Jack's Bacon

Every once in a while, I stop by Jack's Market to get bacon and sausage. They have the best thick - cut bacon. I also had leeks and spinach that I needed to use. I figured that would be a great combination for a quiche.

Bacon Spinach Quiche with Leeks

2 slices thick - cut bacon
1 med leek*
3 cups baby spinach, stems removed
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 eggs**
1 cup milk
Salt and pepper
1 cup Swiss cheese

Preheat oven to 350F.  Cook bacon over medium heat until crisp. Transfer to paper towels to drain. When cool, chop into small pieces. Pour off all but 1 Tbsp bacon grease. Cut white part of leek in half lengthwise and then slice into 1/4 - inch slices. Heat pan and add leeks. Cook about 2 minutes. Add spinach and cook until just wilted. Add garlic and cook one more minute. Remove to paper towel to drain excess moisture.

Prepare baking dish with cooking spray. Place vegetables and bacon into bottom of dish. In a large mixing bowl, beat eggs with salt and pepper. Slowly add milk until well mixed. Pour over vegetables. Sprinkle with swiss cheese.  Bake for 35-40 minutes or until a knife, inserted into center, comes out clean. Allow to set 5 minutes before serving.

*farmers market ingredients
**CSA ingredients

Leeks and Beet Greens

I was looking through my stock of produce trying to figure out what use in this weeks quiche and realized that I had a few leeks and some more beet greens to use up.  Leeks are interesting to me because I am not much of an onion person and for years never wanted to even try them.  But then someone taught me the proper way to use them (may have been Alton Brown or some online cooking show, who knows?) and ever since then, I have bought them when they looked beautiful or taken advantage of them when available from the CSA.  The term I have often heard in conjunction with cooking leeks is "melting" and there is a reason they call it that.  These vegetables, which have a flavor reminiscent of garlic and chives, when cooked properly, do sort of "melt".  They become rather creamy and beautiful!

I decided that leeks and beet greens, with the contrast of garlic and chives and the sweetness of the beet greens would make a lovely combination for my quiche today.  Unfortunately, I was out of Swiss cheese, so I had to settle for sharp cheddar, but then I decided that sharpness would only add to the flavor profile.  Finally, I took some fresh basil from my garden and chiffonaded it and put it on top before baking the quiche.  There is a danger that the basil will turn blackish as it cooks (why you shouldn't add fresh basil to your tomato sauce until the very end), but I thought that the flavor would heighten the flavor profile.  And besides, when you have fresh basil available, why not use it?

Leek and Beet Green Quiche

• 3 small leeks*
• 1/2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 Tbsp butter
• 1 small bunch beet greens, stems removed*
• 1 cup sharp cheddar
• 5 farm fresh eggs*
• 1 1/4 cups 1/2% milk
• salt & pepper
• 6 basil leaves**

Cut leaves and roots off the leeks leaving only white and light green portions.  Slice leeks in half and rinse to remove sand; drain well.  Slice leeks to 1/4 inch slices; set aside.  Wash and drain the beet greens; set aside.  Wash and drain the basil leaves; set aside.

 Preheat oven to 350F.  Heat olive oil and butter in a skillet over medium heat until the butter starts to bubble.  Add the leeks and saute, stirring frequently, until they start to "melt" (this is fairly easy to see as the texture seems to change).  Tear the beet greens into bite-sized pieces and add to skillet.  Cook until the greens wilt and most of the water is evaporated.  Place these vegetables into your prepared baking dish.

Beat eggs until smooth.  Season with salt and pepper, then add the milk and mix until completely smooth.  Pour eggs over the vegetables.  Sprinkle with shredded cheddar.  Roll the basil leaves and slice very thinly (known as chiffonade).  Sprinkle the chiffonaded basil over entire quiche.  Bake for 35 minutes or until knife, inserted into center, comes out clean.  Allow to set for 5 minutes before serving.

*CSA ingredients
**Farmers market ingredients

Nutrition (1/8 quiche)
Calories        136
Fat                    9g
Cholesterol   131mg
Sodium         162mg
Potassium     159mg
Carbs                6g
Protein              8g

Mulligatawny Stew

I have seen recipe after recipe for Mulligatawny stew.  I don't know why, but when I was much younger, I thought this stew came from Australia, but I now know that the origin is actually Anglo-Indian.  The name, Tamil in origin, literally translates to pepper water.  While there is no traditional form, the recipe I followed today gets it's color and flavor from curry powder.  I have added mushrooms because I needed to use them up.  And I chose to use leeks instead of onions.  But it smells lovely and looks quite yummy.  Oh yeah, the thing that has always intrigued me beyond the curry base is the fact that almost every recipe calls for a tart apple.  I love curry and apples!

Mulligatawny Stew
Adapted from: 1001 Low-carb Recipes by Dana Carpender, pg 190

• 2 quarts chicken stock (I used homemade)
• 2 cups shredded chicken (leftover rotissierie)
• 3 Tbsp olive oil (original recipe calls for butter or ghee)
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 3 leeks, sliced
• 1 small carrot, shredded
• 2 ribs celery, diced (include leaves)
• 1 1/2 heaping tbsp curry powder (adjust this to taste)
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 tart apple, chopped fine
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• 1 tsp dehydrated lemon zest
• 1 cup evaporated skimmed milk

Heat the oil in a heavy skillet over medium heat.  Add the leeks and sweat until softened.  Add the mushrooms, carrot, celery and curry powder.  Cook until the vegetables are fork tender.

Add stock, chicken, cooked vegetables, bay leaf, apple and seasonings to the crock of a slow cooker.  Cook on HIGH for 2 hours.  Then reduce heat and cook overnight on low.  Just before serving, add the evaporated milk and remove the bay leaf.

I Love Quiche

This morning, after doing Zumba, I knew I wanted eggs for breakfast. With a very large batch of Mediterranean Spaghetti Squash in the refrigerator, I thought I would break from my quiche habit and try a frittata. However, when I looked up recipes, I realized why I prefer quiche. I am a custard girl through-and-through! I love the creamy texture of custard and when I looked at the frittata recipes, I realized that they are closer to omelets than quiche. So, quiche it is! The other nice thing about quiche is that it is so very versatile, so you can use up things in your refrigerator and it is almost always good!

 Mediterranean Spaghetti Squash Quiche

•  2 cups Mediterranean spaghetti Squash*
•  1 cup sharp cheddar cheese
•  5 large farm-fresh eggs*
•  1 cup 1% milk
•  salt and pepper

 Prepare a pie plate with cooking spray. Put spaghetti squash in bottom of pie plate. Sprinkle with cheese. Blend eggs, milk and seasonings until well blended. Pour over squash. Bake at 350F for 30 minutes or until knife inserted into center comes out clean. Rest 5 minutes before serving.

*CSA ingredients

Mediterranean Spaghetti Squash

As I've mentioned before, I really cannot eat pasta anymore. I do, however, like spaghetti squash. As I was going to look for an idea to make this weekend, my sister, Ann Moeller, pinned a recipe that not only looked very yummy, but I thought I had all the ingredients for. So, this morning, I set out to make it. To add needed protein, I added chicken, and I decided to use leeks and ramps (wild leeks) in place of the onions and garlic. Finally, the jar of olives I had were Spanish, not black, but the saltiness nicely balances the sweetness of the squash and leeks. I am guessing the original recipe is fantastic too, but my version was a tasty lunch!

 Mediterranean Spaghetti Squash with Chicken
 Adapted from: http://www.garnishwithlemon.com/2013/01/11/mediterranean-spaghetti-squash/

• 1 3-4 pound spaghetti squash, halved lengthwise and seeded
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 small leeks,cut lengthwise and thinly sliced
• 1/2 bunch ramp leaves, shredded
• 2½ cups halved grape tomatoes
• 2 cups leftover chicken, shredded
• ¾ cup crumbled feta cheese
• ½ cup halved Spanish olives
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
• Salt and pepper

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a baking sheet.
2. Place spaghetti squash cut sides down on the baking sheet. Bake until you can poke a sharp knife into the squash with little resistance, about 35-45 minutes. Remove squash from oven and set aside to cool.
3. Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat. Swear leeks in oil until tender. Add ramps, and saute for 30 seconds. Stir in the tomatoes and chicken and cook briefly, about 1 minute. You only want to warm the tomatoes.
4. Use a large fork to shred the “spaghetti” from the squash and place the strands in a large bowl. Toss with the sauteed vegetables, feta cheese, olives, and basil. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve warm.

Potatoes and Leeks

This weekend, I went to a birthday party for my husband's aunt's 90th birthday. While there, his cousin, Rene, offered everyone squash and leeks. I managed to come away with 2 large, beautiful leeks, 2 acorn squash and 1 small spaghetti squash. Since we got potatoes in the last share, I decided to try my hand at potato leek soup. Now, I usually spend a lot of time searching recipes and making a gameplan, but this morning I was in a hurry, so I just threw things in my Crockpot and went to work. I will admit I had some anxiety, and there are some things I would do differently next time, but overall, I ended up with a very tasty soup.

 Potato Leek Soup with Cheddar and Bacon

•  2 large leeks
•  8 small potatoes* 
• 3 medium carrots*
•  32 oz chicken stock
•  2 cups water
• 1 sprig sage
•  1/2 1b bacon
•  2 cups shredded cheese (I used extra sharp white cheddar)

 Trim the leek (use only light green/white part). Cut in half lengthwise and wash out sand. Thinly slice the leeks. Add to the Crockpot.

 Peel and chunk the potatoes; add to the Crockpot. Peel the carrots and cut to 1-inch pieces; add to the Crockpot. Pour chicken stock and water over the vegetables. Cover and cook on LOW for 6-8 hours.

Cool soup slightly and blend,using an immersion blenderor regular blender, until chunky. Return to Crockpot, add cooked, crumbled bacon, cheese and sage. Cook until cheese is melted and sage has flavored the soup. Remove sage and adjust seasoning (salt and pepper) if needed.

Note: while this soup turned out very tasty, you could probably double the potatoes and carrots and have a much heartier soup. Also, I prefer sharp cheeses in these types of soups, but you could just as easily use mild cheddar or Swiss if you prefer.

* CSA ingredients

Cabbage, Cauliflower and Leeks

Today I am making a soup with cabbage, cauliflower and leeks. I actually was a little put off by the contents of the last CSA package because I wasn't sure what I would do with all of those items. As I was searching for ways to use some of them together, I ran across the following recipe on Allrecipes.com. It takes care of not only my vegetables, but also provides me with a soup that is hearty and won't be a problem for my braces-sensitive teeth.

Spanish Garlic and Vegetable Soup
adapted from http://allrecipes.com/recipe/spanish-garlic-and-vegetable-soup/detail.aspx

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 medium head cabbage, chopped*
• 1/2 head cauliflower, chopped*
• 2 leeks, sliced*
• 6 cloves garlic, finely chopped*
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes with juice
• 4 teaspoons tomato paste
• 1 quart water
• 1/4 cup milk or light cream
• 1 tablespoon butter*
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add cabbage, cauliflower and leeks. Cook, stirring constantly, for a few minutes until cabbage wilts. Stir in the garlic and tomato paste, and continue to cook for another minute or two, stirring constantly to prevent the garlic from burning. Stir in 2 cups of water, then cover and simmer for 10 minutes.
2. Pour in the diced tomatoes and the remaining 2 cups of water, and return to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
3. Reserve 2 cups of the liquid, and puree the remaining soup in a blender or food processor. Return the blended mixture to the reserved liquid, and stir in milk and butter. Return to a boil, and cook for 1 minute. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and serve.               

*CSA ingredients