it's sufficiently cooked.

I served the corn pudding alongside Cajun Blackened Catfish, Watermelon, and Fried Okra with Remoulade Sauce.

All things considered, this meal doesn't take long to prepare. The corn pudding takes about 15 minutes to get to the oven; then, you just leave it to bake. You can slice your watermelon anytime, and just leave it to chill in the refrigerator. The catfish and okra take about the same amount of time to cook - you can slice the okra & mix the Remoulade while the frying oil heats*.

To speed up the process even more, I mix large batches of the Cajun spices so I have them on hand when needed. I just put it in an old spice container, re-labeled.

In case you're wondering what to do with the rest of the evaporated milk, you can just use it as part of the milk required in a muffin recipe. I'm working on a new blueberry muffin recipe (coming soon!), since my favorite ones aren't exactly healthy. 

*Or, your sous-chef (aka spouse) can slice the okra & mix the sauce for you! Thank you, Dinah! Baby Rosie appreciated it, too - - I was busy feeding her.

Squash Fritters

The Squash Fritters were a hit tonight! The recipe specified zucchini, but I used summer squash from The Produce Box. I served them with plan yoghurt on the side.

My husband is not a big squash fan, let me just get that out there. Me? Just slice it up, toss it in a pan 'til it's warm, and I'm a happy girl. But ... ::drumroll:: ... he liked these! We are definitely having these again. I can't wait to get more squash!

Round Two, in the pan

Flipped Over (after 3-4 minutes)
















Round One, Complete!

Sorry, no pics of them beautifully plated alongside creamy yoghurt... the dear baby started to scream right about dinnertime, so the camera was laid aside. 


Frying Advice

• Be sure your oil is HOT! The recommended temperature for frying is 350 to 375 degrees. The high temp means the food absorbs less oil and will actually be more crispy.
• Use a long-handled spoon to drop the fritters into the pan, unless you want scars. 
• Don't try to fit too much in the pan at once... crowded fritters are not tasty fritters. Also, the more you add, the more your oil temp drops.
• Keep a fire extinguisher in your kitchen. Seriously. Mine is in a cupboard directly opposite the stove, and I make sure it's *always* in front. I'd rather have to shift things to get to the Windex when I need it than have to shift things to get to the fire extinguisher when I need it!

Cheeseburger Cupcakes

How to make cheeseburger cupcakes:

Here are the instructions I followed - link

Notes:

- Use the gooiest chocolate batter you can find.

- After pouring the batter into the cupcake pans, be sure to flatten it down a bit - you want your cupcake tops to come out as flat as possible, to look convincingly like bread.

- We used Starburst to emulate cheese. The orange kind looked best.

1. Microwave one unwrapped Starburst at a time on a plastic cutting board
2. Depending on the strength of your microwave, time will differ. We did 6 seconds.
3. Using your thumb, squish the Starburst flat to about a 2" diameter squarish-circle
4. Cut the disc in quarters.
5. At time of assembly, put the corners down, peeking out from under the "bun" top
6. Use frosting (red for ketchup, yellow for mustard) to cover up the edges of your cheese triangles, creating the illusion that there's a big slice of cheese under there.
   

The whole process took us about 3 hours, but was well worth it. We brought some to our neighbors and some to a friend's house that night.