The Way to Eat Beets: Grated!

It's official. The way to make beets awesome and/or not gross, depending on your perspective, is to grate them. A food processor, especially one with a grating attachment, makes this super easy but you can also use a cheese grater.

Here are two recipes: A simple one (Pulled Pork w/ Chard, Beet, & Carrot Saute) and a more intensive one (Spicy Sausage Beet-Balls & Mustard-Dill-Beet Mashed Potatoes).

Pulled Pork w/ Chard, Beet, & Carrot Saute


Chard, Beet, & Carrot Saute
1 Beet
1 Carrot
1 bunch of Swiss Chard
1 bulb of garlic
Olive Oil

Grate the beet and carrot either with a food processor or grater. Heat oil in a skillet with the garlic. Add the beets and carrot. Saute for a minute or two and then add the chard. Saute until the chard has wilted. Bam. Done

Pulled Pork
This is kind of a bonus recipe. We often get ~1 lb. pork steaks from our meat CSA. The best and easiest way I've found to make them is in a crock pot. Put the pork steak into the pot and cover with water. You can use bbq sauce or other sauce but top off with water to cover all of the steak. Heat it on Low for 8-10 hours. It's done when the pork easily shreds with a knife. Scoop out the pork with a slotted spoon and put in a colinder on top of plate. This allows the fat to drip off the pork. That's it. Yay!


Spicy Sausage Beet-Balls & Mustard-Dill-Beet Mashed Potatoes



This was awesome if I do say so myself! The measurements are approximate - sorry to all you anal ones out there.

Spicy Sausage Beet-Balls
1 Beet
1 Carrot
1 lb. Spicy Italian Sausage
1 Egg
1/4 cup Milk
1 1/2 handfuls of bread crumbs
1/4 cup grated Parmesan Cheese
1 small handful of TJ's Provolone, Parmesan-Reggiano & Asiago Shredded Cheese Mix (or any shredded cheese)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Grate the beet and the carrot in the food processor. Reserve half for the mashed potatoes. In a bowl combine the sausage, half the beet-carrot mixture, egg, milk, bread crumbs, and cheese. Form the mixture into balls and place on a pan. Bake for ~ 30 min. (I didn't really pay attention - I took the balls out of the oven when everything else was done.)

Mustard-Dill-Beet-Potatoes

1/2 of the grated beet-carrot mixture from above
2 med & 2 small potatoes
1 tblsp of dijon mustard
Dill Weed
4 large spoonfuls of sour cream
1 tblsp butter

Boil the potatoes. When the potatoes are pierced easily with a fork, drain them and return to the pot. Add the butter and smash. Mix in the beet-carrot mixture and then the mustard, dill, and sour cream.

Cheese Sauce (for meatballs)

Olive Oil
1 tblsp butter
1/4 onion, diced
1 tblsp flour
3/4 cup of milk
1/2 cup of chicken broth
5 oz of TJ's Provolone, Parmesan-Reggiano & Asiago Shredded Cheese Mix (or shredded provolone cheese)
Nutmeg

In a sauce pan, add a drizzle of oil and the butter. When the butter has melted, add the onion and cook for 2 minutes. Stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute. Whisk in the milk and chicken broth and bring to a boil. One boiling, stir in the cheese and let simmer until the cheese melts. Sprinkle with nutmeg to taste.

~~~

Seriously, even if you think you hate beets, at least try this last recipe. Adam said he couldn't even taste the beets in the meatballs.

Balsamic Eggplant "Pizza" with Ham and Ricotta

I adapted this from my new favorite cookbook, Rachel Ray's Just In Time. (I know, I know! Rachel Ray? I've never seen her show but I love her cookbooks!) I've made the recipe quicker than her 60 minute recipe which I, frankly, have to take some pride in.

I actually ended up with 7 little pizzas ... but as I was moving them to the plate, I dropped the tray on the ground. Whoops! Maverick, my pug, seemed to enjoy them too! :)

Balsamic Eggplant "Pizza" with Ham and Ricotta

1 small Eggplant
Olive Oil
Balsamic Vinegar
1 cup Ricotta Cheese
1/4 cup Parmesan Cheese
1 tbsp Parsley Flakes
Prosciutto Slices - 1 for each slice of eggplant, ~ 6-8
Tomato Sauce
Log of Mozzarella Cheese - enough for 1 slice for each eggplant

Serves 2

Preheat the oven to 375.

Oil a large skillet and put over high heat. Take a small, lengthwise slice on the eggplant so that it sits nicely on your cutting board. Then cut the eggplant into 1/2 in slices (I got 7 out of mine - 2 of which were very small). Put the eggplant in the skillet. Once the first side has finished cooking (use your spatula to check if it's soft), flip the eggplant slices and then splash each one with Balsamic Vinegar.

While the eggplant is cooking, combine the Ricotta, Parmesan, and Parsley flakes in bowl. Slice the Mozzarella - 1 slice per eggplant.

When the eggplant has finished cooking, place each slice onto a baking sheet. Top each slice with a heaping spoon full (or two depending on the size of the slice) of the Ricotta mixture then with a slice of prosciutto. Add a spoonful or so of Tomato Sauce to each slice and top with a slice of Mozzarella.

Place the baking sheet in the oven until the Mozzarella begins to melt.

What I Ate - Summer '08

Who doesn't love a rhyme?

I know I've been remiss dear readers of my cooking blog (Are there any anymore? Were there ever?)

So here's a little slide show of some of the things I've made this summer:

Meat, Meat, & more Meat!

Lately I've been seeing a lot of articles/posts/info about the environmental happiness that would result if everyone just stopped eating meat. Vegetarianism, among other issues, has always been a huge sticking point for me and the environmental movement. Not eating meat never really seemed like the solution it was proposed to be. Truthfully, I had thought about going veg but could never, sometimes inexplicably, bring myself to do it. Maybe because I really love bacon.

As I've gotten involved in the CSA/locivore movement, I've had a chance to see, eat, and read about sustainable, grazed meat and dairy. Especially after reading Omnivore's Dilemma, I felt justified in eating meat. Here was an example of a farm that was sustainable precisely because it raised animals. For me, it goes back to a tenant of existentialism (what in my mind, I see as the essential paradox of life for the existentialist): that we are both a part of the world and a part from the world; that, yes, we have an ethical responsibility, because of our consciousness, to treat animals humanely, but we are also a part of the interconnected ecological system and cannot entirely extricate ourselves from it, nor should we.

Then there is the whole "health" issue. Thanks again to Michael Pollan and his newest book, In Defense of Food, I'm not sure we can buy this argument either. Nurtritionism - or the science that determines what is good for us and what we should eat - has been a miserable failure, he argues. Studies show that reducing red meat and fat-intake doesn't decrease your risk of heart disease. Vitamins supplements don't have the same effect as food. Maybe it's not what we eat but how we eat it and what each food is eaten with. Maybe it's also how it's raised. It seems like all these anti-red meat studies attempt to compare industrial feedlots to grass fed beef. They are not the same, in terms of the quality and nutritional value of the meat and in terms of the treatment and health of the animals.

Recently, Adam and I joined a Meat CSA with Eight O'Clock Ranch in upstate New York. I was so excited to find it because I had been fighting to bring meat to our CSA. At our last CORE meeting, it was brought up and the typical ethical concerns turned to environmental concerns and I thought 'ugg.' Perhaps it's because I have 10 pounds of frozen beef, pork, and lamb in my freezer and consequentially my meal planning has been centered on it, but I feel pretty frustrated by the claims of these articles. Like I said, not all meat eating is as bad as they say and is it really ok for me to buy a Hummer but go Veg?

In case you're curious, here are some links:

• Bitten article on cutting down on meat
• Treehugger post on study that shows that eating meat ruins the environment
• Eco-Chick post on eating locally sourced, grass fed meat
• Green-luvin post on grass fed meat
• Eight O'Clock Ranch - East Coast Meat CSA
• Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan - this book seriously changed my life
• In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan
• The Compassionate Carnivore by Catherine Friend - I haven't read this but it got a good review (by a vegetarian no less) in Bust. It's on my good reads "to-read" list.
  

Pizza with Ramps, Bacon & Tomato

I had never heard of Ramps until recently when reading about them on some very excited food blogs. Now I know what all the hoop-la is about.

Ramps are the Vidalia onions of leeks and they are wonderful. I ripped the idea for tonight's dinner from the Ramps-Arugula-Bacon-Goat Cheese Pizza off of What Geeks Eat.

Pizza with Ramps, Bacon & Tomato

1 pre-made pizza crust (or make your own - see above links for some instructions)
1 roma tomato, sliced (canned tomatos would work here too ... and could make this super local)
1 bunch Ramps
1 bag of shredding cheeses (I used Organic Valley's Italian cheese mix) or shred some cheese
4 slices of fresh mozzarella
handful of fresh chives
6 slices of bacon
marinara or pizza sauce (I used TJ's Tomato Basil Marinara sauce)
Olive oil

Cook the bacon how you like (Personally, I'm a bacon in the microwave kind of girl). While the bacon is cooking, cut the leaves off the ramps and coarsely chop leaves and bulbs. Then coarsely chop the chives. Put ramps and chives into a bowl and toss with a drizzle of olive oil. Slice tomatoes and fresh mozzarella. Pour and spread the sauce onto the pizza crust and sprinkle with shredded cheese. Then cover with the ramps & chives mixture. Place the mozzarella and tomato slices evenly around the crust. Crush the bacon into small pieces and sprinkle on the pizza.


Cook the pizza according to the instructions for the crust. Generally, if the cheese is melted and the crust brown, it's done. Duh.


The pizza was pretty much awesome - I highly recommend it and so does Adam (which means it was really really good).

While waiting for the pizza to cook, I threw together some left-over pizza ingredients, some of what I got at the Farmer's Market yesterday, and other things in the fridge to make a salad to take to work for lunch.

3 handfuls of baby salad mix
Grape tomatoes, cut in half
Shredded carrots
Rest of the Organic Valley shredding Italian cheese mix
Rest of the package of bacon ( ~ 6 slices), cooked and coarsely crushed into small pieces
Handful of fresh cilantro
1 Avocado, sliced (not pictured, whoops)

Combine in a bowl. I'll probably eat it with Ranch dressing because Ranch + fresh Cilantro = awesome.



Yum. I can't wait for noon tomorrow ...

*Gluten-Free: If using a gluten free pizza crust and tomato sauce then both pizza and salad are gluten-free
*Low-carb: Salad is pretty low-carb and could cut down on veggies if needed.

Hello Greens! + Burdock Leaves = Gross & Veg-tastic Chili

After a (sorta) local winter filled with squash, beets, and cabbage, I was thrilled to see greens at the farmers market today!! Greens!! Hooray!



From top left, clockwise: Baby Salad Mix, Ground Angus, Chives, Cilantro, Burdock leaves, Portobello mushrooms, Oyster mushrooms, Ramps, Eggs


I've been seeing Ramps on some food blogs I read lately so I was excited to see them. I'm even more excited to try this Ramps-Arugula-Bacon-Goat Cheese Pizza. I'll let you know how it goes.

After lounging on the couch watching Because I Said So for the 85th billionth time and then going roller blading, I was desperate for dinner and without enough energy to spend too much time. I nixed any idea that involved some of the meat I have in the freezer because it required defrosting. This left me with cans of Trader Joe's Beef Chili, tuna, or eggs for protein. I decided the chili sounded good.

I also decided I would try the Burdock leaves I picked up at the market. I had no idea what they were or what to do with them but since they looked like Chard I figured that I couldn't go wrong with a stir fry.

Yeah so not so much. Apparently, they are only good to eat if you're a goat. I took a little bite to see what they were like and it left an awful bitter taste in my mouth. Then I figured that they obviously needed a blanching. While I was waiting for the water to boil and dug around and prepped the other ingredients:


Once the water was boiled and the leaves blanched, I coarsely chopped them and begin the meal. I tasted the leaves after everything was added and had been cooked and they were still a mouthful of bitter disgustingness. They were definitley inedible so I picked all of them out and added 2 handfuls of baby spinach.

Here's the final recipe for Veg-tastic Chili:

olive oil for sauteing
1/2 an onion
3-4 cloves of garlic
2 roma tomatoes
Bunch of cremini mushrooms
1 11 oz can of corn
Bunch of fresh cilantro
Carrots - shredded or sliced into thin strips or rounds
1 can of chili (or beans)
2 big handfuls baby spinach
cheddar cheese, grated (optional)

Add oil, garlic, and onions to a large skillet and put on medium heat. When the onion begins to look translucent, add the mushrooms, cilantro, carrots, spinach, corn, and tomatoes. Once the spinach has wilted a litte, add the can of chili and turn up to medium high heat. When the chili is warm, spoon into bowls and top with grated cheese.

Despite the burdock disaster, the meal turned out quite well.

*Gluten-free: Use gluten-free chili or just use a can of beans and a can of crushed tomatoes
*Low-carb: Use low-carb chili or no beans and extra meat; don't use corn

Walnut (or Cashew) Cheese!

Since I've become obsessed with Google Reader and recently discovered the nifty "Suggestions" area, I've found a few new foodie blogs. One of them - Maybe Local Vegan? - constantly extolled their love for Cashew Cheese. It's not really cheese - more of a cross between pesto and mole sauce - but it's pretty damn good.

As an experiment - and because I didn't think plain old tomato sauce would go - I made some Walnut Cheese (half a batch) to go with my Trader Joe's Walnut Gorgonzola Ravioli.

Here's the recipe:

1 1/2 cups walnuts (or really any nuts would work I think)
2-3 cloves of garlic
1 tblsp of lemon
1 tsp of sea salt
1/2 cup of water

Then blend until it's a paste.

My only beef is that it was a bit too salty for me. The next time I make it I think I'll use half the salt. What I really love about it, though, is that it isn't too thick so it's perfect for a sauce and since we always have nuts around, it's an easy, healthy, protein-filled addition to any meal.

I have a cashew crusted chicken and stir-fryed veggies with cashew cheese meal idea in my head ...