the proof is in the picture

Maybe you didn't believe me when I said that I would make and eat kale chips as a snack in the middle of the afternoon. Luckily I have photographic evidence:

Kale chips

- preheat oven to 350
- spread kale leaves on baking sheet
- drizzle with olive oil & sprinkle with salt
- bake for 5-10 minutes, until crispy

In this week's box...

1 bag of kale
1 bag of sugar snap peas
1 box of strawberries
1 head of green lettuce
1 broccoli
1 bunch of green onions
6 small beets and their greens
2 kohlrabi

Also: 2 chicken breasts, 2 pork chops, 6 eggs

caprese omelette

It is no secret that I am addicted to caprese salads. For breakfast, my boyfriend took those same ingredients and put them in an omelette. Obviously this was going to be delicious. In addition to the wonderful filling, our eggs this morning were the first summer eggs from our CSA. We've been getting eggs from a farm all through the winter, but, what you learn when you eat farm-fresh eggs, is that they differ through the seasons. It is only in the summer that the yolks are a beautiful orange colour and are noticeably more flavorful.

Tomato, mozzarella and basil omelette

don't worry, we're alive

The delay since my last post is due to a combination of long weekends out of town, eating out, lots of grilling burgers outside (and then eating them there, too, i.e. no time for photos!), and then a string of less exciting meals that mainly consist of meat + veggies. Don't get me wrong, these are great, just less inspiring to post when I get busy.

As proof that we aren't starving to death, two recent meat + veggie meals:

Veal loin chop

Roasted potatoes

Steamed broccoli

Green leaf salad with home-made vinegrette dressing

Chicken breast

Sauteed beet greens, broccoli and purple spring onions

Mustard, horseradish and beer sauce

sometimes I have a lot to say about my dinner!

Oh man, where do I even BEGIN with dinner tonight? I can take absolutely no credit for what went on in the kitchen. I came home from pilates and it took me several minutes to put together all the things my boyfriend had going on. So let's get started:

We got kohlrabi from our CSA this week, and neither my boyfriend or I had ever had it before. We read that kohlrabi can be enjoyed simply roasted with olive oil and salt, and we figured this would be the perfect way to experience it for the first time - with such a simple preparation, we would really get to taste it.

...and I am in love. I have read several different attempts to describe the flavor of kohlrabi, and these always involve some kind of combination of other veggies. For me kohlrabi is a combination of parsnip and brussel sprouts, which just happen to be two of my favorites. I'm very excited, because every place I read about kohlrabi suggests different kinds of preparations ranging from raw to steamed to barbecued. Given how much I loved the taste, it is exciting that it is also so versatile. I can't wait to get it again so we can try something different!

Next up, my boyfriend's experimentation with beer batter. When I walked in tonight I was greeted by the sight of my boyfriend making onion rings. When I asked why he was making onion rings, he replied "well, I made the batter for the trout, and you weren't home yet, so I decided to make onion rings"...naturally. stupid question.

The beer batter was SO GOOD! Do you want the recipe? Sure thing.

- 1 can of beer
- 1 and 1/2 cups of flour
- and...that's it!

Okay, so my boyfriend also added smoked paprika, but that contributed to flavor and had nothing to do with how delightfully crispy and airy that batter was. I swear, these onion rings were PERFECT.

Last thing that needs to be mentioned is my boyfriend's homemade tartar sauce. From what I can tell, he opened this wikipedia page, and put whatever of those ingredients we had into a bowl. Do I need to keep saying that everything he makes comes out fantastically?

pork + apple + sage - some combinations are classic for a reason

Pork chop

Granny Smith apples soaked in a cheesy sage butter sauce

Sauteed leeks

Sauteed beet greens

simple sandwich

Chicken breast, yellow tomato, basil leaves, sauteed beet greens and mayonnaise smushed between sliced ciabatta

In this week's box...

1 box of strawberries
2 broccoli
1 kohlrabi
1 bunch of green onions
2 heads of romaine lettuce
2 sprigs of sage
1 bag of mixed greens

Also: 6 eggs, 2 pork chops, 2 pounds of ground beef

baked kale chips: a revelation!

I have discovered a new favorite food: kale chips. You probably won't believe me until you have tried it for yourself, but when kale leaves are baked they become delightfully crispy, and the bitterness totally mellows out, resulting in a texture-flavour combination that is simply addictive. It's really unbelievable - I had no idea this kind of depth of flavour was lurking underneath that intense bitterness. I actually traded a chicken wing with my boyfriend in exchange for the remaining kale chips on his plate. I would eat this for a snack in the middle of the day. I may even go make some more right now...(oh yeah, did I mention how stupid fast and easy these are to make???)

Kale chips: 
- spread kale leaves on baking pan
- drizzle with olive oil
- sprinkle with salt
- bake at 350 for 5-10 minutes, until crispy
- marvel at deliciousness and try not to eat all the chips before you have even transferred them to a plate


(served with baked french fries and chicken wings/drumsticks with a red curry, green onion, garlic and sour cream dipping sauce)

what's NOT in this salad?

The weather has already become humid and muggy. It's the kind of weather that makes the thought of a big heavy meat-and-potatoes meal (i.e. what we had last night!) the most nauseating thing in the world. I was thinking about some great salads I've had with smoked trout, and figured that there was no reason we couldn't try something similar with chilled grilled trout. Plus we still have a ton of CSA lettuce. I presented this idea to my boyfriend, and he just ran with it. So I think this still qualifies as "my vision", but I'll give full points to my boyfriend for execution, and for his thorough exhaustion of our fridge and pantry.

Green leaf salad with grilled trout, tomato, roasted red pepper, capers, mayonnaise and a warm bacon, garlic, onion, carrot and pinenut topping, finished with parmesean cheese

Served with toasted pita with garlic, parmesean cheese and green onion

meat & potatoes

It is only the second week of our CSA, and I swear we are already falling behind - so many greens!! Tonight we were still working on last week's delivery! The sight of our overflowing veggie drawers almost stresses me out, until I remember how much greens shrink up during cooking. It's the green onions I should be worried about...hmm...

New York Strip steak

Mashed potatoes

Beet greens and mustard greens sauteed with garlic, onion and bacon

Broccoli rabe sauteed with green onions

belated cinco de mayo

Sure we went to a Cinco de Mayo party over the weekend (making it already belated) and ate our fair share of tacos, but it seems that only whet our appetite for more Mexican-inspired goodness.

Quesadillas with pork, black beans, tomato, green onion, avocado and cheddar cheese served with green leaf lettuce and sour cream

In this week's box...

We were so concerned about of CSA farm last week. They knew they had suffered damage as a result of the flooding here in Tennessee, but it took several days for them to determine the extent of it. The only thing they knew right away is that they had lost an upsetting number of chickens. Amazingly, despite damage to property and fencing, nearly all of their spring crops survived! As a result, we didn't even miss a single week of our CSA, and we could not have been more thrilled.

This week's box was an explosion of green. Seriously, both of our veggie drawers are overflowing into the rest of the fridge. We don't get a list of what comes in the box, but we did our best to guess what all the different greens are. We did get one herb that despite our best efforts we still can't identify. It has a lemony smell, but is clearly not lemongrass (because it has leaves). Any guesses?

An obscene amount of green onion
1 bag of kale
1 bag of beet greens
1 giant head of green leaf lettuce
1 box of strawberries
Bok Choy
Broccoli Rabe
Mysterious, unidentified herb

Also: 6 eggs, 1 broiler chicken, 2 New York Strip steaks

the best breakfast sandwich yet

You would think that with the number of breakfast sandwiches we make we would be unable to choose our favorite. Not so. Today's breakfast sandwich was clearly a cut above the rest. Who knew avocado was such a great addition to breakfast?

Over-easy egg, bacon, tomato, red onion, avocado and cilantro sandwiches

loving the texture of Israeli couscous (and the smell of coconut milk)

I have never been the biggest fan of couscous, but have seen Israeli couscous used on tv, and have been intrigued by what I imagined the texture to be like. I was not mistaken. Israeli couscous has the texture of tapioca, slightly slippery in the mouth, with just the right amount of firmness. Completely satisfying, and a perfect side to absorb the delicious coconut milk sauce.

Pan seared chicken with a coconut milk, garlic, cilantro and green onion sauce

Israeli couscous with carrots, onion and saffron

Crispy fried chicken skin

Served with broccoli and more coconut sauce

confession: i am addicted to caprese salads

I won't try and deny it and I am not ashamed: I am addicted to caprese salads, and things are only getting worse now that we grow our own basil. Given that I used to hate (and refused to eat) raw tomatoes, this may come as something of a shock. But I realized that what I used to dislike about tomatoes - the mushy, semi-liquidy interior - can be completely avoided by eating the smaller varieties of tomatoes (such as cherry or grape tomatoes), which I find also pack a bigger punch in terms of flavor. But regardless of your tomato of choice, the caprese salad is pure genius: tomato, mozzarella, olive oil and basil were just meant to be together. Okay, another confession: when I eat this salad I pay very close attention to what goes on my fork, because every bite MUST contain some of everything...that's not crazy, is it?

hello, macro lens!

A few weeks ago I defended my doctoral dissertation (please, hold your applause!), and to congratulate me on finally not being a student anymore, my parents bought me a macro lens for my camera. For the past two weeks I have mainly been experimenting with it in the garden because the zoom is amazing (we're talking pictures of ants on leaves), but this was the first time I tried it in my "food photo studio" and got to really appreciate what this lens can do. Although it is tempting to take pictures of things close-up - and it's a bit difficult to shake that habit given how far you have to stand from you subject to NOT have a super close-up - the real art afforded by this lens is getting fantastic depth of field.

My food photography life just changed.

Beef, beet, dill and horseradish burgers with a blend of Italian cheeses, tomato and wasabi mayonnaise served on a whole wheat baguette

Side salad of red romaine lettuce with olive oil and balsamic vinegar

food brings people together

In the wake of the horrible storms and flooding that devastated Nashville over the weekend, it seems that people just want to eat together. Maybe this isn't so surprising, as eating great food in the company of others can be a huge comfort. We and most of our friends were fortunate enough to have endured practically no damage, but that doesn't mean we don't feel incredibly sad and heartbroken about the situation.

While it was still raining Sunday night, some of our friends were able to make it over so we could discuss the insanity of what was being shown on the news while comforting ourselves with simple and delicious food.


Super-slow cooked beef roast with a dry rub of salt, garlic powder, onion powder, coriander and cumin

This roast was ridiculously cheap because it is not the greatest cut in the world. The secret is how to cook this kind of cut to transform it into something delicious. My boyfriend was extremely successful in that department, and we literally attacked the meat leaving almost no leftovers. What he did was slow cook the roast - it was in the oven for almost 8 hours, but the temperature of the meat did not get above 135 degrees (our oven was actually only on "warm" most of the time). Because of the time in the oven but the low temperature, we ended up with incredibly moist, tender and juicy meat that was a perfect medium-rare.

Sides:
cheddar cheese grits
roasted potatoes
brussel sprouts
spinach

first CSA box of the season!

I am so impressed with our CSA farm, Avalon Acres: they managed to make our first delivery of the season despite the fact that many roads in Nashville are closed, most highways coming in and out of the city are flooded somewhere, and people are being advised not to leave their homes. That's dedication!

In this week's box:

bok choy
mint
green onions
red romaine
green leaf lettuce
beet greens
strawberries

Not pictured: half a dozen eggs, 1 whole chicken, 2 pork chops

homemade spaetzle

Several months ago I bookmarked this post on What's Cookin, Chicago? because I know how much my boyfriend likes spaetzle, and we both like the challenge of making anything that starts out with dough. If we had known how easy spaetzle would be to make, we wouldn't have waited this long to try it!

Pressing the dough through a collander was incredibly easy, and it seems impossible to not cook these correctly. Although the nutmeg in this particular recipe went very nicely with our salmon tonight, I'm looking forward to trying different combinations of herbs and spices using the same basic dough as a base.

Salmon with a garlic crouton crust

Sauteed zucchini and leeks

Home-made spaetzle

yet another breakfast sandwich

Over-easy egg, bacon, tomato and gouda on toasted ciabatta

Hashbrown potatoes