Bless Her Heart

Sauteed Baby Parsnips and Carrots

In our basket from Farmhouse Delivery this week we received these beautiful baby root vegetables.  They were tender enough that a quick sauté was all they needed.  I scrubbed them for a while, but didn't peel them.  They were so small that if I had peeled them there wouldn't have been much vegetable left.

 
I usually roast root vegetables in the oven, so this was a much quicker result.  Adding the honey at the end to help caramelize the veggies. Yum!

 
Sauteed Baby Parsnips and Carrots

1 lb assorted baby root veggies, green tops removed and veggies scrubbed clean

1 tbsp butter

1 tsp chopped fresh rosemary

salt and pepper to taste

1 tbsp honey

Melt the butter in a heavy skillet over medium high heat.  Add the veggies in a single layer.  Add the rosemary and a bit of salt and pepper.  Saute, turning the veggies until almost tender. Drizzle the honey over the veggies and continue to saute until all sides have a nice caramelly crust.  

Popcorn with Nutritional Yeast

When I was growing up, I thought we were the only (weird) people who sprinkled nutritional yeast on our popcorn.  Then a few years ago as I was filling a bag with yeast in the bulk section, a man behind me said "You know you should REALLY try that on popcorn."  I laughed out loud and told him that we had been sneaking small containers of it into movie theaters since I was a wee kidlet.  Now that I have my own brood...the tradition continues, and even when we have popcorn at home, they won't eat it without a splash of butter and a sprinkle of yeast.  The girl will sit with the almost empty bowl, swirling her pointer finger around the bottom, trying to get as much of the fallen yeast as she can to stick to it...and then she eats it slowly like some rare delicacy.  As a vegetarian, nutritional yeast is a great supplement to our diet...but I'd be cold lying if I said that's why we eat it.  Try it...you might be surprised.   
 Popcorn with Nutritional Yeast

You need 1 big bowl of popped popcorn...however you choose to make it.  For us that's about 1/4 cup of unpopped kernels in the popcorn maker

3 tbsp melted butter

1 twist of the salt grinder

1/4 cup of nutritional yeast

You should add all of the ingredients when the popcorn is still warm. Butter first, then salt and yeast.  Sometimes we go without the butter altogether, but it really does help the yeast and salt stick to the popcorn blossoms better. I usually add a bit of the butter and then toss the popcorn, then add more butter, then toss the popcorn and on and on until the butter is gone.  Then add the salt.  Sprinkle a bit of yeast then toss.  Repeat until it tastes how you like it.  Some people like less yeast, but my kidlets like more.  

Yarnbomb!

 
  
Our otherwise boring daily commute was interrupted by a spectacular sight this morning.  Thanks to Knitta, Please for brightening our day.  

Corn Tortillas

For such a simple food, tortillas made from scratch can make an ordinary meal of beans and rice seem a little more special.  Fresh, warm tortillas are much more flavorful than the store bought variety.  I bought an inexpensive tortilla press a few years back, but you could certainly roll them out if you don't have one.  I have this metal one:  
Someday I would love for the Man to make me a burley wooden one like this.  I think I could make my tortillas a little bigger if I had a little more leverage...but I'm not holding my breath.  I'm on the hunt for locally ground fresh masa, but until I find it I just use Maseca masa and I used the recipe on the back. Instead of the recommended plastic, I use 2 sheets of wax paper or parchment when I press the tortillas.
 Corn Tortillas (makes 16)

2 cups masa

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/8 cup of water

Mix in a bowl until you have a nice ball of dough.  If your dough is too dry, add water bit by bit in small amounts.  Divide and roll in to 16 golf ball sized balls.  Place these little masa balls on a plate and cover with a damp cloth in order to keep your dough from drying out.  Press each little dough ball one by one, (between 2 sheets of wax paper) in the tortilla press.  Heat a heavy skillet or comal on medium/high.  Cook each tortilla for about 1 minute on each side.  I like to keep the stack of warm tortillas covered with a cloth napkin.  This keeps them from drying out, and also keeps them warm for serving. 

Beets with fresh herbs and goat cheese...

Last year at some point, Cannoli Joe's (a local Italian restaurant) was giving samples of their beet salad at the farmer's market.  Who knew that that little sample would haunt me so?  It was the perfect beet combination..sweet and tangy with a touch of creamy goat cheese.  I've been chasing that flavor combination ever since.  I have yet to find it, but the beets I made last night were pretty freakin' yummy anyway.  I know that most people bake their beets with the peels on and then squeeze the peels off when they're tender, but I just don't do it that way.  If you peel and chop on a paper towel, you won't stain your surfaces, and then your beets are exposed to all of the flavors you bake them up with.

 
 Beets with Fresh Herbs and Goat Cheese

4 baseball sized beets, peeled and cubed in 1" pieces

1 tbsp olive oil

2 sprigs fresh rosemary

2 sprigs fresh thyme

1 tsp fresh ginger, peeled and grated or minced extra fine

1/4 cup of water

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

3 tbsp cup soft goat cheese

Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Toss the beets, olive oil, herbs and ginger and place in a single layer in a baking dish.  Add the 1/4 cup of water to the bottom of the dish.  Cover with tin foil.  Bake for 35-40 minutes or until the beets are tender in the center. Remove the herb sprigs.  Move the beets to a serving bowl and toss with the balsamic vinegar and 2 tbsp of the goat cheese.  Allow to cool.  Break up the remaining tbsp of goat cheese and toss.  Season to taste.

Girls brunch....

Mobile Post: Today the Girl and I enjoyed a rare Saturday brunch...just the two of us. It's alway so nice to spend time with the kids individually. It seems like when they know they have my undivided attention, they speak more quietly or slowly or...more deliberately. In turn, I find myself more easily 'present' to listen to what they are saying. It was just what we needed on this gray, rainy morning. (First post from my phone btw, so please pardon any thumby typing).

Beet Greens

 Our basket from Farmhouse Delivery was remarkably colorful this week.  Beets, carrots, oranges, strawberries, radishes and all different shades and flavors of greens made up a veritable rainbow of yumminess.  Last week I let the beet greens get too limp and wilty before I could enjoy them...so this week I ate them straight away.  I really love beets, but I always forget how vibrant and flavorful the greens are.  I triple rinsed the leaves and then removed the tougher bits of leaves and stems.  I lightly sauteed them in a tsp. of olive oil and a dash of Braggs over medium heat.  When they were nicely wilted and beautiful shade of forest green, I added a dash of sesame oil.  There seems to be a common theme around here lately: veggies and proteins with minimal intervention.  Less is more and all that... More and more we're falling back in love with simple ingredients and enjoying the flavors of local harvests.

 

Mama-whisperings...

 
This morning after dropping off the Girl, as I was walking back to my car I noticed a mama with her arm around her young son speaking to him in hushed tones.  Not the "you're in trouble" terse hushed tones, but the softly spoken "I'm gonna whisper you off this little ledge this morning, ok?" hushed tones.  I don't know what his trouble was this morning, but you could tell from his body language that it weighed heavily upon his little shoulders.  I watched her get down on his level and put her hand on his shoulder.  She took the moment to really look at him even though they were running a little late. She spoke to him with kindness but also with that "we can figure this out...trust me" mama-tone in her voice.  I was walking by quickly and never made out one word of their exchange, but watching the dance between a mama and her child sometimes doesn't even need words for translation.  She lifted him up with her encouragement and kindness...but most of all it seemed as if just giving him that moment and blocking out the hustle and bustle of the morning helped to ground him.  Before I had turned the corner around the classrooms I had grabbed two handfuls of paper towels and was glowering because somehow the Girl's entire bottle of juice managed to spill on the floorboard of the car during our commute.  As I walked past this exchange between this mama and son...I realized how poorly I had handled my own walk to class with the Girl.  Hurry. Hurry. Hurry.  Quick kiss.  See you later.  She was a bit distraught about her juice bottle, I was a bit bummed about my car.  We said quick goodbyes and left each other to sort the troubles out.  Seeing the mama with her arm around her son, and hearing her calming reassurances my eyes welled up with tears.  Instantly.  Not because of how our own morning had gone but because...if I were to call my Mama right now and tell her of the weight on my shoulders or the untethered worries that rattle around and keep me up at night, she would be that same mama...with the stedfast love and reassurance that things always work out one way or another.  With the calm, "there's always a solution" tone that she has, she would gently pick up my broken confidence, dust it off and wrap it back around me.  I know this because she's done it a thousand times before and I've no doubt she'll have a thousand more opportunities.  I feel grateful that I was reminded this morning to be more present with my own kidlets when they are feeling stymied or unsure.  Sometimes I just forget how far an uninterrupted dialogue and a good hug can actually take you towards solving a problem with confidence and grace. My mama taught me that. 

Cream of Zuke Soup

This is a soup that my Mama used to make for us when we were wee.  It's really quick and simple...and my kids like it even though no one in my house really appreciates zucchini the way that I do.  I think it's a texture thing, and when you make a creamed soup it seems to eliminate that problem.  If I'm making it for adults only, I'll add a poblano pepper to the onions while sautéing.  We had it the other night to accompany those Pesto Grilled Cheese Sandwiches and all of the green looked so pretty together.  That's about as far as my food styling goes.  :)  This is a great recipe to have on hand a little later in the growing season when the farmer's market is overflowing with all manners of summer squash.

 
Cream of Zuke Soup

Serves 4

4 medium zucchini (about 1.5 lbs).  Remove ends and slice or dice.

1 tbsp canola oil

1 onion, diced

1 clove garlic minced

3 cups of milk

2 tbsp soy sauce

Salt and Pepper to taste

(optional) sesame seeds or fresh herbs for garnish

Steam the zucchini until tender.  While the zukes are steaming, saute the onions in the canola oil over medium heat until they are tender and translucent.  Add the garlic and saute an additional 2 minutes to release the garlic's flavor and aroma. Remove from heat.  If you are using an immersion blender, combine all of the ingredients in a soup pot and blend away.  If you are using your blender...please remember that the ingredients are hot and that you can get burned by blending hot ingredients. You will probably need to divide your ingredients and blend them in two batches: 1/2 the zukes, 1/2 the milk, 1/2 the onion mixure, 1/2 the soy sauce.  Blend and add to soup pot and then blend up the remaining ingredients.  You can always add more milk, water or broth if you want it more 'soupy'.  Season to taste. I love mine super, duper peppery...but I usually just do my own bowl that way to minimize complaints from the kidlets.

Set flame to low and heat for 5-10 minutes.  Don't allow it to boil.  Garnish with sesame seeds or fresh herbs if you have them on hand.

Now what?

 
The Girl had her heart set on planting her own carrots from seeds...and so she did (don't tell Monsanto).  I don't know why I didn't expect her seeds to grow...but I guess I really didn't consider that that they actually would.  A few days ago we started seeing hopeful little green stems sprouting up through the soil.  Now our question is...what do we do with these little seedlings? We don't have any garden beds this season, but we do have plenty of fairly deep containers.  Can you successfully container-garden carrots?   It's pretty cool to watch these adorable little sprigs reach for the sun outside the window.  At what point should she move the little plants to the bigger containers?  We thank you in advance for any carrot-growing guidance you can offer us.