Welcome back September

Wow, the amount of posts for August was appalling! Guess it's a sign that I was far too busy enjoying a week with my parents in Oceanside, Oregon and the farm, along with 10 days of film festival, and another week spent in Georgia with my oldest bestest friends getting sunburned/bug-bitten, laughing, talking, drinking, eating, playing banangrams & taboo, swimming, entertaining a two year old, and doing my part to stock up on cholesteral laden goods characteristic to the South... eg. breakfast at Cracker Barrel with grits, fried eggs, and biscuits (only five though) & gravy, chicarrones, fried okra, fried green tomatoes, fried summer squash ...  about the only thing I didn't eat for old times sake was moonpies!  I was however incredibly fortunate to get a bag of end of season Georgia peaches and they were SPECTACULAR. If only I could have canned them all and brought them home.  I had also forgotten how incredible night time in the south is - there is a veritable symphony of cicadas and tree frogs lasting all night and the slow sleepy dance of fireflies (though sadly they seemed far less in numbers than  my childhood memories recall).

Now though, the garden is in full swing and we are laden with chard, collard greens, beets, potatoes, and carrots so I'm doing my best to come up with recipes that use a bunch of these.

This meal came together fairly easily (assuming that your greens are already washed and chopped), was colorful and the flavors all worked together so well. I found the Greens Adobo recipe in the Sundays at Moosewood Restaurant Cookbook and the sweet potato hash was inspired by this post. The Greens recipe is awesome and I think would work well both with Asian pairings and Southern pairings (as well as the intended Filipino pairings). Note that the spices were not measured per se for the sweet potato hash so I suggest seasoning, cooking, tasting and adjusting to suit your personal palatte.

Greens Adobo (from Moosewood), Sweet Potato Hash, & Fried Egg (serves 2)
Greens

• 5-6 cups chard, stems removed, and chopped
• garlic
• 3-4 large garlic cloves, sliced
• 2 Tbs soy sauce
• 1 Tbs white vinegar
• freshly ground black pepper to taste

1. On medium heat, fry the garlic pieces in oil (grapeseed, canola, or olive) until golden brown in a large skillet (or wok).
2. Remove the garlic and then add greens to skillet. Stir over medium high heat until wilted.
3. Remove skillet from heat, and add seasoning & garlic pieces, stirring through. Serve almost immediately. I did cover mine for about 5-10 minutes and they tasted fine.

Hash

• 1 large sweet potato, peeled and grated (fine grater size rather than the large 
•  grater size for cheese or in food processor)
• 1-2 pinches garlic powder
• 1 pinch ground sage
• 1-3 dashes (mexican) chili powder
• freshly ground salt and pepper to taste 

1. Heat 2 Tbs of oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Add the sweet potato and the spices.
2. Occasionally stir the sweet potato until the color changes from orange to a lighter yellow orange and the hash begins to brown on the underside.
3. Taste to ensure seasoning is good and that the hash is cooked enough for your preference. Remove from skillet and fry up your two eggs!

Sweet Potato Hummus

Disclaimer: this hummus recipe is FABULOUS, but I'm not exactly 99% sure of all the ingredient quantities I recorded - maybe 85-90% sure. To make this recipe, please be confident in your own taste-testing abilities and adjusting the flavor to suit yourself.

Disclaimer #2: I really dislike traditional hummus. Not sure if it's the tahini flavor or what, but it feels SOOO heavy on the tongue. My favorite hummuses (hummesi?) are nowhere near traditional - e.g. hummus made with orange juice and grapefruit zest, black bean hummus with lime juice, cumin and chili powder, and so on. Ergo, when I read this recipe for sweet potato hummus, I knew I needed to try out a possible addition to my alternative hummus repertoire.


Sweet Potato Hummus (makes A LOT)

• 6 small - medium sweet potatoes, peeled, cubed, and boiled until just tender
• 1 3/4 c. garbanzo beans
• 4 Tbs water (or garbanzo bean broth if from scratch)
• 4- 6 Tbs olive oil (if it's lemon or orange infused, all the better)
• 2-3 Tbs tahini
• 2 garlic cloves
• 2 Tbs ground cumin
• 1/4-1/3 c. lemon juice (or a bit of orange juice)
• 2 tsp smoked paprika
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/8-1/4 tsp cayenne
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• salt to taste

1. Whirl the garbazno beans, garlic, water, olive oil, and tahini around together in a food processor.
2. Add in the sweet potatoes, cumin, lemon juice, paprika, cinnamon, cayenne and nutmeg. Pulse in the food processor until smooth. Taste, adjust seasoning.
3. Leave in fridge for 2-3 hours (overnight is best) to let flavors mingle. Then adjust seasoning again if needed.

Sweet Potato Baked Dumplings

I stumbled across this recipe on pinterest (I think), though I can never tell anymore these days between bookmarks on two computers, emailing myself recipes, and pinning others on pinterest. Anyways they appeared on naturallyella's blog along with a gorgeous photo and I was excited to see a baked dumpling recipe not only because I had wonton wrappers in my freezer, but also because I find the whole steaming/frying process a bit labor intensive and it forces you to work in batches (ergo eating in shifts). The filling for the wontons was intriguingly non Asian, though still paired with soy sauce for dipping, an interesting combination of flavors that quickly won me over. This is a perfect appetizer for a party dish as the filling can be prepared in advance, or the dumplings can be prepared completely and frozen until needed. I have some in my freezer as we speak, and other than a couple of the wontons cracking, they look none the worse for wear.

Baked Sweet Potato Potstickers

(makes ~44-50 dumplings, depending how full you stuff them)

• 2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 1 medium onion cubed
• 1 Tbs olive oil
• sea salt and pepper
• 2/3 c ricotta cheese
• 1/2 c parmesan cheese
• 1 1/2 - 2 Tbs fresh rosemary (or dried, if dried maybe only 1 1/2 Tbs)
• 50 wonton wrappers
• sunflower or canola oil to brush the potstickers

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Toss the sweet potatoes and onion with olive oil and spread on a baking tray (or glass roasting pan). Bake for 25-35 minutes until tender. Let cool for ~ 10 minutes. (Turn the oven down to 350 degrees F at this step if you're going to bake the dumplings immediately)
2. Combine sweet potato, onion, salt, pepper, rosemary, ricotta, and Parmesan cheese in a food processor. Pulse until the mixture is mostly smooth (there can still be a few small lumps)
3. Preheat oven to 350.
4. Place about a tablespoon of filling in the middle of the wonton wrapper. Wet edges with water and crimp shut. Place on parchment paper on a baking tray. Continue until the tray is full.
5. Brush each potsticker  lightlywith oil and bake for 15-20 minutes until the potstickers are golden brown. Serve with a soy sauce/sesame oil/chili sauce and grated ginger mixture.

That's it for 2011!

Well, I'm just going to be honest with you - there won't be any more posts until the New Year. As disappointing as that is, that's just the reality of life for us as we head out to Australia in 3 days! Hoping our cat forgives us when we get back after a 2.5 week sojourn into summer time, Tim Tams, and wallabies.

I will recommend just one (okay three!) last recipes for a Christmas or New Years meal. If you're feeling adventurous and not turned off by the concept of green mashed potatoes (actually I think this recipe would still be great even without the green contribution), these are absolutely fabulous and my mom apologized profusely for ever doubting that this could be a good idea after tasting them.The bay leaf simmered in milk adds an amazing flavor to the dish, along with the tiny flecks of carrot, and pureed kale. It has a depth and richness that belies the fairly healthy milk and butter quantities.The recipe I adapted from Epicurious is below.

If you want a wonderfully seasoned vegetarian gravy recipe to go with them, I recommend using the Grit's sage-onion gravy (but leave out the 1/2 tsp of salt! it's pretty salty!)  And one more link for those veggie/vegan people out there: the Grit's tofu meatloaf! So delicious!! Just make sure you don't overprocess the ingredients in the food processor or it becomes pate textured. I wish I could go to this Athens, GA restaurant in person and order every single thing on the menu. One day!


Kale Mashed Potatoes
1 c. milk
8 Tbs butter
2 small carrots, peeled, diced
1-2 large bay leaves
1 large onion, diced
1 large bunch kale roughly chopped (about 6 cups)
2 lbs russet potatoes, peeled, chopped into 2" chunks

1. Combine milk, 2 Tbs butter, carrot and bay leaf in medium saucepan; bring to simmer. Remove from heat; let steep 10 minutes while preparing kale and potatoes.(Consider simmering for 4-5 minutes to cook the carrots a bit more, before steeping).

2. Melt 4 Tbs butter in large skillet, add onion and sauté until light brown, about 8 minutes. Add kale; cover and cook until tender, stirring often, about 25 minutes. Add the kale/onion mixture to the milk mixture and puree with an immersion blender until mostly smooth. (or in a food processor)

3. While the kale cooks, boil the potatoes in salted water until tender, about 25 minutes. Drain well. Return to same pot.

4. Add kale mixture to potatoes and mash to produce fluffy potatoes (alternately you're supposed to mash the potatoes before and then just stir in the kale mixture to produce fluffy potatoes, but some of us are lazy).

5. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and more butter.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Years!

Swiss Chard and Sweet Potato Gratin

I was so excited to make this dish since we have a not insignificant quantity of chard to finish off from our garden. But making this dish by smittenkitchen made me realize I have absolutely no concept of how much chard it takes to reach 3 lbs worth of greens! At the final count, I ended up with about 2.5 lbs of greens (according to our cheap Ikea scale...) which included chard, spinach, and kale - in addition to some small broccoli florets (why not?).

I ended up cooking the greens and onion about 5 days in advance, whoops! talk about a delay in cooking, but they were no worse for wear when I finally assembled the casserole. Note: owning a mandolin makes slicing 2 lbs worth of 1/8" thick slices of sweet potato fairly easy. I also assembled the casserole in the morning and took it out of the fridge an hour before I planned to start baking it. The dish was in the oven when I turned it on to preheat. These strategies will prevent breaking a glass baking dish. If you have a metal baking pan, no worries.

The bechemel sauce for this dish smells so incredible I was in danger of eating it all before putting any in the casserole. Fortunately I held off, believing that the bechemel in combination with the sweet potatoes, chard, grated gruyere and herbs would be worth the wait. Oh the smell of this casserole filling the house - mouthwatering, stretching patience to the limits! The finished casserole more than surpassed the anticipation and expectation in every deliciously rich bite. I did find the sweet potato flavor very sweet - partly because the recipe has no instructions on how much salt is needed. If I made the dish again, I would try half potato/half sweet potato to tone the sweetness down.

Sweet Potato-Chard Casserole
1/4 cup butter
1 medium onion, finely chopped
3lbs chard (or a combination of kale/chard/spinach), leaves and stems separated, cut into 1" pieces **if you use kale, don't use the stems at all!**
1/4-1/2 tsp of freshly grated nutmeg
1 c. whipping cream 
1 c. evaporated milk
4-6 garlic cloves, minced
2 Tbs. butter
2 Tbs. flour
2 lbs sweet potatoes (orange ones), peeled and cut into 1/8" thick slices
1/4 c. minced fresh Italian parsley
1 Tbs + 1 tsp thyme
Fine sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 1/4 c. (about 6 ounces) coarsely grated Gruyére cheese

1. Melt 1/4 c. butter in a large skillet or heavy pot. Add onion, saute over medium low heat until softened. Add kale leaves (if using) and saute for 10-15 minutes until softened. Add chard stems, nutmeg, salt and pepper, keep sauteing, until veggies are tender. Add chard leaves (and spinach, if using) by large handfuls, stir, cover, and let greens wilt (occasionally stirring as needed - you can also add a bit of water if things are sticking to the bottom).
2. Once the greens are wilted, transfer to a colander to drain and press out liquid using a large spoon. (I saved the liquid to add to stock for soups - it's tasty!). Set the chard aside to cool. You can add more salt and pepper to taste as needed.
3. If you haven't already, slice up the sweet potatoes. Submerging them in water will keep them from browning, but they need to be dried before putting in the casserole dish. (Press them with paper towels to dry them). Also, grate the cheese and set aside. Mince the parsley and set aside.
4. Bring cream, evap milk, and garlic to a simmer in small saucepan. Keep covered and set aside.
5. Melt 2 Tbs butter in a medium heavy saucepan over moderate heat and stir in flour. Cook roux, whisking, until mixture gently bubbles/boils. Keep whisking - roux should start to smell cooked and brown ever so lightly (~1-3minutes). Slowly whisk in cream mixture and bring to a boil, continuously whisking, one minute. Add salt and pepper.
6. If you're going to bake the gratin straight away, preheat oven to 400 degrees F. If not, start assembling the gratin: Butter a deep 9×13 baking dish (my pyrex one worked fine). Spread half of the sweet potatoes over the bottom of the dish. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, some parsley/thyme, and a 1/4 c. of Gruyere. Layer half of the chard mixture next, then salt, pepper, parsley/thyme, and 1/4 c. of Gruyere. Pour half of bechamel sauce over the first two layers. Repeat with rest of sweet potatoes, s/p/herbs/cheese, chard, s/p/herbs, rest of the bechemel sauce, then last 1/4 c. of cheese. Try and press everything down into the pan so that the veggies are submerged in sauce. Don't worry if it doesn't look like enough sauce (mine didn't) and it bubbled up just fine/staying quite moist
7. Bake gratin for about 1 hour until golden and bubbly, and most of the liquid is absorbed. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.(I baked mine for about 1.5 hours since it had been in the fridge, the first hour with foil on top, and the last 30 minutes uncovered).