Sweet Fried Green Tomatoes

Fried Green Tomatoes

Usually you make fried green tomatoes in the fall when some of the tomatoes don't turn green before the first frost. We transplanted a bunch of tomatoes late, so they already had little baby green tomatoes on them. We had to pick the green tomatoes so that the plant would put energy into establishing its roots and putting out a full crop of tomatoes later. It seemed like a waste to just compost all of those baby tomatoes... so obviously we decided to fry them. I can't quite remember why we decided to make them sweet, maybe because we had already had dinner?

This was an experiment, and I am not sure I would actually repeat it. The tomatoes were tasty, but they were tasty in the way that all fried foods are tasty. I don't know that they really added any tomato-y-ness to the final project. But should you find yourself which a bunch of tiny green tomatoes that you simply can't throw away, this is probably as good of a use as any.

Fried Green Tomatoes - before they were fried

Sweet Fried Green Tomatoes
Lots of small green tomatoes, washed and sliced in half
1/2 cup corn meal
1/4 sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
a pinch of salt
1 egg beaten
1/4 milk
1/2 tsp vanilla
Vegetable Oil


Mix cornmeal, sugar, cinnamon, and salt. In a separate bowl mix egg, milk, and vanilla. Heat oil to medium high. Dip tomatoes in egg mixture and then corn mixture. Place tomatoes halves in oil. Flip after about 30 seconds, or when the first side is suitably brown. Cook until the second side is suitably brown. I think they would have been extra good over vanilla ice cream.

Savory Carrot Pancakes

We have been harvesting carrots on the farm. As you can see, in addition to the usual orange, they come in several beautiful colors. It has been really fun trying to wiggle them from their homes in the dirt. 

Carrot Porn

The carrots were not thinned very well, and have grown into some, rather "unusual" shapes. These shapes have inspired Shaun has to go into carrot porn... Not really, this is the only sexual carrot pictures that has been taken (cross my heart)

If pictures of carrots that vaguely resemble human body parts are not what gets you off (and I kind of hope they don't) carrot pancakes are probably a better idea if you .

Carrot Pancakes

3 large carrots, grated

1 egg

1/4 cup flour

1/4 cup feta cheese

2 tbsp dried italian seasoning

Mix all ingredients and fry 1/4 cup portions in 1 tbsp vegetable oil for a couple of minutes on each sude. This recipe made about 6 pancakes, which ended up being two good sized servings. The carrot pancakes were crispy and slightly sweet. We had this dish for lunch with some watermelon slices and boiled potatoes tossed with a little bit of butter. 

Polenta Bowl

Kind of like a teriyaki bowl, or maybe a soba bowl, but this is a polenta bowl. As opposed to rice or noodles, the base of this bowl is polenta. Shaun and I are WWOOFing at Pine Meadow Farm and are learning how to eat very seasonally. In addition to produce Pine Meadow has goat's milk, eggs, and staples such as beans and grains. So right now we are eating a lot of beans, grains, lettuce (not featured in this recipe) and beet thinnings. Garden tip: You plant beet seeds in very dense rows and then pull most of them out so the healthiest can grow to full size, but you can still eat the greens.

You can only eat so much beans and rice, so we started looking for another grain we could use. We arrived at corn.Expect more bean related posts in the future...

OK here are the components of the bowl:

Polenta
Kidney Beans
Sauteed Beet Greens

For the polenta
Polenta is super quick and easy. We have been eating a lot of it on the farm since it is so much faster than rice. When making rice you usually use a two parts water to one part rice. With polenta it's four parts liquid to one part corn meal. I combine four cups of liquid (some combination of water, broth and/or milk) with one cup of corn meal, stir, and let simmer on low stirring occasionally to frequently for five to ten minutes. Or until the mixture looks thick and porridge like. I use normal corn meal, sometimes fine grind, sometimes corse grind depending on what I have. While on the farm I have been using two cups of goat milk and two cups of water for the liquid. At home (where goat milk is in much shorter supply) I usually use four cups of vegetable broth and then a little half and half or a tablespoon of butter added at the end.

For the Beans
I had leftover beans... They had no seasoning what so ever, so they were pretty bland. For this preparation I used two cups of cooked kidney beans and tossed them with a quarter cup of balsamic vinaigrette.

For the beet greens
Take all of the beet thinnings you have, or remove the tops of one large bunch of beets and use the root for something else. I might suggest beet feta gratin. Saute the greens and one or two minced cloves of garlic in about 1 tbsp of olive oil. Add salt and pepper to taste.

To prepare the bowl
For each bowl I used one cup of polenta, 1/2 cup of beans, and 1/4 of the available greens. I thought the assembled bowls were quite visually appealing.

Summer Menu #3 Stew

This is the last of the menus that I came up with for Cooking Matters.  Stew may seem like an odd choice for summer but what I really wanted to feature was the slow cooker. I think slow cookers are a really handy appliance since they allow you to do a little bit of prep before work and come home to an already made dinner.

Both the early and late summer menus use dry legumes which will take planning a day in advance, BUT dried legumes are inexpensive and nutritious (great sources of protein!). You can also use canned beans, but they are more expensive, and often high in sodium. Every decision has its positives and its negatives.

Early summer menu:

Garbanzo and Kale stew
Brown Rice
Banana Pudding with Flaked Coconut

Items to look for at the farmers market: Kale

Garbanzo and Kale Stew
makes 4 servings
Kale is a super food and very high in iron and calcium. Kale tolerates cold temperatures, so it is one of the first local produce items available in the spring.  luckily I am able to get a lot of locally produced dried beans in Minneapolis at the grocery co-ops including garbanzos. I also usually use barley instead of rice because I like the chewy texture and it is grown locally, which makes this a very local dish (with the major exception of the coconut and bananas) You can also use any green you like. Spinach works well, and if you are using frozen you don’t even need to defrost since it will be cooked in the slow cooker.

1 cup dried garbanzos
1 bunch kale
1 onion chopped
2 cloves of garlic chopped
1 tbsp curry powder
½ tsp pepper flakes (or to taste)
½ can light coconut milk

One day before you plan to eat this meal soak the garbanzo beans in water overnight. The next morning drain the garbanzos in the slow cooker with the other ingredients, except the kale. Pour about 8 cups of water in. Cook on low for 8 hours. If the water starts to look low, feel free to add more. Wash and roughly chop the kale and add to the slow cooker for the last hour of cooking (or when you start the rice).

Brown Rice
For 4 cups of rice
Boil 4 cups of water (I like to use vegetable or chicken broth instead of water). When the water is boiling add 2 cups of dried brown rice, reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 40 to 50 minutes or until the water is absorbed and the rice is tender.

Banana Pudding -
I used bananas in this recipe because they are delicious and I thought would go well with the curry in the stew, but you could use any fruit you like. You likely won't find bananas at the farmers market (actually you can find them at the downtown Minneapolis Market but they still aren't local and I think this is an odd choice for a market), but berries are always a good bet.


Makes 4 servings

2 cups low fat or non-fat milk
⅓ cup sugar
¼ cup corn starch
¼ tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
2 bananas
4 Tbsp shredded coconut

Mix sugar and corn starch in a small saucepan. Turn heat to low and slowly add the milk while continuing to stir with a whisk or a fork. Continue stirring more or less constantly until the mixture thickens. It wont be as thick as pudding until it has had time to set, but it will be thicker than milk. Remove from heat and add vanilla and salt and refrigerate until it’s time for dessert.

When you are ready to serve dessert slice ½ banana into a small bowl and top with ½ cup of pudding and 1 tbsp of shredded coconut. Repeat for each serving.

Late Summer
Kale prefers cooler weather so you are more likely to find it at the beginning and end of the summer. At the peak of summer I think this stew would be delicious with eggplant. Or maybe I just like the novelty of purple vegetables. Instead of kale wash one eggplant, cut it into bite size chunks and add it to the stew at the beginning (not the last hour like the kale).

Did you Know Barley in Spanish is Cebada?

Risotto Style Barley with Winter Squash.

Local ingredients used: barley, winter squash, goat cheese - which are really the main ingredients in the dish.

I think barley may be my favorite grain, I really like the texture. I usually describe it as "meaty" which I guess my discourage vegetarians, but it shouldn't. Chewy is another possible adjective. Risotto style barley is not a typical or authentic risotto by any means. And I am not really even sure if this should qualify as risotto style, since you don't have to slowly add the liquid as it is absorbed which I feel is key to risotto. But you do add wine, and it is fairly creamy.

I don't actually remember what type of squash I used. It was probably butternut, but I can't be sure. Neither do I know how many types of winter squash are out there, but there are tons! I was talking with a farmer the other day who said that they personally grow about 25 varieties. I haven't found one I like significantly more than butternut though.

You could do this with pretty much any vegetable instead of squash, I have made it with mushrooms several times. I topped the "risotto" with goat cheese and walnuts. Goat cheese because it is delicious and walnuts because they are delicious, but also because this dish could be considered mushy and the walnuts add a really nice crunch.

Risotto Style Barley:
4 1/2 cups broth (vegetable, chicken etc. I use the little cubes)
Salt and Pepper to taste
Other good "winter" seasonings include rosemary, thyme, or sage - I might add 1/2 to 1 tsp of each, or none
2 tsp. butter
1 cup chopped onions
1 cup pearled barley
1 winter squash chopped and seeded (I wash my winter squashes but I DO NOT peel them, the skin gets tender and with butternut squash in particular I think tastes delicious, plus many nutrients are in the skin)
1/2 cup white wine
Toppings: toasted walnuts, goat cheese

Start boiling the cubed and seeded winter squash in enough water to cover it
Heat butter in a large sauce pan and add onions. Cook until translucent. Add any seasonings and cook 1 or 2 more minutes. Add barley and saute another minute or two. Add broth, reduce heat to low, cover and cook for 45 minutes or until broth is absorbed.

Meanwhile, when the squash is tender - about 30 minutes later - mash it up.

When the barley has absorbed the broth, add the wine and stir. Now add the mashed up squash. Now you are done. Each person can put their own toppings on, or you could, it doesn't really matter.

Enjoy

Tomato Soup + Grilled Cheese

I'll give you the punchline quick: the key to any good creamy soup is... cream cheese! This applies to tomato soup, but I have also had great success with cauliflower soup, broccoli soup and many others. I think cream cheese, even low fat cream cheese, gives soup a really nice creamy texture when compared to milk.

This is more or less an original recipe if you can really call it a recipe. In terms of the goals of this blog: cheap, quick, and local (and healthy) this meal does fairly well. It's definitely fast, and I would say healthy, you could use local tomatoes (I didn't). I did use organic tomatoes and I am pretty sure it still comes out fairly inexpensive.

Garlic infused olive oil from PD Farms!

Tomato Soup

1/2 cup chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp olive oil
2 cans tomatoes
1 tsp basil
1 tsp honey
1/4 cup cream cheese

Saute onion in olive oil until onions are translucent. Add garlic and saute an additional 30 seconds. Add tomatoes an other ingredients (except for cream cheese) and simmer 20 to 30 minutes. Taste and adjust flavors if necessary. I don't usually add salt because there is quite a bit in most canned tomatoes, but if you used no "salt added" tomatoes you might want to.

About this much basil

Puree soup. I use an immersion blender which I highly recommend, but any blender works. Add cream cheese and heat until cream cheese is melted.





Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

mmmm cheese and roasted peppers

Again, not sure if this constitute a recipe, but there is something about a good sandwich, especially a good grilled cheese sandwich. For this one I used whole grain bread, extra sharp cheddar and roasted red peppers. I really like roasted red peppers on grilled cheese.

Spinach Roulade

Spinach Roulade

I know, you might be thinking why another food blog? I don't really have an answer other then that I think mine is a little different than others I've seen.  I have read a lot of "foodie" blogs and also blogs about affordable, healthy eating. But not nearly as many that try to do both (though I am sure they are out there) Anyway, on with the recipe! For my first blog post I am writing about Spinach Roulade.  I got the recipe for Spinach Roulade from The Vegetarian Epicure Book Two by Anna Thomas. For those of you familiar with Anna Thomas most of her recipes are not what I would consider quick, they are however delicious.  I made this on a Saturday when I knew I would have plenty of time. I think the whole thing took about two hours, but only about one hour of active time and I was stopping to take pictures periodically. In terms of accomplishing my other goals, I would consider this healthy (lots of whole ingredients and vegetables maybe a little higher in fat) and the ingredients are pretty affordable. The potatoes, garlic, and onions were organic and local from PD Farms and Val's Veggies (all great people).

This is the description from the cookbook: This is like a giant rolled dumpling, with a spinach filling. A potato dough reminiscent of gnocchi is rolled up around the filling, then the whole thing is wrapped n cheesecloth boiled in salted water, and served hot, in spiral patterned slices.

Serves 6

Vegetarian Epicure Page 254

Ingredients:


Filling:

2 lbs. fresh spinach
3 tbs. butter
1 large yellow onion, chopped
1 large garlic clove, minced
1 1/2 tbs white wine vinegar
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp oregano
pinch nutmeg



Dough
2 lbs potatoes
2 whole eggs
1 1/2 tsp salt
dash nutmeg
2 - 2 1/2 cups flour


Garnish with melted butter and grated Parmesan cheese.

Translucent Onions

For filling saute onions and garlic until translucent, add spinach and continue sauteing until wilted, add seasonings

Filling (sorry, a little blurry, but I was trying to cook)

Pasta Dough

 For dough cut potatoes into small cubes and boil until tender (about 20 minutes) mash slightly, add other ingredients except flour and mash completely. It should look like mashed potatoes.

Form mushy dough into ball and transfer to a work surface such as a counter and begin working in flour until you have a stiff dough. Roll dough into rectangle approximately 11 x 13 inches. Spread filling over rectangle and carefully begin rolling dough starting on the long edge (like a jelly roll).

Dough with Spinach Filling

Wrap jelly roll in cheese cloth and place in a pot full of salted water and boil for about 50 minutes. Remove from pot (I actually found this to be the hardest part, possibly because my pot wasn't big enough or there wasn't enough water I don't know, if you have any ideas let me know) Let stand for 5 to 10 minutes and then slice. I did not let mine stand. I was really hungry so I sliced it right away which I think contributed to it losing its shape and not forming nice spirals like it was supposed to. When I ate it for lunch the next day it was much easier to cut and you could actually see the spirals. Anna Thomas suggests serving it with melted butter, I just topped it with Parmesan. I think marinara could also be tasty and adds vegetables.  As you can see I served it with a salad.  Even though it doesn't look that pretty it was really tasty.


Note: these are my abridged versions of the directions. The ones found in Vegetarian Epicure are more detailed and include some extra steps, which I skipped.

Final Plate

OK, thanks for reading, let me know what you think! Oh, and because if I say it "out loud" I am more likely to do it, I plan to post once per week.

Bon Appetit!