Broccoli & Asparagus Breakfast

This morning I decided to make eggs with vegetables:

Eggs with Broccoli & Asparagus

• 2 large eggs*
• 4 large egg whites*
• garlic powder
• cayenne
• 3 broccoli crowns
• 1 bunch asparagus
• 1/3 cup feta cheese, crumbled

Wash broccoli and asparagus.  Chop broccoli.  Remove woody stems from asparagus (hold either end and bend the stalk.  The woody part will break off).  Cut into 1-inch pieces.  Place both broccoli and asparagus in microwave steamer with 1/2 cup water in the bottom.  Cover and microwave for 6 minutes.

In the meantime, beat eggs, egg whites and spices in a small bowl.  Coat a 12-inch frypan with cooking spray.  Heat over medium heat.  Place cooked vegetables in pan, pour eggs over vegetables and sprinkle with feta.  Allow bottom of eggs to cook, then continue cooking stirring with a silicon spatula until eggs are barely wet.  Allow to set 1 minute before serving.

The item on the side is a potato cheese pub pie we purchased at the Shaker Heights Farmers Market.  They were made by a company called Gray House Pies, located at 22560 Lorain Rd, Fairview Park, OH 44126.  We bought those along with BBQ chicken and Daal pub pies and brownies as well.  For more information, you can follow them on Facebook here: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Gray-House-Pies/128120697377?sk=wall.

To finish breakfast, I made smoothies:

Mixed Berry Smoothies

• 1 1/2 cups Fresh Yogurt*
• 1/2 cup fresh blueberries
• 1/2 cup fresh blackberries
• 1/2 cup fresh strawberries

Place all ingredients into mug from Bullet Blender.  Attach cross blades and blend 10 seconds.  Shake to mix further and blen another 10 seconds or until smooth.

*CSA ingredients

Fire Food & Drinks: Brunch

Yesterday morning, we attended a brunch at Fire Food & Drinks at Shaker Square for our first official brunch Meetup.  We have been to this restaurant once before for dinner, but had always wanted to go for brunch because the menu (which changes seasonally) always looks so good!  This restaurant is well-known to use local produce and products in their cooking, so I think it deserves a plug!  Here are pictures of what people had:

I had a Vegetable Fritatta which was made with mushrooms, ramps and feta cheese.  It was served with a leaf lettuce and frissee salad with a vidalia vinaigrette.

John had Crispy Chicken livers served with a cherry sauce, poached egg (which was beautiful!), frissee salad with sweet bacon on top.

We also split an order of their Homemade Breakfast Sausage.  The flavors were sage and something sweet that we couldn't quite identify.

Our

Our new friend Lenore had Shrimp Fried Rice.  It looked really good with shitake mushrooms, shrimp and a red chile aioli.

She also had a side of their Homemade Bacon.

George had Fire Benedict with an Iowa Proscuitto.  We were joking about that, but he said it was very good and the eggs were cooked perfectly.

And lastly, Alex had Almond Stuffed French Toast.  As a testament to how good the food was, there were several plates completely cleaned by the time we finish our brunch. 

We had a great time meeting new people, enjoying great food and even managed to visit the Shaker Square Farmers' Market before hand.  As you will see in my next post, we obtained some yummy treats there as well!

Fire Food and Drinks is located at Shaker Square in Shaker Heights, OH.  You can find out more about them at their website: http://firefoodanddrink.com/





Houtz Cheese

So, I probably wouldn't have posted this recipe tonight, because I hadn't intended to use any CSA products. I had purchased an eggplant at our local market and I really needed to use it. My husband wanted Pasta al a Norma (a sicilian dish), but it calls for ricotta salata and I don't have any handy.  If you've ever had Pasta al a Norma, you know that it really needs that particular cheese (it has a creamy texture that is unique).  I ran across this recipe which is similar and also calls for ricotta salata or parmesan. Well, I ran out of parmesan. In the last package, we received a wedge of cheese called Houtz.  It is a hard goat cheese that apparently is only made locally (at least that's all I could find when I Googled it).  I decided to open and taste it...Leland, if you are reading this, you should do the same!.  It turned out be a very nice sharp dry cheese.  Very similar to parmesan.  So, I substituted it in the recipe that follows:

Penne with Spicy Eggplant and Tomato Sauce
http://www.cookingclub.com/recipes/articletype/articleview/articleid/6891/penne-with-spicy-eggplant-tomato-sauce

• 12 oz. (3 cups) penne (tube-shaped pasta)
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 medium eggplant, cubed (1 inch) (4 cups)
• 1 1/2 cups purchased puttanesca pasta sauce (I used roasted garlic with kalamatas added)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 1/4 cup (1 oz.) finely grated ricotta salata or Parmesan cheese (I used Houtz*)
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano or basil (optional)

1. Cook penne in large pot of boiling water according to package directions; drain.

2. Meanwhile, heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Add eggplant; cook, stirring frequently, 8 minutes or until well-browned. (Reduce heat to medium after 3 to 5 minutes to prevent overbrowning.) Add pasta sauce, salt and red pepper. Reduce heat to medium; cook 1 to 2 minutes or until hot. Place in large bowl. Add pasta; toss to combine. Sprinkle with cheese and oregano.

*CSA ingredient

Radish Greens

We got the first of what promises to be many batches of radishes with this share.  I cannot eat raw radishes due to my hay fever, however, they had a beautiful batch of greens.  I was thinking they might be good to eat but wasn't sure if they were edible or how to best prepare them.  So, here's a little background on radishes:

Radishes are a member of the Brassicaceae family as well.  There are many varieties and sizes and it looks as though we received a mix of round and icicle-like.  Interestingly, their name comes from the Greek name Raphanus, meaning "quickly appearing".  That probably explains why we get them so early in the season.  Judging by last years lists, we are bound to get them for several weeks, so I will eventually experiment with pickling and cooking them to see if I can eat them at all.  But for now, since this is a small batch, my husband will take them to have with his lunches.

I took a look at the few recipes I was able to find for the greens and found that as with the radishes, most people eat them raw in salads.  Since I cannot eat the vegetable without an allergic reaction, I decided that I probably cannot eat the greens raw either.  So I came up with the following recipe.  The greens, even though they were wilted had an interesting texture, kind of crisp.  The flavor was similar to spinach.

Scrambled Eggs with Radish Greens and Bacon

• 2 lg eggs*
• 4 lg egg whites*
• 1 Tsp olive oil
• 1 bunch radish greens*
• 2 slices uncured bacon*
• garlic, to taste
• 2 oz cheese curds with dill*

Wash radish greens, dry well.  Cut into 1/2 slices including stems.  Cook bacon in microwave between paper towel sheets for 2 minutes on HIGH.  Chop cooked bacon.  Slice cheese curds to 1/8 inch slices.  Beat eggs and egg whites in a medium bowl.

In a large skillet, heat oil over med-high heat.  Add greens and garlic and reduce heat to medium.  Cook and stir until greens are wilted, about 4 minutes.   Add bacon and cheese curds.  Pour egg mixture over all and allow bottom to cook.  Continue cooking and stirring over medium heat until eggs are barely wet.  Makes 2 servings.  Serve with wheat toast* and jelly.

*CSA ingredients

Broccoli Rabe (aka Rapini)

Today's veggie choice ended up being broccoli rabe (aka rapini).  Apparently, despite picking up at the third pickup time, all of the spinach, mixed greens and rhubarb were already taken.  So, I did a little research:

Rapini is a member of the Brassiceae family of which turnips also belong.  It is known as broccoli rabe because of the head of flowers which looks like broccoli, however, it is not related to broccoli. 

I also received merguez sausage, a lamb sausage, in this share which was completely thawed when I got it home, so I wanted to make something with the sausage as well as the rapini. In the extra share that I received this week (due to my vacation last week), I also received ramps.  Here's how I put them together:

Macaroni with Merguez, Rapini and Ramps

• 1 lb merguez sausage*, casings removed
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 (8-oz) pkg whole wheat pasta (I used macaroni)
• 1 bunch rapini*
• 1 bunch ramps*
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1/4 cup water
• salt & pepper, to taste
• Grated Parmesan or romano

In a deep frying pan, heat oil over high heat.  Reduce heat and add sausages, breaking into small pieces during cooking.  Cook sausage through; set aside.

Cook pasta in a large Dutch oven according to package directions.  Drain pasta, reserving 1 cup cooking water; set aside.

Remove woody ends of rapini and then cut into 2-inch pieces.  Wash ramps and cut into 2-inch pieces.  Heat water and oil over med-high heat.  Add ramps and rapini to pan, mix well, cover and cook until wilted.  Add sausage to pan and season with salt and pepper.  Mix sausage mixture into pasta until well combined; add cooking water as needed.  Serve 1 1/2 cups and sprinkle with grated cheese.

*CSA ingredients

Last winter CSA package

Well, it's hard to believe, but winter CSA is officially over this week.  It has been a fun way to get introduced to how CSA shares work before plunging into a summer CSA which is delivered every week.  I am excited for what lies ahead, but for the moment, here is what we are getting in this last winter share:

This week's full selection is:
- 1 pint homemade jam, either blackberry or blueberry
- 1/2 lb leaf lettuce
- 1 whole chicken, approx 4 lbs
- 1 lb Ohio City Pasta
- 1/2 lb fresh cheddar curds (your choice of dill, chipotle, garlic, or regular)
- 1/2 gallon milk
- 1 dozen eggs
- 1 lb sausage (your choice chorizo, cajun, mild Italian, or merguez)
- Choice of 2 vegetables: 
          - kale
          - spinach
          - mixed greens
          - rhubarb
          - radishes
          - rapini
          - asparagus

As you can see, we are already heading into late spring/early summer produce, and I am going to have a hard time choosing.  I really just want one of each!  I suspect that I will go with the rhubarb because it is expensive in the store, but I will ask to see the asparagus and rapini before I choose.  All three items are very tempting and I am actually hoping he has enough that we can purchase the others separately. 

Since we were on vacation last week, I am desperately in need of groceries, so I am looking forward to getting this share tomorrow.  My mind is already working on the things that I will be making!