Posts Tagged dinner
Veggie Stir Fry with Garlic and Parmesan. And, How to Eat Dinner Outdoors.
Posted by castironidaho in Recipes on August 7, 2011
Summer is finally in full swing here in Boise, complete with hot temperatures and abundance of garden veggies! We recently organized an outdoor kitchen on the back porch. A few months ago, one of our photographs from this blog was selected for publication in Montana Outdoors Magazine! (It’s the photo of our Dutch Oven Gyros, steaming over coals.) For this contribution we were paid $80, and decided to put the funds toward this Camp Chef outdoor stove that we’d had our eyes on at Cabela’s. On sale for $89, we almost stayed within our budget! So far it’s great, no more heating up the kitchen to make dinner, perfect to take camping, and we can’t wait to use it for canning.
So, what have we been making? Here’s a recipe for one of my favorite summer abundance dishes:
Veggie Stir Fry with Garlic and Parmesan
- Butter
- Garlic
- Parmesan
- Veggies. Zucchini is especially good in this, and it’s a good way to cook zucchini by itself. Also beets, peas, beans, tiny potatoes, broccoli, greens, onions, whatever you’ve got.
Melt butter in a cast iron skillet. Add veggies and cook over medium heat until done. If you’re using potatoes, carrots, other hard root crops, cook these a little first and add the soft things later. Cook until veggies are done and enjoy!
It was already almost dark by the time we sat down to enjoy this dinner under the emerging stars. Marty made a wonderful skilletfull of ham and eggs to go with my Parmesan veggies, and as usual, a huge glass of water accompanied our recovery from a busy day in the field. The plate reminded me so much of a fabulous cartoon I saw online the other day, that I had to snap this photo.
The cartoon on the right, of course, is making fun of the USDA’s new “My Plate” cartoon, which replaced the “Food Pyramid” that was previously the federal government’s recommendation for how Americans should eat. Here’s what “My Plate” looks like:
Not sure this one makes any more sense than the food pyramid did….a glass of milk with every meal? I like “It’s not that hard, people” better. As far as I can tell, the original source of the “It’s not that hard, people” cartoon is this excellent blog post from Fitbomb. Check it out for a history of the federal government’s attempts to tell you how to eat.
Advice from Cast Iron? Keep the federal government, it’s screwy advice, agricultural policy, and subsidies that support the wrong kinds of foods OUT of your kitchen. Get fresh food from farmers you know, including lots of plants and some animals if you like to eat animals. Enjoy time cooking with your family, take photos, and send them to us. You’ll feel better, we promise.
– Katie
Boy (or Girl!) Scout Veggies with Sage Butter
Posted by castironidaho in Recipes on July 6, 2011
Summer is on! Marty and I have been super busy with the gardens, both combating the weeds and harvesting the bounty, which is the reason for our lack of blog posts of late. A lot of the time we’re so busy, and so overwhelmed by the garden’s offerings, that all we can do is throw everything into one pot and cook. Or in this case, into one aluminum foil packet.
You can make Boy Scout Veggies with any type of veggies, and with any type of herb butter. So far we’ve tried sage and dill. Usually just one herb at a time, to really enjoy the flavor of that one and the flavors of the veg…..this is a great dish to let the flavors of all the different vegetables shine! And, it’s a great way to use up ALL of those CSA veggies, if you only have time to cook once this week!
Here’s a sample ingredient list:
- Potatoes
- Carrots
- Peas
- Beets, including the greens
- Kale or any other greens
- Turnips
- Radishes
- Broccoli
- Onions
- Sage or other chopped herbs
- Couple of tablespoons butter, cut in little cubes.
(Later in the season, get your zucchini, peppers, and cherry tomatoes in there, too.) Wash and chop all veggies. Toss with herbs and butter cubes. Pile as many of them as you can fit onto a piece of aluminum foil. We usually need at least two pieces. Top with another piece of foil and wrap tightly for the grill.
We use a charcoal grill and bury the packet in the coals. If you’re lucky enough to be sitting around a campfire, scout style, you can throw this right in your fire’s coals. It you have a gas grill, cook it on the top rack and be careful, it will cook faster than you think.
Unwrap and enjoy with your favorite grilled meat! We also found leftovers to be a wonderful quesadilla filling. Toast two tortillas in a cast iron pan, reheat the veggies in another pan, then pile them between the two tortillas with enough grated cheese to stick it all together. Yum!
– Katie
Peas
Posted by castironidaho in Farm and Garden, Recipes on June 20, 2011
Fresh peas make everything perfect. Some times we skip a proper breakfast in order to get into the garden before the sun peaks over the eastern hill. Then have peas with our coffee as the sun begins to shine down on the garden. Makes for a pretty good morning and who would have guessed peas go good with coffee and cream. We discovered this through necessity, in the garden in the very early morning, furiously trying to prepare an order, starving and drinking coffee. There I was picking peas, eating more than I was bagging. Damien was doing the same. I’m not sure when something becomes a tradition, but now, every year Damien and I get excited for the early morning pea grazing. I suggest an Idaho honey Americano with cream and Damien recommends an old-fashioned Americano with soy.
For good peas you want to plant them early and inoculate (by mixing the seed with a microorganism that helps with germination) . I plant mine on March 17th. It’s one of the first things direct seeded in the spring, so I’m careful to prep the beds especially well. I always use climbing peas and seed along a trellis. I don’t like to seed then put up the trellis. Once they start coming on you will want to pick at least every 48 hours. This will help your harvest last longer. During pea season you want to eat them every day. I eat them with everything. Here are a couple of my favorite things.
In Tuna Salad or Egg Salad wrapped in a butter head leaf. I’d even try it in Potato salad. Or in risotto.
Pea Burger
One cup chopped sugar snap peas.
2 diced spring onions.
1 lbs ground beef
Mix peas, onions (and if you want crumble a little cheve). Pile on cutting board. Take a 1/4 lbs of burger and smashed into pile mixing beef and pea mixture. Form into patties. Grill pea burgers on BBQ.
–Farmer Marty
Thai Glazed Chicken Lettuce Wraps
Posted by castironidaho in Recipes on June 14, 2011
Above is one of our favorite lettuce head varieties. Marty says he’ll only tell you what it is if you come volunteer on his farm! If you’ve eaten enough salad already, a big gorgeous head like this one is perfect for making lettuce wraps.
I recently modified this recipe to include many veggies that have been included in recent (or very near future) Global Gardens and City Gardens CSA shares! A little bit of a more involved recipe, but so worth it. The original recipe was from Sarah Barsness Gowin, also the author of our Making West Home in Idaho, Refugee Stories and Recipes Cookbook.
Ingredients
- 1 pound chicken. I like to grill or bake a whole chicken, then chunk it up for use in recipes.
- 2 T. olive oil
- 2 T. hot chili oil or 1 t. red pepper flakes. I used some frozen hot peppers I had.
- 2 T. fresh ginger root, minced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 c. shredded cabbage
- 1 c. shredded bok choi (I used a red cabbage/bok choi combo. You don’t really need both.)
- 3 shallots or spring onions. Or half of a regular onion.
- Handful of snap or snow peas (the whole pod)
- 1 c. chopped carrots
- 1/2 c. plum sauce or duck sauce
- 1 c. loosely packed cilantro leaves. (The recipe calls for basil, but we don’t have that in the garden yet!)
- 1 T. fish sauce
- 1 gorgeous gigantic lettuce head with big leaves, such as butterhead or red iceberg
Slice chicken breast into strips. (Try a chicken from one of our friends at the Saturday market, like Peaceful Belly or Meadowlark Farms.) Heat oil in a skillet and cook chicken for 2 minutes. Add chili oil/pepper flakes, ginger, garlic, peppers, cabbage, bok choi, carrots, peas, and scallions. In this case I added everything at the same time. Slice the carrots thinly so that they don’t take longer to cook than everything else.
Stir fry for another 2 minutes. Add plum sauce and toss one minute, add cilantro leaves and fish sauce, turn to coat. Serve chicken and cooked veggies in a bowl with chopped cucumber for topping and lettuce for wrapping. Spoon filling onto lettuce and fold to eat like a taco!
You can also add some dipping sauces. We used a peanut sauce and a sweet chili sauce, both bought from the Asian section because I didn’t have time to make them. I did thin them down a little with some rice vinegar though, both were too thick for dipping.
If you like the look of this recipe but don’t want to make it, Bittercreek Alehouse serves a fabulous version of lettuce wraps, sometimes using lettuce we’ve sold them!
– Katie
Grilled Salmon with Caramelized Dill
Posted by castironidaho in Recipes on June 13, 2011
This is a recipe that I’ve been using for literally over a decade, it’s so delicious. I spent my first summer out west working with a group of botanists at the University of Wyoming in 1999. When they weren’t botanizing, or hauling botanical equipment up mountains, they were cooking, drinking wine, or hunting mushrooms. Thanks, Bill and Holly!
So, some of you CSAers got dill this week! If you haven’t used it or find you get more, try this.
Ingredients:
- Salmon filet
- 1 bunch dill
- 2-3 Tbsp sugar
- 1-2 tsp salt
- Lemon wedges, sliced radishes, optional.
Dice dill leaves into tiny pieces. Toss with sugar and salt. Pack in what seems like too large a quantity, on top of a good sized salmon fillet. Top with lemon and radish slices, as shown above. Place on a piece of foil and grill for about 20 minutes, depending on the size of the fillet, until the fish flakes apart when you test it with a fork.
– Katie
Blackened Salmon on a Salad
Posted by castironidaho in Recipes on April 6, 2011
We wanted to test the blackened seasoning that Paul sent us, so I prepared a blind taste test: Paul’s seasoning on one piece of salmon, and the blackened salmon concoction I usually use on the other! This recipe originally came from a magazine, and I’ve used it for many years. Both were actually great, maybe mine was a little spicier but they were pretty similar. You can try this recipe, or try a pre-made blend from a local food artist near you.
Ingredients:
- Salmon fillet
- 3 Tbsp. chili powder
- 1 Tbsp. oregano
- Salt and Pepper
Mix chili powder, oregano, salt and pepper in a shallow bowl. Cut salmon fillet into desired size pieces and drag through spice mixture, coating on all sides. Fry all sides in cast iron skillet until blackened and until fish is cooked (it will become flaky), or cook on the grill. Use a tiny bit of oil to fry, if your pan isn’t well enough seasoned.
Serve over a green salad, or with a side of any kind of green veggies!
Our salad layer included:
- Mixed greens or spinach
- Strawberries
- Avocado
- Goat Cheese
- Almonds
So easy, and slightly fancy….enjoy!
– Katie
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Pierogies
Posted by castironidaho in Places we eat, Recipes on March 23, 2011
It seems like in the melting pot that is America, the one ethnic tradition that outlasts all the other aspects of language and culture is food. Pierogies are a delicious potato and cheese filled pastry, and are one of those kinds of ethnic foods, passed on to me by my mother’s Polish family. My mom’s parents, Mary and Henry Nebzydoski, both were the children of immigrants and both spoke Polish, although none of the language was passed down to my mother and her nine siblings. They were dairy farmers in rural Pennsylvania, my uncle still runs their farm today. My grandmother was a wonderful cook and I remember eating pierogies by the dozen as a child. We had contests on who could eat the most.
My grandmother was very Catholic, attending mass at her tiny local church almost daily in her later years. Pierogies, apparently, are a traditional Lent food. (Lent, for the unindoctrinated, is the 40 days before Easter. Right now it’s Lent.) Traditionally during Lent, Catholics don’t eat meat on Fridays. So this meatless dish was served on Fridays in Lent, and also made en masse by my grandmother and the church ladies, for a fundraiser.
Here’s a photo of my grandparents and eight of their ten children. The one in glasses is my mom. My grandmother Mary Nebzydoski is in the middle and my grandfather Henry is on the right. I’m not sure who the man with the cigar is, if somebody in my family knows, leave a comment!
A few years ago my mom compiled a cookbook of Nebzydoski family recipes. In it was grandma’s recipe for pierogies, calling for 14 cups of flour. This must have been the recipe the church ladies used. We split it in half and still had a LOT of pierogies. But none of them lasted long enough to be frozen for later!
Pierogies
Dough:
- 1 cup oil
- 6 eggs
- 2 cups water
- 2 Tbsp salt
- 7 cups flour
Mix all ingredients to make a stiff dough. Add a little more flour if it’s sticky.
Filling:
- 2 1/2 pounds cut up potatoes, boiled.
- 5 oz cheddar cheese
- 2 Tbsp salt
- 2 Tbsp butter
Mix like mashed potatoes. Add the cheese while the potatoes are still hot, and keep it fairly stiff as it will make it easier to make the pierogies.
To make the pierogies, divide the dough into 8 pieces. Roll out one of them as flat as you can get it. I found the dough to be a little stretchy and hard to get really flat and thin, but do the best you can. Cut into 4×4 inch squares and place a spoonful of filling on the middle of each one. Put a little water along the edges, fold over in a triangle, and squish them shut.
I put the pierogies onto a cookie sheet as I was forming them, so they wouldn’t stick together. Next, you have to boil them. (Pierogi dough is actually a lot like fresh noodle dough.) Drop them into a pot of boiling water a few a time, stir a little to prevent sticking. Remove with a slotted spoon when they float to the top. If they water gets too sticky and murky, you may need fresh water. Cool on a flat surface.
Next, you can either pack them between layers of plastic wrap and refrigerate or freeze them for later, or prepare them for eating.
There are two ways to eat pieorgies: deep fried in oil, or baked with butter and onions. Because we were serving a lot of people at once, the baking method was easier, so we chose that. As a kid, I always liked them fried, but now I’d say both are delicious. And equally unhealthy, because you need a LOT of butter.
We did two different versions, one traditional with butter and caramelized onions, and the other with butter, onions, and balsamic vinegar. We served them with homemade chutneys from last year’s garden, including chili sauce, green tomato and apple chutney, and sweet pepper relish.
Almost forgot to tell you that if you want to eat pierogies without all the work of making them, they’re on the menu at Salt Tears Coffehouse and Noshery, a new restaurant right here in Boise. Located in the same shopping center as the Collister Library, it offers an interesting and different lunch menu. We’ve only eaten there once but liked it. Salt Tears shares it’s space with an art gallery featuring all kinds of local art. The pierogies were the real thing, and we also tried the bread pudding and some kind of mini pizza.
– Katie
Venison Chili
Posted by castironidaho in Recipes on March 11, 2011
Ingredients:
- 4 cups good stock.
- 2 cups barley
- 1 cup dry beans
- 2 lbs venison sausage
- 2 cups chopped carrots
- 2 cups chopped leek
- 1 cup chopped fresh parsley
The night before soak beans in water.
Toast barley in cast iron. Add 2 cups stock and toasted barley in sauce pan. Cover and bring to boil.
Boil beans in water. Saute Venison. When barley is finished put barley in soup pot. Add venison and 2 cups stock. Drain beans and add to pot. Add carrots and leeks. Fill the pot rest of way with water, not too much, I like it chunky. Bring to boil. Turn down to simmer. Add parsley and serve! Bon appetite
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Alex Hartman’s Morel Cream Sauce
Posted by castironidaho in Recipes on February 24, 2011
There’s nothing better than being invited to dinner. Especially when it’s Alex. A librarian by trade, but by candle light this man is a minor culinary genius. Alex is also a mushroom hunter and angler. We can always count on something from the forest when we eat with Alex. This evening we had lamb chops from his friend, Tim at Purple Sage in Middleton, served with Brussel sprouts, baked yam and (our favorite) morel cream sauce. Our dinner schedule is wide open! Dinner invites and recipe submisions (with pictures) always thoughtfully considered.
Here’s Alex’s recipe:
Hydrate morels in just enough hot water to cover for 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, heat several tablespoons butter in a saute pan.
Add chopped shallot to pan. Saute until soft and golden.
Drain morels, reserving soaking liquid, and add to pan. Saute until
mushrooms begin to brown.
Add a few tablespoons of soaking liquid, and marsala (or another sweet
cooking wine) and simmer until liquid is reduced by two thirds.
Add cream. Simmer briefly. Add chopped fresh parsley or tarragon,
and salt to taste.
Optional – add a tsp or two of minced lemon zest.
Serve over steak, or with roast chicken, or on pasta with garbanzos,
asparagus tips, and parmesan.
Oregon Black Truffle Risotto
Posted by castironidaho in Recipes on February 3, 2011
Oregon Black Truffle Risotto
- 8 Shallots, chopped, or a small onion
- 1/2 oz Black Truffles
- 1 Tbsp butter
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 cup Arborio rice
- 1 Tbsp white wine
- 4 cups chicken broth
- ¼ cup parmesan cheese
- Salt and pepper to taste
Heat the 4 cups of broth in a saucepan. In a separate skillet (I might suggest using stainless steel rather than cast iron for this one) melt the butter and olive oil together. Sautee shallots until translucent. Add Arborio rice and stir until coated with oil. Cook for a few minutes, stirring, add the white wine. Add heated broth one cup at a time, stirring until all of the liquid is absorbed. After adding the last cup of broth, add black truffles. The rice will become creamy and you will have to stir a lot at the end. It should take about 20 minutes. When all of the broth has been soaked up, add parmesan cheese and salt and pepper to taste.
We served it with venison and steamed spinach. See “Rosemary and Shallot Encrusted Venison.”
