IT MUST BE SUMMER.....another way with Chard

I had grand plans to make spanakotiropita with some of the chard that keeps growing in our garden.  It's so great that we have more than enough to eat now while it is fresh, and plenty to prepare and freeze for the winter.  I thought this recipe was the perfect opportunity to use of one of the many packages of phyllo in my freezer than need to disappear.   I don't know what happened though.  When I opened the pack I had defrosted it was all stuck together and pretty useless so I tossed it out and had to come up with a plan, quick.  I had already prepared the chard and feta filling and had a house full of people expecting dinner at some point.  Then it hit me, CALZONES!  Yes.....so I whipped up a batch of pizza dough, grated some mozzarella cheese, and dinner was on it's way.

Rather than repeat myself, feel free to check out the recipes for Spanakotiropita and Pizza Dough on my blog.

PUTTING IT UP

  One look in my garden today and I knew it was definitely time to start preserving some of this harvest before it was too late.  Like all of us, I have list a mile long of all the things I'd like to do, but some things just can't wait.  So during Jude's third and final nap of the day I headed into the garden and began to harvest chard, spinach and rhubarb.  I gave them all a little rinse and then set a huge pot of water on to boil.  Meanwhile, I chopped up the rhubarb and filled up a Mason jar with it and stuck it in the freezer.  I can't speak highly enough of Mason jars.  We use them for storing all of our food and beverages. 

  The spinach and chard are going to taste great in the dead of winter when not a leafy green is to be found (well except for some kale perhaps).  Into the boiling water went the chopped chard for just a little bit, enough to blanch it, and then bam! (Emeril style) I dunk it into ice water to shock it and help keep it's vibrant green colour.  This too went in the freezer in a Mason jar.  

I cook the spinach in a smaller pot with just a wee bit of water until it is wilted and then plop that into ice water.

 

 So, now I just have to keep this up until all the greens are safely put away for the long, cold winter.....

INDIAN FOOD

     I didn't wake up this morning expecting to make a huge Indian feast.  In fact I didn't even know it was going to happen until I started.  I absolutely love paneer in any Indian dish, so decided to make some.  I will remember next time to wait until I have LOTS of milk in the fridge, because by the time you strain off all the whey, you aren't left with much cheese.  Anyway, there was just enough to make a small batch to use in a lovely dish that was made with whatever chard was left in our garden, along with some kale.  

     The ultimate kicker in this feast was the Puris I made, otherwise known as FRIED bread.  That's right, pretty much like dipping donuts in your curry.  But oh so good and worth the hassle of deep frying and the oily drippiness of it all.  I can remember eating lots and lots of puris in my favorite Indian restaurant when I lived in Ontario, where it was served with a bowl of delicious curried chick peas.

PANEER

A punjabi homemade cheese resembling ricotta.  It can also be pressed to make a harder curd much like tofu.  For the recipe I made tonight, I kept it soft and crumbly.

1 litre organic whole milk

juice of 1 organic lemon

Method:  Bring the milk to a boil in a heavy bottomed saucepan.  When it boils, it will rise to the top of the pan.  Turn off the heat and immediately add the lemon juice.  Stir with a wooden spoon and watch the curds separate from the whey.  Strain with a cheesecloth in a colander.  

METHI CHAAMAN (Chard with Fenugreek and Indian Cheese)

 1 1/2 (675 g) pounds organic chard

2 cloves organic garlic

4 Tbsp organic yogurt

1 Tbsp fresh cilantro

3 Tbsp ghee or oil

8 oz crumbly paneer

sea salt

2 Tbsp fenugreek leaves, dried (methi)

1/2 Tbsp dried organic coriander powder

1/2 tsp organic cumin powder

pinch organic cardamom powder

pinch organic clove powder

Method:  Rinse the chard well, drain and coarsely chop.  Boil it in some water for 10 minutes, drain.  Put the spices, a couple of tablespoons of the cooked chard, garlic, yogurt, and coriander in a food processor and blend to a smooth paste.

     Heat the ghee or oil in a large saucepan or skillet and stir fry the paste for 6-8 minutes, adding water to prevent sticking.  Add the remainder of the chard and stir fry until it is well mixed and heated through.  Add the cheese and salt to taste.  You can add more water to make it runnier.  Serve hot.

MASOOR DAL (Red Lentil Curry)

1 cup organic red lentils (masoor dal)

5 cups water

1 tsp sea salt

1/4 tsp each organic turmeric, coriander and cumin powders

1 Tbsp freshly grated gingeroot

1 Tbsp organic oil

1/2 tsp organic black mustard seeds

1 organic onion, chopped

2 dried hot red chiles broken in half and seeds removed (optional)

pinch of hing

Method:  Wash the lentils and drain; set aside.  Boil the water and add the lentils, turning down the heat and cover, cooking for about 15 minutes.  Next add the salt, spices, and ginger.  Cook for another ten minutes, reducing to low while you prepare the next step.

     Heat the oil in a small saucepan.  Add the mustard seeds.  When they finish popping, add the onion and saute until translucent.  Stir in the hing and broken chile.  Pour this into the pot of dal.  Continue to cook until the dal becomes thicker, about 15-20 minutes.  Serve with basmati, garnished with fresh cilantro.

PURIS

1 cup organic whole wheat flour

1 cup organic unbleached white flour

2 1/2 Tbsp organic ghee or palm oil

a little over 1/2 cup warm water

organic ghee or vegetable oil for deep frying

Method:  Add ghee solids or palm oil to flour and mix with your hands until flour is the consistency of coarse meal.  Add water and keep mixing.  Knead dough about 10-15 minutes.  Cover and let sit for half an hour.  

For rolling, lightly flour your surface and pinch of bits of dough and roll into round flat circles.  Place puri in hot oil, push it to the bottom and bathe it in oil.  It will rise and puff up like a balloon.  Turn over quickly and remove with tongs.

PASTA with Chard and Chickpeas

     I made a salad last night that didn't really pair well with the Cornmeal Sloppy Joe Pizza.  What I wanted was a tabouli style chickpea salad, but tomatoes aren't in season, neither are cucumbers and so the salad just kinda sucked.  But tonight, it transformed into a very tasty pasta dish once I sauteed it with lots of garlic and fresh Pasture Hill Farm chard.  We didn't quite have enough of one style of pasta, so I mixed penne, elbows and fusilli.

PASTA with Chard and Chickpeas

1 pound organic kamut pasta

1 bunch organic fresh chard, chopped in large chunks

5 cloves organic garlic, smashed and minced

2 cups organic chickpeas, cooked

3 Tbsp capers

2 Tbsp organic butter

1/4 cup e.v olive oil

fresh romano cheese, grated

sea salt and pepper

Method:  Bring a large pot of water to boil, and cook pasta to al dente.  While you wait, heat a large skillet over medium high heat, melt the butter and half of the olive oil in the pan.  Saute the chard, garlic and chickpeas and some sea salt until the chard wilts, about 4 minutes.  Reduce heat to low, add the capers, cover and keep warm until the pasta is done cooking.  Drain the pasta, stir into the chard, drizzle with the remaining olive oil and serve with lots of fresh cheese.

My Mom's Kitchen- Post #3 SPANAKOTIROPITA

The year that I spent in my huband's Greek village years ago taught me many 
great cooking lessons. My most difficult and most treasured one was 
how to make filo dough. After many trials and errors I finally 
mastered it, since then I rarely  buy the manufactured one. Lately 
I've been trying to stay away from wheat so I decided to try it out 
with spelt flour. I was very pleased with the results.

SPANAKOTIROPITA ( Greek Spinach and Cheese Pie)

Filo:
4-4 1/2 cups organic spelt or wheat flour
1 tsp sea salt
1 1/2- 1 3/4 cup warm water
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp cider vinegar or lemon juice
Make a well in the centre of the flour, add the remaining ingredients 
and combine. Let sit for at least 1 hour, then separate into 4  
equal balls cover while you prepare the filling.

Filling:
1 bunch of organic swiss chard
2 bunches of organic spinach
2 large organic leeks
1/2 cup fresh dill chopped
8 oz feta cheese crumbled
1 /4 cup extra virgin olive oil
sea salt to taste ( if your cheese is salty you may not need it)

Chop the vegetables and wilt in a large pan. Squeeze out as much 
liquid as possible set aside to cool. Add the dill, feta, olive oil 
and sea salt, and combine.
Roll out one of the filo balls as you would a struedel dough, very, 
very thin. Place in the pan spray with e v oil then cover it with a 
cloth while you roll out the other one. Place the 2nd filo on top, 
fill with spinach, cheese mixture, using the overhanging filo, cover 
the filling. Repeat with the remaining 2 balls of filo. Tuck in the 
edges, brush more e v oil on top and score. Do not cut right through. 
Bake in a pre heated 375 oven for about 1 hour or until golden. When 
done you can cool slightly and the cut through to the bottom. Enjoy!

Fried Smelts and Chard

MY MOM'S KITCHEN - Post #1

Having just arrived back from spending a week in Halifax my refrigerator was devoid of fresh vegetables. I stopped at the vegetable market and found some great looking organic swiss chard and decided to prepare that for our dinner. My intention was to saute it with garlic and serve it with spelt pasta. 

     When I arrived home I found a huge bowl of sea smelts on the counter, my husband had been to the fish market and they called out to him. He wanted to prepare them the way the do in his village in Greece, lightly floured, pan fried in olive oil, then served with a rosemary red wine vinegar reduction, they always eat this with a

raw red onion as an accompaniment.

FRIED SEA SMELTS

2 lbs of sea smelts dredged in flour

1 cup olive oil or oil of your choice for frying

1/4 cup of red wine vinegar

fresh rosemary

salt & pepper to taste

 Heat the oil in a cast iron frying pan, when hot add the dredged smelts in a single layer until golden. Discard all but about 2 tbsp of the oil, add the fresh rosemary until fragrant, pour in the vinegar and reduce for a few minutes until it slightly thickens. At this point you can pour the reduction over the fish, but I like to have it on the side and dip the fish in so that they stay crispy.

 SAUTEED SWISS CHARD WITH GARLIC

 2 bunches of organic red swiss chard cut into 1" pieces

1 head of organic garlic

2 tbsp of e.v olive oil

sea salt & pepper to taste

 Heat the oil in a cast iron frying pan, when heated add the cloves of garlic and lightly brown, shaking the pan so as not to burn them. Add the swiss chard and toss until wilted. Cover and lower the heat, cook a few minutes more until tender.

Pasta with Sausage and Fried Peppers

I love it that pasta tastes so good, and it's quick to make.  My mother has a famous saying that basically says when we want "fast food" we make food, fast.  So when you're in a rush, go for the pasta.

PASTA with Miso Hemp Seed Pesto, Sausage and Fried Peppers

1 pound organic pasta (I like wide ribbons)

1 pound organic sausage, cut into 1/2 inch pieces

1 organic onion, cut into 8 slivers

1 cup sliced organic mushrooms

1/2 organic red pepper, sliced thin

1/2 organic yellow pepper, sliced thin

2 cups thinly sliced organic chard leaves

3 cloves garlic, mashed and chopped

3-4 Tbsp e.v olive oil

3 Tbsp miso hemp seed pesto (see recipe from an earlier post)

sea salt and pepper

grated fresh roman cheese

Method:  Bring a large pot of salted water to boil.  As you wait, heat a cast iron skillet over high-med heat.  When hot, add 1 Tbsp olive oil, then the sausage, onion, peppers and mushrooms.   Saute, stirring for about 3 minutes.  Then add the garlic, keep sauteing until the peppers begin to soften and the sausage is cooked through.  Remove from heat.  By this time the water should be boiling.  Add the pasta to the water along with the chard.  Cook until the pasta is al dente, strain and then toss the cooked pasta into the skillet with the sauteed goods, along with the pesto and a the rest of the olive oil.  Toss and serve with fresh grated romano cheese.

Fish and Gratin

Our menus around here are dependent upon many factors - what is seasonally available, what the weather is like, what needs to be used up in the fridge and on and on and on.  This weekend I forgot to bring my cooler and ice when I went urban foraging, so the frozen hook and line haddock I bought defrosted by the time I got home.  Sooo, we had fish for supper tonight.

P.S- both dishes in this post are very yummy but I highly recommend making them separately as they didn't really go well togethere.  I would have liked to eat a nice raw coleslaw with the fish and maybe baked fish with the gratin or something light like a tofu dish.

CORNMEAL CRUSTED HADDOCK with Cucumber Pickle Tartar Sauce

Every summer I pickle and can produce for the winter.  One of my favorite recipes is for a Cucumber Relish.  I love to make a quick and yummy tartar sauce with it when we eat fried fish.

1 pound hook and line haddock, cut into 4 pieces

1/4 cup organic cornmeal

1/4 cup organic unbleached white flour

sea salt and pepper

organic butter

Method:  Heat a cast iron skillet over medium high heat.  Combine the cornmeal, flour, sea salt and pepper in a bowl and toss the fish pieces in the mix.  Melt some butter in the pan and cook each side of the fish until golden brown.  Serve with tartar sauce and a squeeze of lemon.

CUCUMBER RELISH

7 cups organic cucumbers, washed, and chopped in small dice

4 cups organic green peppers, washed, seeded and chopped in small dice

4 cups organic red peppers, washed, seeded and chopped in small dice

2 cups organic celery, chopped

1 cup organic onion, chopped

1/2 cup coarse sea salt

2 cups local honey

3 cups organic apple cider vinegar

3 Tbsp organic celery seed

3 Tbsp organic white mustard seed

Method:  Combine cucumbers, peppers, celery, onions and salt in a large stainless steel bowl. Cover and let stand 4 hours.

     Fill boiling water canner with water.  Place 7 500 ml canning jars in canner over high heat.

     Rinse vegetables well in a colander and press out excess moisture.

     Combine honey, vinegar, celery seed, mustard seed in a large stainless steel saucepan.  Mix well and bring to a boil.  Add vegetables, return to a boil and boil gently for 10 minutes.  

     Place snap lids in boiling water, boil 5 minutes.

     Ladle relish into a hot jar to within 1 cm of top rim.  Remove air bubbles and wipe rim.  Place lid and screw cap.  Place in canner and repeat.  Process all the jars in a boiling canner for 10 minutes.  Cool.

TARTAR SAUCE

3 Tbsp organic mayonaise

3 Tbsp cucumber relish

Method:  Combine the two ingredients and serve.

SWISS CHARD AND SWEET POTATO GRATIN

Ever since I started a food blog, I've been interested in other food blogs.  One I really like is Smitten Kitchen, who inspired this adaptation of a yummy gratin.

1 organic onion, chopped

2 Tbsp organic butter

1 bunch of organic swiss chard, chopped into 2 cm pieces

pinch of fresh grated nutmeg

2 cups organic whole milk

2 cloves organic garlic, minced

2 Tbsp organic flour

3 medium organic sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into thin slices

some fresh or dried organic thyme and parsley

sea salt

pepper

1 1/4 cups organic swiss cheese

Method:  In a large pot, pour in enough water to cover bottom of pot.  Bring to a boil over high heat, add chard, cover and cook until chard wilts.  Drain in a colander over the sink, pressing out excess water.  Set aside.

     Saute the onion in some butter until soft.  Set aside.

     Melt two tablespoons butter in a medium saucepan over moderate heat and stir in flour.  Cook, whisking, and then add the milk and garlic, whisking over heat for one minute.  Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg.

     Preheat oven to 400*.  Butter a large cast iron skillet or baking dish.  Spread half of the potatoes, sprinkle with the onion and some salt and pepper, thyme and parsley, and 1/2 of the cheese.  Distribute all of the chard, then sprinkle with sea salt and pepper, some more herbs and half of the sauce.  Layer the rest of the sweet potato, followed with some salt and pepper, the rest of the sauce and end with the rest of the cheese.  Bake in the oven for 45 minutes.

Clean out the fridge Lasagna, or what should I do with this ground beef?

Scott's parents were coming over for dinner the other night and I had already taken out some pasture raised ground beef from the freezer the night before.  The dilemma - how do you make 1 pound of meat feed 4 adults and one toddler?  So I decided to make up a lasagna.  There were a couple of challenges with this one - 1) I didn't really have enough mozzarella 2) I didn't have ricotta or cottage cheese or even tofu in the house to fill the lasagna with.  No problem though, I just used feta cheese blended with whatever yogurt I had and when I ran out of enough mozzarella for the topping, I just grated a whole bunch of romano cheese to fill in the blanks - it turned out really well!  I ate the rest for lunch today :)

LASAGNA (from my head and I didn't record measurements so modify as required)

About 18 lasagna noodles ( I used a combo of organic kamut and organic white lasagna noodles)

1 jar organic pasta sauce

organic mozzarella cheese

1 bunch organic swiss chard

About 10 organic button mushrooms

1 organic onion

organic feta cheese (found local organic goat feta at Homegrown Oranics in Halifax!)

organic yogurt

1 pound organic pasture raised ground beef

Method: Preheat oven to 350*.  Put a big pot of salted water onto boil for the noodles.  As you wait wilt swiss chard in a pot with a lid over medium heat.  Strain and squeeze all the liquid out and then chop into small pieces.  Slice mushrooms and onions and saute in a skillet with some olive oil.  After about 3 minutes, add the ground beef and brown.  Set aside.  When water is boiling, add the noodles in 2 batches, cooking 3/4 of the way so they are still slightly undercooked.  Be sure to add oil to water to prevent the noodles from sticking to each other.  Drain and cool.  Add about 1/4 cup water to the pasta sauce to dilute.  Pour some of the sauce on the bottom of your big roasting tray.  Layer some noodles on top.  Now is when you can mix some yogurt with the feta to make a ricotta like cheese sauce which you spread onto the layer of noodles, followed by some ground beef mix,  some chard,  some more sauce and ending with a sprinkle of mozzarella.  Repeat.  End with another layer of noodles, then the rest of the sauce and cheese.  Sprinkle with romano and cover with pod lid or aluminum foil.  Bake covered 1 hour, uncover for 20 minutes and serve.