Whole Wheat Spaghetti with Red Beet Cream Sauce

Sounds strange, huh? Yeah, I don't know if this had ever even been done before. We bought a bunch of beets at the local co-op (eat in season!) and after making a delicious roasted beet salad with them, I was inspired to make some kind of pasta dish next. This is how my brain works (how can I pair this with a carbohydrate?) most of the time.

Red beets are something that up until about 2 years ago I thought I didn't like. An actual quote from me: "they taste like dirt". That was until I had them on a veggie plate at The National. I even like the canned ones now! We recently even made a white bean & beet hummus! Local Okra has gone beet crazy.

Red Beet Cream Sauce

2 medium red beets, roasted and diced (I roasted mine whole, wrapped in foil the night before)
1 yellow or white onion, diced
4-5 garlic cloves, minced
1 pint heavy cream
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
salt & black pepper, to taste



Add the first three ingredients, along with a little olive oil to a deep frying pan and cook on medium-low for about 20 minutes or until the beets start to soften.



Pour in the cream slowly and stir. Once the sauce is hot, remove about half a cup of the cream and add it to a bowl with the flour. Whisk until it forms a paste. Slowly stir the paste back into the sauce pan and bring sauce to a boil. Turn heat to low to let it thicken.



Serve over whole wheat spaghetti and garnish with blue cheese, pine nuts, and basil.

Jambalaya with Venison Sausage & Shrimp

Jambalaya is surprisingly easy to make. I thought it would be nice to do something besides grill our venison sausage (even though it's so good that way!) and I've always wanted to make jambalaya. A recipe that would make use of our ever-growing okra and tomato crop was also something I had in mind. We were also able to use jalapenos from our garden in place of bell peppers, which are typically used in almost all Cajun recipes. Bell peppers, onions, and celery are used together in Cajun cooking much like mirepoix in French cooking. Alas, we did not grow any bells this year, so we opted for a spicier improvisation.



Jambalaya

4-5 garlic cloves
1 whole onion, diced
2 celery stalks, diced
2 jalapeno peppers
1 cup of okra, cut into half inch rounds
8-10 tomatoes, diced
1 large sausage link (something like andouille works best)
1/2 lb. shrimp, peeled
2 cups of rice
4-5 cups of broth or stock (I used veggie broth)
paprika, red pepper flakes, salt, pepper to taste
1 bay leaf
1 bunch chopped green onion, for garnish




First you'll want to take your sausage and cut it up. You can slice it or dice it, whatever your preference. Fry the sausage in your pot with a tiny bit of olive oil for a few minutes to render the fat. Remove that from the pot and add the garlic, onions, celery, and pepper. Cook until the onions start to sweat.



Then add the okra and tomatoes. After a few minutes, pour in the stock and bring to a boil and then add the rice. Season with spices, add the bay leaf and then cover and simmer to cook the rice.



When almost all of the liquid has been absorbed, put the sausage back in and add the shrimp. Wait until they curl up and turn pink and then serve.



Garnish with green onion.

Tomato & Basil Quiche with Whole Wheat Pie Crust

A few months ago when I made this (I know, I'm seriously behind on blogging), we had so many tomatoes and so much basil that I was literally putting them in/on everything. Nary a sandwich was made without them playing a supporting role. After getting tired of sandwiches, pastas, salads, and pizzas, I really wanted to make something where the flavor of the home-grown tomatoes and basil could take center stage. This quiche was just the thing.



I LOVE this whole wheat pie crust. It's super flaky and buttery without feeling heavy. I also used large curd cottage cheese instead of heavy cream, which cuts down on the fat and give the quiche a great texture. I actually use this trick a lot with casseroles too.



For the Pie Crust

1 1/3 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
1 teaspoon vinegar
1 egg
1 tablespoon cold water

Combine flour, salt, and sugar. Cut in butter. In a separate small bowl, lightly beat egg, vinegar, and water. Add to dry mixture and knead with hands for a few minutes, until smooth. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough into a circle and place in a 10-inch pie plate or dish. Prick with a fork on bottom and sides. Preheat oven to 475 degrees and bake for 8 minutes. Remove from oven.



For the Filling

4 large eggs
4-5 tomatoes, sliced thin
About a cup of chopped fresh basil leaves
About a cup of chopped green onions
1 cup of cottage cheese (small or large curd are fine)
3/4 cup of shredded sharp cheddar
salt & pepper to taste



Mix everything but the tomatoes thoroughly before folding tomatoes in. Be careful not to stir too much after adding the tomatoes. Save a few tomato slices to place on top of the pie. Pour the egg mixture into the pie crust and top with the remaining tomato slices.

Bake at 400 for 10 minutes and then reduce heat to 350 and bake for another 15-20 minutes or until the filling is puffed up and golden brown. Serve with a leafy green salad.

We've been BUSY!

Well, this is the post where we make excuses about not blogging for a really long time. We were just a little bit busy planning our wedding, tying the knot, and honeymoonin'. Things have finally started to settle down in our world, so we should be back on track in no time.

We will be blogging about the wedding soon. Of course, we had locally grown food at our wedding and lots of locally made beer and wine. We're going to tell you all about that soon enough.

Believe it or not, we actually have been cooking even though we didn't blog about it.

Here's what we've been up to in the last month and a half...

Chicken Marsala


Bean Burritos with Chipotle sauce and Home-Made Salsa

Venison Sausage with Dirty Rice & Stewed Okra and Tomatoes


Here are some of the spoils of our Summer garden:







This one was of the best cocktails we made this Summer....

Watermelon Caipirinhas

Gazpacho with Avocado-Corn Salsa

Cold soups are perfect in the heat of the Summer.  Gazpacho, in particular, is great because you can make it with vegetables from your own garden.  There is nothing that compliments the flavor of good, fresh, home-grown vegetables like gazpacho.  We've made it with store-bought tomatoes before and it's not even close to the same.  You have to make it in season.  Make a big batch and you'll be eating (and loving) it for days.  This one featured tomatoes, cucumbers, basil, and jalapenos from our own garden and was garnished with avocado-corn salsa.  This salsa could also stand on it's own as a salad or dip for tortilla chips.  

Gazpacho

2 slices day old white bread, cubed (we used about half of a small baguette)

2 1/2 cups chilled water

2 1/4 lbs. fresh tomatoes

1 cucumber

1 red bell pepper, chopped

1 fresh green chili, seeded & chopped

2 tablespoons olive oil

juice of 1 lime

juice of 1 lemon

a few drops of hot sauce (we used Texas Pete)

salt & black pepper

a handful of basil leaves

Put the bread into a large bowl and pour 2/3 cup of the water over it and leave it to soak for 5 minutes.  Place your tomatoes in another bowl and cover with boiling water--leave that for 30 seconds.  Drain the water and then peel off the skin.  Quarter them and remove the seeds.  

Peel the cucumber and remove the seeds.  Cut it into a few smaller pieces.  

Drain the bread and then put it, along with the tomatoes, cucumber, red pepper, chili, garlic, olive oil, lemon & lime juice, hot sauce, and 2 cups chilled water into a food processor or blender (a blender would actually be best here) and blend until well combined, but still a little chunky.

Season with salt and pepper and chill for 2-3 hours.  To serve, top with avocado-corn salsa, and garnish with fresh basil.

Avocado-Corn Salsa

2 ripe avocados, diced

1 can of corn, drained (fresh would be even better)

1 green chili, finely chopped

1/2 yellow onion, chopped

1 garlic clove, finely chopped

juice of 1 lime

Mix all ingredients together and refrigerate for about 15 minutes.  

Pizza Party!

So, we've been into pizza lately. REALLY into pizza. We usually just pick up a dough from the best local pizzeria, Transmetropolitan. BUT, since we have some friends who make pizza for us fairly often and make their own dough, we decided that we needed to have a joint pizza party. Fun, right?! We used a bunch of local ingredients (tomatoes, basil, rosemary and FIGS!!) and made two ridiculously delicious pizzas--one that was more savory and one that was a little on the sweet side.



Our good friends Tim and Kate are excellent cooks and we've been impressed by their culinary prowess on many an occasion. Kate is great with dough--the girl makes home-made naan that is out of this world. Here's the recipe she uses, which is an adaptation from "Baking Illustrated":

1/2 cup warm water
1 envelope (2 1/4 teaspoon) instant yeast
1 1/4 cup water (room temp)
2 tablespoons of olive oil
4 cups of bread flour
1 1/2 teaspoons of salt

Dump the 1/2 cup of warm water and yeast together in a bowl and let it sit for about 5 minutes. It should start to swell a little. Add the room temp water and the oil.In a standing mixer combine the flour and salt with a paddle attachment. Slowly pour in the liquid mixture while it is still going. Sometimes I have to add a little flour to keep it from being too runny. It should be somewhat of a cohesive mass of dough. Replace the paddle with a dough hook and let it go for about 6 minutes. It should be fairly elastic. Sometimes I'll let it go up to 8 min.

After this go ahead and cut the dough into 2 pieces. Lightly oil 2 bowls and put the balls of dough in each, turning them over so they are covered in oil. Cover each with plastic wrap. They will double in about 1 1/2 hours. Sometimes I will turn the oven on warm and put the bowls near it. This will shave off about 45 minutes. Do not cut the dough after it has risen. It will be really difficult to stretch it out if you do. After the dough has doubled take each and roll them on a floured surface. Form them into balls and let them rest with a wet cloth on top of them for about 10 minutes. Then you can roll them out or flip them up in the air whatever works.



The first pizza was what Tore's family has always called "Salt Pizza", because of the salty anchovies. It's ingredients are very simple; home-grown tomatoes and basil are the perfect match for garlic and salty anchovies.



1 can of flat anchovy filets, cut into smaller pieces
4-6 tomatoes, sliced thin
5-7 garlic cloves, finely chopped
a good handful of fresh basil, chopped
olive oil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
black pepper
mozzarella
parmesan



Start by heating the pan you're going to use. You should make pizza at the highest temperature your oven will go or about 500 degrees. Once your pan is good and hot, toss in a pinch of yellow corn meal to keep your dough from sticking. Lay your dough into the pan and then liberally drizzle olive oil over the whole thing. Next add your chopped garlic, then the tomato slices, then the anchovies, then the herbs and black pepper, and then top it with the cheeses.



Bake for about 10 minutes or until it starts to brown.

For the second pizza, we used a local ingredient that's in season right now (FIGS!!) and if you have access to them, you need to make this pizza right away. Do not delay.



20 fresh figs, sliced thin
1 sweet onion, sliced and carmelized
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, chopped
4 oz. goat cheese
black pepper
mozzarella

Prepare your pan the same way and then start with the goat cheese. Put it onto the dough in pats and be careful spreading it--you don't have to really spread it, just make sure you can layer on top of it and it covers most of the dough. Next layer on your fig slices, the carmelized onion, and the rosemary and black pepper. Finish with the mozzarella.

Bake for about 10 minutes. Salivate.



(thanks, Kate, for helping with photos too!)

Asian-Inspired Catfish Soup

I hate to use the term "Asian" since Asia is such a large continent encompassing many countries, but this soup was inspired by the culinary goodness of Thailand, Vietnam, and Japan, so I couldn't really play favorites there.  I think that it has more Thai flavors than anything and is really reminiscent of Tom Yum soup, which is my absolute favorite.  BUT, then we added udon noodles (Japanese) and Vietnamese cilantro, which may be my new favorite thing!  

We caught the catfish we used for the soup in Lake Sinclair the very same day, and I can't think of a better way to enjoy catfish (well, other than deep fried). 

Asian Catfish Soup

1 pound of catfish fillets

1-2 thumbs ginger

6-8 garlic cloves

1 large jalapeno chile

1 onion

1 package mushrooms (we already had some buttons, but oyster mushrooms would be great)

3 cups veggie or chicken broth

3 cups water

Soy sauce to taste

3-4 large tomatoes

1 lemon, thinly sliced

1 tablespoon crushed red pepper

Half a bunch cilantro

Vietnamese cilantro (from a friend's herb garden!)

Half a pound Udon noodles

Cook the chopped garlic, ginger, onion, and jalapeno in the pot until the onions start to become transparent.  Add the tomatoes and mushrooms and cook for a few more minutes.  Add the stock, water, and soy sauce a little at a time until desired saltiness (most store-bought stocks are already very salty, so don't add the soy without trying it first).  Now add the fish, the red pepper, lemon, and about half of the cilantro.  Bring to a boil.  Add the noodles and boil until soft.  Garnish with more cilantro.

Summer Veggie Plate

We've been so excited (well, mostly Tore) about our garden this year. So excited that we couldn't even let the tomatoes get ripe before planning a meal around them. This was my first go at fried green tomatoes, so we were definitely entering uncharted territory. How hard could it be, right?

We served them with french lentils, roasted okra and shallots (we have both green and "white" okra growing in our garden), jalapeño cornbread, and a caper aioli sauce.

Since this is so simple, I don't think a recipe is necessary. I just seasoned some flour and then threw in some shredded parmesan for the breading. Sliced 'em, dredged 'em in some egg and then coated them in the flour mixture before frying in a shallow frying pan--we used peanut oil.

The okra was cut in half long ways and then tossed with the sliced shallots, olive oil, and salt & pepper and roasted in the oven.

For the Caper Aioli:

Half a cup of mayo (we used safflower mayo)

4 garlic gloves

1 tablespoon capers, drained

Pinch of cumin

Half a teaspoon honey

Combine all ingredients in a food processor until smooth. Spoon over fried tomatoes.

Baked Chiles Rellenos & Peruvian-Style Ceviche

These were both firsts for Local Okra. We have been meaning to make ceviche for a long, long time and we finally did it. It literally could not be easier to make. If you've got time to squeeze some limes, then you can make ceviche. It only needs about 3 hours to marinate before it's ready to eat.



The stuffed poblanos are a little more labor intensive, but still fairly easy to make. The hardest part is getting the skin off the peppers after roasting them. These were really good though and since we baked them, not nearly as bad for you as the deep fried version.



Peruvian-Style Ceviche

1.5 lbs tilapia filets, cubed (next time we will use red snapper for a firmer texture)
juice of 10-12 limes
4-5 garlic cloves, chopped
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 serrano peppers, finely chopped
1 red onion, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Combine all ingredients and then cover and refrigerate for 3-4 hours before serving. Serve with sliced avocado and tortilla chips.



Chiles Rellenos

3-4 large poblano peppers
1 large can of refried beans
garlic powder
cumin
chili powder
1 cup of fontina cheese, grated
1/2 cup of Mexican crumbling cheese
bread crumbs
1 egg



First cut a slit down the side of each pepper, but do not remove the seeds. Next, roast the peppers in a dry frying pan until mostly browned, turning often. You don't want to cook them so much that they lose their shape. Once all sides are browned, remove them from the pan and place them into a plastic bag and seal tightly.



Meanwhile, mix the cheese and beans, along with garlic powder, cumin, and chili powder to taste, in a large bowl. After 15 minutes, if the peppers are cool, peel off the skins of the peppers. After the skins are removed, pull out the seeds, leaving the stem intact. Stuff each pepper with the bean/cheese mixture. Brush each pepper with the egg and then cover with bread crumbs. Bake in a casserole dish at 375 degrees for about 30 minutes. Serve with warm tomato sauce or fresh salsa.