Cook With What You Have Recipes | Musings

Chard Stems are Forgiving

Posted on April 29, 2015 | by cookwithwhatyouhave | 2 Comments

Some dishes welcome the chard leaves but not the stems, some do both, but I tend to have bags of chard stems in the fridge. . . .for quite some time often. I just unearthed a bag of rainbow chard stems and found them perfectly fine. The ends had browned a little but nothing a little trim couldn’t fix. Their color alone whets the appetite but made into a hash with leeks (also forgiving and also yellowing a bit), potatoes and leftover hot dogs (from yesterday’s bbq) they make a perfectly satisfying dinner. Since it was just my 8-year-old and me for dinner tonight we didn’t even need an egg on top. One dish; the fridge is a bit tidier; and we’re both full.

Hash with Whatever You’ve Got . . .

in this case:

Olive oil
2 big leeks, washed, trimmed and thinly sliced into half rounds
4-5 medium, firm fleshed potatoes, scrubbed and cut into small dice or chunks
about 15 chard stems, washed and thinly sliced
4 leftover hot dogs (please don’t feel the need to create leftover hot dogs to make this:)! or use whatever leftover meat you might have or no meat at all
Salt
Green sauce (optional–see below)
Fried or poached egg (optional but lovely especially if you don’t have leftover meat)

Heat 2 tablespoons oil in the largest skillet you have over medium-high heat. Add the leeks and chard stems and a few pinches of salt. Saute over fairly high heat for a few minutes until softening. Add the potatoes and a bit more salt and mix well. Continue cooking until the potatoes are browning and tender. Add the leftover meat, if using, and warm through. Top with the green sauce (below) or with any kind of salsa or simply fresh parsley or cilantro or any other herb.

Green Sauce . . . with what I happened to have

Small bunch parsley, washed and finely chopped
1/2 small bunch cilantro, washed and finely chopped
Handful mint leaves, washed and finely chopped
1 big stalk green garlic, trimmed and minced (green part too since it was nice and tender)
Small piece of shallot, minced (use any kind of onion or green onion or skip)
About 1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice (vinegar would be fine too)
About 1/3 cup olive oil
Salt to taste

Mix everything together well and taste and adjust seasoning with salt and or lemon juice or vinegar. This sauce is good on most anything . . .

The Beauty and Simplicity of Sometimes Having No Choice

Posted on April 22, 2015 | by cookwithwhatyouhave | 7 Comments

chimichurri — Radish Top, Parsley & Cilantro Chimichurri

The older I get the fewer choices I want to make about certain things. Enter my CSA! I make no choices. I get what I get and make the best of it, as my 8-year-old son likes to say. Getting a CSA share (a box of produce once a week for the growing season directly from a farm) is a way of life and it is a commitment but it’s a simplifying one for me. We don’t travel a whole lot–Oregon in the summer is a pretty spectacular place to be–and I like to cook. Those are the basic prerequisites. And if you don’t yet love to cook a CSA may just turn you into a creative, eager cook.

The advantages for me of not having to make choices about what to buy is that I can focus my energy and time on what to make. Limitations–the kind and quantity of produce in this case–are the foundation of creativity. I might get, among many other things, a glorious bunch of radishes with bright, feathery greens still attached and just a few handfuls of fava greens in an early season share. I never used radish tops before I had a CSA but now I look forward to them and the fava greens in order to turn them into endless varieties of pestos and sauces (I have five of them on my Seasonal Recipe Collection I realized while writing this post). If that’s not creativity. . .?!

So ‘Vantage number one (my son’s favorite line from the story The Elephant’s Child): Creativity!

‘Vantage number two: It’s all there, ready for me, once a week and it’s all paid for so after a while it seems like I’m eating for free. Honestly though, the weekly total seems like a steal (~$20-35/week for most shares).

‘Vantage number three: Fewer trips to the store and a commitment to a better stocked pantry so I can use that produce without last minute trips.

‘Vantage number four: We eat a greater variety of vegetables. Shari Raider of Sauvie Island Organics illustrates this point beautifully in her interview about how her kids are growing up to eat and love vegetables. I would unlikely have come to cook and enjoy rutabagas and turnips for example if I didn’t have a CSA. I’ll add fennel to the list too–I’ve been slow to warm to fennel but boy do I now!

‘Vantage number five: The produce is so fresh and delicious I am spoiled rotten.

‘Vantage number six: CSA farms work awfully hard to grow crops in ways that provide you with combinations of things that work together throughout the year while keeping you in critical things like lettuce, onions, carrots and garlic for much of the season.

‘Vantage number seven: You really get a sense of your place. How is the weather affecting what you eat–are tomatoes early or late? Is it a cool spring so a long season for greens? And when it’s blistering hot out I think of the farmers who are out in the heat sweating it out for my benefit or slogging through the mud with freezing finger tips. It really does bring you closer to the process and work it takes to put dinner on the table.

And here is the recipe for the Radish Top, Parsley & Cilantro Chimichurri in the photo above that you can access if you’re a subscriber to the Recipe Collection and here is one of my favorite asparagus dishes for those who aren’t!

P.S. In regards to the title of this post, I am privileged to be able to make the big choices in my life that result in the wellbeing of my family so I use the notion of the beauty of not having a choice pointedly about produce.

Leek, Potato & Herb Pancakes

Posted on April 3, 2015 | by cookwithwhatyouhave | 2 Comments

I turn most anything into a fritter, patty, lattke-like thing. It really never fails to:

Taste good
Use up whatever random bits of vegetables, herbs, cooked grains, etc. I have
Turn vegetable skeptics into vegetable eaters, if not lovers
Serve as a one dish meal if time is short

And I never deep fry them, mostly because I’m frugal and don’t want to use that much oil and because it makes a mess and because I think they taste just as good just pan-fried in a bit of oil.

I made these last night with my son and we all loved them, as we do most things in this format! So I decided to create a new section on my Seasonal Recipe Collection devoted to this adaptable, delicious format/technique! There are now 12 recipes for savory pancakes, patties, fritters and lattkes all grouped together on the What’s for Dinner? page. How about Japanese Cabbage Pancakes or Winter Squash & Rice Fritters w/ Cilantro Yogurt Sauce or Savory Chard Pancakes or Carrot & Rutabaga Lattkes?

If you’re already a subscriber, great, if not, now may be the time! Go make fritters for Passover or any day of the year!

Leek, Potato and Herb Fritters
–loosely inspired by Joan Nathan’s Jewish Holiday Cookbook

Serves 3-4 (about 18 3-4-inch patties)

2 lbs leeks (about 5 medium), trimmed and well washed and thinly sliced
3 medium yukon gold potatoes (or other firm fleshed potato), scrubbed and quartered
2 stalks green garlic or 2 cloves garlic, minced
2 scallions or a 1/4 of an onion, minced
1/3 cup chopped cilantro or parsley or other tender herbs
3 eggs
1/4 cup flour, fine bread crumbs or matzo meal
1/2 cup grated sharp cheddar or Parmesan
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Oil for pan-frying
*Optional topping of Greek yogurt mixed with some grated, fresh horseradish and salt.

Wash the leeks well. I make deep cuts down the side, lengthwise, almost to the root, to be able to rinse between the layers. I use most of the green part and just trim off the toughest parts. Thinly slice the leeks. Bring a medium pot of water to a boil. Add 2 teaspoons salt and par boil the leeks for 5 minutes. Drain well.

Boil the potatoes until tender. Mash the potatoes in a large bowl. Whisk the eggs in a small bowl and whisk in the flour or bread crumbs and add mixture to the potatoes and leeks along with the herbs, scallions or onion, garlic, cheese and salt and pepper. Mix well.

Heat about 2 tablespoons of oil in a large, heavy skillet. Fry fritters on both sides until golden brown. Top with horseradish yogurt if you’d like.

Simple Spring Soup

Posted on March 31, 2015 | by cookwithwhatyouhave | 2 Comments

Every (early) spring I am reminded of why I have a vegetable/herb garden. Between the green garlic, sorrel, parsley, chives, and puny escarole I can flavor most anything and I haven’t actually “gardened” in many months. This is the joy of watching things come up and start afresh with no effort at all. It doesn’t look like much when you scan the muddy patches that I call my garden this time of year. However, we were away for a few days last week and I have yet to do much grocery shopping so we’ve been eating out of the pantry/freezer and the garden and we’ve been eating well.

Today’s lunch was a soup of frikeh (scorched green wheat) that I had cooked months ago and frozen, a bit of leftover chicken stock, water, green garlic, a chunk of onion and plenty of parsley and chives and a little squeeze of lemon juice.

It took about 10 minutes to make and is just a template for a simple, brothy bowl of soup. Any grain would work and barley or farro would be particularly good. You could skip the grains and just use vegetables or leftover meat but plenty of herbs are key. Use any kind of broth or stock you have or just water. The little bit of lemon juice at the end and the herbs are what stand out here.

Spring Soup

Serves 2-3

2 stalks green garlic, trimmed and minced (greens and all)
1/2 small onion, finely diced
3 cups broth/stock/water
A little toasted cracked coriander (optional)
1 1/2 cups cooked grains (see headnote), frikeh in this case
1/3 cup chopped fresh herbs like parsley, chives, chervil
Squeeze of lemon juice
Salt
Olive oil

Saute the onion and green garlic in a bit of oil oil in a medium pot. When softened add the broth and the cooked grains. Bring to a boil. Add the coriander (if using) and stir in the fresh herbs. Salt to taste. Serve with a squeeze of lemon juice and a good drizzle of olive oil.

Happy Spring!

P.S. I’ve created a new section on my subscription-based Seasonal Recipe Collection called What’s for Dinner? It organizes the site by theme such as Creative Salads, Meals that Make Great Leftovers, Prepared Pantry, Kid-friendly Meals and the like. If you haven’t yet subscribed, you might consider it!

Jams & Fruit Compotes in Desserts (Rhubarb Crisp w/ Blackberry & Prune Jams)

Posted on March 9, 2015 | by cookwithwhatyouhave | Leave a Comment

My rhubarb is pushing up through the earth in my garden which means it’s high time to use up last year’s frozen rhubarb. It’s also time to work through the remaining jams and compotes I put up each year. My jams are really more like compotes–not very sweet and a bit looser than regular jams. I have long used these fruit preserves to sweeten, thicken and flavor desserts, from crisps and crumbles to pies, cobblers and tarts and coffee cakes. This weekend I added 1/4 pint each blackberry lime jam and Italian prune compote to frozen rhubarb for a simple crisp. I reduce the sugar I would have added to the fruit a little and I get more flavor, color and lovely syrupy fruit.

You could use most any kind of fruit, frozen or fresh and any kind of fruit preserve. I still have frozen peaches and may make a cobbler with those and some raspberry jam. Use what you have. I don’t think you can go wrong!

Rhubarb Crisp with Blackberry and Italian Prune Preserves

For the fruit:

1 tablespoon cornstarch (if you’re using really juicy fruit like rhubarb, berries or peaches–apples, pears, and the like certainly don’t need cornstarch)

1/2 cup sugar or brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom (optional but lovely with these fruits)

About 5-6 cups rhubarb, sliced into 1/2-inch pieces (fresh or frozen–thawed if frozen)

1/2 cup fruit preserves/compote (I used blackberry and prune)

For the topping:

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour (or all purpose or a combination)

1/2 – 3/4 cup walnuts or almonds, lightly toasted and chopped or ground (optional)

Generous 1/2 cup rolled oats

1/2 -2/3 cup sugar (more if you like your desserts on the sweeter side–this will be quite tart if using rhubarb). And the amount of sugar will also depend on how sweet your jams are–if quite sweet reduce the sugar a bit.

1/2 teaspoon salt

7 tablespoons butter, melted

Preheat the oven to 375F.

In a medium bowl combine all the dry ingredients well and then stir in the melted butter and press everything together with your fingers to get varied size crumbs and then set aside.

In another bowl mix the cornstarch and sugar and cardamom, if using, and preserves (s) together and add to the fruit. Toss well to evenly mix.

Put the fruit mixture in a 9 x 13 pan and top evenly with crumble mixture. Bake for 35 – 40 minutes, or until the topping is nicely browned and the fruit juices are bubbling and syrupy. Cool for about 20 – 30 minutes before serving.

White Beans, Roasted Tomatoes, Spicy Sausage

Posted on March 2, 2015 | by cookwithwhatyouhave | 6 Comments

There are so many nights when I’m grateful for the work I put in at times when I don’t need to put dinner on the table in 30 minutes. Things like already cooked beans and a jar of veggie bouillon base and frozen, roasted tomatoes all add so much flavor. It’s not the time of year to be roasting tomatoes but the other two you can make anytime you have a bit of spare time.

In order to provide more tools for this kind of cooking I’m developing a new portion of my subscription-based Seasonal Recipe Collection that will feature posts on how to set yourself up for this kind of cooking–inexpensive, flavorful, quick as a result of some planning and forethought.

Last week, I had a few nights with very little time to get dinner ready. Luckily I had set out white beans to thaw, had a handful of roasted, frozen tomatoes lurking in my freezer as well as a spicy pork sausage. As usual I had some slightly has-been celery in the fridge. I always have onions and garlic and I had half a bunch of parsley.

These ingredients turned into a simple soup/stew topped with a garlicky parsley sauce. The beans, tomatoes and rosemary were so flavorful and rich I didn’t need the sausage at all (but my boys, big and small, love a little meat now and then). You can make it more brothy by adding more stock and/or bean cooking liquid, you can certainly add carrots or any kind of greens or other vegetables. You could toss in a handful of two of small pasta if that entices your eaters to enjoy it more. . .

White Bean and Tomato Stew with (or without) Sausage

Serves 4

Olive oil
1/2 onion, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
1 spicy (or mild) pork sausage, cut into rounds
1/2 teaspoon finely chopped rosemary
5 or so roasted, frozen tomatoes, chopped up, or 1 cup canned, roasted tomatoes (or just plain canned ones)
3 cups cooked white beans with their cooking liquid. I used Ayers Creek farm’s Zolfino beans (in case you’re local and have some on hand) or canned beans, drained and rinsed
3 cups bean cooking liquid and/or water or vegetable broth/veggie bouillon
about 1/2 bunch of parsley, tough stems removed, the rest finely chopped
1 large clove garlic, minced and mashed with a little salt on your cutting board
3-4 tablespoons good olive oil
Salt and pepper

In a soup pot cook the onion, celery, sausage and rosemary in a bit of olive oil over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are soft and beginning to brown. Add the tomatoes and cook for another 5 minutes. Add the beans, cooking liquid and/or water or broth and bring to a simmer. Cook for 5 more minutes. If you’re using canned tomatoes and water instead of broth let the soup cook for at least 15 minutes to concentrate the flavors.

Meanwhile mix the garlic with the parsley and olive oil.

Serve the soup with a generous dollop of the parsley garnish.

Quinoa & Tangerine Salad

Posted on February 20, 2015 | by cookwithwhatyouhave | 6 Comments

“Interesting combination” said the eight-year-old, . . . “fantastic” said the husband, helping himself to thirds. “It’s worth repeating”, said the cook. . . who enjoyed the leftovers for breakfast this morning.

Quinoa and Tangerine Salad

11/2 cups quinoa
Scant 2 cups water
Several generous pinches salt
3 tangerines or clementines, 1-2 oranges (or whatever similar citrus fruit you have), broken into sections and cut in half, crosswise. If you want to be fancy and are using oranges you can peel the whole orange with a sharp knife, including all the pith, and then slice out all the individual sections carefully along the skin on both sides of the section, leaving only the skin and core on the cutting board. But this really isn’t a fancy salad so I’d say skip it!
1/2 cup cilantro, roughly chopped and stems finely chopped
2 scallions, greens and all, thinly sliced or a chunk of red onion, sliced as thinly as you possibly can
Zest of 1 lime (microplane works well for this job)
Juice of 1 lime (or more)
3 or more tablespoons good olive oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Put the quinoa in a pot with the water and some salt. Bring to a boil, turn down to a simmer and cook, covered, on low heat for about 15 minutes or until the water is absorbed and the quinoa is tender. Let sit, covered, with the heat off to steam for at least 5 minutes if you can. Then put the quinoa in a salad bowl and toss in the tangerines, Let cool for a few minutes. Then add the remaining ingredients. Toss and taste and adjust seasoning with lime juice, oil, etc.

If I’d had toasted filberts (or walnuts or pine nuts) on hand I would have added some and am quite certain that this would be a lovely addition. Please report if you add nuts!

Chocolate Hazelnut Cookies

Posted on February 9, 2015 | by cookwithwhatyouhave | Leave a Comment

I scraped the smudge of cookie dough that had adhered to the counter after rolling the dough into logs, off the counter with an off-set spatula so I could enjoy ever last gram of it. Though said smudge didn’t include chunks of toasted nuts and bittersweet chocolate that otherwise riddle this dough, it was well worth the special tool. The finished cookies are maybe even better.

–adapted from Biscotti: Recipes from the Kitchen of the American Academy in Rome/Rome Sustainable Food Project

Chocolate Hazelnut Cookies

I used more or less 1/2 whole wheat pastry flour and 1/2 all purpose flour. I used all brown sugar instead of both brown and granulated and reduced the sugar just a tad. If you can get your hands on bulk filberts/hazelnuts, cracking them doesn’t really take that long and toasting them in the oven takes another 15 minutes. Do a lot at once and you’ll have the best snack imaginable on hand as well. This also makes these nuts affordable.

8 ounces hazelnuts, toasted at 350 for about 15 minutes, cooled, skins rubbed off as best you can and coarsely chopped
9 tablespoons butter (1 stick + 1 tbs)
3/4 cup brown sugar (I used dark brown since that’s what I had but use light if that’s what you have)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Scant 1/4 teaspoon flaky sea salt (or a little less if you have finer salt)
1 egg
3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour (see headnote)
3/4 cup all purpose flour minus 2 tbs (see headnote)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
7 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cream the butter and sugar in a bowl until light and creamy. Add the vanilla, egg and salt and mix well. In a small bowl mix the flours with the baking soda. Add the flour mixture and nuts and chocolate to the butter mixture and stir and then use your hands to bring it together and finish incorporating the flour and nuts/chocolate. Don’t over mix. Let the the dough rest in the refrigerator for 30 minutes, wrapped in plastic. Then turn the dough onto the counter and break the dough in half and shape into two logs, 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Wrap the logs in plastic wrap and freeze for 1 hour or several months.

When ready to bake remove logs from freezer and cut into 1/4- 1/3-inch rounds with a sharp knife. You need a sharp, heavy knife to cut through the nuts. Arrange on a baking sheet and let come to room temperature (about 10 minutes). Bake for about 10 minutes until the nuts start looking golden and the edges are browning a bit. Cool on the sheet pan for a few minutes and then move to rack. When cool the cookies will be crisp.

Red Curry w/ Lots of Vegetables & a Little Chicken

Posted on February 5, 2015 | by cookwithwhatyouhave | 3 Comments

It takes an extra trip to the store (which I usually shun) but it’s occasionally worth it to make homemade curry paste. The paste recipe below makes enough for about 4 meals (for 6 each) for my family’s spice-level. If you like things mild-medium you might get more meals out of it. It keeps well in the fridge for 3-4 weeks.

You can change the mix of vegetables to suit your taste/what you have on hand.

For curry paste:

3-4 tablespoons thinly sliced, then chopped fresh galangal (looks a bit like ginger with a translucent skin)
2 stalks lemongrass, fibrous outer layer or two removed, root end and stalk end trimmed a bit and the remainder sliced thinly
Zest from two kaffir limes (I peel it off with a sharp knife-it’s too bumpy for a microplane and you want all that zest, just not the pith)
generous 1/2 cup of garlic cloves, chopped
1 medium shallot, chopped
3/4 teaspoon coriander seeds
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/2 teaspoon black pepper corns
8-10 dried hot peppers (I used Joe’s long cayenne–quite a bit less spicy than typical cayennes, Chiltepec and Costeno Peppers–all from Ayers Creek farm–I think they’re less spicy, all of them, than dry Thai red peppers but I’m not sure. My paste was still plenty spicy. Reduce the number of peppers if you’re unsure)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup water

Soak the dried peppers in boiling water for 20-30 minutes. Drain, removes stems and seeds and roughly chop the peppers.

Toast the seeds and peppercorns in a dry skillet for about 3 minutes until very fragrant and toasty smelling. Be careful not to burn. Put them in a mortar and pestle and when cool, grind them up.

Put all the paste ingredients in a food processor and process, stopping occasionally to scrape down the sides. Process until fairly smooth. Don’t be surprised if you eyes water–it’s strong stuff!
Store in a jar in the fridge for up to 4 weeks.

For the curry itself:

3-4 tablespoons curry paste (above recipe), or less if you think your paste is very spicy. It will mellow out as it cooks and you can always add a bit more part way through if it’s not spicy enough.
1 can full fat coconut milk (it really doesn’t work with “lite” coconut milk)
2 cups chicken stock or vegetable broth or water
3 tablespoon fish sauce
2 teaspoons sugar
2-3 carrots, scrubbed and trimmed and cut into rounds
1 large head broccoli, stem peeled and cut into bite-sized pieces and head broken into smallish florets
1 large potato, sweet potato or some winter squash, cut into large dice (peel if using sweet potatoes or winter squash)
1 cup leftover, cooked chicken (optional)
1/2 cup basil (optional) or cilantro, which is totally inauthentic but still good
Rice fore serving

In a large wok or heavy pan cook the curry paste, sugar, fish sauce and 1 cup coconut milk (the thickest part that’s usually at the top of the can)–you’ll use the rest later–over medium high heat for about 15-20 minutes. Stir often as it reduces and thickens. Towards the end you should see little bubbles of oil (from the coconut milk) on the surface. Cook for another 5 minutes, stirring regularly.

While the curry paste is frying bring a pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add the potatoes and carrots (or any vegetables that will take a bit longer to cook) and cook for 10 minutes or until just tender. Remove the vegetables from the pot with a slotted spoon. Add the broccoli (and/or another vegetables that just take 3-4 minutes to cook, like green beans or peas) and cook for 3-4 minutes. Drain those and add to the potatoes and carrots and set aside.

Now add the remainder of the coconut milk and chicken stock (or water or broth) and mix well to integrate the curry paste into the liquid. Bring it to a simmer. Add the chicken and reserved vegetables and heat it through. Add the whole basil leaves, if using. Serve hot over rice.

Last Minute Sandwich (w/ Mizuna and Spicy Mayo)

Posted on January 28, 2015 | by cookwithwhatyouhave | 4 Comments

I typically make lunches for my 2nd grader and my husband on week days (and weekends but that’s a different game). I don’t really plan ahead for lunches but often make dinner with an eye towards having leftovers for one or both of those lunches. I know that something will surface in the mornings and this morning this sandwich materialized, for my husband’s lunch. And I even took a photo of it, though it was still dark out so the quality suffered.

The sandwich consists of good bread (the Peasant Levain from Grand Central Bakery in this case). Mayo mixed with minced garlic and some Sriracha
A bunch of chopped Mizuna (a spicy, tender green similar to mustard greens)
Sharp Cheddar
Quick-pickled onions (nothing more than thinly sliced onions in red wine vinegar–that I always keep around for occasions like this and most any other occasion!)

The sandwich got closed up and cut in half and packed up. I hear it was good!

Happy cooking with what you have!

It looks like I inadvertently almost spelled "JOY" with the pickled onions! — It looks like I inadvertently almost spelled “JOY” with the pickled onions!

Cabbage with Leftover Dipping Sauce

Posted on January 21, 2015 | by cookwithwhatyouhave | Leave a Comment

Colleagues have always given my husband their leftovers when returning to the office after a lunch out. Friends tend to give me odd vegetables or half bunches of herbs or in this case, scallion greens. A friend recently had a bag with two bunches of scallion greens and a few whole scallions waiting when I came to pick up my son at his house. I made scallion pancakes (recipe is on the Seasonal Recipe Collection) and a simple dipping sauce of equal parts soy sauce and rice vinegar, with a bit of garlic and hot pepper. We only used about half of the sauce with the pancakes.

Several nights later I found a quarter of a cabbage in the fridge and a bit of cilantro. There was rice in the freezer. I sautéed the cabbage, browning it just a bit. A few spoonfuls of sauce and chopped cilantro and my new favorite cabbage dish was born. The rice fortified everything nicely. A fried egg would have been good too.

When thrift and creativity combine for this much flavor I must celebrate with a blog post. Happy cooking!

Dipping Sauce:

1/3 cup soy sauce or tamari

1/3 cup rice vinegar

1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 clove garlic, minced

Mix everything in a small bowl. Use with sautéed cabbage or any vegetables or grains or meats. This makes plenty of sauce for two meals for a couple of folks.

Broccoli, Potato, Celery, Cilantro, Scallion Salad w/ Leftover Aioli

Posted on January 5, 2015 | by cookwithwhatyouhave | 1 Comment

I was feeling a wee bit sorry for myself. My husband had gotten the Boeuf Bourguignon (something I make very rarely) leftovers to take to work and here I was back at my desk after a nice long winter break with no lunch, yet! I rummaged around the fridge and found: 1 boiled potato I had (wisely) saved from the Boeuf Bourguignon dinner, celery, scallions, broccoli, very wilty cilantro and a little container of leftover aioli.

7 minutes later I had this! He can have all the Boeuf he wants.

Happy cooking (with what you have:)!

Serves 1, generously or 2 as a side

1 cold, boiled potato, diced
1 stalk celery, thinly sliced
1 scallion, thinly sliced (greens too)
3/4 up or so broccoli, cooked for about 4 minutes in lightly salted boiling water
2 Tablespoons chopped cilantro (stems are fine too)
1 tablespoon (or more) aioli (garlicky mayonnaise–just doctor store-bought mayo with minced garlic, lemon juice and salt if you don’t have homemade)
More lemon juice
Salt
Plenty of black pepper

Mix everything together. The warm/hot broccoli brings everything together nicely. Eat!

Jam Muffins

Posted on January 4, 2015 | by cookwithwhatyouhave | 2 Comments

One more day until school starts up again! Hence I just made a batch of Ellis’ favorite muffins. He takes one to school for his snack just about every day. They’re nutrient dense with ground almonds, olive oil, eggs and flavorful thanks to both lemon and lime zest (or just one or the other if that’s all I have) and a good dollop of jam on top. I make jam every summer in great part for these muffins. I freeze them, individually wrapped, and am pleased with myself when I pop them into his lunch bag every morning. And I will be especially so on Monday morning, having gotten quite used to reading to Ellis in bed until way past school starts these last few weeks. I’ll need all the extra time I can get to get us up and out!

You could vary the flour(s), nuts, oil, zests, different jams or marmalades or add spices. They’re not very sweet at all so if you want a sweeter treat add a little more sugar or swirl more jam into each muffin.

Happy New Year!

Jam Muffins

–inspired by Smittenkitchen.com

1 3/4 cups whole wheat flour (I often use 1 cup whole wheat pastry and 3/4 cup apf but by all means play around with these and a whole grain gluten free mix works well too)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
Scant ½ cup sugar
4 eggs
Zest of 1 lemon
Zest of 1 lime (or just lemon or lime–see headnote)
1/3 cup whole milk
3/4 cup olive oil
1 cup ground almonds (or other filberts or walnuts). I grind nuts in a Zyliss cheese grater with the finest blade–pictured above, which makes a very fine, fluffy nut meal.
1/3 – 1/2 cup jam (raspberry, blackberry, strawberry and blueberry are our favorites

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 12-cup muffin tin.

Blend together the flour, ground almonds, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Using an electric mixer or whisk the sugar, eggs, and zests in a large bowl until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Mix in the milk and oil. Add the flour and nut mixture and stir just until blended. Fill the muffin cups about ¾ full. Top each one with 2 teaspoons of jam. Bake until golden, about 15 – 20 minutes. It’s a little harder to tell with these when they’re done since the jam will stay gooey. Just poke around a pit in the cake part to make sure the batter is cooked. Transfer to a wire rack and remove the muffins and let cool completely.

Wrap individually in plastic wrap and freeze for easy (school) snacks.

Fried Rice

Posted on December 12, 2014 | by cookwithwhatyouhave | Leave a Comment

I imagine we all need quick meals and quick meals that are welcomed by the seven-year-old are all the better. But come to think of it, he loves most of our quick meals and was delighted with scrambled eggs and pan-fried cauliflower the other night as with another quick stand-by Pasta Carbonara.

In any case, I made fried rice for a weekly gathering last week and was reminded just how adaptable, good, and easy and quick it is. The only thing you need to have thought of in advance is the rice. I always make more rice than I need at any given time and then freeze the rest for the fried rice nights. Or make it in the morning and leave it sitting out all day and then you’ll have nicely dried out rice for the fried rice that evening.

And, if you want regular inspiration for cooking tasty and creative dishes on a regular basis you might subscribe to my Seasonal Recipe Collection or give a subscription as a gift this season–a gift that does not create more clutter but instead good smells and happy tummies for a year! Signing up just takes a minute and then you have access to 550 recipes and tips and pages about each vegetable and so much more.

Fried Rice

You can use most any vegetable you have on hand–though watery ones like zucchini and tomatoes are less well suited.

Serve 4-5, generously

3-4 tablespoons oil
3-4 cups previously cooked and cooled (preferably made the day before or earlier and then frozen–see above) rice
2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes or 1 serrano pepper, minced (optional)
2 cloves garlic
2 carrots, scrubbed and thinly sliced or diced
4 green onions, white and greens thinly sliced and divided
2-3 eggs, lightly beaten
2 teaspoons fish sauce (optional)
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1/2 cup chopped cilantro

Heat the oil in a wok or large skillet. When hot add the ginger, white part of green onions, garlic, carrots and chili (if using) and stir to coat with oil. Cook on high heat for about 2 minutes, stirring often so prevent the garlic from burning. Add the rice and make sure to break it up well before you put it in the pan if it’s in big clumps. Stir well to coat the rice with the oil and vegetables and cook, stirring often for a few minute to heat the rice through and get it a bit crisp.

Move the rice to one side of the pan and add a little more oil and then add the beaten eggs. Scramble them and then mix them into the rice. Add the soy and fish sauce, if using, the green part of the onions and the cilantro. Cook for another minute or two and then taste for seasoning and serve.

What to do with 1/3 Can of Coconut Milk?

Posted on November 22, 2014 | by cookwithwhatyouhave | 8 Comments

I tested an adaption of a lovely red lentil soup from the new Plenty More by the inimitable Yotam Ottolenghi (recipe will go up on the Seasonal Recipe Collection soon) but that undertaking left me with about 1/2 cup of leftover coconut milk. I’ve had leftover coconut milk go bad on me before. To avoid that I made this simple braise with cumin and mustard seeds, a bit of turmeric and ground cumin, potatoes, kale, said coconut milk and a handful of chopped roasted tomatoes. Paired with warm cornbread and a radicchio, beet, parsley and walnut salad it was a typically random dinner in this household. I may well make this combination again and might even devote more than 1/3 of can of coconut milk to it to make it saucier and serve it with naan or rice or some such.

Potatoes and Kale with Mustard Seeds, Tomato and Coconut Milk

You can play with the spices here. . . add ginger and/or garlic if you want. Add coriander or hot peppers of some kind. .. use other root vegetables or other greens. . . you get the point!

Serves 4

1 tablespoon olive oil (or coconut, sunflower, etc.)
1/2 onion, finely diced
3/4 teaspoon cumin seeds (you can use 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin if that’s what you have)
1 teaspoon black/brown mustard seeds
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
Salt
2 large potatoes, scrubbed and cut into smallish dice (or 3 smaller ones)
1/2 cup roasted, canned or fresh tomatoes
1 bunch kale, washed and chopped, stems chopped very finely
1/2 cup coconut milk (full fat preferably), or more
1/2 cup water (or more or tomato juice if you’re using canned tomatoes)

Heat the oil in a large, heavy skillet. Add the onion and cook for about 5 minutes over medium-high heat. Add the spices and salt and cook for another minute or two, stirring constantly. Add the potatoes and tomatoes and cook for 5 minutes. Then add the kale, coconut milk and water. Bring everything to a simmer, turn down and cover and cook, stirring occasionally for about 10 minutes, adding a bit of water, more coconut milk or juice from canned tomatoes if things dry out too much) or until the potatoes and kale are tender. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt.

Imperfection

Posted on November 14, 2014 | by cookwithwhatyouhave | 8 Comments

parsnip carrot celeriac garlic roasted — Roasted parsnips, carrots, celery root (celeriac) and garlic cloves–delicious as is or turned into soup.

The always inspiring Heidi Swanson of 101cookbooks.com wrote a post last week about writing a blog for a dozen years and the importance of having a voice and a point of view. She muses about how she could do more video work or more this or that that others suggest she might do but that what she really wants to do is write recipes and take beautiful photos.

For years I posted a recipe once a week and then as my business shifted and I got busier I posted less and less often in part because, unlike most other blogs I love and follow who post recipes, I rarely had the perfect, tested-multiple-times, beautifully-photographed-step-by-step recipe to post, so I didn’t post at all. Well my business (and life’s mission) is not called Cook With What You Have for nothing. And cooking-with-what-you-have everyday to make simple, nourishing food for those you love is often messy and rarely terribly prescriptive. So, I’ve decided to post much more often again and if it’s four different salads in a row that all turned out deliciously but just used what I happened to need to use up then so be it. I won’t be posting them to suggest that you exactly emulate what I did or that it was the best thing I’ve made in months, but maybe it will inspire us all to look around our kitchens and gardens and use our imagination and have a meal of this and that and feel satisfied.

Roasted Root Vegetables and Garlic

Case in point. . . I needed to clean out my refrigerator before the next CSA share arrived and found a bunch of small parsnips and carrots and half a celery root. I scrubbed and trimmed everything and tossed them on a baking sheet with some oil and salt and a head’s worth of garlic cloves and roasted all until browning and fragrant.

I ate some of this goodness for lunch, standing at the counter before heading out the door for a meeting. The rest was reheated in plenty of vegetable broth (inspired by a post of Heidi Swanson’s many years ago!) with a bit fresh sage and thyme and then pureed and eaten for dinner with a bit of olive oil and plenty of black pepper. It was too dark by that time to take a photo of the soup and it was tastier than it was pretty so use your imagination.

Happy cooking!

On Winter Vegetables & those Who Grow Them & a Beet Salad

Posted on November 6, 2014 | by cookwithwhatyouhave | 4 Comments

My cover crop of crimson clover has just sprouted, I’ve planted my garlic and have two fairly robust pots of lettuce and arugula growing steadily. The rest of the garden is slug ravaged and pretty drab. Our small garden that can produce quite a bit in the warmer months is not sustaining us now, by any means. I stay cozy inside and don’t venture into the garden much other than to dump the compost and make a quick dash to pick herbs–which actually are still very robust and much appreciated. Meanwhile some farmers I know are just wrapping up their summer shares and starting their winter ones. More and more of them, in order to sustain themselves (and us!) are growing and/or storing produce all year round.

I recently had the privilege of writing the forward for the forthcoming book Planting the Future: Profiles of Oregon’s New Farm Movement which profiles a fascinating mix of farmers, ranchers, seed breeders and advocates. It is abundantly clear from these profiles of these resilient, hardworking people who care about bio-diversity, people, land and their communities that WE, the eaters/consumers, have a critical role in their survival.

So I want to give a big, loud, thankful shout-out to the farmers who I have the privilege of working with directly who would very much like to keep you healthy and happy this winter with their beautiful produce. CSAs embody the epitome of cooking-with-what-have. The farmer chooses what’s best and that’s what you get. In the words of my ever-philosophical seven-year old, “you get what you get and you make the best of it!” and that’s not difficult with this produce because you are getting the best of it already. And if you don’t live in the northern Willamette Valley in Oregon you probably have CSAs or winter farmers’ markets in your area where you’ll find similarly wonderful produce.

If you do per chance sign up for any of these CSAs you will automatically get access to my subscription-only Seasonal Recipe Collection. And if you sign up for Sun Gold Farm’s one-time Thanksgiving share you’ll get a custom set of recipes.

Happy cooking to all and thank you dear farmers for going out in the rain and muck and wind and sleet when I’m cozy inside writing recipes!

WINTER CSAs in the Portland/Salem area

47th Ave Farm’s Winter Share starts the first week of November. The share features field grown crops like Tuscan kale, leeks, Purple Sprouting broccoli and sweet winter carrots. It also includes storage crops like Delicata & Sweet Meat winter squash, Amish Butter popcorn, a variety of potatoes, onions, dry beans and more.

Sauvie Island Organics is offering a Winter Storage Share for the first time that will include yellow French carrots, German Butterball potatoes, Dutch red shallots, nutty Japanese Kabocha winter squash, juicy Kohlrabi, crispy Daikon radishes, and more.

Minto Island Growers continues to provide a Winter Share for both Salem and Portland area customers with a wide variety of storage crops like carrots, potatoes, celeriac and just harvested greens and brassicas.

For additional Winter CSA options visit Portland Area CSA Coalition. There are also several wonderful year-round farmers’ markets including Hillsdale Farmers Market, Portland Farmers Market, and People’s Co-op Farmers’ Market.

Beet, Celery, Cilantro and Walnut Salad with Garlicky Dressing

I toss together a lot of beet salads, some of which make it into the recipe collection. This one, as they always do, resulted from what I happened to have on hand. Adapt as you see fit but the crunch of the celery, the sweet, robust beets and the sharp zing from the garlic is a particularly fun combination especially in the cooler months.

Serves 2-3

4 roasted (or boiled), cooled and peeled beets, cut into large dice or wedges
2 good-sized stalk celery (use some leaves if attached), washed and thinly sliced (halve the stalks lengthwise if they’re quite large first)
2 cloves garlic, minced and then mashed into a paste with some coarse salt on the cutting board with the side of a chef’s knife (or put through a press)
1/3 cup (or more) cilantro, stems and all, roughly chopped
1/2 cup toasted walnuts, roughly chopped
1-2 ounces feta, crumbled
1 scallion, thinly sliced (optional–use a little onion or shallot if that’s what you have)
1 tablespoon (or more) sherry or red wine or cider vinegar
2 tablespoons (or more) good olive oil
Salt

Whisk the mashed garlic with the olive oil and vinegar. Toss this dressing with everything else, except the beets. Gently toss in the beets. Taste and adjust seasoning.

A Salad Made with What I Had & Big News

Posted on May 22, 2014 | by cookwithwhatyouhave | 1 Comment

This space has been very quiet for many months as I’ve been working on a deep but carefully curated subscription-based, online Seasonal Recipe Collection. This project grew out of years of developing recipes for CSA farms and their members and teaching cooking classes, all with the philosophy of: fresh produce + well-stocked pantry + a little confidence and creativity = cooking more, eating well and spending less money on last minute trips to the store, take-out, etc. I hope you’ll have a look and consider subscribing. The collection is organized alphabetically by vegetable so you have a dozen (or many more) recipes for each vegetable in one click rather than browsing many different sites to find what suits you in the moment.

The Seasonal Recipe Collection might inspire you to try new things at the farmers’ market or subscribe to a CSA–maybe you’ve never picked up a bunch of salad turnips with their lush green tops or purple mustard greens or fava beans or chicory. This collection offers you guidance about each vegetable, storage tips and complementary ingredients and flavors as well as recipes and photos of the dishes.

You can subscribe to this collection as an individual but if you have subscribed to a CSA this year, specifically 47th Ave Farm, Sun Gold Farm, Minto Island Growers, Gathering Together Farm or Sauvie Island Organics, you will get access through your farm, or in the case of Sauvie Island Organics, to a customized recipe packet each week.

Frisée, sorrel, arugula, parsley and mint.

This salad is the epitome of cook-with-what-you-have. Las week I scavenged in my fridge and garden and came up with sorrel, some frisée, arugula, parsley and mint. I love to use herbs more like salad greens, using them in quantity and keeping the leaves more or less whole. My pantry offered up toasted sunflower seeds and some lightly pickled red onions (just thinly sliced onion in red wine vinegar) and a salad was made! If you don’t have the latter two things prepared you can toast sunflower seeds in 12 -15 minutes at 300 degrees with a little olive oil and salt and slice up an onion and let it soak in vinegar for 10 minutes, in the moment as well.

Spring Salad

Salad greens and herbs, washed and dried
Some toasted seeds or nuts (sunflower seeds, hazelnuts, walnuts, almonds or pumpkin seeds), use more than you think you need
A bit of pickled onion (optional)
Good olive oil
Lemon juice or red wine vinegar
Sea salt
Freshly ground pepper

Toss everything but the seeds or nuts together in a serving bowl. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and/or acid. Toss in the seeds or nuts. Taste again. Enjoy!

Happy spring and happy cooking!

Quince, Squash, Beans – Simple Fall Pleasures (& a New Class)

Posted on October 23, 2013 | by cookwithwhatyouhave | Leave a Comment

When you cook and adapt and create recipes every day it’s easy to get swept up in the many variations and tricks that are certainly fun but not always necessary. And a few of the teaching projects I’m currently working on are forcing me to strip things down to the very simplest preparations, to really practice what I preach– that cooking can be liberating, a way to frankly make life less complicated rather than more; that cooking can be simple, creative and just plain fun, not to mention delicious, economical and convivial.

It still feels like fall has just begun since the weather here in Oregon is warm and glorious, however, the produce at the markets clearly marks the passing of summer and early fall. The peppers are gone and cabbage is here and so is winter squash in its many sizes, shapes, and flavors. And this year’s crop of dry beans is arriving and my quince tree is loaded. This week I was feeling overwhelmed by the fairly labor intensive ways to preserve quince (my dwarf tree produced 50 quince this fall!) so I decided to simply bake the whole unpeeled fruits in a covered pot, as I was already roasting beets. And voila, after an hour the quince had become sauce and I just needed to pick out the cores and stir in some honey.

quince ready to bake

The beauty of this season’s produce is intoxicating and I’m reminded that even this time of year, the hard, grainy quince and the unwieldy, weighty winter squash can be prepared and enjoyed with ease. And in the case of the latter it can be sliced and baked and enjoyed with nothing more than salt and maybe a little olive oil or maybe some salsa verde.

And then there are beans! The humble, wonderful and under appreciated dry bean I love so much. I just ordered 30 lbs of pinto beans from one farm and will be loading up on other varieties from another soon. Nothing makes me feel more secure than big jars of beans in my pantry. Soaked and then cooked with a bay leaf a clove of garlic and chunk of onion and then left to cool in their broth, . . .then a sprinkle of salt and drizzle of oil and lunch is served.

And put the three together–wedge of squash, bowl of beans and quince sauce for dessert-simple indeed!

And speaking of fall and what the changing temperatures and products mean for the kitchen, I’m co-teaching a class with Ellen Goldsmith who will bring her experience with Chinese culinary philosophy to our evening of conversation over dinner and would love to have you in class! Details below:

A Taste of Autumn: East meets West at the Dinner Table

Are you wondering how to make your autumn cuisine delightful, delicious, and inspired? Join Ellen Goldsmith and Katherine Deumling for an evening of conversation and eating just for autumn. What does this season’s food tell us about our bodies, our vitality, and our appetites? Katherine will bring her cook-with-what-you-have approach to delicious, produce-driven dishes for this abundant but cooler time of year.

Ellen will offer an overview of the Chinese medicinal and seasonal culinary philosophy as it applies to the autumn season to enliven your cooking.

Infuse your fall season of cooking and eating with a conversation over supper. We will discuss:

• The elements of a vibrant seasonal meal

• To utilize local and seasonal produce in a new way

• The benefits, from a Chinese medicine perspective, of cooking with the season

• How tastes of different foods energize your cooking and you!

You will receive materials, including the evening’s recipes.

When: Tuesday, November 5, 6:30 – 8:30 pm

Where: Home of Ellen Goldsmith in Northeast Portland (Address available upon registration)

Cost: $60/person

Ellen Goldsmith, licensed acupuncturist, brings a passion for cooking and food with over 25 years of experience practicing Asian medicine and teaching all about the vitality and potency of food through the lens of Chinese medicinal principles. She practices acupuncture, dietary therapy, Chinese herbs, body-mind health, and Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction at Pearl Natural Health in Portland. In addition, she shares her passion for transforming our lives through our health on her weekly podcast Health Currents Radio and as a board member at the National College of Natural Medicine, the oldest naturopathic medical school in the country.

Last Gasp of Summer

Posted on September 23, 2013 | by cookwithwhatyouhave | Leave a Comment

I know it’s fall–it looks, smells and feels that way here in the Pacific Northwest–but the giant tomatoes I’m still hauling in from the garden and that keep showing up in my CSA share are ever so welcome. It is that time of year for me though where there is so much produce, both summer and fall crops, that it’s hard to focus. This salad is a good way to work through a lot of tomatoes and cherish their sweet juicy-ness before they disappear for many months.

This quick salad today is not a panzanella, at least not in the typical Tuscan sense, though it may look like it to many. This is panzanella! Thank goodness for a better writer than me and one with more authority on Italian food than me to write a proper post about this wonderful, soggy, yes soggy, Tuscan dish that I ate day after day in Italy and have recreated for students and friends alike, almost always to raised eyebrows of skepticism before and appreciation and wonder after ingestion! I like many of the more modern, American adaptations with toasted bread, I just resist calling them panzanella for some stubborn nod to tradition that occasionally comes over me.

In this salad, a thick slice or two of toasted bread is cut into cubes and tossed with big chunks of tomato, feta, a bit of arugula and lots of basil and some diced red onion. Red wine vinegar and good olive oil and salt and pepper is all the dressing it needs. Buon Appetito!