recipes
Roots on a Budget
October 20th, 2011 | 14 Comments
Tags: Food & Spirits, healthy food, recipes
Since digging up bargains is what we do best, at fall harvest time we rock out on root vegetables. They’re versatile, nutritious, delicious and cheap, cheap, cheap.
First up?
Turnips. No making faces! You’ve just never been introduced to the right turnip. Let us be the matchmaker.
Depending on the variety, or when they’re harvested, or how long it takes to get them from farm to table, and on preparation method, the flavor pop in a turnip can run the gamut from bitter to sweet to crunchy to tangy. We embrace them all.
Add turnips to the pan of a simple roast chicken, a root vegetable mélange, or a pot roast. Puree them. Make soup, pickles, and chips with turnips. Slice baby sweet ones raw into a salad. Since every eco-friendly bitch on a budget should always use the whole thing — don’t forget about the greens. Make a fresh tossed salad, throw them in a soup or steam and finish the turnip greens with a drizzle of olive or sesame oil.
Our favorite preparation is braised. Like all our recipes this is just a guideline. You can increase/decrease the amount. Cook more or less. Add another root vegetable to the mix, your own herbs, a different stock.
Braised Turnips
2 lbs small whole turnips (or larger ones cut in 1/2) peeled
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2-2 cups water or chicken stock
Fresh Thyme (optional)
Kosher salt
Pepper
We make this in our ‘go-to’ 12″ All Clad fry pan. (Avoid using a Teflon pan –the turnips won’t ‘caramelize’ nicely.)
Heat oil over a medium high heat. Add peeled turnips, salt and pepper. Cook for 10-12 minutes until the turnips begin to turn golden brown. (Don’t worry, they won’t be evenly browned… the slow braise will do this.) The exact time for this is stovetop and veggie dependent. The trick is to not let the heat get too high– burning the oil/butter– or too low– the veggies won’t caramelize.
Then add the water or stock to the pan to reach halfway up the sides of the turnips. Bring to a boil, then turn the heat down to med-low. Cook 45-minutes to an hour. (Remember we said ‘sweat equity’? This requires minding. You may need to add more liquid as the turnips are cooking, turn the heat up or down, and keep checking for doneness.) They’re done when the turnips are nicely browned and tender. If you still have liquid left in the pan, remove the veggies, and cook down the liquid. Put the turnips back in the pan to glaze.
Season with salt, pepper, and fresh thyme sprigs.
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Cheese on a Budget
August 22nd, 2011 | 10 Comments
Tags: Food & Spirits, recipes
If you’re a cheese lover you know how easy it is to end up with the ends of once great cheese. While you’re all too happy to open the fridge, peel back the wrap and nibble away, these pieces are not presentable on the table at cocktail hour. Be thrifty and repurpose them. Save the small bits and the odd sized hunks until you have a critical mass, then throw them into the food processor and let it do it’s magic to create great cheese dips.
Grab whatever is left–goat, sheep, cow, soft-ripening or aged—cut off the rinds (we find they can be a bit bitter) and throw them in the bowl and process until smooth. Then toss in things like: fresh herbs*; pink and green peppercorns; cumin and cardamom; whiskey; wine; nuts; dried fruit; citrus zest; yogurt; fruity olive oil….let your imagination go wild.
Process, taste, correct.
*This summer the star herb in our garden is marjoram. Fantastic and full of a fresh musty, sweet flavor.
Summer Potions: Muddled Basil Martini
August 10th, 2011 | 18 Comments
Tags: Food & Spirits, recipes
You know us, we’re wine drinking gals, but when we drink the hard stuff–vodka, bourbon, scotch– we usually prefer it straight up. These are adult drinks and each maker works hard to give their spirit a distinct taste. (Read more in the tutorial on whisky/whiskey in our book.) On occasion, however, as the summer sizzles we’ll add a little something to a mix to give it a refreshing twist. This August our drink of choice has been muddled basil martinis. Simply made by muddling basil and spearmint with simple syrup, lime juice and vodka in a martini shaker.
Trust us on this, make a large pitcher of these, or you’ll spend the evening in the kitchen making refills for your guests.
The B*tches Muddled Basil Martini
-2 1/2 jiggers of vodka or gin (Rumor has it that the Costco Kirkland brand vodka is really the same as Grey Goose, we’re not stating this as fact, but we like it very much. It’s industrial size, a great price and cool looking, too.)
-1 jigger simple syrup
-1 jigger fresh squeezed lime juice
-4 fresh sweet basil leaves
-1 fresh spearmint leaf (or to taste)
Muddle the basil, simple syrup and lime juice together. Add gin or vodka. Combine in a cocktail shaker with loads of ice. Shake until there are shards of ice and the mix turns frothy. Strain.
Watermelon Pickles
July 24th, 2011 | 6 Comments
Tags: Food & Spirits, recipes, Shopping
While shopping at the local farm market we were overcome by a sudden fit of preserve-making enthusiasm and bought a watermelon, an orange cauliflower, cucumbers, turnips, radishes, and carrots. Our first pickling victim was the watermelon. Once we mastered separating the tough outer skin from the rind, this recipe for pickled watermelon rinds was a snap to make.
The result was a gorgeous jar of preserves, where the infusion of star anise, ginger and spicy pink peppercorns added just the right set of flavors to make these watermelon pickles the star attraction of a mid-summer barbecue.
Pickled Watermelon Rind
This recipe is adapted from the Momofuku Cookbook
1 watermelon
4 star anise
2 cups rice wine vinegar
1 cup water
2 cups sugar
3 tablespoons kosher salt
2 knobs of fresh peeled ginger
2 tablespoons pink peppercorns
Slice the watermelon in half and peel off the outer skin. Cut the rind into 1” squares.
Bring the rest of the ingredients to a boil (stirring until sugar dissolves) and add the rind, continue cooking for one minute. Remove the mixture to an ice bath to stop the cooking. Place in container until fully cooled and refrigerate.
These little lovelies are ready to eat within an hour and will keep in the refrigerator for a week.
Stay tuned for the results from our other pickling experiments and a yummy recipe for watermelon lemonade infused with rosemary simple.
Buttermilk Sorbet
July 17th, 2011 | 14 Comments
Tags: Food & Spirits, Health & Fitness, recipes
Buttermilk rocks!
Try this simple and yummy low-fat alternative to ice cream.
Lemon Verbena Infused Buttermilk Sorbet*
2 1/2 cups low-fat buttermilk
1 1/4 cups sugar
1/4 cup corn syrup
5 fresh leaves of lemon verbena (if you can’t find any–don’t fret you can sub in any other herb you favor or take a pass on the infusion)
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
Over low heat, dissolve sugar, corn syrup and lemon juice in a saucepan unto it is syrupy. Take off stove and drop in lemon verbena leaves. Allow to cool to room temp and then chill.
Mix together the buttermilk and sugar/lemon mix and put into an ice cream maker. (We use a simple Cuisinart ice cream maker and it’s usually done in 20 minutes.) Store in freezer.
Cheap. Simple. Delicious.
* This is an adaptation of a recipe from Patricia Well’s “The Provence Cookbook”
White Beans for Meatless Monday
July 11th, 2011 | 3 Comments
Tags: Food & Spirits, Health & Fitness, healthy food, recipes
Are you serious about eating smart? Are you watching your wallet? Are you crazy for great food?
One of our favorite bean dishes covers all the bases. It is super healthy, easy on the budget and yummy.
While we’d like to say we’re organized enough to buy dried beans and cook them up — well, we’re not. Instead we usually make this with cans of organic White Northern or Cannellini beans, which we stock up on whenever we find them on sale. The rest of the ingredients are always on hand and we can whip this dish up at the drop of a hat. It’s great as part of a healthy dinner or as a simple appetizer served with pita chips.
Simple Beans and Olive Oil
1 can white beans
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 finely minced garlic clove
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (or to taste)
kosher salt
pepper
fresh herbs
vinegar
Open the beans and throw them in a colander to rinse and dry. Place in a serving bowl and toss with the garlic, red pepper flakes, a generous toss of kosher salt, freshly ground pepper and extra virgin olive oil. Right before serving tear a few basil leaves (or thyme or oregano) into the mixture and serve. Finish with a splash of Sherry or balsamic vinegar.
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CLAM-UP
June 2nd, 2011 | Comments
Tags: budget, Food & Spirits, Health & Fitness, recipes
Guess what we did over the weekend?
Then we made:
Clams on the half-shell.
Rhode Island Clam Chowder.
Pasta with clam sauce.
Grilled clams with herbs.
Cheap and yummy.
If you’re minding your budget and live to eat there is nothing smarter than being a back to nature DIYer. Whether you’re growing your own fruits and veggies, raising your own chickens or catching fish, the end result is far tastier than anything money can buy.
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No Recipe Pesto
May 2nd, 2011 | 1 Comment
Tags: Food & Spirits, Health & Fitness, recipes
We’re not good with rules. You know the ones like: Only tall girls should wear skinny jeans. No white after Labor Day. Never wear navy and black.
So, it should come as no surprise we almost never use a recipe when we cook. They are rules, right?
As we head into summer with the promise of plentiful fresh herbs from the garden and affordable bunches of greens popping up at roadside markets we’re thinking of all the ways we can incorporate them into our daily meals.
We want you to think about how you can use them without being bound to any hard and fast recipe rule. So we’re offering up our no-recipe-recipe for pesto. (Yeah, it’s an oxymoron)
No Recipe Pesto
A bunch of fresh herbs.
Extra Virgin Olive oil.
A big handful of nuts.
A clove of garlic.
Freshly grated Parmesan (or other hard) cheese.
Kosher salt.
Lots of freshly ground pepper.
A Cuisinart or blender.
Wash and dry the herbs thoroughly. Put the garlic, herbs and nuts into the food processor. Pulse a few times or roughly grind the mixture in the blender. Slowly add olive oil through the feed tube in a steady stream (Ok, we’ll give you some help here, if you’ve used a full bunch of herbs and say 1/2 cup of nuts, you’ll be using about 1 cup of oil-but find the consistency you like.) At this point you can freeze the mixture for later use. A tip: place in freezer trays and defrost individual pesto cubes for use.
Right before serving mix in cheese.
Vague, to be sure, but think of all the ways you can use this guideline: spearmint and hazelnuts; walnuts and basil; arugula and pine nuts. Think of all the things you can spread your pesto on: bruschetta; peppers; pasta; tomatoes and mozzarella; grilled fish or chicken…
Homemade Granola
March 24th, 2011 | 2 Comments
Tags: Food & Spirits, Health & Fitness, recipes
Make your own granola. It’s easy. It’s cost effective and way tastier than anything you’ll buy in the store. Go to the bulk section in your grocer for the ingredients.
Ingredients
-3 cups of rolled oats
-1/2 cup walnuts
-1 cup whole cashews
-1/2 cup shredded coconut
-1/4 cup dark brown sugar
-1/3 cup maple syrup
-3 tblsp safflower oil
-1/2 teaspoon salt
-1 1/2 cups dried fruit (cherries, raisins, apricots-your choice)
Preheat oven to 250 degrees.
Take the oil and maple syrup and mix in a small bowl. In another bowl mix the oats, nuts, coconut sugar and salt. Pour the liquid over the dry ingredients and stir to evenly coat. Take two large sheet pans cover the bottom with parchment or wax paper. Lay the ingredients in an even layer and place in the oven for approximately 1 to 1/2 hours stirring every twenty minutes. The granola is cooked when it turns a warm golden brown color. Remove and mix in the dried fruits.
Pears!
March 16th, 2011 | Comments
Tags: bargains, Food & Spirits, recipes
We stumbled on beautiful organic Anjou pears on sale last week and scooped up half a dozen. We had no plan. At the time we thought they’d be a perfect accompaniment to goat cheese and walnuts for a satisfying quick lunch, or we’d munch on them as they ripened for an afternoon snack. Who knew we’d end up making a last minute dinner party and be in need of a dessert?
Remember our post Old Wine Rewind, about poaching dried fruits in leftover wine? In it, we sing a song about the wonder of leftover spirits, yes, sometimes there are leftovers, and we just happened to have a nearly full bottle of Spanish red wine on hand. So, our plan was to apply the same principle to poaching the pears as we do to poaching dried fruits. While this sounds like a lot of work. It wasn’t. We were in the kitchen cooking, writing, talking, eating all day anyway, so minding the wine m
ixture and poaching the fruit was not heavy lifting. It filled the house with delicious smells and we felt like mad scientists adjusting and minding our brew and pears.
Poached Pears in Red Wine
Into a deep pot we poured the wine, 3/4 cup of water, 3/4 cup sugar, a stick of cinnamon, 2 star anise, 3 pods of green cardamom, 3 cloves, 6 black peppercorns, the juice and zest of an orange (that’s what we had, you could easily use a tangerine), a pinch of kosher salt, 1/2 cup dried cherries (again because we had them on hand you could use craisins, raisins or nothing at all). We brought it to a boil, then turned the heat down to medium.Our goal? To cook it down a bit to concentrate the flavors. (more…)
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