Stir-fried green beans

The green beans are the only remaining perishable from the box, so I cooked them up tonight. Tomorrow I go out of town. Rome!

1-2 lb green beans, washed, trimmed
1 small onion, sliced thin
2 cloves garlic, crushed and minced
1 T olive oil
2 T tamari (soy sauce)
1 T rice wine
2 T rice vinegar
1/4 t. red pepper flakes
1 t sesame oil
1 t corn starch
1 T. sesame seeds

Heat the garlic in the olive oil in a wok. Add the onions and beans. Cook 3-4 minutes on med-hi stirring frequently until the onion softens. Add a little soy sauce and water and cover for 5 minutes to steam the beans. Turn down to medium heat. Stir and check that the beans are hot (but not soft). Combine the remaining ingredients and pour over the beans, stir until the sauce thickens.

Verdict: B
Credits
Leftovers? Yes.

Notes: This would have been very good with some steamed rice, the sauce worked well tonight. It was really a just a snack. For a meal, I add some pork or tempeh (fry it first, then set aside and stir in at the end).

Update: I had the leftovers Sunday night after my trip and they were excellent. The pepper had made the sauce very spicy and all the flavors were intense. I am going to try this again as a refrigerator salad (as soon as I get more beans).

Green salad with cheeses and Ginger Miso dressing

Using up the red leaf and green leaf lettuces. The arugula from this week was already yellow and rotting. Bleh. I picked up some cheeses and Onai's Fresh Miso Ginger dressing, which I love at Fairway and a baguette.

Red leaf lettuce, torn
Green leaf lettuce, torn
1/4 C. Black pepper brie, cubed
1/4 C. Emmental, cubed
1/4 C. Gruyere, cubed
Onai's Fresh Miso Ginger dressing

Toss in a big bowl. Tear a baguette and eat from the bowl.

Verdict B, good but nothing special tonight. Maybe a bleu cheese would have helped.
Credits Memories of a green salad and cheese plate lunch at the Musee D'Orsay
Leftovers? Doesn't keep.

Notes This salad dressing and Onai's Wasabi Ginger are my favorites, no oil but with miso as a medium not a bunch of artificial thickeners, emulsifiers, whatever. I've tried to recreate this, with some success. I'll post those results another time.

Kitchen Fire

Last night, my first kitchen fire in my new apartment. I haven't had many. In fact I don't remember any fires, but it seems unlikely that it never happened. This was not too bad. I was heating the oil and garlic in a frying pan and the fire jumped into the pan and was getting kind of big. I turned off the wrong burner, then pulled the pan off the heat and it started dying. I went to set it on the floor while I tried to think of something to smother it with and it was out. I managed to spill hot oil on the floor, so it was a little mess. Plus some scorching on the hood and the cupboard above the stove.

I wasn't very pleased with my reaction, but I am not exactly sure what I should have done. Maybe I'll go get a fire extinguisher soon.

Broccoli and penne, aeolian-style

For tonight's menu, assuming I go get an onion.

3-4 cups of chopped broccoli (one bunch)
1 onion, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, crushed and minced
1 T. anchovy paste
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh basil (ribbons are good)
1/4 C. golden raisins
1/2 C. white wine
1 medium tomato, diced
8 oz can of tomato sauce
1/2 box penne
pine nuts, if you got 'em
olive oil
salt and pepper
parmesan

Chop the broccoli, peel and chop the stems if ambitious (or cheap). Cover in cold water, salt and bring to a boil. Fish the broccoli out of the water with a slotted spoon and set aside (or time it perfectly with the sauce).

In a large skillet, heat the olive oil and garlic. Add the onion and cook until soft and translucent. Push the onions to the outside. Squirt the anchovy paste in the middle, add the basil and wine and stir to mix the paste in. Let cook with the onions for 2 minutes. Add the tomato and tomato sauce and simmer for 5 - 10 minutes until tomatoes are soft.

Add the broccoli and the raisins to the skillet and return to a simmer. Use more wine or the broccoli/pasta water if the sauce is too thick. Salt and pepper to taste.

Cook the penne in the broccoli water (add more if necessary). When done, drain and add to the skillet.

Serve topped with pine nuts and parmesan.

Verdict: B, the tomato was pretty hard and flavorless and I had to add the tomato sauce that I was going to leave out. Below par for an A recipe.
Credits: based on a recipe from the old Eating Well that I cannot find

Works as Leftovers? Oh yes.

Notes: Usually I use a can of tomato sauce and some tomato paste, but I had fresh tomatoes in the box this week.

Pan roasted pork tenderloin with potatoes and collard greens

I need to use a portion of pork and the greens from Tuesday.

1/2 pork tenderloin (maybe a 1/2 pound)
3 russett potatoes
1 bunch collard greens (half a dozen big leaves)
2 cloves garlic
olive oil
butter
1/2 C. chicken broth (vegetable is better)
salt and pepper

Slice the tenderloin into 1" medallions, salt and pepper the pieces.

Peel , quarter and cut the potatoes into thick slices. Wash the collard greens and cut out the stem/spine. Roll up all the leaves and slice in thin ribbons.

Heat the oil and butter (1 T. each) in a 12" skillet. Crush and mince the garlic and add to the oil. Add the pork and brown over med-high heat. Add potatoes and a little broth, scraping up the bits from the pan. After the potatoes brown, add the rest of stock and simmer covered until potatoes are tender. Add the greens and cover for another 3-5 minutes to wilt the greens.

Season to taste and serve.

Verdict: B-
Credits Inspired by a recipe for Braised Fennel included in a vegetable box provided by thefoody.com
Works as leftovers? Yes, reheat in a little water, broth or wine.

Notes: By the time the potatoes cooked, the pork was pretty dry. This works better with thicker slices of pork (at least 2"). Brown in the skillet, then roast in the oven for 20 minutes while braising the vegetables. This might be good with vinegar as part of the braising liquid.

Risotto with Squash

More squash came in today's vegetables. I'll use the carnival squash from last time too.

1 acorn squash
1 carnival squash
2 C. arborio rice
1 onion, chopped
2 C. water
2 C. chicken broth
2 C. white wine
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 C. parmesan
olive oil
salt and pepper

Halve the squash and scoop out the seeds. Then cut into manageable pieces (quarters or eighths) for peeling. I peel first with a vegetable peeler and then with a paring knife for the deep grooves. Slice the pieces in 1/4" slices. Cover in a saucepan with cold water and a little salt. Bring to a boil and check with a fork for doneness. Usually they are done in a minute of boiling. Drain and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking. Season with a little salt and black pepper.

Combine the wine, water and stock in saucepan and bring to low boil.

Brown the garlic and onion in 2T of oil in a large skillet. When the onion is soft, add the rice and stir together. Using a ladle or a cup measure, add about 1/2 C. of broth to the rice and stir until it is absorbed. Add about 1/2 C at a time, always stirring until absorbed. At the end this is tough to judge, but the more stirring, the creamier the risotto. After all of the broth is added, check that the rice is cooked. Stir in the cheese.

Reheat the squash in a saucepan with a little butter and water, then stir into the risotto. Serve with cheese, black pepper, or pepper sauce on top.

Verdict: A
Credits: Inspired by recipe in Under the Tuscan Sun by Frances Mayes

Works as leftovers? Yes. Reheat as is, or make into cakes and coat with breadcrumbs and fry in a little olive oil. YUM!

Notes: Butternut squash is easier to peel and slice, but these are what came in the box.
There's not much salt in my recipe, I use canned broth and find that even the low-sodium, cut with water is salty enough. I tried just stock, with added wine but it is WAY too salty. If I have regular cans of stock (tonight I had a box of low-sodium) then I use one can of stock, two cans of wine and 3 cans of water. If you make your own stock, you might not want to cut it with water like I do.

Spicy peanut pork stew and slaw

For tonight:

First, the slaw

1 bag of coleslaw (or 2 cups chopped cabbage)
1 bag of bean sprouts (about 1 cup)
2 T tamari (soy sauce)
2 T mirin (rice wine)
2 T wine vinegar
1 T honey
2 t sesame oil
1 T sesame seeds
1/2 C. scallions, sliced on the diagonal

Mix the cabbage and sprouts in a bowl. Mix the liquids together and pour over the salad. Add the sesame seeds and scallions. Mix again and let marinate in the refrigerator.

Spicy pork stew

3 lb boneless pork roast
2 cloves garlic, crushed and minced
olive oil
1/2 C. teriyaki sauce (the thin kind, not the gooey stirfry sauce)
1/4 C. rice vinegar
2 T. rice wine (mirin)
1/2 t. red pepper flakes
1/8 t. cayenne
1/2 C. chunky peanut butter
1 bunch of kale
2 poblano peppers, halved, seeded and thinly sliced

In a pressure cooker, heat 1 T oil and brown the garlic. Cut the roast in to 4-6 pieces and brown in the oil on all sides.

Mix the teriyaki, vinegar, wine and pepper flakes. Pour over the pork and add the poblano. Put on the lid and cook according to your pressure cooker. For me, about 30 minutes of high pressure, then let sit to depressurize.

Wash and cut the kale into thin ribbons.

Remove the pork to a cutting board. Stir peanut butter into the pan. I stir in a big spoonful and taste, then add another if necessary. Rough chop the pork and return to the pan. Stir and simmer for 1-2 minutes.

Add the kale to the pan and cover (not pressure) for 1 minute. I pile it up to the lid, cover it to wilt a little then stir and cover and stir and cover until it is softened up. Maybe 5 minutes. Use teriyaki or soy sauce if the stew is too thick.

Serve the slaw and the stew side by side in large soup bowls, to eat together.

Verdict: A-, the kale dilutes the sauce flavor so I added a little soy sauce and pepper sauce at the end.
Credits:This is based on a slow-cooker recipe for Thai-style pork stew in Cooking Light that was on the home page last month. Registration required.
Leftovers? This is great on a bun the next day. Before storing the slaw, drain the dressing off so it doesn't get too soggy.

Notes This one is still under experimentation. I like the addition of the kale, since otherwise it is a meat dish. The original was served with rice, but I don't bother with that anymore.