Green Beans with Toasted Almonds and Lemon

24 Jul 09 by | 1 Comment | 267 view(s)
Categories: food | Tags: , ,

Alice Waters pretty much sums up my approach to food and cooking:

“Eat locally and sustainably.

Eat seasonally.

Shop at farmers’ markets. (and I’d add: Join a CSA.)

Plant a garden.

Conserve, compost, and recycle.

Cook simply.

Cook together.

Eat together.

Remember food is precious.”

- from The Art of Simple Food

With the baskets at the farmers’ market now brimming with beans, this is the perfect way to experience what Waters calls a “delicious revolution”. Ok, so maybe tossing green beans with butter, salt, lemon juice, and toasted almonds isn’t quite revolutionary, but it certainly is delicious!

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Kale Chips

7 Jun 09 by | 1 Comment | 318 view(s)
Categories: food | Tags: , ,

We’re drowning in kale here. While we love being members of the Delvin Farms CSA, we don’t love kale (well, Tim in particular doesn’t love kale… kale is bitter… and so is Tim). Our recent boxes have been overflowing with various varieties of this leafy green. Red Russian kale, Siberian kale, red ursa, lacinato or dinosaur kale – you name it, we have it. While our wonderful farmers are very good at providing tasty recipes with each weekly box, I was desperate for another way to cook this super-veg, which is high in calcium, iron, folic acid, vitamin A, and vitamin C. I stumbled upon a recipe for roasted kale on the internet, and remembering how much we enjoy roasted broccoli, I gave it a try. Boy, am I glad I did! While we may not love kale, this recipe transforms something that’s healthy into something that’s tasty. We’re slowly being won over (well, most of us), one bunch at a time. The girls gobbled up these salt and vinegar kale chips last Thursday and demanded an encore on Sunday, which I willingly obliged. After all, when it comes to kale these days, we have plenty!

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Parmesan-Roasted Broccoli

24 Apr 09 by | No Comments | 261 view(s)
Categories: food, garden | Tags: , , ,

“I do not like broccoli. And I haven’t liked it since I was a little kid and my mother made me eat it. And I’m President of the United States and I’m not going to eat any more.” – George H. W. Bush

I, however, do like broccoli. My family, including my 3, 6, and 8 year old girls, likes broccoli. And yes, even if they didn’t, I’m one of those mean mamas who would make them eat it – at least until one of them becomes Madam President! Which one or ones will it be? (As a side note, I’m glad to see broccoli in the new White House organic vegetable garden.)

So, until the White House, how do we fix broccoli here at the Martin house? Of course, broccoli with cheese is a classic. So much so that one year we grew broccoli and had the girls sprinkle grated cheddar around the plants as a fun and unique mulch! I also like to steam it and add a big splash of freshly squeezed lemon juice and big sprinkle of kosher salt. But perhaps my favorite way to prepare broccoli is to roast it. Using the Barefoot Contessa’s recipe as a guide, it’s easy to create what the Amateur Gourmet calls “the best broccoli of your life.” Perhaps even George H. W. Bush would like broccoli if he had it like this!

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