Eating Healthy and Eating Cheap(er)

I love food. So a lot of my money naturally goes to filling up my belly with delicious goodness. In a city like Boston it's so, SO easy to abandon the kitchen and order moderately priced take-out every single day... and when one is tired and over-worked and doesn't have energy for cooking, those menus look better and better. Indian, please. Oh, no, wait, Thai. Oh, or pizza! Thin crust! Wait... wait... there's an Anna's down the street... I want a burrito. *sigh*

But while there's tons of great, easy food that can come right to my door, I love dining out even more. Perhaps if I can do a little more homecookin' I can convince the boyfriend that we deserve more date nights out. 

So in a effort to be a little healthier, and save a little cash (not that Whole Foods is inexpensive by any means, cooking at home can be pricey too), I'm trying to reconnect with my kitchen. The problem I've had this past year is that when I cook it's a big production. It takes hours, I labor over recipes and chop veggies til my fingers hurt. Ok, that's a bit of an exaggeration, but the meals I have been making take time. And time is a precious thing right now...

I decided what I really need are some quickie recipes. But I don't want to sacrifice flavor either. Ramen noodles might have cut it in my younger years, but not anymore.

So I scoured my cookbooks for some relatively easy, moderately priced recipes and planned out some meals for the rest of my week. What's cookin' at casa de Jillian?

Pasta with Shitake Mushrooms & Panchetta in Cream Sauce

Puttanesca Bianca (kalamata olives, anchovy and caper sauce)

Penne with Spinach & Ricotta Cheese

Wild Mushroom and Rice Soup

Black & Blue Beef Quesadillas (with blue cheese)

Veggie stuffed Portobello Mushrooms

Off to Whole Foods I go!

Do you have quick go-to recipes that are somewhat inexpensive and don't take hours to prepare? I would love to hear them! Share away! 

German Red Cabbage

Welcome blogathon! As I mentioned, this week I’m participating in the Loving Local blogathon to celebrate Farmers Market Week and raise money for the Mass Farmer’s Markets. If you love my blog, and love local food, go ahead and donate a bit of green to that wonderful cause. Visit HERE and click “donate”  I also encourage you to visit Loving Local HERE to find some other area bloggers who are writing about local food, cooking, farms, and much more. As part of the blogathon I’ll be posting (or attempting to anyway!) a new post every day this week, so be on the lookout for some great new content from me daily! 
Now let me tell you about cabbage...

A wonderful mix of colors on this plate!

My ancestors would be proud. Why? I succeeded in cooking cabbage. *Polish/Ukrainian/German ancestors applaud* Really, I’m proud of myself. As a previously self-professed Cabbage Hater, I’ll say that I’m officially a convert. It really happened approximately three years ago when I went to Germany. I always turned up my nose at the idea of sauerkraut, but once I had some real, authentic German sauerkraut (you know the kind… it’s tangy and warm and oh so delicious) I fell in love. Maybe cabbage wasn’t so bad after all.

Flash forward to today and welcome in the good old Enterprise Farm Share which supplied me with a head of red cabbage. My cabbage cooking history includes no previous usage of cabbage. Not a one recipe ever cooked with cabbage before. Nada. But this was the time. I found a wonderful recipe at www.allrecipes.com and it’s everything that the reviewers said it would be. 

My bouquet garni looks a bit like a mummy.
Is it supposed to look like this?

WHAT I LIKED ABOUT THIS RECIPE:

• It was warm, tangy, sweet, and a superb accompaniment to any meat dish. Oh, and easy too! (I served it with baked chicken drumsticks and sautéed Swiss chard, though in retrospect I should have made some sausage or something… maybe next time.)
• The color! After cooking lots of greens for the past few months it was nice to have this wonderful pinkish-red accompaniment to my meal!
• Because of the apples, allspice, and cloves (and my own addition of a pinch of cinnamon) this recipe really reminded me of the of fall and the holidays so maybe I’ll make some for Thanksgiving or Christmas this year.
• Oh yeah, I also made my first every bouquet garni (with the peppercorns, allspice, cloves) for this recipe. I’m starting to feel pretty professional!

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German Red Cabbage as found on Allrecipes


Ingredients --

• 1 medium head red cabbage, cored and sliced
• 2 large tart apples, peeled and sliced
• 1 medium sweet onion, sliced and separated into rings
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1 cup cider vinegar
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 6 whole peppercorns
• 2 whole allspice
• 2 whole cloves
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 2 teaspoons cold water

Directions --

1. In a Dutch oven, toss cabbage, apples and onion. Add water, vinegar, sugar, butter and salt. Place the peppercorns, allspice, cloves and bay leaf on a double thickness of cheesecloth; bring up corners of cloth and stir with kitchen string to form a bag. Add to Dutch oven. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 1-1/4 hours.
2. Discard spice bag. In a small bowl, combine cornstarch and cold water until smooth; stir in cabbage mixture. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 1-2 minutes or until thickened.

Greens with Envy

As I’ve mentioned before, I started out my summer with very little knowledge of greens. Had you asked me to name you some greens I probably would have looked at you cross-eyed and said “um, lettuce?” Sure, lettuce is green, but the category goes far beyond that. Thanks to my farm share me and greens are becoming very well acquainted. So are me and my wok.

"So what ARE greens?" you ask. They are big leafy green plants that taste delicious! Lucky for me, the farm that I chose to do my farm share with here in Massachusetts is well-versed in growing greens and I get plenty of them each week in my share.

Here are a few of the things I’ve been cooking with. Wikipedia definitions to the rescue:

Chard: Also known by the common names Swiss Chard, Silverbeet, Perpetual Spinach, Spinach Beet, Crab Beet, Seakale Beet and Mangold, is a leafy vegetable, and is one of the cultivated descendants of the sea beet. Although the leaves are eaten, it is in the same species as beetroot (garden beet) which is usually grown primarily for its edible roots.

Kale or borecole is a form of cabbage, green or purple, in which the central leaves do not form a head. It is considered to be closer to wild cabbage than most domesticated forms. The species Brassica oleracea contains a wide array of vegetables including broccoli, cauliflower, collard greens, and brussels sprouts.

Collard greens are various loose-leafed cultivars of Brassica oleracea, the same species that produces cabbage and broccoli. The plant is grown for its large, dark-colored, edible leaves and as a garden ornamental, mainly in Brazil, Portugal, the Southern United States, many parts of Africa, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Spain and in Kashmir.

Callaloo: Jamaican callaloo is a Jamaican vegetable that resembles spinach. Though it tastes almost like spinach it is not as sour. Jamaican callaloo is though to have its origin in South America however it has been recorded as being in Jamaica from as early as 1752. (From www.getjamaica.com)

Bok Choy is a Chinese leaf vegetable used often in Chinese cuisine. These vegetables are both related to the Western cabbage, and are of the same species as the common turnip.

I like greens for their simplicity and ease of cooking. I’ve cooked up a few different kinds of greens so far and in different ways. I’m finding the best way to start of cooking them is to sauté them in a wok with oil and garlic for a few minutes until they have cooked down (look sort of soft and wilted and not so much like lettuce anymore) and then I add other stuff to the wok.

Lately I’ve tended not to work directly from a recipe when cooking greens, which makes the whole experience a bit of an adventure. Lucky for me, everything has turned out well so far! Things I will throw into the mix include potatoes, onions, tomatoes, spices, turnips, and all sorts of odds and ends that I’m left with from my farm share when the week comes to an end. You can also sautéed everything up and serve as is or add broth and turn the whole thing into soup or sprinkle with cheese and bake in the oven for a bit to make a casserole. Really, the possibilities are endless. Not to mention, if you want to stick to real recipes there are LOADS of great recipes for greens available online which you can always tweak yourself as you see fit.

Some of my favorite creations so far have included:

• An assortment of greens (beet greens and chard) sautéed with turnips (see fourth picture)

• A kale, sausage, and potato soup

• A kale, sausage, and potato casserole (see first picture & fifth picture)

• Bean and Swiss chard soup

Greens on their own (or with a few other veggies and spices added) make a great accompaniment to a meat dish or they go very well with some rice or pasta. Tomorrow I’m going to be making Jamaican style callaloo (see recipe below) and will be serving it with some baked chicken drumsticks and steamed rice.

Cheers!

PS: If you have any greens recipes you would like to share post a comment below!!

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Jamaican Style Sautéed Callaloo (recipe compliments of Enterprise Farm newsletter)

Ingredients --

• 1 bunch callaloo 1 large onion, sliced
• 2-3 cloves garlic, diced 
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1-2 teaspoons cayenne pepper (to taste) 
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme salt and pepper
• 1 large tomato, diced

Directions --

• Cut the bottom 1/2—1 inch off the bottom of the callaloo stems. 
• Peel the remaining stems (as you would with broccoli). 
• Slice everything into small ribbons, wash well and spin dry in a salad spinner. 
• In a large skillet (or wok) heat oil. 
• Add onion and garlic, sautee for 3-4 minutes, until onions are slightly translucent. 
• Add callaloo, season with cayenne, crushed red pepper flakes, salt, pepper, and thyme. 
• Allow to wilt. 
• Add tomatoes and cook for 2 more minutes.

A Lobster-tastic 4th of July Feast

What better way to honor our fine nation’s independence than with a truly American backyard feast? And nothing compliments America more than lobster. (Yeah, I know you could say burgers, or hotdogs, or something like that, but for we were going for being classy this 4th of July and there’s nothing classier than lob-stah.)

It’s funny to think that years ago people thought lobsters were the scum of the sea and they were served to prisoners who complained about the copious amounts of lobster they were fed: “MORE lobster? Can’t we just get some plain old bread and water or something? Geeze.” And now lobsters are a delicacy, oh how times change.

I ate my first lobster (in its pure un-cracked, un-bisqued, un-anything-elsed form) back in January –- you know, when they plop a big red lobster down on your plate and you have to actually DO something to it before you can eat it. I was terrible at cracking it open and I made quite a mess, but, a mess that was well worth my effort because lobster is DELICIOUS. With those sentiments, we settled on 10 lobsters for our America feast. Before you call me a glutton, I must tell you that these 10 lobsters fed 7 people and I personally ate one and a half. Feel better?

Our original intent was to cook the lobsters ourselves (something that I am completely terrified of doing). I like animals, A LOT. I feed stray cats and throw bread to pigeons and name raccoons that crawl up onto my fire escape. My biggest worry was that once I brought home a lobster and saw him crawling on my floor that I would start to do silly things like give him a name (Mr. Pinchers), make him race the other lobsters, etc. And then I would no longer have dinner, I would have a friend… and nobody wants to drop their friend into a boiling pot of water. But, thank goodness, the Star Market will steam them for you while you wait so you don’t have to deal with the potential of be-friending your future dinner.

What I love most about grilling/barbecues is the aspect of all day eating. From 2pm until 9pm the food never really stopped. Something goes on the grill, something comes off, and something replaces it on the grill. It’s a wonderful cycle of deliciousness.

Here’s what our feast looked like:

• 10 lobsters (pre-steamed)
• Veggie kabobs with red, yellow, and green peppers and a Vidalia onion (pictured to the right)
• Potato Packets: Diced red and russet potatoes (1 inch cubes) which I brushed with olive oil and then sprinkled with garlic powder and kosher sea salt. I wrapped the potatoes up in aluminum foil packets and put them on the grill for approximately 15 minutes. These potatoes were so yummy and so easy to make that I want some right now as I write this. I received both types of the potato from my Enterprise farm share and I’m eager to get more soon since this was a great accompaniment to any backyard grilling. (pictured above)
• Sliced and grilled zucchini (pictured to the right)
• 10 ears of corn (pictured to the right)
• 2 pounds of clams baked on the grill: Just stick them on the grill on medium heat and they pop open when they’re done. 
• Grilled leek
• Homemade garlic butter: Crushed garlic mixed with softened butter. This went really well with the lobster and clams.
• Homemade chili-lime butter: I asked Byron to pick me up limes at the supermarket and he came home with a bag of key limes. Little did I know using key limes made this butter all the more tasty! The key limes added a tang and sweetness that made this butter perfect for the grilled corn. (pictured to the right)
• Sliced cantaloupe melon
• Skirt steak
• Another steak

Wow, is all I have to say... the day ended with fireworks and a very happy tummy. I can’t wait for another holiday to do it all over again… National Teddy Bears Picnic Day on July 10th anyone?

Overall score: 10 out of 10.

Steak ‘n Squash

Aside from both starting with the letter "S" steak and squash don’t have many similarities. Or do they? For starters, both were recently cooked by me, and both are delicious. Sounds like similarities to moi. I received an acorn squash in my first week’s farm share box so like my adventure with the beet I went to the trusty internet to find what to do with it.

I located a delicious sounding recipe for acorn squash baked with brown sugar (yum!) butter (yum!) and honey (yum!). That’s three yums in a row, we’re talking big-leagues now.

To go along with my squash (and zucchini which I would also roast in the oven) I wanted a low-fuss meal that was tasty, filling, and wholesome, too. So I headed to Whole Foods and found myself a nice sirloin steak. Because really, when you pair steak with veggies you can’t go wrong.

The result of this meal was a wonderful mix of seasoned steak with an appropriate, and not overwhelming nor scant, amount of veggies. I really enjoyed the sweetness of the squash, especially in contrast to the tender and juicy steak. The sugar and honey and butter melted down to create a quite yummy syrup that accompanied the squash very nicely. However, my only complaint is that I probably could have left the zucchini in the oven for a little longer but it was still tasty and edible so I guess that’s all that counts. And it was made up for by the fact that the steak, as always, was fabulous.

Overall score: 7 out of 10.

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Baked Acorn Squash compliments of Reluctant Gourmet

Ingredients --

1 Acorn Squash, halved

2 pats of butter

2 teaspoons of honey or maple syrup

2 tablespoons of brown sugar

Salt & pepper 

Directions --

Pre-heat oven to 375 - 400 degrees F.

Scoop the seeds out of each half acorn squash with a spoon.

Add 1 pat of butter, 1 teaspoon of honey or maple syrup, 1 tablespoon of brown sugar, salt and pepper to the hollow scoop of each half.

Place upright on a greased cookie sheet and roast for about 1 hour or until tender when flesh is poked with a fork.

Garlicy Roasted Romano Beans

I received a big bag full of Romano Beans in my first week’s farm share box. The Enterprise newsletter told me that Romano beans are a form of flat snap bean which originates in Italy and that they are flattened, rather than rounded, and meant to be eaten whole, just as we would eat other summer green beans. Their flavor is tender and mild. Romanos are often braised with other summer vegetables and eaten as a side dish. I decided to try a create-it-yourself/fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants recipe:

First, I snapped the ends off of the beans and washed them. Then I coated the beans with a bit of olive oil, a heaping tablespoon of crushed garlic, then some freshly ground pepper and kosher salt.

I then put them in a small glass dish and baked them uncovered in the oven for approximately 7-10 minutes. The Enterprise newsletter warned me that Romano beans can become a yucky mush if cooked too long so I didn’t want that to happen and I took a peek at the beans every few minutes to see how they were doing. After a little under 10 minutes of cooking in the hot oven I turned on the broiler and let them broil for 2-3 minutes so the beans would get a nice toasted quality on the top. I wish I had some Parmesan or Asiago cheese to sprinkle on the top of them… maybe next time!

While I ate these all by themselves as a snack (I know, a weird snack) these beans would be a great accompaniment to a grilled steak or fish. I didn't overcook them so they still had a nice crispy texture and tasted wonderful with the garlic and pepper.

Overall score: 8 out of 10.