June 2007 Archives

We use our grill every few days. During the summer months, when vegetables are fresh, plentiful, and cheap, we throw vegetables in our grilling basket and make about the easiest vegetable dish possible. (Ok, it would be easier to just eat the vegetables raw, but short of that, this is about the easiest dish possible). The ingredient list is an approximation. You can use any or all of these vegetables or anything else fresh in your area.

Ingredients (All vegetables are local and organic)

• Carrots
• New potatoes
• Sweet potatoes
• Peppers
• Onions
• Sugar snap peas
• Turnips
• Radishes
• Beets
• Fiddleheads
• Beans
• Turnips
• Olive oil
• Spices

Directions

Wash and chop all vegetables. Snap peas can remain whole, as can new potatoes if they are small enough. Each vegetable piece should be about the size of your thumb. Do not chop your thumb.

Throw the root vegetables (minus the onions) in a bowl and drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with spices. We often just add only salt, pepper, and paprika. Heat your grill pan and then throw the root vegetables in the pan.

Meanwhile, mix and season the non-root vegetables. Peas, peppers, beans, fiddleheads, and onions cook faster than the root vegetables and can burn if left in too long.

After about 20 minutes, add the rest of the vegetables to the pan. Cook until done (this can take between 45 minutes and an hour).

That's it.

Isn't it? Don't you just want to reach in there and pull off a wing and start munching? 

John experimented this week with a recipe of his own creation. I have to say, it was very successful, if not slightly odd. But then again, he's slightly odd, so it seems to fit.

Here's his recipe.

Ingredients * = local, & = organic

• 1 whole chicken *&
• 1 can beer
• 1/2 teaspoon dried mustard
• 2 1/2 teaspoons Tom Douglas Peri Peri rub
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• A few shakes of hot pepper flakes
• A few pinches of coarse black pepper
• 2 tablespoons of melted butter *&
• Agave nectar
• Bourbon
• Sprig of rosemary *

Directions

1. Take your beer (a nice Belgian would work well here, though probably many beers would be just fine), and take a sip. Then pour about half of the can in a bowl and soak some wood chips in it for at least an hour.
2. Take the rest of the beer still in the can and place it in your Beer Can Chicken Roaster. Cut a long sprig of rosemary and place it in the beer can.
3. Mix the spices and melted butter together in a bowl to form a paste. Add some agave nectar and bourbon. You'll have to approximate the amounts so that you still have a paste that can be brushed onto the bird.
4. Add the soaked wood chips to the smoker box and heat up the grill. You want the grill to come up to temperature and the smoker box to start... well... smoking.
5. Arrange the chicken on the roaster and brush with your paste.
6. Place on the grill and cook for about 1.5 hours or until the chicken comes up to temperature.
7. Take the chicken off the grill and let it rest for a few minutes before cutting and enjoying.

This chicken was excellent. Though oddly, we both thought that it smelled a lot like pizza. I think it was the combination of the rosemary and the Peri Peri rub. And really... who doesn't like pizza?

My favorite ribs come from a little restaurant in the Napa Valley called Rutherford Grill. They have these ribs that are so tender, they practically fall apart as you're eating them. Since I rarely get these ribs any more (living 700 miles away makes it difficult) and since Skagit River Ranch had a sale on ribs the other day, we decided to try making our own. The results were good, although there was room for improvement. They were easier than we anticipated, though, so we'll definitely be trying ribs again. This recipe originally came from Accidental Hedonist (one of our favorite local cooking blogs).

Ingredients * = local, & = organic

• 4 pounds spare ribs *&
• 4 tablespoons agave nectar
• 4 tablespoons hoisin sauce
• 2 tablespoons oyster sauce
• 4 tablespoons soy sauce
• 5 garlic cloves *&

Directions

1. Combine the agave nectar, hoisin sauce, oyster sauce, soy sauce, and crushed garlic cloves in a bowl. (If you have a marinating container, use this.)

2. Place the ribs in a large container or dish, and cover with the marinade. Marinate for at least 2 hours and flip once or twice.  

3. Set your oven to 350. Take your broiling pan and line the bottom with foil. Place the ribs on the top pan and reserve the extra marinade.

4. Bake for 30 minutes and then brush the ribs with the extra marinade. Flip the ribs and bake for another 25 minutes.

5. Remove the ribs from the oven and let them sit for a few minutes. Cut and enjoy.

Notes:

The original recipe called for honey, but agave nectar is a good, diabetic friendly substitute. It also called for both light and dark soy sauce. We couldn't find both types of soy sauce in our local supermarket, although I'm sure the asian foods store would have them.

These were good. I wouldn't call them great, but they were easy and had a good flavor. Next time we'll add some minced ginger, and possibly some bourbon to the marinade.

I don't think I can honestly keep saying that I don't like vegetables. I mean seriously... I'm sitting here, half an hour from dinner, salivating over this:

I can't wait to eat it. In fact, I'm going to the kitchen right now and shovel a couple forkfulls into my mouth.

Ok, I'm back. I love pasta salad. I never eat it because we don't keep pasta in the house. It's simply not diabetic friendly. Emmer, however, is apparently very diabetic friendly. Nothing I've made thusfar with Emmer has affected John's blood sugar.

So today, I decided to make Emmer Salad with Fresh Garden Vegetables.

Ingredients * = local & = organic

• 1 1/2 cups Emmer *&
• 3 1/2 cups water
• Olive Oil &
• Red wine vinegar
• Red or sweet onion *&
• 3 stalks of celery &
• 3 carrots &
• 1 cucumber *&
• 2-4 cloves garlic *&
• 1 small red chili pepper &
• 1 red bell pepper &
• 2 tablespoons of capers
• Shelled peas *&
• Basil &

We did great for this recipe. The only ingredient that wasn't either local or organic was the red wine vinegar. We can actually get local and organic red wine vinegar, so as soon as we run out of the non-organic stuff, we'll switch.

Directions

1. Boil the water in a saucepan. Add the Emmer and reduce heat to medium low and simmer for about 35 minutes. If there is water remaining in the pan, drain the Emmer and cool.
2. Prepare the vegetables:
• Thinly slice the onions
• Peel and slice the cucumber
• Thinly slice the celery
• Slice the carrots
• Crush, peel, and chop the garlic
• Mince the red chili pepper
• Thinly slice the red bell pepper
• Shell the peas
• Rip up some basil leaves
3. Mix the veggies, capers, and emmer thoroughly. Add olive oil, red wine vinegar, and salt and pepper to taste.

I loved this salad. Next time, I'll add more cucumbers, more carrots, and some small pieces of fresh mozzarella. I'll also vary the spices a bit.

We're trying to eat healthy. High cholesterol and a few extra pounds plague both of us, and so when we find a way to have crispy crunchy chicken without deep frying it (or buying it deep fried), it makes us both happy.

This recipe intrigued us, so we set about to make it our own.

Ingredients: * = local, & = organic

• 2 1/2 pounds chicken breasts &
• 1/2 cup buttermilk &
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 2 cloves garlic *&
• 1 teaspoon hot sauce
• 1/2 cup Emmer flour *&
• 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
• 1 1/2 teaspoons paprika
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• Fresh ground pepper
• Olive oil &

Unfortunately, we didn't do very well using local ingredients for this recipe. Once our spices grow up a bit, we'll be able to use them instead of the bottled stuff.

Directions

1. Mix the buttermilk, mustard, garlic, and hot sauce in a shallow dish until thoroughly blended.
2. Place the chicken in the dish and turn to coat well.
3. Cover and marinate for at least 30 minutes or for up to 8 hours.
4. Preheat oven to 425.
5. Line a cookie sheet with foil. Set a wire rack on the cookie sheet and brush it with olive oil.
6. Combine the flour, sesame seeds, paprika, thyme, baking powder, salt and pepper in a ziplock bag.
7. Shake off the excess marinade from the chicken and place in the bag.
8. Shake the bag to coat.
9. Lay the chicken on the rack and brush with olive oil.
10. Bake for approximately 40 minutes.

Notes

The original recipe called for cooking spray. You're supposed to spray the chicken breasts with the cooking spray before baking. However, I've never really liked those cooking sprays. I'd rather use some olive oil without all the propellant. This worked just fine.

We didn't have a wire rack that we could put on a cookie sheet, so we used a glass baking dish. In order to crisp the chicken, place the glass dish in the oven with about a tablespoon of olive oil and let it come up to temperature. Then carefully slide it out and add the chicken breast.

This was quite good. I think it could have used a bit more salt, but then again, I like salt. The coating was crunchy and the chicken was still fairly moist. We will definitely make this again.

Yes, I know that anyone who reads this blog is now thinking that I should change the name to "Risotto Local". But really, when you've been avoiding rice like the plague for 2 years and finally you can have it again, you tend to go a little crazy.

For the past couple of weeks we've been curiously hovering around the Foraged and Found booth looking at something called "sea beans". Also known as samphire, these are not strictly beans. Samphire grows in the rocky salt-sprayed regions along the sea coast and coastal marshlands. It's an annual plant, growing in the fall and winter and producing in the spring.

So last week, we decided to take a chance and bought some. A quick search on the net yielded a few different recipes. We went with crab and samphire risotto. This dish can easily be served as a side or a main dish.

Ingredients (* = local, & = organic)

• 10 oz Emmer *& (or arborio rice)
• 1/2 lb samphire *
• 1/2 pound crab meat
• 1 small onion, finely diced *&
• 2 cloves of garlic *&
• 1/2 teaspoon saffron
• 2 tablespoons parsley *
• 3 tbsp unsalted butter &
• 3 tablespoons olive oil &
• 2 tbsp lemon juice &
• 4 cups vegetable stock &
• 4 tablespoons white wine
• 3 tablespoons Parmesan cheese

Directions

1. Chop everything (the onions and the garlic). I diced everything rather finely.
2. If the samphire has any brown stems, remove those and rinse.
3. Set a large pot of water on the stove and get it boiling. (Do not salt the water).
4. Parboil the samphire for 2-3 minutes. It should turn a slightly brighter green. Rinse in cold water to stop it from cooking further and set it aside.
5. Now, you'll need two pans on the stove for the rest of the recipe. Pour the vegetable stock in the smaller of the two pans and set it to medium-low. You don't want it to boil, but you want it warm.
6. In the other large stock pot, melt a tablespoon of butter with a little bit of olive oil. Add the onion and garlic and saute for 4-5 minutes until both are soft.
7. Add the emmer or rice and stir to coat with the oil and butter mixture. This process should only take a minute or two.
8. Add the white wine to deglaze the pan. Cook until most of the wine has been absorbed.
9. Now, add the hot stock, one ladle at a time. Stir the risotto regularly. When the first ladle of stock has just about all cooked off, add another one. Lather, rinse, repeat.
10. When you're out of stock, mix in the lemon juice, crab, parmesan, and samphire. When you start adding the samphire, it will look like a lot. In fact, you might be tempted to only add half of it. However, keep mixing it in. It will combine nicely and if you have a little extra, don't worry. Enjoy!

I was IM'ing with a friend the other night and mentioned that I was going to fix myself a dinner plate. His immediate response was: 'Salmon and risotto?'

I guess we've gotten predictable. But really, with the discovery of a rice type grain that doesn't raise John's blood sugar and thus the return of risotto to our lives, how can we not go a little overboard on the risotto recipes?

Tonight's rendition: Fiddlehead Ramp Risotto.

First off, ramps. A ramp, according to Wikipedia, is a wild leek. I've never seen ramps in the store, or even called out specifically at the farmer's markets, but another local food blogger has talked about them and I've started to see them mentioned more often.

Now, fiddleheads, I've seen often. One of the local farmer's market vendors (Foraged and Found) sells them regularly. They have always intrigued me with their spiral shape and tiny curls.  So, a bag of fiddleheads later and we were on our way.

Ingredients: * = local, & = organic

• 1/2 cup ramps *&
• 8 oz bacon or pancetta *&
• 2 cups fiddleheads *&
• 1 tbsp oil &
• 2 ounces butter *&
• 18 oz rice (or Emmer) *&
• 1 glass white wine
• 6 cups chicken stock *&
• 2 oz grated Parmesan cheese

Wow, we did great on the local and organic ingredients this time. Only 2 ingredients didn't make the cut.

So, we didn't end up with ramps, but rather leeks. I fear we've already missed ramp season. I sliced the leek very thinly and then rocked my knife back and forth dicing the leeks finely. I then coarsely chopped the fiddleheads and parboiled them for about 3 minutes.

Next came the bacon. Cook the bacon first. Trust me on this. <grin>

Grab a large pot and a smaller saucepan. In the smaller saucepan, pour your chicken broth and warm the stock gently. If you use cold stock for the recipe, you'll be lowering the cooking temperature of the risotto which will just prolong your process.

In the large pot, add the butter and a bit of oil. Saute the ramps, bacon, and fiddleheads for a few minutes. Add the rice or emmer. 

Look! I finally got to use our new scale!

Stir the emmer to coat it in the butter and oil and then add the wine to the pot to deglaze the pan. Note: I didn't really have any crunchy bits to deglaze.

Let most of the wine cook off and then start adding the chicken stock. Add the stock a ladle or so at a time and let the mixture simmer. When that ladle of stock is almost gone, add another ladle. If you're using white rice, this process should take about 20 minutes. If you're using a whole grain or emmer, the process could take up to an hour. 

Next, measure out 2 ounces of parmesan cheese. Yay! Another opportunity to use the scale! Mix in the cheese and serve.

This was an excellent recipe. The saltiness of the bacon mixed nicely with the creamy cheese. I'd love to make this again with pancetta. I think it would be a little lighter. In addition, 2 cups of fiddleheads wasn't enough. Next time I'll use 3 cups.

I'm looking forward to our next risotto... we found a shrimp and samphire risotto recipe to try. Don't know what samphire is? Stay tuned.

One of the fabulous things about living in Seattle is the shear amount of fresh seafood we can get. The fishing boats dock less than 5 miles from our house and at the farmer's market, we can often get fish that was taken off the boat just that morning.

Salmon is always a wonderful option, but sometimes we feel like a change of pace. The other day, we picked up some fresh red snapper. John pulled out the Moosewood Restaurant New Classics cookbook and we found an interesting recipe: Fish with Cornmeal Chipotle Crust. We're a sucker for chipotle, so we gave it a try.

Ingredients * = local. & = organic

• 1 pound firm white fish *
• 1 tablespoon canned chipotles in adobo sauce 
• 1 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil &
• 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon or lime juice &
• 1 large garlic clove, minced *&
• 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup cornmeal &

So we didn't do too badly on local/organic for this recipe. Soon we'll have our own thyme as well.

We preheated the oven to 375. Then we put a little oil in a glass dish and put the dish in the oven to warm. (This is key, and I'll explain why later). We pureed the chipotles in the food processor and then combined them with the oil, lime juice, thyme, and salt. We used a smallish lime and didn't even measure the juice, we just squeezed it as well as we could. Next we poured the sauce in a shallow bowl.

We poured the cornmeal on a plate. Then we rinsed the fish and patted it dry. The next part was messy. John dipped the fish in the chipotle mix, making sure to coat it well. Then he dredged it in the cornmeal.

This is the part where you really need two people. I pulled the hot oiled pan out of the oven and he laid the coated fish in the hot pan.

Remember when I said I'd explain this? Well, the first time we made this, we just put the fish in the cold, oiled pan. Well, when we tried to serve it, the top half of the fish was nice and crispy, but the bottom of the fish was soggy and most of the coating stayed in the pan. When we heated the pan first, the bottom crisped nicely as well.

We baked the fish for 25 minutes. That's it!