I haven’t watched Iron Chef in a few years, save for randomly turning on a rerun while visiting some family a few weeks ago. I used to be fiercely loyal to the Japanese original, savoring every minute Chairman Kaga’s over the top antics. Particularly his unveiling of the secret ingredient, often some horrific creature of the deep.
That being my memories of Iron Chef, you can imagine my surprise, and subsequent disappointment, when I caught Iron Chef America that day and the secret ingredient was…Farmer’s Market.
Seriously? Farmer’s market?
I thought this was supposed to be a challenge! What’s next? Butter and brown sugar as the secret ingredient?
A farmer’s market secret ingredient is so easy. Where’s the monkfish? The octopus? The challenge?
But then thinking about it, too much of a good thing can be a challenge. Often this time of year, visiting the market can be overwhelming. With so many wonderful options to choose from, I’m tempted to overbuy and way over-complicate things.
With all that over complication, I can miss the fact that some of the most incredible, most savory, most spectacular tastes of the season are also the simplest. I just need to remember to savor them, during their brief prime season. In my opinion, you can’t get much more bang for the buck of simple prep, spectacular flavor than a Capri salad. Showcasing the great flavor of the season’s fresh tomatoes, mixed with some sweet basil, fresh cheese, a little red onion, and some fantastic olive oil and balsamic, there is no way to go wrong.
So think of this not so much as a recipe, but as a reminder: Go eat as many Capri salads as you can handle right now, because in just a few weeks, you’re not going to have the option anymore.
Simple Capri Salad
1/4 Pound Fresh Buffalo Mozzarella, cut into small cubes
4 Medium Tomatoes, cubed (I sub cherry tomatoes, roughly a handful per tomato)
1/2 Red Onion, diced
1 Handfull Basil, chopped
1 T Olive Oil
1 T Balsamic
Salt and Pepper to taste
Stir mozzarella, tomatoes, onion, and basil together. Top with olive oil and balsamic. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve!
What variations on Capri salads have you tried? Have a confusing ingredient? Swimming in something from your garden? Leave a comment and we’ll answer your questions!
At the risk of getting a reputation of being overly corny, I’m posting my 3rd shout out to corn in 3 posts. Forgive me, but I just can’t help how delicious our buttery sweet Colorado corn is. Plus I wanted to make sure that we posted the recipes from the demo on Saturday.
Corn salsa is a fun twist on the traditional plain tomato salsa, easy and quick to make, and doesn’t require any cook time (you eat the corn raw). I hope you enjoy!
Corn and Avocado Salsa
2 Ears of Corn, Raw and Shucked
1 Avocado
1/2 Bunch Cilantro, chopped
4 Green Onions
1 Mild to Hot (to your liking) Pepper
Salt and Pepper to taste
Slice and place avocado in bowl. Cover in lime juice. Add all other ingredients. Stir gently and serve!
Corn and Tomato Salsa
2 Ears of Corn, Raw and Shucked
2 Medium Tomatoes (or 4-5 cherry tomatoes in place of 1 tomato). diced
1/2 Bunch Cilantro, chopped
4 Green Onions
1 Mild to Hot (to your liking) Pepper, diced
1/2 t. Cumin
1/4 t. Chili Powder
Mix all ingredients well. Serve!
A few side notes: we’re in the process of a few changes here, and will be moving the blog to our website at www.thecupboard.net soon! Keep an eye out, and excuse our mess as we move over!
Happy salsa-ing!
One of my favorite summer guilty pleasures is without a doubt the carnival. I’m not much of one for rides or those impossible games. Let’s get right to the point, in Sarah Jane’s world, the carnival is a free pass to eat fried goodies. Elephant ears, corn dogs, funnel cakes- all things off limit the other 364 days a year, but on fair day, oh, it is on.
I must confess, I do occasionally cheat on my rules, especially if I can find a way to make those types of treats at home, in a healthier fashion than the deep fried, artery clogging, death on a stick way. That’s why I jumped to make these corn fritters with the first corn of the season. They are the perfect mix of a little bit guilty pleasure, without having you feel guilty for a week.
If you’ve never had a corn fritter, you’re in a for a treat! Part savory, part sweet, all crispy and delicious, they make a great snack, side dish, or serving base for a stack of veggie goodness for dinner. Try them with green onions and sour cream, and you’ll be straight in corn fritter fabulous!
This recipe adapted from Cooking Light will have you loving your fritters every bite, but not have you feeling guilty tomorrow. Enjoy!
Corn Fritters
Adapted from Cooking Light Magazine
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/3 cup fat-free milk
1 egg, beaten
1 1/2 cups fresh corn kernels (3 ears)
1/3 cup finely chopped green onions
1/4 teaspoon salt
Combine flour and baking powder in a medium bowl. Add milk and egg; stir until smooth. Stir in remaining 1/4 teaspoon pepper, corn, green onions, and salt.
Heat 1/2 teaspoon oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat.
Drop batter by level tablespoonfuls into pan to make 6 fritters; cook 2 minutes or until tops are covered with bubbles and edges are golden.
Carefully turn fritters over; cook 2 minutes or until golden.
Repeat procedure with remaining 1/2 teaspoon oil and remaining batter.
Looking for more fun uses for corn? Want to test out that awesome corn tool from yesterday? Be sure to swing by the Cupboard Saturday from 1 to 4pm. I’m going to be whipping up some awesome salsa, letting you try your hand shucking corn, and available to answer any veggie questions you have! Kathy is also going to be in the kitchen canning up some goodies from the garden, so you won’t want to miss it!
August is easily one of the busiest times of year for me, and I by know stretch of imagination think I’m alone in that boat. School is starting up again. Our bevvy of August festivals and events around town are taking place. Combine all this with the fact that it seems as though every person I know either has a birthday, anniversary, or new baby this August, I feels as though I have been running around like a chicken with my head cut off. So it’s no surprise I’m searching to save every extra morsel of time I can, particularly to enjoy and preserve all the amazing food coming in this harvest season.
With all of my running around, a lot of my meals have been looking like this. A little of this, a little of that, add olive oil, shallots, garlic, toss in skillet for 10…. well, I’m not complaining.
Yet, in the midst of my hectic schedule this week brought the arrival of one of the delicacies of local, fresh fare- the first of the sweet corn. I love corn, in soups, in salads, or just eaten straight with a spoon.
However, I must confess, I really, really despise shucking corn. Between stabbing myself repeatedly (on accident) and chasing down all the kernels gone rogue, I have to confess that I have not always been the best at preserving my corn.
That is all changing thanks to this handy tool.
Sure it may look like a computer mouse (which I don’t recommend attempting to shuck corn with), but don’t underestimate this thing. This little gadget is a toothed tool you run lengthwise on ears of corn, separating kernel from cob, and storing those juicy little morsels in it’s caboose, which you can empty after each ear.
The Corn Slitter from OXO is well worth it’s $14.95 price tag, even if you are an amateur corn shucker. I blasted through 5 ears of corn in just under 5 minutes (ok, I had removed the husk and silk first, but that’s still super fast), had no tears, no near self-stabbings, no chasing down renegade kernels; in fact I dare to say it was the most blissful corn shucking experience I’ve ever had.
Now, I used all those delicious corny morsels to make corn fritters (check back tomorrow for the recipe for those little pieces of heaven), but you can easily store corn by freezing.
You’ll want to blanch the corn quickly first, and then store in a freezer bag for up to a year. Not going to get a chance to grab a corn slitter before you need to freeze? You don’t have to remove the kernels from the cob to freeze, you can simply remove the husk, silk, wash and blanch and freeze the entire cob. Corn can also be canned, though it does require a pressure canner.
Do you have a favorite corn routine? Have you experienced this awesome tool? Tell me about it! If you want to try out this corn slitter, make plans to swing by the Cupboard on Saturday from 1 to 4, I’m going to be allowing test drives of mine, and also whipping up some corn treats for you to try.
Thanks everyone who came by yesterday! I had a great time massaging some kale, talking veggies, and dishing out samples of beet salad.
As promised here are the recipes so you can make these salads for your family at home:
Easy Raw Kale Salad
1 Head Kale
1 Cup Tomato, chopped (I used heirloom tomatoes)
1/2 Avocado
2 T Olive Oil
Juice from 1/2 Lemon
Salt to Taste
2 T. Sesame Seeds
Wash and dry kale. Chop kale either by using chopping blade in food processor, or chiffonading leaves.
Pour lemon juice, olive oil, and salt over kale. Massage liquids into kale using your hands, being certain to coat all kale surfaces.
Add tomato, sesame seeds, and avocado. Toss together and serve!
Favorite Beet Salad
1 Bunch Beets (approx. 4 medium size beets and greens)
2 T Slivered Almonds
2 T Goat Cheese
1 Carrot, Sliced using peeler
For Dressing:
3 T Olive Oil
2 T Balsamic Vinegar (I used white balsamic)
3/4 t. Dijon Mustard
1/4 t. Black Pepper
1 T Basil
Remove beets from beet greens. Wash and rinse beet greens. Set aside.
Cook beets by boiling in a large pot of water. It is not necessary to peel prior to boiling. Beets are done when you can easily stick a fork in (about 30 minutes). Remove beets from boiling water, and run under cool water. Remove skin from beets (it will easily peel off with your hands). Set aside beets.
Boil another pan of water. Blanch beet greens by placing in boiling water for 30 seconds to 1 minute, then immediately submerging greens in cool water.
Slice beets and beet greens into a bowl. Crumble goat cheese over beets, and using peeler shred carrot pieces over. Add almonds.
To prepare dressing place all ingredients in a bowl and whisk together.
Pour dressing over salad and toss. Serve!
Is there a recipe you would like to try or a vegetable you want to learn to cook? Let us know in the comments and we’ll make it in our next demo!
I recently had the pleasure of visiting Kathy at Raspberry Hill Farm for a farm tour. It was a great afternoon, learning about the history of the farm, learning more about Kathy and Jay, and getting a glimpse of what will be coming in the near future.
If you haven’t had the pleasure of taking part in a farm tour this year (or ever), I strongly encourage you to do so. Farm visits are always grounding for me, and I leave with a renewed appreciation and awe of the miracle of growing food.
I’ve compiled a list of farms with upcoming tours and events to help you plan a farm trip of your own. Grab the kids, slather on the sunblock, and get back to your roots with a farm visit.
Slow Food Denver is half way through a season long farm tour series. There are 3 farm visits remaining this year, including Grant Family Farms (just 10 minutes away in Wellington). You can find more information and sign up here.
Windsor Dairy offers free Farm Tours every Friday and Saturday at 3pm. Be sure to bring the kids to visit with the baby cows and goats.
Grant Family Farms hosts tours and other events year round. Their events page is located here.
Miller Farms in Platteville has a fall festival planned for September, and you won’t want to miss their end of season pick days. You can check out their events page here.
The Farm at Sunrise Ranch offers farm tours, as well as educational events and dinners. The event calendar on their Facebook page has all the details. Check here.
On August 28th the Rocky Mountain Sustainable Living Association is hosting their 5th annual Tour De Farms. The 8 mile bike tour features local urban gardening projects, presentations from farmers, and lunch from the Fort Collins Food Co-Op. Info here.
Finally Be Local has a calendar of local food events, including their popular winter markets here.
This Saturday, I will be at the Cupboard from 1 to 4pm, answering questions and demonstrating several ways to make your raw greens tasty! Please stop by and pay me a visit, I’d love to meet you!
You also won’t want to miss Kathy in the kitchen, who will be doing a canning demonstration. Everything will be getting underway around 1pm, so plan to stop by.
If I have a favorite time of year for eating, it may be right now (granted right now will probably last until November). The late summer vegetables are starting to appear, I’m plucking cherry tomatoes straight off the vine on my patio, and each week’s CSA share continues to have more variety, color, and flavor.
This time of year, my eating style is pretty simple. Whatever is fresh gets tossed in a pan with a little olive oil, a little garlic, and topped with some Parmesan seems to be what’s on the menu every night.
This week’s share included:
Garlic
Golden beets
Carrots
Cucumber
Kale
Onion
Yellow Squash
8 Ball Zuchini
Basil
Chives
Mint
Italian Parsley
I ate almost everything from this week’s share raw or in a simple pasta, with the exception of a few herbs….and those beets.
As I confessed earlier in the blog, I’m not a natural beet eater. In talking to folks at the Cupboard and around town, it seems the beet is pretty intimidating to a lot of folks. Many of us grew up without beets, or only eating beets in the pickled variety, and not liking them very much.
I’ve tried quite a few recipes in my efforts to integrate beets back into my diet, and stumbling on beet chips has been a game changer for me. Beet chips are the perfect mix of salty and sweet. Eating beet chips will satiate a potato chip craving, while delivering fiber, vitamins, and nutrients. They are baked, not fried, so you needn’t feel guilty about consuming fats either. Beet chips are great as a snack or in place of traditional chips with a sandwich. When entertaining try serving beet chips with a dollop of dip, hummus, cheese, or spread. The color creates a great plate, and a great discussion piece for friends and family who are not familiar with eating local. Beet chips rarely last more than a day or 2 around my place, but can be stored up to a week in an airtight container. They are easy to make, but can be a little time consuming, though well worth it).
There are a few different methods to make beet chips, though I like the following recipe best. Boiling the beets in the sugar gives them a slight sweetness, which combined with a little sea salt makes a great sweet/salty balance.
Never heard of a mandolin slicer? Neither had I. Now I’ve grown to love mine. Mandolin slicers are a great tool to have on hand in the kitchen to make uniform cuts of vegetables, potatoes, and more. Once you master making beet chips, you’ll see how easily you can adapt to make turnip chips, sweet potato chips, and more. Just be careful when you are new to using a mandolin slicer to watch your fingers (and knuckles), and use particular care if kids are going to be in the kitchen. If you are new to mandolin slicers, be sure to stop in and ask for a demo.
Beet Chips
Adapted from Epicurious.com
2 medium beets with stems trimmed
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
Peel beets with a vegetable peeler, then slice paper-thin with slicer, using stems as handles.
Bring water and sugar to a boil in a 3-quart heavy saucepan, stirring until sugar is dissolved.
Add beets, then remove pan from heat and let stand15 minutes. Drain beets in a colander, discarding liquid, then let stand in colander 15 minutes more.
Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 225°F.
Line a shallow baking pan with nonstick liner, then arrange beet slices snugly in 1 layer (it’s not necessary to use any partial or broken slices) and season with salt and pepper. Bake beets until dry, about 1 hour. Immediately transfer chips to a rack to cool (chips will crisp as they cool).
If you would like to try making beet chips without the sugar bath, simply slice beets using the mandolin slicer, then bake at 350 for 20 minutes (or until crispy) on a nonstick surface, flipping once during the bake. They will be less sweet, but still a tasty, fun chip!
We love hearing from you, please leave a comment below. Let us know what you’re doing with your beets, or if you have any questions we can answer for you!
Remember that week a few months ago where everyone on Facebook was changing their pictures to their celebrity doppelganger? I really enjoy the doppelganger game. Especially because most doppelganger comparisons for me are of a very funny comedian with geek tendencies I share. I love getting that comparison, and even may from time to timeencourage them quite a bit. However, I think I need to confess something. I have another celebrity doppelganger aspiration.
I kind of want be Giada De Laurentis.
Who doesn’t? She’s gorgeous, she’s down to earth AND she can cook. And man-oh-man does she cook some delicious dishes. Her recipes are fresh, fairly easy to create,but still have big wow factor. They look, smell and taste like gourmet, but they’re accessible and affordable for all of us, even if we aren’t gourmets or models. She just makes good, fresh food that has flair thrown in.
Now, if you’re going to talk about fresh, flavorful, easy ways to add flair to dishes, it’s only natural to start talking pesto. Pesto traditionally inspires thoughts of pasta with delicious basil, Parmesan, and pine nut pesto. True basil pesto is the most common, and quite delicious, but do not limit your pesto recipes stop there! There is a world of pestos to be explored, and unlimited ways to use pesto.
This past Saturday Jen and I paired up for a pesto, veggie, and fresh pasta extravaganza at the Cupboard. While Jen was busy demonstrating pasta making for the masses, I whipped up 4 different kinds of pesto including basil, mint, parsley, and cilantro.
Mastering the art of making pesto will serve you well in many ways. Not only are pestos a great way to add some excitement, flavor, and Giada-inspired panache to everything from salads, sandwiches, pastas, meats, and more, they’re also an excellent way to manage when you find yourself with 3 bundles of one variety of herb in a week. If you find yourself with pesto left over, it will store in the freezer for up to 6 months.
Quick tip for freezing pesto: freezing pesto in ice cube trays or in spoonfuls on parchment will give you a great option for keeping pesto in individual servings.
Here are the 4 pestos we had for sampling on Saturday at the Cupboard.
Basil Pesto
2 c Fresh Basil
5 Cloves Garlic
1/4 c Grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 c Pine Nuts
1/4 c olive oil
Wash and dry basil. Combine the basil, garlic, and pine nuts in a food processor and pulse until coarsely chopped. Serve.
Cilantro Pesto
2 c Cilantro
5 Cloves Garlic
1/4 c White Wine Vinegar
1/4 c Grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 c Walnuts
Salt to taste
1/4 c Olive Oil
Wash and dry cilantro. Combine all ingredients in food processor and pulse until combined. Serve.
Mint Pesto
1 1/2 c Fresh Mint
1/2 c Fresh Parsley
2 Tablespoons pine nuts
3 cloves garlic
1/3 c Parmesan cheese
1/4 c olive oil
Salt and Pepper to taste
Wash and dry mint. Combine all ingredients in food processor and pulse until combined. Serve.
Parsley Pesto
2 c Fresh Parsley
5 Cloves Garlic
1/4 c Grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 c Pine Nuts
1/4 c olive oil
Wash and dry parsley. Combine all ingredients in food processor and pulse until combined. Serve.
If these 4 recipes haven’t satiated your pesto urges, here are several more varieties of pesto for you to try.
Garlic Scape Pesto
Arugula Pesto
Spinach Pesto
Radish Leaf Pesto
When I made the cilantro pesto on Saturday, Jen gave me this vinegar to try.
There really is no way to express how wonderful this vinegar is. At $3.95 a bottle, I’m going to implore you to trust me and go grab a bottle of this. It’s flavor is so crisp and fresh, so clean and wonderful, I guarantee you will be thanking me if you give it a go.
Do you know a weird pesto I missed? Have a favorite olive oil I need to try? Vinegar? Leave it in the comments below, we’d love to hear from you!
I have this friend Angel. She really lives up to her name. So when she came to me last week with a food dilemma, I knew I would have to help. Angel is the Curator of the Cohere coworking community here in Old Town, where I tap out these blogs each week in the company of very smart, very fun, very good looking people. Angel has purchased a fruit share from Grant Family Farms for Cohere members to enjoy this summer. While we’ve been enjoying the fruit grab and go style, Angel recently found herself with knee deep in an apricots. She came to me seeking assistance with a quite fantastic dilemma:
What do you do with pounds and pounds of apricots?
Well first up, let’s celebrate. You are about to get to eat some really delicious stuff. Sure, you can store them (and we’re going to get to that, but let’s talk dessert first) but Angel was specifically seeking treat recipes. So Angel, this is for you. My two favorite apricot treats, both easy and delicious.
Apricot Crumble
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen
Fruit Base
1lb Apricots
3T Sugar
1T Flour
Crisp Topping
4T Butter, melted
6T Turbinado or Regular Sugar
1/2c Oats
1/2c All-purpose flour
Pinch of salt
2T Sliced Almonds
Prepare fruit: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Pull apart apricots at their seam, remove pits, and tear them one more time into quarters, placing them in a small baking dish (one that holds two to three cups is ideal). Stir in sugar, flour and pinch of nutmeg.
Make topping: Melt butter and stir in sugar, then oats, then flour, salt and almonds until large clumps form. Sprinkle mixture over the fruit. Bake for about 30 to 40 minutes and serve warm.
I made this crumble as an afternoon treat for my fellow Coherians. I served it with ice cream and a touch of the apricot lemon syrup recipe that follows. I assure you, not a bite was left. It only takes a few minutes to assemble, and will get rave reviews.
In addition to the crumble, I made a quick apricot lemon syrup. I love fruit syrups and put them on ice cream, pancakes, pound cakes, or eat them directly out of the jar when no one is looking. Fruit syrups are excellent for canning and make a great gift that looks like it took way more work than it actually did.
Apricot Lemon Syrup
1lb Apricots, Pitted and diced finely
1c Sugar
1/4c Lemon Juice
2T Butter
In a saucepan over high heat combine the Apricots, Lemon Juice and Sugar, stirring constantly. Bring to a full boil. Add sugar, and continue stirring to a rolling boiling. Remove from heat and transfer to jars or serving container.
Serve sauce hot or cold, to your preference.
This recipe can be adapted to a variety of summer fruits (cherries, strawberries, plums, etc.). The formula for success:
1lb Fruit : 1lb Sugar : 2 Tbsp Butter
If you would like to stock away some of those apricots for later, your choices include dehydrating, freezing, or canning. To prepare apricots for storage you will need to pit, blanch and peel the apricots (find an explanation of blanching here). Apricots need to be suspended in liquid for freezing or canning. You can use water alone for freezing, but apricots fare better with sugar added. Adding sugar is a necessity for canning apricots.
If you would like to learn more about canning, Kathy Hatfield (of Raspberry Hill Farm) will be doing 2 canning demonstrations in the store on August 14th and 28th from 1 to 4pm.
Do you have a great apricot recipe you would like to share? Know of a good canning resource? Share with us in the comments!
And don’t forget, this Saturday, July 31st, I will be at the Cupboard from 1 to 4pm, answering your veggie questions, offering delicious samples, and looking forward to meeting you. Please stop by!
