Bacon and Mizuna Risotto

Inspired by some seriously delicious fare at Toulouse Petit, I made this risotto with some fresh mizuna lettuce from our farm share and bacon from the local farmer's market.  It's true what they say, bacon does make everything better!  Don't be intimidated on this one, if you don't have mizuna you can always use arugula or spinach.

Ingredients


5 cups vegetable or chicken broth
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 cup arborio rice (special risotto rice)
1/2 cup white wine
5 slices of bacon
1 lb mizuna or other green

1. Start by heating both in a pot on the stove (heat over medium)
2. Heat another deep pot over medium high heat, when hot add two swirls of olive oil to the pan
3. When the oil is hot add the chopped onion and cook 2-3 minutes until soft
4. Add rice to the oil and stir to coat (about 2 minutes)
5. Deglaze the pan with the white wine and stir to evenly coat
6. Here comes the tricky part, add a ladle of the broth to the rice mixture and stir every few minutes while broth is absorbed
7. When broth is absorbed add some more and repeat step 6 until all broth is gone.
8. While risotto is cooking, heat a large saute pan to medium high heat
9. Add bacon slices to the hot pan and cook to your preference (well done works best here)
10. When bacon is done, remove from the pan and lay on a cutting board with paper towels below to soak up the grease
11. Carefully drain most of the grease into a grease safe container and return the pan to the stove
12. Add the greens to the bacon greased pan and cook down for about 3-4 minutes and remove from heat
13. At this point you should be about 20 minutes into cooking your risotto and have very little broth left.  Sample the risotto to make sure it is chewy but not uncooked.  If it is ready, remove from heat.
14. Quickly chop bacon into bite size pieces
15. To plate this dinner, add a scoop of risotto onto the plate, followed by a nice portion of greens (about one "tong"ful) and then finally the bacon.
16. Serve with a salad and enjoy!

Fava Bean and Potato Salad

You could basically call this the "everything but the kitchen sink" potato salad.  I really tried to use inventive and different ingredients here for a fresh take on potato salad.  You will never buy pre-made potato salad at the store ever again!  I used purple potatoes in this recipe for added color!

Ingredients


1 zucchini (cut into inch thick rounds and then cut into half moons)
1 lb fava beans
1 lb new or yukon potatoes
10 oz creme fraiche
4 or 5 healthy springs of dill (chopped)
One salad onion or sweet onion (such as Walla Walla variety) thinly sliced

1. This recipe has three main steps.  Boiling the fava beans and zucchini is the first.  Heat a large pot of salted water on medium high heat, when boiling add fava beans and set timer for 2 minutes.  After two minutes is done, add zucchini and cook another 1 1/2 minutes
2.  Immediately remove from heat and using a slotted spoon, put veggies into a colander in the sink and run cold water over them for 2 minutes
3. Return pot of water to stove and reheat to boiling, then add potatoes and cook for 20 minutes (depending on how thick they are you might need to go 25)
4. Congrats you are done with two of the steps!
5. Next you need to shell the fava beans.  They should be in a long pod and to open you can carefully cut a slit in the bean with a small knife
6. Remove the beans from the pod and set aside and discard the pods
7. When you have accumulated the beans, now you have to squeeze out the actual bean from within this outer layer.  Once you try this you will know exactly what I'm referring too.  Be careful as these are slippery and can easily fall down the drain!
8. Set the beans in a dish and discard the husks
9. At this point the potatoes should be done
10. Drain them and turn them into a mixing bowl
11. Add the thinly sliced onion, the zucchini, beans and dill and stir to coat
12. Finally add the creme fraiche and stir to coat all of the veggies
13. Salt and pepper and enjoy!!

Easy Carrot Ginger Soup

It doesn't get more simple than this.  Fresh carrots, onions, ginger and broth.  I ate this for lunch with a nice crisp salad and a sprinkle of feta cheese but you could easily serve this as a first course at a dinner party.  It is perfect for all seasons, especially while the carrots are fresh at the farmer's market!

Ingredients

Ginger (size of your thumb)

1 small white onion finely chopped

1 garlic clove crushed

2 lbs chopped carrots

1 quart of vegetable stock

1. Peel ginger and finely chop

2. Heat soup pot over medium high heat on the stove.  When hot add olive oil and add ginger, onion and garlic

3. Saute for two minutes and then add carrots and stir to coat

4. Stir almost constantly for 4-5 minutes

5. Add broth to cover the veggies and let cook 25 minutes until carrots are very tender

6. This soup is best if blended with an immersion blender so when you remove it from the heat, blend being careful not to let hot soup splatter

7. Serve immediately or let cool and save for a later occasion!

Pork Kebabs with Curry Marinade

Craving something with substance but also spice, David and I came up with these pork skewers with a summer curry sauce.  There is not much else to be said except that this totally hit the spot and is something I would definitely grill again.  Serve with pita bread and a light salad and you have a complete summer meal.

Serves 2

Ingredients

1 pound pork cut for kebab or stir fry

Juice from one lemon

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 clove garlic

2 tablespoons curry powder

Skewers

1. Rinse pork, pat dry and set in a dish ready for marinating

2. Combine lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, and curry powder in a small food processor and power until well blending.  You could add some finely diced onion or green onion as well.

3. Pour the marinade over the pork and sprinkle salt and pepper on top.

4. Cover the meat and let sit in the fridge for at least two hours, four if you have time, turning the meat half way through.

5. When ready to cook soak the skewer sticks (if wooden) and then skewer meat using a brush to get all of the sauce on these skewers

6. Heat grill and add skewers when the grill is hot

7. Cook for about 10-12 minutes turning the skewers every few minutes.

8. Cut a test piece of meat to make sure the meat is done and when it is, serve up with some pita!

Simply Strawberries and Creme Fraiche

In honor of our 2 year wedding anniversary, let me post a sweet treat that should be part of anyone's summer repertoire of  desserts.

Ingredients


1 pint of fresh strawberries (rinsed and stems removed)
1/4 cup fine sugar
1/2 cup creme fraiche
Bottle of champagne (optional)

1. Sprinkle fine sugar on a nice plate
2. Add creme fraiche dollop to the middle of the plate
2. Surround the creme with the clean strawberries in a cute design

Serve with small forks or use your fingers.  Enjoy the deliciousness of the creme fresh with the gorgeous berries!

Orzo Pasta Salad

My parents make the most amazing orzo salad (I always request it whenever I'm visiting them for the weekend).  I made a slightly altered version based on a few special items I picked up at the farmer's market today...SCAPES!  These funny looking veggies are the tips of garlic and have a really nice mild garlic flavor.  If you can't find scapes, feel free to omit them and use dill instead.

Ingredients

1/2 box of orzo pasta

1 small salad onion thinly sliced or 5 scallions thinly sliced

5 or 6 scapes chopped into bite size pieces

1 can of garbanzo beans

zest of one lemon

3/4 cup feta cheese

1. Cook orzo pasta according to package directions.

2. Meanwhile chop onion and scapes

3. Drain pasta when cooked and run cold water over the pasta to cool it down

4. Combine pasta, beans, scapes, lemon zest and feta in a big bowl.

5. Stir and serve!

Pizza Margherita with Golden Tomato Sauce

This was the first time I've ever made pizza in Seattle and though..."Woah, am I in New York City?"  I know that might sound pretentious but this pizza ROCKED.  Using some leftover frozen whey from this ricotta I made a few weeks ago, the crust literally melted in my mouth.  Inspired by the golden tomato sauce from 101 Cookbooks, I created this Pizza Margherita to remember!

Pizza dough (prepare at least two hours before you are ready to make pizza)

2 cups of flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons rapid rise yeast
3/4 cup warm water or warmed leftover whey
1/2 cup olive oil

Mix dry ingredients in the food processor.  While food processor is running, add 1/2 cup of warm water in a slow stream. Next add olive oil. If dough is still not formed in a ball, add remaining water plus a few extra teaspoons if necessary until dough forms a ball.

Place dough in an oiled bowl and over with plastic wrap and kitchen towel.  Allow to rest for at least two hours (you can even let this sit for 24 hours!).


Golden Tomato Sauce

1 lb golden tomatoes roughly chopped
1 very small onion finely chopped
1 clove of minced garlic
salt/pepper
olive oil

1. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a saute pan over medium high heat
2. When hot add garlic and onions and stir for 2 minutes
3. Add chopped tomatoes and turn heat down to medium
4. Let tomatoes simmer for about 10-15 minutes until they breakdown easily
5. Transfer to a food processor and puree the mixture
6. Add salt and pepper to taste
7. Use just like you would red tomato sauce

MAKING THE PIZZA

Now you are probably wondering about the pizza right?  Luckily this is the easy part.

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2. Carefully and stretch the pizza dough to desired shape and thickness and carefully lay on parchment paper
3. Lightly brush dough with olive oil
4. Evenly spread tomato sauce over the dough.  You can freeze the leftover sauce for another use or use it for pasta later.
5. Cover with favorite toppings, here we did mozzarella cheese and basil in honor of Princess Margherita.
6. Carefully place in the oven and bake until cheese is golden brown and bubbling and crust is finished, about 12-15 minutes.
7. Remove from oven and let sit a few minutes (if you can) before serving