Quick baked Pasta...all local of course!

It has been a while since I posted..where have I been?  Working, running, and wandering the streets of Somerville/Cambridge to shop local for Christmas.  On my Plaid Friday shopping trip, I stumbled upon a new old favorite restaurant opening in Porter Square.  Rod Dee.  It is the best Thai take-out in the greater Boston area.  Don't argue with this statement, trust me.  How do I know this?  Well, back when I lived on the Fenway this was my Friday carbo loading spot.  For two marathon training sessions, the carbo loading was fueled by Rod Dee and their fantastic Pad Thai (carbs, protein, sodium..perfect pre-run energy).  True story, I placed my usual call for Pad Thai  and when asked my name and number I said Lisa, 617-oh Lisa yes, no problem.  My order and my name were so common yet they knew me...so you can imagine my extreme sadness when this wonderful local place (along with 5 others) burned down just about 2 years ago.  There was another Rod Dee in Brookline, but it was not the same..then I moved and I have not been able to replace this amazing place in the area..until now.  I am replacing it with itself and it cannot be happening at a better time.  Training for marathon number 3 is about to get underway...I cannot be happier that Rod Dee will be there just like old times!

This brings me to another wonderful, more traditional, carbo loading meal: spaghetti and homemade tomato sauce.  I made this the other night and decided last minute to throw is in the oven for a few minutes to baked and melt the Fiore di Nonno cheese that I topped it with..changed the whole meal!  Very simple. 100% local.

Dave's Fresh Pasta: Whole Wheat cut angel hair
My jarred local tomatoes (or dice canned tomatoes)
Garlic (Sherman's local)
Onion (Sherman's local)
a small chunk of carrot
Fiore di Nonno Mozzarella


I make a very quick sauce.  I remember my parents use to cook a traditional sauce all Sunday morning for our big meal of the day.  No time for that these days!   I just saute garlic and onion in a bit of olive oil in a medium deep pan..few minutes is fine.  My tomatoes already have basil in them..if yours do not, I suggest adding it.  I mix in the tomatoes, some thyme, salt, pepper and the carrot chunk (to eat some of the acid).   Bring to a slight boil and then let it simmer on low for about 20-30 minutes.    Boil a pot of water and cook the fresh pasta just a few moments..,right before the sauce is done.  Drain and mix into the sauce pan to toss and coat the pasta.  I then put a serving size into a small pan that can go into the oven and topped with 1 small mozzarella ball.   I baked it for about 5 minutes..just until the cheese melted and even browned a bit.   It was awesome because the pasta was so hot and the cheese was so melty..mmmm.    That extra 5 minutes of baking made a regular meal into something just a bit more interesting.  Simple but amazingly good!

Brussels Sprouts and Shiitake Mushrooms

Another day and another soup for me.  Why so much soup?  Well, I really like soup.  I also really like to have all in one dishes.  I find soups in a can to be dreadful and never eat them.  Why bother when you can make a fresh pot in a short time with far less sodium and no preservatives.  So in order to get my soup fix, I need to make them myself.

When I found this recipe on fatfreevegan.com..I was all over it.  Brussels sprouts and Shiitake mushrooms are two of my favorite foods..together they are unbelievable!  Unlike the blogger on fatfreevegan, I did not have shiitake mushrooms growing at the base of a tree in my yard and they are not readily available at local markets.  I was, however, able to find the next best thing to local...call it "close enough" food..mushrooms from Pennsylvania (still better than sitting in a truck driving cross country).  The brussels sprouts and leek were from the Central Farmers Market, so overall still a very local dish.

3 main ingredients

The amount of nutrients in the little bowl of soup is rather outstanding...fiber, protein, B vitamins, omega-3s, Vitamins K, C, and A, iron and folate...just to name a few.  It was filling, insanely healthy and fantastically delicious!  Whoever said eating healthy is boring..well clearly is not reading this blog..

Brussels Sprouts and Shiitake Soup
adapted from blog.fatfreevegan.com

~1/2 lb shiitake mushrooms
6-7 brussels sprouts
1 leek
6-7 cups of water
1/2 beans..any will do
1/2 cup Trader Joe's Brown rice medley (or reg old brown rice)
1 tsp dry sage
1 tsp thyme
salt/pepper to taste

I started cooking the rice and the beans separately because they both take a while and I did not want to delay the soup.  I started those and cooked both until they were about 10 minutes from being done.  It would be a super fast recipe if you cook the rice and beans in bulk prior and can just throw them in the pot...preparation is a huge part of healthy eating!

So while those pots were on the burners I collected and chopped the rest of the ingredients.
Add chopped leeks to non-stick pan and saute for a few minutes.  Add chopped brussels sprouts and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes.  Add mushrooms and spices.  Blend together and then add water.  Bring to a boil and then reduce heat letting all the ingredients cook together covered for about 30 minutes.  Add the rice and beans and let cook for another 10 minutes.  Add the salt and pepper to your liking and yummy soup is yours for the taking!

Hope you enjoy this as much as I did!

Be healthy and happy.
~L

Local cooking with local tunes..

How is it that Sunday night makes an appearance so quickly??  It is time to prep for the week by cooking items such as lentils and beets that I would in no way feel like waiting to cook mid-week.   I was feeling a bit nostalgic tonight so I decided to cook while singing along to some of my favorite local music from back in the day...meaning sometime in the mid-90s when I was in college.  Yes, long before Local Lisa was cooking with farmers market vegetables she was listening to local music and catching local shows at the Paradise.  Today felt like a Tanya Donelly (solo post Belly), Kristin Hersh and Letters to Cleo day.  It used to be so much easier to hear new local sounds when I was a student....now it is an effort and I can only hope to fall into new bands as I did this Summer with the fantastic The Franks and recently with  wonderful singer/song write Abbie Barrett (http://www.facebook.com/abbiebarrettfans)..who will be donating her talents performing for my amazing elders..so "like" and love her!

The question is why am I feeling nostalgic.  I have a feeling that it possibly was instigated by the meal itself.  This may be one of the final meals of the year where I can have so many local items on one dish..it may also be the last time I use beet greens.  Of the actual usable greens, there was more of a bitter bite than I enjoy.  So what was on the menu..squash of course since it is in abundance.  Have you ever cooked and used a spaghetti squash?  If not you have no idea the fun you are missing out on...you cook it and then when it is pulled from the shell it stringy and spaghetti-like.  Since Shermans has been slack on getting any Lily's pasta in..why not use spaghetti squash instead?   Seemed logical...

Easy and healthy...this made for a very filling meal.

Spaghetti Squash with Beets and Greens:

1 spaghetti squash (Kimball Farm)
2 cooked beets (Parker Farm)
beet leaves
2 garlic cloves (Kimball)
Goat Cheese (VT)
1/4 cup walnuts

Place the whole squash into the oven at about 400 degrees and let it cook (30-40 minutes).  When it is done and cool enough to touch cut it in half and clean out the seeds.  Use a fork to scrape out the meat of the squash...it will fall out easily in strands.
In a non-stick pan saute garlic for a few minutes.  Add in greens and let cook for about 2-3 minutes.  I usually blanch the greens, but did not this time.  This late in the season I recommend doing so to take the bitterness out.  Add in cooked beets (I steamed fresh beets earlier) and let them all cook together (5 minutes).  Add walnuts and cook until warm.  Top on "spaghetti" and add goat cheese.

This was really a good dish!  In case you have not noticed..I make a lot of these recipes up and hope for the best..this one worked great!

Be happy and healthy..and shop at the farmers markets while you still can!
~L

Oh and there is a secret ingredient in there...a spice that I have no idea what it is!  I bought it at one point from a bulk bin and only wrote the purchase code on it..I have to made it back to the store and match it up...I will share soon!  It is mild so it will not make much of a difference if it is not used..

Carrot Soup

Weather was rather nasty yesterday, but for a brief few minutes the sky was blue and the sun made an appearance.  It was during this moment I made a dash for the Farmers Market.  I will note how lucky I am to work only a 4 minute drive from the Central Sq. market.   It was not crowded and the once packed market now only had 3 farm stands left.  There was still a good amount of veggies to choose from..remember they will be there until the week of Thanksgiving!

Well the sun is gone and it is chilly.  Yet another great night for a warm bowl of something.  Tonight Yellow Carrot and Red Kuri Squash Soup.  Simple, quick, low fat/calorie and jammed packed with Vitamins A and C, fiber and potassium..this is a dish that cannot go wrong.  I was inspired to make this by the Parker Farm carrots I purchased.  They are huge and far from those striped down versions you find in stores.   Pictured along side it was the leek that was also used in the soup, also purchased at Parker's stand.  I figured it needed something more than just carrots..enter the kuri squash from Kimball Farm that has been sitting on the counter waiting for me to think of something to do with it...they turned out to be a perfect pairing...

Yellow Carrots and lee

Kuri Squash

The soup took about 20 minutes from start to finish... definitely less time than pizza delivery!

The recipe is straight forward.  It made enough for 1 person as dinner..maybe 2 if it is a side dish.

Dice leeks and 2 garlic cloves and add to non-stick large pan or pot.  I used a nice deep pan..worked great.  Add diced carrots and cubed squash.

Cook for a few minutes, then add 2 cups of water, salt, a pinch cayenne pepper and 1/2 teaspoon turmeric.  Bring to a bowl and reduce heat.  Let simmer until carrots and squash are soft.  Next step is to simply puree them together.  I placed everything into a large bowl and used my hand mixer.  A food processor is great as well.

What you get is a warm, thick, creamy bowl of flavorful soup.   Hope you enjoy this as much as I did!

Stay healthy and happy...~L

In a state of food confusion..

Did anyone happen to see a small Yaris driving in circles?  A girl confused in the produce section of Whole Foods?  That was me.  For six months I was able to walk/bike/drive to Union Sq Farmers market and buy everything I needed with great ease..veggies, fruit, cheese, bread and chocolate.  Whatever was not there (milk, tofu, pasta), I was able to supplement at Sherman's Market just steps away.  Now this creature of habit was forced into a state of mass confusion.   Do I go to Iggy's store or buy their bread at a grocery store?   Sherman's produce selection is not large enough..do I over pay at Whole Foods?  It was awful.  Luckily, I was able to gain some control.  I did drive to Iggy's store to buy bread and pizza dough..turns out it is minutes from Trader Joe's and Whole Foods..then across town to Sherman's for milk, but forgot Fiori Di Nonno cheese and they were out of pasta...back to the other side of the city to Dave's Fresh Pasta.   I should be able to make this work with some organization...June is only 7ish months away.   There is also still hope for a Winter Market..which hopefully will bring everyone back together again.  For the environmentalist out there..no worries about the driving.  The car is green and to offset the driving yesterday I did not drive it at all today..

The confusion explains my cooking for today.  I was all over the place.  I ended up buying no vegetables so it was a good thing I had over shopped last Saturday, but I needed to cook them soon.   The pizza dough was starting at me calling out to be topped with the fresh cheese sitting in the refrigerator.  Dave's Fresh pasta really cannot sit for too long..it meant to be cooked and eaten quickly.  So I made everything.  Pasta with brussels sprouts and maple caramelized onions for lunch.  Vegetable mix with beans and an eggplant pizza for dinner.  All leftovers will be used for lunch for the next few days...

Lets start with lunch and work our way down..

Maine wild mushroom spaghetti with brussels sprouts, maple caramelized shallots and carrots

The pasta was on special at Dave's and it was a must try.  I did not want to just top it with a tomato sauce and I did not have an mushrooms...so why not brussels sprouts.  They go with everything, right?

Boiled water and cooked pasta as normal.  The fresh pasta cooks up fast, so don't add to boiling water until the last few minutes.  In a pan I add sliced shallots (local farmer!) and a tbsp of maple syrup (from MA).  I just cooked it at a low temp until tender and a nice aroma was wafting through the air...I tossed in quartered brussels sprouts (kimball's farm)  and cooked down.  It was a last minute decision to  add the carrots (dick's farm)..it worked so it was a right thing.  I tossed the cook pasta into the pan and topped it all with a couple of tsp of truffle oil..I know you are suppose to carbo load before a long run..but I like to do it after as well!

Next, the easiest pizza ever.

Eggplant and Fresh Mozzarella Cheese Pizza.

Iggy's rolls out and portion controls your pizza.  The offer traditional and whole wheat...I went with the whole wheat.  I really love the pizza dough...it was not dry like Trader Joe's dough and cooked perfectly.
Opened a jar of my own tomatoes (use any you have on hand) and spread over the dough.  The tomato had basil in it so I made sure to get that on there.  Chopped up some garlic (kimball's farm)  and covered the sauce.  Layered some thinly sliced white eggplant (drumlin farm) and cheese (fiori di nonno)..cooked in a 500 degree oven.  Just to note: Iggy's store sells pizza as well.  I did not buy any yesterday but I will soon.  It looked and smelled soo amazingly delicious..they do everything right there..
Here was my pizza...

Finally, the vegetables.  I did not want to just have pizza for dinner, nor did I want to eat the whole pizza so I cooked up a side dish that did not go with tpizza at all..but still tasted good.   Maybe you would want to make them separate..
Another easy dish...sauteed some onions, added carrots and cauliflower (kimball farm)..let it cook down.  While that was happening I was prepping the pizza.  The extra tomato, went into the pan.  The extra eggplant, went into the pan.  Drizzled some mirin and sprinkled some cayenne pepper and cooked until tender.  In another small pot  I cooked up some kidney beans.  Throw those in and you have a very tasty, very colorful and very hearty vegetable dish.  You can top it on rice, eat it as is or use it as a side dish to the pizza!

Still all local..still all healthy!  Let's see what tomorrow's market will bring... hopefully I can get organized!

~L

 

Sage Rubbed Acorn Squash Stuffed with Wild Rice and Broccolini

As of this past Saturday, the Union Farmers Market is closed for business until next Spring.    It was an amazing season for the growers and for the buyers who reaped the rewards of their hard work.   Central Sq and Davis Sq. so there is time to purchase last minute items, but I was not thinking about this on Saturday morning.   Instead I was trying to collect as many veggies as possible in hopes of holding on to my fun Saturday memories of eating blueberries/raspberries as I wondered around the music filled Square while trying (and failing) to resist Fiori Di Nonno's mouth watering cheese.   What I came home with were 4 different squashes and burrata.

The burrata will be saved for another day...tonight was about the acorn squash and the broccolini that also made its way into my reusable shopping bag.   I find it a fun use food as a vessel for more food..squash is the best for this little adventure.

To start cook rice.  I used Trader Joe's Wild Rice...but any brown rice will do. It would be even better if you did this the night before.  Cooking up a large batch of rice to last the week can be very helpful..

Cut the acorn squash in half.  I used one half but clearly you can use both if needed.  Add a 1/2 tsp of oil (I used sesame) and a pinch of dried sage..salt and pepper.  Roast until tender.

In a pan, I sauteed garlic and onion for a few minutes and then added the broccolini.  Just cook it until it is slightly tender.  I let it cook for a bit then removed them to a cutting board and chopped into smaller pieces.

I then put them back in the pan along with the rice, a handful of chopped walnuts, and handful of golden raisins.  I also took the roasted squash and dished out some of the meaty part and added it to the mixture.  Not all of it, just a few scoops.  This allowed more room for stuff..

I mixed this all together with a dash of cayenne pepper and mirin (sweet cooking wine).
 

Pour the rice into the acorn shell..and enjoy!

It was really tasty....I am thinking this may be my main dish on Thanksgiving..

Be happy and healthy..and stay warm!

L