Monthly Archives: January 2011

Salt & Lemon Baked Kale Chips

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Every week I get a big box of organic fruits and veggies from Farm Fresh To You, a California based CSA.  Each week as I open the box I am pleasantly surprised with the surplus of local organic treats.  As we are in the winter season I find the box filled with leafy greens such as Kale, Collard Greens, Chard and Leeks.

I am Southern California girl now living in San Francisco so often these vegetables are quite new to me.  The Farm Fresh Box makes me reach out of my cooking comfort area and forces me to experiment with new recipes and flavors.  It is my weekly challenge – what can I make with these.

This past week I received a big bunch of Kale.  As I scoured the internet for recipes I came across Baked Kale Chips from In “The Little Red House.”  Jason is always looking for a good snack so I tested them out. A quick trip in the oven and they come out crispy and salty and make you feel good eating them.  If you are into the Raw Diet you can dehydrate the kale and I think it will turn out just as delish!

Sign up for Farm Fresh To You and tell them I sent you!  :)  We could have a weekly recipe-off!

INGREDIENTS
Kale
Sea Salt
Lemon
Olive Oil

DIRECTIONS
Wash Kale and Preheat oven to 325
Chop off thick part of the stems (or destem all together)
Place on a cookie sheet (I didn’t have one so I used a roasting pan and casserole pan)
Drizzle with olive Oil
Bake for 15-20 minutes or until crispy but not burnt
Season with Salt & Pepper and Lemon Juice

A Dieters Dream – Eggplant Caponata on Spaghetti Squash

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The New Year calls for some new and healthy recipes.  This is a dieters dream.  But you don’t have to be on a diet to enjoy this fresh meal.  I actually enjoy eating healthy and track all my healthy meals at Livestrong.com.  It calculates the calories in certain recipes and acts as a digital food journal to keep you on track.

With that, I am newly obsessed with spaghetti squash.  It is so easy to cook, crunchy, and looks like pasta which tricks your mind into thinking you are actually eating carbs.  And with only 118 calories per serving and a plethora of vegetables you can go on and have seconds. :)

Eggplant Caponata on Spaghetti Squash

Ingredients

  • 2 cups Japanese Eggplant, Raw
  • 2 cups Vegetable, Zucchini
  • 1/2 cup Onions
  • 6 oz Raw Celery
  • 3 Garlic Clove
  • 2 Tomatoes
  • 8 oz Organic Tomato Juice
  • 2 tbsp Basalmic Vinegar Of Modena
  • 2 medium Red Bell Pepper, Raw
  • 1 tbsp Olive Oil
  • 2 tbsp Non-Parelis Capers
  • Spaghetti Squash

Directions

Preheat oven to 400.

Chop all vegetables into medium size pieces.

Put eggplant, red pepper, and Onion onto roasting pan and roast for 35-40 mins.

Then Add the zucchini, celery and garlic and roast for an additional 15 minutes.

Add tomatos, juice and balsamic and let roast for an additional 15 or so minutes.

Add capers and you are done with the sauce.

Meanwhile, cut the spaghetti squash in half and microwave for 15 minutes.  Once that is done you want to string it out with a fork.

Spoon Sauce over squash and sprinkle with parm. MMMMM!

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The Best Cheesecake You Will Ever Have

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I have this saying…If there is sour cream in the recipe it is going to be good.  I mean honestly who doesn’t love sour cream, (well, besides Kati Joon I suppose)?  I love it so much I can eat it by the spoonful.  But it has to be “real” sour cream, not non-fat, which is neither cream nor sour.

Sour cream makes any dish lightly creamy and a little goes a long way.  So, when I saw this recipe for Cheesecake that included both sour cream and whipping cream I knew it was going to be good.  And from the silence that arrived at the table while we indulged in it, I was right.  It was the best cheesecake we had ever eaten.  (Don’t worry mom yours is second best).  Light, fluffly and semi-sweet.

And the best part about it – It is super easy!!   ( You will need a springform pan)

PS. The picture does not do justice.  You will have to try it yourself.

Chefanie’s World’s Greatest Cheesecake

Ingredients

crust

  • 1 9-ounce package chocolate wafer cookies, broken into pieces
  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted

filling

  • 4 8-ounce packages cream cheese, room temperature
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 4 large eggs
  • 1 cup sour cream
  • 1/2 cup whipping cream
  • 2 tablespoons vanilla extract

Directions

for crust:
Position rack in center of oven; preheat to 325°F. Butter 10-inch-diameter springform pan. Wrap outside of pan with foil. Finely grind cookies in processor. Add melted butter; process until crumbs are moist. Press crumbs onto bottom and 2 inches up sides of pan. Bake until set, about 15 minutes. Cool on rack. Maintain oven temperature.

for filling:
Stir white chocolate in top of double boiler set over barely simmering water until melted and smooth. Remove from over water. Cool to lukewarm, stirring occasionally.

Using electric mixer, beat cream cheese in large bowl until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Gradually add sugar, then salt; beat until smooth. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add sour cream, whipping cream and vanilla; beat until well blended.

Bake cake until top begins to brown but center still moves slightly when pan is gently shaken, about 1 hour 20 minutes. Open oven door slightly; turn off oven. Leave cake in oven 30 minutes. Chill cake uncovered overnight. (Can be made 2 days ahead. Cover; keep refrigerated.)

Run small knife between pan sides and cake. Release pan sides. Starting at outer edge of top of cake, arrange strawberry halves in slightly overlapping concentric circles, covering top completely. Stir preserves and brandy in heavy small saucepan over medium heat until mixture boils. Strain preserves. Brush glaze generously over strawberries, allowing some glaze to drip between berries. (Can be made 4 hours ahead. Chill.)

Grilled Vegetable Platter

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For some strange and unusual reason these were not the biggest hit at the Birthday Dinner Party, or maybe we just made far too many of them.  Most likely because they had low billing at the food serving station.  They were in between a heavenly range of different callings and I guess people had other priorities that night.  Oh well, more for me! :)

Jason just got me this Lodge Logic Cast Iron Grill/Griddle and it worked perfectly and was a huge time savor for this task.   However, any grill pan will do.

I highly recommend you adding these colorful, bright, and gorgeous vegetables to your reprotoire.  They will lighten up your life!

Grilled Vegetable Platter
Tri-Colored Red Peppers
Eggplant
Zucchini
Yellow Squash
Portobello Mushrooms
Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper

DIRECTIONS
Slice all the vegetables into thinner slices.

Lightly Coat with Olive Oil and Salt & Pepper

Fire Up the Grill Pan and grill each side for 3-4 minutes depending.

Arrange on a platter and drizzle with Olive Oil before serving.

Gimme Them Grains – Farro Salad with Cauliflower and Prosciutto

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We made this dish for Chefanie Wambach and Nathan’s birthday dinner party.  As we were cooking for a small army, this grain dish was a perfect accompaniment to the full meal and is hearty enough to serve as a main dish or lunch.

So, what the eff is Farro?  Well, its delicious, its chewy, its pasta-like, and it is a whole grain.  And you and I both know you need to be eatin’ them grains!   You can also make this dish vegetarian by omitting the Prosciutto.

Farro Salad with Fried Cauliflower and Prosciutto
Adapted from Food & Wine
Serves at least 8  

INGREDIENTS
1 pound farro, rinsed and drained
2 carrots, halved crosswise
1 small onion, halved
1 celery rib, halved crosswise
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 bay leaf
Canola oil, for frying
2 large heads of cauliflower (2 1/2 pounds each), cut into 1-inch florets
1/2 pound prosciutto, sliced 1/4 inch thick and cut into 1/4-inch dice
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
5 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
2 teaspoons chopped marjoram
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

DIRECTIONS

In a large saucepan, combine the farro, carrots, onion, celery, garlic and bay leaf. Add enough cold water to cover the farro by 1 inch and bring to a simmer over high heat. Reduce the heat to moderate and cook until the farro is tender but chewy, 15 minutes; drain. Spread the farro on a rimmed baking sheet to cool. Discard the carrots, onion, celery, garlic and bay leaf.

Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, heat 1 inch of canola oil over moderately high heat until a deep-fry thermometer registers 350°. Fry the cauliflower in batches until golden, 5 minutes per batch; drain.

In a bowl, mix the farro, cauliflower, prosciutto, olive oil, lemon juice and herbs. Season with salt and pepper and serve.