I have a bit of a problem. I don’t think it requires a twelve step intervention, but still, it complicates my life sometimes. I really can’t pass up a good sale at the supermarket. Laugh, giggle and find general amusement at my predicament all you like, but don’t judge me until you’ve walked a mile with my grocery cart and have 4 butternut and 6 acorn squash in your refrigerator.

This penchant for purchasing well priced produce doesn’t seem to extend to other areas of my life as a consumer. I love a good sale on bathroom tissue as much as the next person (especially since my family seems to go through bathroom tissue faster than a calf goes through milk), but I don’t have 10 cases I bought on sale sitting around waiting to be called to a higher purpose.

But if I see a sale on something edible, I tend to buy first and think later. Sometimes this produces great results, like the key lime pie I made when key limes were on sale. But it also led to the sausage crisis in my freezer that I’m still digging my way out of, and I have 2 jars each of roasted red peppers and tahini in my pantry that are languishing away after I had a roasted red pepper and tahini mental creativity block and gave up trying to find ways to cook with them.

Now about those squash….

I firmly believe that inspiration for a great recipe can come from absolutely anywhere, and since I’m almost always right, you can pretty much take my word for that. But if you need some convincing, I offer you the story of the Thai Curry and Coconut Butternut Squash Soup recipe.

Once upon a time last weekend, I was busily searching for some kind of recipe or inspiration for the abundance of squash I have impulsively saddled myself with, when my children decided that they absolutely had to sit next to me and play the “Ask mommy 10,000 questions we don’t really care about the answers to because we are bored and it’s raining” game. So I sent them on a Google mission to find me a fun recipe for butternut squash. After the veggie in question was produced for their inspection and familiarization, off they went, and all was again peaceful in my house. For about 3 minutes.

“Mommy, how ‘bout this recipe?” my eldest daughter shouted from the basement. “Well, I can’t really see it from up here, honey.” I replied. “Mama! I found a recipe!” my youngest bellowed, “Can I show you?” My youngest daughter calls me Mama.  I don’t know why, and I haven’t been brave enough to ask her. “Ok girls, bring me your recipes” I said, closing my laptop, magazines and cookbooks, determined to get back to my hunt for the perfect squash recipe just as soon as it stopped raining and I could kick the kids out have the children play outside and get some fresh air.

And so they brought up the reams of paper they had printed out, and I dutifully ooo’d and ahhh’d as required by my mommy contract. Then I found a hidden treasure, a recipe for Thai-Style Butternut Squash Soup from an unlikely source: Walt Disney. To be more specific, it was on the Disney Family.com website, in the food section. Go figure.

After a recipe revamp and a trip to the Asian market, I cooked up this rich and creamy, mildly spicy, slightly sweet and tart butternut squash soup. I probably could have eaten the whole pot, but I had to save some for the pictures, and maybe a bowl or two for the children. They did find the recipe after all. It was only fair.

Thai Curry and Coconut Butternut Squash Soup
Adapted from Disney Family.com

1 large butternut squash, about 2 pounds
1 tbsp oil, I use grapeseed
¼ cup onion, minced
1 tbsp freshly grated ginger
2 cloves garlic
1-2 tsp Thai Red Curry paste, more if you like it hotter
6 kaffir lime leaves, middle vein removed and torn into pieces
4 cups chicken broth
1 13-14 oz can unsweetened coconut milk
1 tsp kosher salt
2 tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice
Toasted coconut for garnish (optional)

Preheat over to 400°F. Cut the squash in half lengthwise and remove the seeds. Brush the cut sides of the squash with oil and place cut side down on a baking sheet.  Roast for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until very tender. The squash should have a creamy texture. Once the squash has cooled enough to handle, scoop the flesh out of the peel using a spoon.

In an heavy bottomed pot, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion, ginger and garlic and sauté until softened, about 3 minutes. Add the curry paste and cook for a few more minutes. The curry will start to give off a wonderful aroma. Stir in the chicken broth, coconut milk, salt, squash and shredded lime leaves. Simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the lime juice. Puree soup with a hand mixer or in a blender.  Serve garnished with unsweetened coconut toasted at 400°F for 2-3 minutes, or until golden brown.

Printable Recipe

You might also enjoy:<:

1. Chicken Noodle Soup Remedy
2. Quick Chicken Curry
3. Roman Egg-drop Soup – Stracciatella

©EclecticCook.com, 2009. | Permalink toThai Curry and Coconut Butternut Squash Soup | 28 comments |

Sometimes I get a great idea, or find an inspiring recipe and it’s tested, cooked, photographed and posted in just a few days.  Other times….

Not so much.

Follow along as I travel from this recipe’s conception, through the labor, and finally to the birth of a bouncing baby food blog post. May you LOL at the bumps along the way.

Sept. 5th: Saw a small basket of green tomatoes at the farmers market. Bought 3 tomatoes. Got home and wondered what the heck to do with them. Found a recipe for green tomato cake and thought about cupcakes.  Found this recipe for browned butter frosting.

Sept. 6th – 9th: Life, Labor Day, and laundry happened. Green tomatoes sit on counter next to bananas.  Not a smart move.

Sept. 10th: Shopped for ingredients after work. I hate shopping after work. Apparently, so does everyone else at the grocery store.

Sept. 11th: Piles of laundry to fold after work.  I am loudly reminded the family needs clean underwear.  Lost the natural light so made the executive decision to bake cupcakes tomorrow. I can do that, since I’m the executive chef.  It’s my kitchen and I can be executive chef if I want to be.

Sept. 12th: Discovered 2 green tomatoes have turned orangey, thanks to the over-ripe bananas I parked them next to for a week.  Farmers market closed, made emergency call to mother-in-law. She only had green cherry tomatoes. Shoot. Decided to make recipe anyway, leaving out the really, really orange bits.  Took lots of pictures.  Decided cupcakes are really chunky and look more like muffins, so I nix the browned butter frosting. Made a note to figure out what to do with extra-large bag of powdered sugar I don’t need anymore. First batch of muffins turn out ok, I think they could be better.  Raised temperature and cooking time on second batch. Much better.

Original recipe muffins: Batch 1

Original recipe muffins: batch 2

Sept. 13th-18th: Crazy week at work (re-occurring theme). At home there is Girl Scouts, fundraisers, and puberty (No, not me; my daughters). Thought about and ate muffins all week. Discovered I’m not 100% satisfied with recipe. Decided I need a really great apple muffin recipe where I can replace the apples with green tomatoes. Found a recipe on Smitten Kitchen, and the original recipe on the King Arthur Flour website.

Sept. 19: Bought more green tomatoes at the farmers market.  Put green tomatoes in the refrigerator this time. Also found some great sweet potatoes and discovered there was a bumper crop of tomatoes this fall. I buy a bunch. Will figure out what to do with them before they get fuzzy.  I know I will.

Sept. 20th: Green tomatoes are still in refrigerator. Was persuaded to go for a drive with the family instead of baking. I’m such a slacker.

Sept. 21st-23rd: Yet another crazy week at work. Too pooped to bake when I got home.  Still must cook and feed the family dinner or they whine and make lots of noise.

Sept .24: Shopped for ingredients after work. Have I mentioned that I hate shopping after work?

Sept. 25: Brother-in-Law’s birthday. No, I did NOT forget it was his birthday, nor did I forget we were going out to dinner on Friday for his birthday.  I simply forgot that it was Friday. Got home after dark. Green tomatoes are still in the refrigerator. Too afraid to check on them. Go to bed hoping they are still green.

Sept. 26: Cleaned and vacuumed the house. Am shocked, as always, at how much fur 3 cats and a dog lose in just a few days. Visited dentist with youngest daughter then spent the afternoon reading #blogherfood09 tweets. Wished I had been able to afford, and get the time off work, to go. No, I’m not jealous and I don’t hate everyone who went. Not anymore.

Sept. 27: Finally got off my lazy butt and baked the freakin’ muffins. Also made Nanaimo bars (future post) and Pork and Apple Stew (yet another future post). Must have found my motivational muse. Or had way too much coffee.

Sept. 28th-30th: Brought laptop to work and did some photo editing over lunch in the staff exercise room because it’s quiet and nobody uses it. Indulged in a quick giggle at the thought of edited muffin pictures in the exercise room. It’s the little things in life.

Oct 1st: Got home from work, which, not surprisingly, was crazy . Decided I really needed to post this since I’m working all weekend and next week is going to be crazy too (need to get a thesaurus and find me some crazy synonyms).

→Coming up:

Oct. 2nd: Go to work. Come home from work. Try to find time (or steal a chunk of sleep time) to post muffins to the usual suspect food porn sites. Remember to write up PDF of printable recipe and post it, not forget like I did with the last recipe.

Sometime Next Week: Sleep.

Green Tomato Muffins
Adapted from King Arthur Flour
Makes 12 Muffins

Green tomatoes add a surprising and subtle tart bite to these fall flavored muffuns.

1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
¼ tsp kosher salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
½ cup unsalted butter, softened
½ cup sugar
¼ cup packed brown sugar, packed plus more for sprinkling
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 cup buttermilk
1 ½ cups green tomatoes, seeded and chopped

Preheat oven to 450°F. Grease and flour muffin tin or line with paper cups. In a medium bowl, mix the flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugars. Add the egg and mix well to combine. Gently stir in the buttermilk.* Stir in the flour mixture fold in the tomatoes.

Fill the muffin cups with the batter. Generously sprinkle the muffins with brown sugar. Bake for 10 minutes and then lower the oven temperature to 400°F. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes more. Muffins should be golden brown and a cake tester or toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin will come out clean. Cool for 10 minutes, then remove from tin and cool completely on a wire cooling rack.

*The original recipe warns about mixing gently or the buttermilk will curdle the mixture.  I don’t know if my gently stirred mixture “curdled”, per say, but I suspect the straight-from-the-fridge cold buttermilk just wouldn’t mix in very well with the butter. I just shrugged and went with it anyway, and the muffins were just fine.

(Printable Recipe)

You might also enjoy:<:

1. Chili Egg Bake and my Weekend Horribilis
2. Crispy Blueberry Oatmeal Cookies
3. Red White and Blueberry Shortcakes

©EclecticCook.com, 2009. | Permalink toGreen Tomato Muffins and the Birth of a Blog Post | 20 comments |

My daughters ate raw cabbage and bean sprouts this weekend because I have a food blog. There is no other explanation for it.

Sometime after they started walking and before they lost their first baby teeth, my girls decided to complicate my life by becoming carbotarians. The only foods that could make it to the table without shrieks of protest were those that used to be grains in a former life. Bread, rice, cereals and pasta, our food pyramid was more like a straight line. Through sheer force of will, years of persistence, nagging, threats and yes, even bribery, we have reached the point where vegetables, meats and fruits get eaten with limited objection, for the most part.

I’ve made this noodle salad many times before, and each time I was gently but firmly reminded that while peas and carrots were acceptable in moderation, the cabbage, bean sprouts and green onions would be vetoed immediately and without mercy. Because they otherwise adore this salad, because I strive to maintain family harmony, and because I totally caved in to them, I would make a half recipe “big people” version, and a half recipe “little people” version.

Until this weekend. The following pictures of my youngest daughter depict actual events and are not a recreation. Photos of raw cabbage being consumed. Viewer discretion is advised.

This weekend I learned something very, very interesting; if I want my children to eat something without protest, all I have to do is blog about it. I must take lots of pictures, ask them to help set up the shots and make the food, all without ever hinting at the fact that the dish we are making is loaded with veggies they think they hate.

Maybe I should write a book: “Blogging Away the Picky Eater”. Except for the fact that all I have to offer is the catchy title. I have pretty much zip in the way of actual content. Not that that’s ever stopped anyone before; like former presidents and aging child actors, for example.

Asian Noodle Salad

There is something wonderful that happens in your mouth when Asian flavors like soy, ginger, sesame and garlic combine. The trendy word for it is umami, but since I’m not very trendy and probably couldn’t pronounce it right if I tried, I’ll just call it yummy. Add some fresh tang from the lime, a bit more than a hint of sweet and hot from the honey and chili oil, and the resulting dressing could probably make cardboard taste gourmet. Don’t limit yourself to salad either; the dressing makes a great marinade for chicken or pork.

Salad Ingredients
1 16oz package linguine noodles
½ small head purple cabbage, very finely sliced
1 ½ cups bean sprouts
3 scallions, thinly sliced
1 cup frozen peas, thawed
1 cup grated carrot (1-2 carrots)
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro

Dressing Ingredients
1/3 cup grapeseed or peanut oil
2 tsp sesame oil
1-2 tsp chili oil
2 tbsp lime juice (about the juice of 1 lime)
3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tbsp honey
1 tbsp fresh ginger, minced
1 large clove garlic, minced

Cook the linguini according to the package directions, drain, and rinse with cold water. Allow to drain completely. Put all of the dressing ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Adjust for heat with the chili oil according to your taste. Combine all of the salad ingredients in a large bowl. Add dressing and mix well. Taste for salt and adjust accordingly. Serve at room temperature.

(Printable Recipe)

You might also enjoy:<:

1. My Favorite Chicken Salad
2. Chili Egg Bake and my Weekend Horribilis
3. Roasted Three Potato Salad

©EclecticCook.com, 2009. | Permalink toAsian Noodle Salad | 23 comments |

“The best laid plans of mice and men oft go awry.” Scottish poet Robert Burns once wrote. To express the same sentiment, the French say “C’est la Vie”, that’s life. I personally prefer something a little more descriptive. Since this blog is rated PG (i.e. my kids read it), lets just say that it starts with “Sh” and ends with “Happens” m’kay?

So Labor Day didn’t turn out quite the way I envisioned it; the last hurrah of summer, a weekend long series of spectacularly entertaining events involving friends, family, food and beer. Nope. Not this year. No gathering, no backyard grilling, nary a friend in site. Due to circumstances beyond my control, dinners were rushed every night, and the recipes I had so carefully created were hastily cooked, hastily eaten and photographically undocumented.

Oh and I got a haircut from someone (not my usual someone) who, upon entering the salon, gave me a look that seemed to say “I’d rather have an enema than cut your hair”. Or maybe she just wasn’t all that thrilled about working on Labor Day. Either way, I did learn a valuable life lesson: If your hair dresser looks at you like something that she just scraped off the bottom of her shoe, chances are the hair cut isn’t going to be exactly what you were looking for.

And now for a moment of silence whilst I wallow a teeny bit in my puddle of pity…

Right. Back to “My Weekend Horribilis” Of course it wasn’t all bad. There was the delightful poolside conversation I had with a good friend while the kids splashed away happily. Not my pool, his. I don’t have a pool. Unless it rains, then I have a lake. There was the drive-in on Saturday with my daughters, their two friends, an air mattress and lots of pillows. If you are lucky enough to have one in your area, and it’s still warm enough where you live, take your family to the drive-in. I promise you, you won’t regret it. It’s not about the movies; it’s about letting your kids wear their PJ’s and slippers out of the house, curling up together under the stars, and eating cookies and popcorn for dinner, just this once.

So I know what you’re thinking; “Enough about you already, where’s my recipe?” And I’m thinking; “Geez, can’t a girl take a few paragraphs to share her feelings?” And you’re thinking; “Maybe a sentence or two, Karen, after that it gets kinda boring”, and I’m thinking “Well poo”.

We have a restaurant on site where I work, and on Fridays, they cook breakfast for the staff to eat during our weekly meeting. Every so often when the stars align just right, Rachel makes “The Pouff”

After poking, proding, and being a general pain in the butt, I was told that “The Pouff” was just some eggs, diced green chilis, cottage cheese, and whatever other melty cheese was on hand.

I did some internet digging, visited the library and after some trial and error settled on this recipe . I fiddled with it (as I am wont to do) to make something I oh so creatively named “Chile Egg Bake”

I’ve made the pouff with ricotta and also with cottage cheese. The ricotta version has the same texture and density of a fritatta. The cottage cheese version is much lighter, fluffier and almost creamy. I like them both, but the cottage cheese is my secrect favorite.

Chili Egg Bake

5 large eggs
1 tbsp flour
½ tsp baking powder
1 cup ricotta or 2/3 cup small curd cottage cheese
1 ½cups Monterrey Jack cheese, divided
½ cup parmesan cheese
1 tbsp butter, melted plus more for baking dish
2 tbsp diced green chiles (about ½ of a 4 oz can)
1/8 tsp pepper

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter an 8×8 inch baking dish. Whisk together the eggs, flour, baking powder, ricotta or cottage cheese, 1 cup of Monterrey Jack, the parmesan cheese, butter, chiles and pepper until combined. Pour into the baking dish, top with the reserved ½ cup Monterrey Jack and bake for 35-40 minutes, or until the top is lightly golden and the center has puffed up. Let rest for 10 minutes and then serve. Toppings can include pico de gallo, chopped green onions, avocado and sour cream.

(Printable Recipe)

You might also enjoy:<:

1. Just Chili
2. Asian Noodle Salad
3. Green Tomato Muffins and the Birth of a Blog Post

©EclecticCook.com, 2009. | Permalink toChili Egg Bake and my Weekend Horribilis | 11 comments |

Montréal is not exactly the best place to get Mexican food in North America, so my experience with that particular cuisine was pretty much limited to the chips and salsa they served at my favorite pub, and after a few beers, everything tastes pretty darn good.

Besides the huge skies, spectacular sunsets, oceans of grass and endless horizons, Kansas has given me access to Mexican food and all the ingredients you need to cook it.

One of the first things I was brave enough to whip up was Pico de Gallo, which my husband kindly informed me was pronounced “peek-oh day guy-oh”, not the way I was pronouncing it, which I won’t repeat here, because it’s embarrassing, I don’t want to, and you can’t hear me anyway. So there.

Quick, easy to make, delicious and (bonus!) good for you, there is absolutely no need to ever buy this stuff pre-made.

Peek-oh Day Guy-oh

6 ripe Roma tomatoes, diced
½ of a small white onion, diced
2 jalapeno chiles, seeded and finely diced
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
Juice of 1 lime (about 2 tbsp)
1 tbsp minced garlic
½ tsp salt

Combine all ingredients in a non-reactive (glass) bowl and refrigerate for 1 hour before serving.

(Printable Recipe)

You might also enjoy:<:

1. Chili Egg Bake and my Weekend Horribilis
2. My Favorite Chicken Salad
3. Very (Very) Chunky Gazpacho

©EclecticCook.com, 2009. | Permalink toPico de Gallo | 3 comments |

Kansas City here we come! Again! I love Kansas City! WooHoo!

Kansas City is about a 3½ hour drive northeast of Wichita, which is just a smidge too far for a casual day trip. But my daughters usually fly out of the Kansas City Airport to visit their father in Canada, so we have a built-in excuse for a visit at least 4 times a year. For most of the drive, the view out the window is of rolling plains of grass with the occasional rocky outcrop. And cows.  Many, many, many cows. Brown cows, white cows, spotted cows, little cows and big cows. Now I wish I had taken a picture of the cows on the way up there for a visual reference, just in case you missed the whole “many, many cows” thing.

Moving right along.

I love the vibe of Kansas City. It’s one of those places that just ooze history and culture.  Oh and did I mention the barbecue? Oh baby. I drool as I type. I didn’t know what real barbecue was until my first trip to Kansas City and a visit to the original Arthur Bryant’s restaurant.  Gates Barbecue and Fiorella’s Jack Stack Barbecue are also on the rotation of restaurants I use to get my KC BBQ fix.

Another place I just have to visit each trip, or I pout in the car for the whole ride home, is the Kansas City Market.  With its combination of open air farmer’s market, permanent merchants and restaurants, the 150 year old City Market always has something interesting to see, do or buy.

Fruits…

Fungi…

And veggies of all shapes, sizes and colors.

On our last trip, I found the blue potatoes I had been looking everywhere for, and had a lovely conversation with the farmer selling them about how they should be cooked. We ate lunch at a small, quaint (and packed full of people) Middle Eastern restaurant located right in the market that served some pretty darn good shawarma and hummus. I bought three bags of gloriously soft, fresh, and still-warm pita bread from their little shop next door. I didn’t even come close to pouting on the way home. 

The spice merchant has a huge selection of whole seed spices, like cardamom, coriander, cumin and star anise, that can be hard to find here in Wichita. I should have bought some sumac…

This tiny Asian lady could throw together a perfect bouquet faster than ice cream melts in a frying pan. I watched her put together three in the time it took my husband to go to the bathroom.

Speaking of Asian, the Chinatown Food Market is located just outside the City Market. It’s huge! It has a meat and seafood counter where three guys clean, chop and hack such hard to find delicacies as shark, duck feet and pig uterus. When was the last time you had yourself some really good pig uterus? I would have taken more pictures, but it was so crowded I was afraid my camera lens might take out somebody’s eye.

Random bags of stuff  with not a single word of English to be found on any of them.  I need an iPhone with a magic scanning/translation app.

Um…cooking wine. Don’t drink it.  The label says so.

All that fresh pita bread needed to be put to good use, so I made up a double batch of spicy hummus, invited a friend or two over, and ate until the bowls were empty.

Spicy Hummus

½ cup tahini (see note 1)
3 large cloves garlic
¼ cup lemon juice
¼ tsp cayenne pepper or to taste
½ tsp cumin
½ tsp salt
3/4 cup water
6 tbsp olive oil plus more for drizzling
2 x 15 oz cans chickpeas, 2 tbsp reserved for garnish
Paprika or sumac (see note 2) for garnish

Blend together the tahini, garlic, cayenne, cumin, salt, water, and olive oil in a blender until smooth.  A food processor will work, but I find a blender yields a smoother texture. 
Add the chickpeas, about a half a can at a time, blending well between each addition. If the mixture starts to get too thick, add more water, about 1 tbsp at a time. 
The hummus should be smooth and creamy when completely blended. Pour onto serving plate and drizzle with olive oil.  Sprinkle with paprika or sumac and garnish with the reserved chickpeas.  Serve with fresh pita or toasted pita chips.  This is also a great dip for veggies.

Notes:
1-Tahini is a paste made of ground, lightly roasted sesame seeds that is used in Middle Eastern cooking
2-Sumac is a tart, deep purple-red spice used in Middle Eastern cooking. It adds a sour element, similar to lemon juice.

(Printable Recipe)

You might also enjoy:<:

1. Roasted Three Potato Salad
2. Thai Curry and Coconut Butternut Squash Soup
3. Souvlaki Pita

©EclecticCook.com, 2009. | Permalink toSpicy Hummus and the Kansas City Market | 10 comments |

What exactly does one do with a blue potato? Better question; what exactly is a blue potato? Now I know all of you fancy culinary types are rolling your eyes at me, but before recipes for blue potato this, and blue potato that started appearing all over the internet a few weeks before the July 4th weekend, I had never heard of these sapphire spuds. After having such a glaring hole in my culinary knowledge pointed out to me, I had to find some answers to my steaming potato question.

So I turned to the definitive source for all things trivia: Wikipedia. Wiki tells me that the tuber in question is called the Adirondack Blue potato, and was bred by a guy named Walter De Jong at Cornell University in 2003. Not satisfied with this quick answer, I Googled deeper and found a reference on the Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s website that states that the blue potato was discovered by a dude named William Bilozir at the Highwood Springs Farm in Dewinton, Alberta, Canada…..in 1996.

Huh.

Just to muddy the waters even further, I found an article on seattlepi.com by Hsiao-Ching Chou, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer Food Editor, that explains to me that of course everybody knows that these potatoes originated in South America and have been a staple there for like a bajillion years. Oh and by the way, the writer says, there are red potatoes too. Really red. Inside and out. Wiki tells me they are called the Adirondack Red potato and were bred by our friend Walter De Jong at Cornell. However, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer Food Editor tells me they too (of course) have been hanging around in South America since before humans had opposable thumbs.

Now that my question was so spectacularly not answered, I decided to ignore my ignorance and just cook the silly things. It took a trip to Kansas City and the Kansas City River Market to find my little blue spuds, but I had them in hand at long last, along with some fingerlings and itty bitty red potatoes. Not the “special” reds, just the regular ones.  I decided that a warm, roasted potato salad would be perfect for my potato trio, and so I concocted this one, inspired by a recipe I found on the BBC’s Good Food Website.

Just throw the garlic cloves in with the potatoes to roast in their skins. The sweet, roasted and crushed garlic will add some spunk to the vinaigrette.

I like the onions just tender and not too brown, but you can add them in earlier if you like them a bit more golden and caramelized.

I had some champagne vinegar left over from another potato salad I made. It has an aroma that instantly reminds you of champagne, with some vanilla floating around in the background. It’s more delicate in flavor than white wine vinegar. But it’s also a pain in the butt to find, so white wine vinegar will work just fine in this recipe. And then there is bacon. I love me some bacon. I like to think that the bacon keeps the champagne vinegar from getting too uppity.

Oh and in case you were wondering. no, I’m not crazy enough to drive 3 hours for a blue potato, I was already headed to Kansas City. I pinky swear.

Roasted Three Potato Salad
Serves 6-8

2½ lbs small new potatoes, any combination of red, blue, fingerling or yellow.
6 tbsp olive oil, divided
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp rosemary
1 tsp paprika
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper
6 cloves garlic, peel on, root end cut off
2 medium red onions, sliced into wedges
6 slices bacon, cut into pieces
2 tsp Dijon mustard
2 tbsp white wine or champagne vinegar
1 tbsp water or chicken stock
6 oz baby spinach
1/3 cup fresh parsley
½ cup feta cheese, crumbled

Preheat oven to 425ºF. Cook the bacon until crisp, drain on paper towels, reserving 1 tbsp of the bacon drippings.
Cut potatoes half, or equal sized pieces, about 1 inch thick. Leave the skin on. In a large bowl, combine 3 tbsp olive oil, salt, pepper, rosemary, thyme and paprika. Add the potatoes and toss to coat. Place the potatoes and the garlic on a large baking sheet and roast for 15 minutes. Scatter the onion wedges among the potatoes and roast for an additional 15-20 minutes until the potatoes are tender and the onions have softened and lightly browned.
Remove the roasted garlic pieces and transfer the potatoes and onions to a large bowl. Drizzle with the reserved bacon drippings and set aside. Pop the roasted garlic out of the skins and mash with a fork. In a small bowl, whisk together the mashed garlic, Dijon, remaining 3 tbsp olive oil, vinegar and water.
Add the spinach, feta, bacon, parsley and dressing to the warm potatoes and fold to combine. Serve warm.

 (Printable Recipe)

You might also enjoy:<:

1. Asian Noodle Salad
2. My Favorite Chicken Salad
3. Oven Roasted Asparagus

©EclecticCook.com, 2009. | Permalink toRoasted Three Potato Salad | 6 comments |

Asparagus, harbinger (note to self: run spell-check) of spring, how I love thee. Well actually I only really love thee when thee are cooked right, not when thee are an over-boiled, limp and faded green spear. 

There was a bumper crop of asparagus in these parts this year. Plenty of sales at the supermarket, gardeners giving bags of it away left and right. I’m always more than happy to help out and grab what I can carry whenever someone says “free asparagus”. I picked up a bunch of what looks to be the last crop of spring asparagus at the market last week.  The spears were a little thin, but I’m not complaining. I just shortened the cooking time.

My absolute all-time favoritest way to cook asparagus is to roast the whole spears in the oven, with some olive oil, lemon juice, garlic and pepper.

Sprinkle some kosher salt on the hot spears straight out of the oven and you get asparagus magic. Tender-crisp, lightly caramelized and salty-sweet, green goodness; this is hands down the tastiest veggie you can put on your plate in the spring. I cut it up into bite sized pieces for the kids who eat it like veggie candy with their fingers. 

Oven Roasted Asparagus
Serves 4

1 lb asparagus
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp garlic, crushed and finely minced
¼ tsp freshly grated pepper
Kosher salt for sprinkling.

Pre-heat the oven to 425°F. Clean the asparagus by placing it in a flat container (like a baking dish) filled with cold water and dunking it repeatedly. This is especially important for the home-grown crop, since they may not be cleaned as thoroughly as store bought.
Snap off the bottom ends of the spears. They will naturally break just above the toughest part of the stem. 
 In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, garlic and pepper. Lay the asparagus out on a baking sheet and pour the olive oil mixture over the spears. Roll the asparagus around in the mixture to coat them. Once coated, space out the spears so that they are not too close together. If they are all bunched up, the asparagus will steam, not roast. Cook in the oven for 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned in spots.  Remove from the oven and sprinkled with kosher salt.

Notes:
~A coarse kosher salt works best for this; not too fine and not too coarse. I use Morton’s. If you have a nice flaky sea salt, you can use that too.
~It’s easy to overcook your asparagus. It should be tender but not mushy, have a bit of a bite to it, but not crunchy. The only reliable way I have found to test for doneness is to grab one out of the oven and eat it.

(Printable Recipe)

You might also enjoy:<:

1. Roasted Three Potato Salad
2. Bratwich with Roasted Red Pepper Aioli
3. Green Tomato Muffins and the Birth of a Blog Post

©EclecticCook.com, 2009. | Permalink toOven Roasted Asparagus | 6 comments |

I was first introduced to Gazpacho many moons ago at a backyard BBQ. The dish I tried had chunks of fresh cucumber, tomato and onion in an herby tomato broth. It was wonderful! Years later I decided to make my own Gazpacho and whipped out the laptop to find a good recipe. Much to my surprise, recipe after recipe called for some degree of pureeing of the ingredients, which did not in any way recall the wonderful chunky Gazpacho of my somewhat faded but still mostly accurate memory. So I struck out on my own, pulled inspiration where I could, and came up with a reasonable facsimile.

I love keeping a big container of this around in the summer. It’s great when I want a quick fresh snack at the end of a long day, or in the evening when I get the munchies and don’t want to turn to the salty starch staples like crackers and chips. 

Most of the work for this dish is in the prep. Here are the chopped tomatoes. Yes, the skins are still on! Yeesh.

Use a small teaspoon to seed the cucumbers.

Onion and Red Bell and Poblano, oh my! (Yes, I forgot to buy a red onion)

 Almost there…

Ah! It’s like summer in a bowl. Yum yum.

Very (Very) Chunky Gazpacho
Serves 6-8

8 cups tomato juice (one cup reserved), preferable bottled, not canned
6 ripe roma tomatoes, seeded and coarsely chopped (peeled if you have oodles of time)
2 Cucumbers, peeled, seeded and coarsely chopped
1 small red onion, finely chopped
1 red bell pepper, seeded and coarsely chopped
1 poblano or anaheim pepper (or green bell if you really have to), seeded and finely chopped
1/4 cup fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1/2 tsp cumin
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup lime juice
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

Salt, pepper and hot sauce (e.g. Tabasco) to taste
Extra virgin olive oil (optional)

• In a food processor, pulse about half of the tomatoes until just pureed.
• In a glass or non-reactive bowl, combine the pureed and chopped tomatoes with 4 cups of tomato juice and the remainder of the ingredients up to the Worcestershire sauce.
• Cover and refrigerate overnight.
• After the ingredients have been allowed to combine overnight, taste for seasoning and heat, and adjust with salt, pepper and hot sauce accordingly. If the Gazpacho is thicker than you would like, add reserved cup of tomato juice.
• Serve chilled and lightly drizzled with olive oil, if desired.

(Print Recipe)

You might also enjoy:<:

1. Green Tomato Muffins and the Birth of a Blog Post
2. Pico de Gallo
3. Bollito Di Manzo – Italian Boiled Beef with Tomato, Anchovy and Caper Sauce

©EclecticCook.com, 2009. | Permalink toVery (Very) Chunky Gazpacho | 5 comments |