Summer in a jar

 I have been busy, and have neglected this blog this summer....
But  I have not forgotten and with my project 'Flying Avocado Whole Foods' taking off (so to speak...)I  will have more opportunities to post. I will soon have a website and may combine the two some how. Meanwhile, I am still cooking, still creating and having a load of fun

Weekly Bread

Freshly dug Taters

The Joy of Broccoli

I went to the Farmer's Market in Plumsteadville on Saturday . It is a sweet little affair, complete with a small table of quilters,  a Bluegrass Band, 2 tables of fresh, local produce, local honey, some handcrafts, and a cute little girl in a NY Yankees visor selling homemade cookies. I chatted with the sheep lady about the birds using wool for their nests, and the efficacy of spider webs to stop bleeding,..really. 

 I spent all of $3.00 and left with a huge head of broccoli and two strawberry filled butter cookies. Better yet, I left with a wonderful warm feeling of community, of small town life, thankful for my place here in this lovely corner of the country

Whole Wheat Rotini w/ Broccoli, White Beans and Garlic

Put a pot of water on to boil.

Chop 4-5 big cloves of garlic and saute in 1/3 c olive oil until soft.

Salt water when it boils and dump on half a box of pasta.

Set timer for 7 min.

Cut broccoli in to florets.

Open and drain a small can of cannellini beans. Add to Garlic mix

Bing! Add broccoli to pasta, cook 2-3 more minutes. 

Drain and dump immediately into Garlic -Bean pot

Season with lots of fresh ground pepper

Shave some Parmesan over and toss

So simple and so delicious!

Today's Supper

I just finished cooking and delivering a meal to two of my favorite friends. I used veggies that they get as their share from a local CSA, and some things from my garden as well.

The menu :

Broccoli, in a balsamic marinade, grilled, topped with toasted pine nuts and diced red pepper

Polenta tartlets to be topped with:

Fresh Kale braised with scallions, spring onions, garlic and leeks and a sprinkling of Parmesan

What a pleasure to cook with such fresh ingredients!

Of course, me being me, after I made this yummy meal for Marg and Terry, I stopped for my dinner at Ohwowcow.....a chocolate milkshake! Well, it's local, homemade ice cream....lots of calcium....and scrumptiously cold! Who cooks for the cook?

Garden Veggie Time!

We have been eating lettuce, peas, kale, radishes, and more lettuce for weeks now, and what a season it has been! All of my squashes have grown in leaps  and bounds, the tomatoes, green beans, peppers and eggplants have flowers, and I am looking forward to beets and swiss chard and leeks. 

This past week I have dipped into my rain barrels to water my veggies and my flowers. I bought sturdy plastic collapsible barrels from an online source, and I am so happy I did. They cost me less than $40.00 each  ( compared to the $75.00-$150.00 hard plastic barrels I have seen ) and are working out just fine. I can attach a hose or dip and carry my watering cans. It seems that nature is keeping up by refilling the barrels  when I have had to use more than half of their 75 gallons. When winter comes, I can empty them out and fold them up and store them in my basement.

Well, I am off to pick some Kale, which I will braise in a bit of olive oil in which I have already sauteed onions and garlic.....a squeeze of fresh lemon and I am back in my Mom's dining room eating dinner with my family!

New Adventure

I am starting a new venture now that I am footloose and fancy free.......Introducing Flying Avocado Whole Foods featuring me,Chef Peg as your personal Chef. I am very excited about this new venture because as Executive (and only) Chef, I will be able to tailor my cooking to fit anyone's particular needs. There is no limit to what I will be able to do,  or who I will be able to serve. I have been thinking for a long time about doing this and now I have been afforded the opportunity to carry out my dream. So I will set myself up on Facebook, get some business cards made,  and hopefully, within the next couple of months get cooking again, custom work made to order. I am hoping to use this blog as a menu board, but will continue to write up recipes to share.
Wish me luck and Bon Appetit!

So much rain means...Mushrooms!

It's has been raining a lot these past few weeks and the Delaware River has risen above flood stage...which means I am staying home and  thinking about....mushrooms!  Mushrooms are a wonderful phenomenon.There are so many varieties and they are so good for us in so many ways. First and foremost, for all of us breast cancer survivors, mushrooms have been found to play a significant role in helping to prevent breast cancer by inhibiting tumor growth and boosting the immune system. They contain a phytochemical that inhibits the production of a protein in our body than makes estrogen. This is important news for post-menopausal women who have had an estrogen driven cancer (75% of post menopausal  breast cancers are hormone dependent). 

That, for me , is a great reason to eat loads of  yummy fungi. Big white stuffing mushrooms came in first, but shiitake, portobello, cremini and button mushrooms have also been named as preventive dynamos. There are other mushrooms that are not commonly available fresh in our neck of the woods: reishi, maitake. enoki, oyster, & pocini, to name a few, that can be found dried( easily reconstituted in simmering water) that have been found to have cholesterol reducing and immune system boosting properties.

So, the lowly mushroom, long used in Japan and China for their health sustaining properties, but scorned as nothing more than salad bar fillers in this country, have become an important weapon in our arsenal of cancer fighting weapons. And best of all, they are delicious!  Their versatility is limited only by one's imagination. In soups, stews, ground up as fillers for stuffings, used as vehicles for stuffing....the possibilities are endless.

One of my favorite restaurants has a wild mushroom gratin on it's menu that I can not resist...sauteed mixed mushrooms, a splash of sherry and a topping of Jarlsberg Swiss (and/or Gruyere), shoved under the broiler 'til brown and bubbly...oh my.... some crunchy bread and I'm in heaven.

Here's a recipe I have made many times that has been a popular menu item.

                                Portobellos Stuffed w/ Spinach and Goat Cheese

• Portobello Mushrooms, wiped clean*, & de-stemmed

• White wine  or dry Sherry**

• Olive Oil

• Garlic, minced

• Onion fine chop

• Fresh spinach~ 2-3 bags or about a pound at least. That will look like a huge amount , but will cook down to a much smaller amount, no worries

• Goat cheese ~your favorite or Feta if you are not fond of goat

• Toasted pine nuts

Spray a rimmed cookie sheet.

Place mushrooms gill side up on the pan and sprinkle liberally w. wine or better yet sherry

Bake 350 for 10-15 min.

Meanwhile, soften the garlic and onion in a splash of olive oil in a large-ish pot

Add your well washed spinach, toss around a bit

When spinach wilts keep stirring to allow liquid to reduce.

Remove from heat.

Mound onto mushrooms, crumble goat cheese on top, sprinkle with toasted pine nuts and broil briefly to melt cheese.

Remove to serving plate and pour pan juices over all

Sit down and enjoy this wonderful dish!

*never soak or wash mushrooms if a wiping can suffice to clean them . When fresh they are like sponges and will absorb too much water.

**always cook with wine that you would drink and having a glass while you cook is not such a bad idea.

You will notice that I never give you exact amounts....I am trusting your judgment as should you. Plus I do not know if you are cooking for one or ten.

It's a Rainy Night in Pennsetucky.......

Arrrgghh !  What to make for supper? I cook all week long at work and I have fun doing it most of the time so why is it soooo hard to make a meal at home?  Because it's just for 2! My Sweetie does not like leftovers, or the big pot of soup that lasts all week (I am fine with that, I can eat the same thing every day no problem) I took a look in my pantry, which is usually pretty well stocked with basic staples, but happens to be on the slim side at the moment. We need something hearty, not too heavy as I have to hit the rack soon, and Fast. Here is what I came up with.

                                      Miracle From the Depths

Ok so, put a pot of water on to boil.

Chop an onion and Saute in a splash of olive oil

• Open a jar of artichoke hearts.

• Find the open green olives in the refrigerator...grab the capers while you are at it, and might as well use the kalamata olives too.

• Dump your various and sundry finds into the pan with the onions, and mix up well.

• Throw in a can of  diced  (or whatever...)tomatoes, and that hard rind of Parmesan that's in the bottom of the cheese drawer.

• Grab some pesto (if you are one of those crazy basil growers who makes pesto by the quart just before the frost so the gigantic harvest of basil does not go to waste...)  If there's no pesto, then a sprinkle of some dried herbs* would suffice: oregano, basil, & a touch of thyme.
• Grind some pepper in to taste. Add some chopped garlic (I usually leave mine in big chunks because I am lazy and I like to bite down on a big piece of garlic every now and again)
• Simmer this for a half hour or so

Cook some whole wheat pasta...Bio Naturae is a great brand, made in Italy. (If you grow and can your own  your own tomatoes, you offset your carbon footprint a tiny bit)

Drain your al dente pasta, throw it back in the pot , add the sauce and  hey presto! you have supper!  Add a little salad and you are set.

Now if you live with a carnivore, a little handful of julienne'd pepperoni on top of their bowl of pasta would make him/her very happy. Oh and another thing...take a bite of the cheese rind that has been simmered in your sauce..... oooboy.
*A little note: dried herbs are dicey things. If kept at room temperature in a spice rack out in the light , they lose a lot . Their flavor gets dusty and stale. Now if you can buy them in smaller quantities  and keep them in the door of your freezer, they are just as handy as the spice rack and way tastier. Just a thought.

An Avocado a Day......

 I am crazy over avocados. I can eat them mashed on a slice of whole grain toast with a dash of hot sauce or forget the toast and put the sauce in the pit divot and scoop with a spoon....that there is heaven! And even though avocados have a lot a fat for a fruit, that fat is Good for You! Not that you want to eat a whole one one everyday (wahh!!!), but as a part of what you consume over the course of a week, they will do you more good than harm in spite of their high fat. They are high in potassium (great for your heart  and BP)and folate ( for you Moms to be) and are a great source of fiber. They're rich in monounsaturated fat, particularly one called oloeic acid which helps maintain and improve fat levels in the blood stream,  lower levels of LDL (baadd cholesterol), and increase HDL (the good guy).

Enough blabbering, let's make something good and yummy.

                                                Avocado Quinoa Salad (V)(GF)

•  Look at my February post. Cook Quinoa  ( 5Xor6X the recipe depending on how much you want. Adjust the vegetable amounts as needed or to taste)as described , switching the liquid to a good veggie broth.(don't use the cubes, blegh) and eliminating spices and dried fruits. Leave the nuts if you want to. 

• When the quinoa is cooked, squeeze a load of lemon or lime juice in, maybe 2 big lemons or 4 little limes.  Be sure to do this as soon as you dump your cooked Q. into a bowl so it soaks up the citrus flavor.

• Cut up some ripe bell peppers, scallions, purple cabbage (for crunch), shredded carrots  and fresh parsley. Don't be shy,  just chop up whatever veggies you happen to find in the bottom drawer

• When the quinoa is cool add the veggies and mix up well. Chunk up an avocado or 2 and toss them in. Fold the mixture over a couple of times to mix, but try to avoid mushing up your Avocado Chunks.

 That's it! A fabulous salad with limitless possibilities!

• Add fresh basil or fresh cilantro . Throw in a Handful of olives or chunks of cheddar, or chopped fresh tomato( the Real tomatoes of high summer, not the tasteless golf balls of winter). A Dollop of sour cream (organic low fat or vegan) would not be an untoward addition.

Don't be alarmed if you find that the avocado in your salad has turned brown over night. You can dribble lemon juice over the pieces before storing it in the fridge, or do what I do...strip mine the chunks out of the salad, eat 'em up, and add fresh tomorrow.......

Breakfast on a Winter Morn

OK, so it is freezing this morning. You have gone for your early run/walk/in-front-of-TV-workout or just gotten out of bed and stumbled into the kitchen. What's for breakfast? Protein for your muscles  and carbs for fuel to see you through to lunch. A GREAT source of Complete Protein is  Quinoa (keen-wa not kwin-oh-ah). Quinoa is a fabulous protein source, one of the oldest grains known to man. It was found in the Mayan ruins, buried with their rulers to fuel their journeys to the next life.  It is easy to cook, and mild in flavor and so it lends itself to endless permutations.. Enough of this, lets eat!

                                                  Nuts over Breakfast (V)(GF) (for 1)

1/3 cup Quinoa* (I like red, it's got a richer flavor)

2/3 cup Liquid* of your choice (water, apple juice, OJ...)

Dash~o~cinnamon ( or nutmeg)(or both)

Dried fruit* ~ raisins, apples, blueberries, figs or dates (chopped), what ever you love the best

Nuts*~ Chopped raw almonds, walnuts hazelnuts, brazil nuts OR pumpkin seeds (Pepitas) for those with tree nut allergies.

Bring your liquid to a boil. Add quinoa and dried fruit. (you can use raw fruit too, apples etc) Return to boil. Turn heat down to bare simmer. Set your timer to 13 minutes. Bing! Take off heat and let it sit 3-5 minutes.

Stir in nuts, and cinnamon to taste. A splash of maple syrup would be lovely or add a dab of good local honey. If your cereal is thick , add a touch of skim milk, soy, almond or rice milk, whichever fits your bill.

* Look for Organic everything, especially if you are feeding children. "Natural" does not mean organic, in fact it means nothing. You do not want to feed your kids any foods that are not organic, CERTIFIED Organic, unless you want them to serve as guinea pigs for the genetically modified foods that have insidiously been introduced into our food stream. There is no law that requires food to me labeled as GMO, and no long term studies as to the effects of GMO foods on Humans.....our children  are the long-term test subjects. That is a subject for a major rant on another day...

Words to live by:

Enjoy your breakfast while it's hot!