Fried Chicken and Cheesesteaks

We took an interesting documentary DVD out from the library this week - "Food Stamped" - it was written / directed / edited by a couple named Shira and Yoav Potash.    Shira Potash is a nutritionist, employed directly or indirectly by the food stamp program to teach kids in the public schools about healthy nutrition.     In the documentary this young couple sets out to live for a week, in terms of groceries, on the $50 which is a higher-than-average allotment for a two adult household.    She did this following the example of a few congressmen and congresswomen who also followed the same challenge for a week. Points on which I agree with Mrs. Potash's theories: 1)  We have an obesity problem AND a malnutrition problem in this country, especially among the poor. 2) Access to healthy food is difficult for the poorest citizens of our country, especially those without cars in urban environments wi...

This is unpretentious weeknight cooking to be sure, but also very tasty! 1) wash potatoes  (mine were organic from the CSA) 2) cut them up in bite size pieces (don't peel) 3) place in microwave safe large bowl, cover with water 4) cook until tender (took about 16 minutes in my microwave with about 8 cups of chopped potatoes) 5) pour off water (doesn't need to be too thoroughly) 6) mix in some butter, thyme, paprika, salt  (if you forgot to take butter out of the freezer until now, microwave for one more minute) 7) stir and serve in the same bowl! So easy, so good ... and don't worry about adding some butter - its still MUCH better for you than most processed foods!

I don't know why, but it wasn't until AFTER my daughter was born that I started really enjoying pickled foods.   With the weekly bounty of vegetables arriving from the CSA each week, plus my fondness for visiting farmers market in high summer, I've had plenty of fresh produce recently ... sometimes a bit too much.   So I started looking into pickling.   But as a full time working mom, spending 8 precious hours with my hot water canner was a no-go.    But then I started coming across the phrase "refrigerator pickle" and "quickle".    As I read more recipes, many seemed to have a basic theme:  2 cups vinegar, 2 cups water, 1/4 cup kosher or pickling salt, brought to boil and poured over a jar of prepared veggies and spices (peppercorns, whole allspice, garlic cloves, cloves, hot peppers, etc).     We later discovered that any that don't have a distinct garlic bite needed more sugar, so I added a su...

This gets really good reviews every time I bring it to work, so I figured I would share.   1)  buy a box of brownie mix (or better yet get it practically free with a double coupon on sale) 2)  store on shelf for really long time 3)  open brownie mix, preheat oven 4) replace "oil" listed on box with equal quantity of melted butter 5) replace "water" listed on box with equal quantity of cold leftover coffee 6) add eggs per instructions, stir it all together 7) add a handful of roadkill bunny (i.e. chopped dark chocolate - the lindt store sells broken bunnies cheap post Easter) 8) add a handful of mini marshmallows You will have to bake this a bit longer than the box says because of the extra gooiness from the added chocolate and marshmallow.      I like it served warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

One of my goals in the summer is to have yummy meals without heating up the kitchen, so I grill just about everything, especially the wonderful produce coming from my CSA.   I facilitated this by buying some sturdy metal pans - two 8" bread pans, and a quarter sheet pan ... both WITHOUT non-stick, so I didn't have to worry about the high temperatures on the grill: Cauliflower and/or broccoli:   wash, chop into bite size pieces, put in bread pan, shave a bit of butter on top, cover with foil, cook on top rack of grill. Beets:  remove stems and leaves, wash well but GENTLY so as not to remove skin.    Place in bread pan, add about an inch of water, cover with foil, cook on top rack.     Take off, allow to cool, use fingers to rub off the skin, then slice and keep in fridge for salads the next day.   Beets are naturally sweet but need a touch of salt or a little salad dressing in a salad...

This is one of those "oops forgo the picutre before it was devoured" posts .... but I'm getting a CSA share from Lancaster Farm Fresh again this year after two years off.     One of the unusual vegetables in this past Monday's share was Kohlrabi. I looked up how to cook them and found a variety of suggestions ... but I didn't want to heat up the kitchen.   so I washed them, sliced off the leaves, sliced them into 1/2" slices, and put them in a metal dish with some butter.    I covered that with foil and put it on top rack of my grill.    Sooooooo good!   It's like a cross between a tender broccolli stalk and an artichoke heart. Yum Yum Yum 

I want to try this: Pickled Beets pdf of local Chester County Food resources I'm really enjoying the variety and challenge of a CSA again:  The marvelous Lancaster Farm Fresh CSA - they're still accepting applications

A loose recipe I make every so often when I have some good cheese on hand .... 1st. Boil and drain one pound of pasta to al dente, drain and set aside. (I tend to use penne or ziti, but if you have elbows on hand, that is fine too) 2nd. Make a roux - melt half a stick of butter in a large pot. Whisk in about a quarter cup flour. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until it's a light brown with a light scent of toast. 3rd. Mix in about a pint of milk, stirring constantly as it comes up to temperature (the flour will thicken the liquid as it comes to a boil). Season with mustard (dry powder or a prepared dijon or brown would be best), a few tablespoons of sherry or white wine, paprika, garlic powder or finely minced garlic, onion powder, pepper (preferably white pepper), nutmeg. 4th. Mix in about a pound of cheese, shredded. In my last batch I think I used fontina, cheddar, parmesan and a little bit each of Parrano and swiss. Any "real" ...