How time flies!

We had a beautiful baby girl at the end of June. The doctors suspicions were correct-she was a big baby weighing in at 9.5 pounds. Luckily, I was still able to have the natural birth I was hoping for. I believe that eating right, prenatal yoga, and lots of walking gave me the strength to tough it out (along with my husband's support of course).

We have settled into family life here in Brooklyn. We enjoyed the bounty of the season's CSA vegetables, fruit, eggs and meat. I have been cooking less, and my husband has been taking the lead in keeping this nursing mama well nourished. I am amazed at how so many of you can prepare beautiful feasts night after night with a houseful of children. The meals I have made have been quick and simple which has not provided much fodder for new blog posts. But I have missed writing and being part of the blogging community, so I am planning on getting back into it.

There is a big change on the horizon for us. We are saying farewell to NYC and heading to Boston for a new exciting job for my husband. Stay tuned to hear more about the upcoming move and our efforts to create healthful meals in the midst of the chaos.

CSA Time

A sample haul from our CSA last summer.


I am really missing having a CSA (Community Supported Agricultural) Share. It's so nice getting a big delivery of fresh, local vegetables each week to guide our eating. I had intended to find a Winter CSA, but we were in England for a couple of weeks and then my first trimester nausea set in, so I missed the sign-up. We had a couple of warmer days last week, and it had me starting to think about Spring and CSA sign-up. We really enjoyed our Foodstockings CSA last summer, but we have since moved to Brooklyn and its Lower East Side location is too inconvenient. I went over to the trusty Local Harvest website to find some CSAs in our Brooklyn neighborhood. Can you believe that some of the groups already have a waiting list? The deliveries don't start until June here in NYC. I thought I was planning ahead, but I guess I'm not alone.

So this is my PSA: If you are thinking of joining a CSA, start researching your options.

Happy Eating!

This post is part of Tempt My Tummy Tuesday, Delectable Tuesday, Tasty Tuesday, Dr. Laura's Tasty Tuesday, Tasty Tuesday at Beauty and Bedlam, Hearth and Soul Blog Hop, and Works-For-Me-Wednesday.

Smoked Trout

Two years ago we were in Arizona to visit my family, and we spent several days on an AZ sightseeing trip. We went to Jerome, Sedona, Oak Creek Canyon, Williams, Grand Canyon and Flagstaff. My husband hadn't seen most of it before, and I was excited to show him the rest of the state where I grew up. In Flagstaff, we ate breakfast at a small diner downtown. It was great! We love the type of places where the waitstaff knows how the regulars like their coffee and their eggs. My husband ordered scrambled eggs and smoked trout, and the combination was amazing. We wanted to buy some, and we tracked the trout to Oak Creek Canyon, but they only smoke it for restaurants. We hadn't tried it again... until, yesterday! We were walking through our Whole Foods, and spotted some local smoked trout. We were so excited!

We had smoked trout and poached eggs for breakfast, and it was delicious. I hadn't tried poaching eggs in a while, so I looked up some tips. People recommended cracking the egg into a ramekin, and then gently submerging the ramekin into the boiling water and transferring the egg into the pan. We don't have any ramekins, so I used a small shallow bowl. They don't look perfect, but they were delicious. My husband came up with the idea of using a ladle tomorrow. We sprinkled a little chopped sage over the top. The creaminess of the egg yolk with the smoky, salty taste of the trout and the herby, fresh taste of the sage created the perfect flavor combination.





We also picked up our farm share yesterday. It was another roof top week, and we had to climb the 7 flights of stairs to pick-up our veggies. I just tried googling Anthill Farm the other day (the farm that provides our veggies) and they now have a website!


This week we will be enjoying garlic, onions, leeks, beets, carrots, kale, yellow beans, and corn. My goal is to eat them all from root to tip (if possible).

Eggs Glorious Eggs

I think the recall of a half a million eggs is a reminder to us all that we need to be eating better quality eggs. Get out there and support your local farmer or farmers' market and buy eggs from their pasture raised hens. They will be safer, tastier, and more nutritious. Here are two ideas for those farm fresh eggs:


A while back, we had burritos for breakfast. We peeled and chopped some kohlrabi and sauteed it with some onions. When they were softened and starting to brown, we added some eggs. Serve in tortillas with condiments of your choice. Prepared this way the kohlrabi has a texture similar to potatoes, but with a slightly sweet flavor. It pairs nicely with the onions and scrambled eggs. My favorite thing about that picture is that one burrito has salsa and one has ketchup. Can you tell which one belongs to the girl that grew up in AZ and which one belongs to the boy from upstate NY? It makes me chuckle each time I think about it.


This is not the best photo, but it documents our breakfast yesterday morning. I'm actually impressed that I managed to take a photo during the morning scramble before work. This was very simple, but delicious. My husband sauteed some spinach until it started to wilt and added some beaten eggs to the pan. We topped it with salsa we made the night before. (I learned that he will eat salsa on eggs if it is homemade.)

Eggs are a satisfying way to start the day.


This post is part of Simple Lives Thursday at GNOWFGLINS, Ulitmate Recipe Swap at Life as Mom, Tasty Traditions at Coupon Cooking, and Things I Love Thursday at Diaper Diaries.

Kohlrabi Hash

I woke up this morning wondering what I should make for dinner tonight. In my half-asleep state, I was trying to figure out what we had left in the fridge from the farm share. I could think of greens, radishes, turnips... aha, we have kohlrabi. I was excited to remember the kohlrabi because that guaranteed something new and different to prepare, eat and write about. I decided right then that I wanted to have kohlrabi hash with steak and salad.

I had seen kohlrabi in the stores, but I had never purchased it, prepared it, or eaten it. I got some tips from our CSA coordinator last weekend, and I double checked on the internet to make sure I wasn't missing out on any other stellar ideas. Everyone seemed to agree that kohlrabi hash was a great way to go. When our CSA coordinator mentioned kohlrabi hash, I envisioned grated kohlrabi in a cast iron pan cooking away in some olive oil, but when I looked up kohlrabi hash on-line all the recipes were inspired by potato pancakes. They included eggs, breadcrumbs, onion and seasonings. Of course all 5 or 6 of the recipes ended up referring back to one source – funny how that happens. We decided to go with the original idea - simple kohlrabi hash browns.

We made a salad with salad mix, radishes, carrots and salad turnips from our CSA share. Salad turnips are interesting because from the outside they look like regular turnips with a white waxy skin, but once the skin is peeled off, the texture is much closer to jicama. It has a slightly sweet flavor and is great raw. Salad turnips and kohlrabi are the two new things I have tried so far through our farm share. We topped the salad off with our house vinaigrette. My husband's salad dressing came through yet again - it was delicious!

We cooked the steak in a cast iron pan on the stove top. Before living in an apartment, the idea of frying a good thick steak would have appalled me. I thought the only way to cook them was on a grill, but they turn out great this way. We generously salted and peppered each side and placed it in a hot pan over medium high heat with a bit of olive oil. The trick is to leave it alone for as long as it needs to cook on that side, ours was over an inch thick so we did 6-7 minutes per side. This part is hard for me because I'm a cook that likes to fiddle (stir the pot, push thing around while they are sauteing, etc.). But in this case, it's best to set the timer and leave it alone until it is time to flip it because it will create a wonderful crust on the steak. Here is a photo of the finished meal:


Kohlrabi Hash Browns
2 heads of kohlrabi, peeled
olive oil
salt and pepper

Grate the kohlrabi with a box grater or food processor. Place the grated kohlrabi in a piece of cheese cloth or paper towel, and squeeze out as much liquid as possible. Heat up a skillet and generously coat the bottom of the pan with olive oil. Dump in the kohlrabi and spread out into an even layer. Cook for a couple of minutes over medium heat and then flip. Cook until the kohlrabi is browned on both sides. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

The kohlrabi hash browns were great! We both wished there were more so we could go back for seconds. They are very similar to potato hash browns, but slightly sweeter and a slightly firmer texture.

Chicken Salad Crostini

The East Coast is in the middle of a horrible heat wave; it was 103 yesterday and 100 degrees today in NYC. The electric company is urging everyone to cut back on their electricity consumption because there are concerns of blackouts. Because of the temperatures, we were determined to prepare a dinner that required no heat.

We cooked some chicken in the crock pot over night, and put it in the fridge for the day. My goal for dinner was to make something new and different that used the chicken and CSA veggies, but required no cooking. Nothing came to mind, but luckily my husband came up with the idea of chicken salad sandwiches with homemade mayonnaise. We discovered in the process that the bread was a bit stale, so the sandwiches became crostini.


Chicken Salad Crostini
2 salad turnips, peeled and chopped
1 French breakfast radish, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
1 shallot, finely chopped
1 C shredded chicken
2 T mayonnaise
salad greens
toasted slices of bread

Mix the turnips, radish, carrots, shallot, chicken and mayonnaise. Layer the bread, salad greens and chicken salad.

Mayonnaise inspired by Joy of Cooking
1 large egg
1 egg yolk
1/2 t Dijon mustard
2 t vinegar
1/2 t salt
3/4 C olive oil

Blend egg, egg yolk and half the mustard in food processor or blender for several seconds. Add half the vinegar and salt and blend for several more seconds. Slowly add the oil while the blender or food processor is running. (We are able to pour the oil through a small hole in the top, and it controls the pace for us.) Once the oil has been added, turn off the machine. Fold in the rest of the mustard, vinegar and salt. The mayonnaise will only last 1 -2 days in the fridge.


The crostinis were ok. We kept a lot of the marinade in the chicken salad, but it ended up not tasting great with the veggies. Maybe it burned a bit? Next time I would make the chiken salad with plain shredded chicken.

Hummus

Tomorrow we will finally get our next share. I have really missed all those veggies this week. In the mean time, here's one of our favorite recipes. We love hummus with vegetables, pita, on salad, with falafel, or even CSA radishes, turnips and crackers.


Hummus
1 can chickpeas
2 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped
2 T tahini
1 T cumin
juice of 1/2 lemon
2 T olive oil
water
salt to taste

Add all of the ingredients to a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. If the texture is not to your liking, add water teaspoon by teaspoon until reaching the desired results.

I usually like a really thick hummus for a dip and a thinner texture to put in a pita with falafel.

Week #3

This week's share saw the arrival of our first carrots! There are only three of them and they are small, but it signifies a shift into more diverse produce. Very exciting! We also got broccoli raab, turnips, kale (also a first), garlic scapes, bok choy, salad mix, and a wild green called amaranth. I'm excited to try the amaranth. Our CSA organizer is a chef (or was a chef) and suggested using it in salad.

After picking up our share, we headed out to Coney Island for the annual Mermaid Parade. I was hot and sunny, so the crowds were out in full force. This parade signals the "opening" of the beach for the season, and it was a wacky and wild time. We didn't get home until late in the day, so there are no CSA meals to report. (Only a little salad green was used in some sandwiches.)

This week we will go into CSA overdrive to try and use everything up or to find some freezer friendly options because we are going to be on vacation from Thursday night until Tuesday night. We still have some purslane, mint, bok choy, one radish, one turnip and a bit of turnip greens left from last week. Wish us luck!

Roasted Root Vegetables

I have a confession. I don't turn on the oven if it's hot outside. Our apartment is really small, so small that apartments this small don't exist outside of New York City. So if we turn on our oven in the hot weather, even with our window air conditioner running, the apartment will be miserably hot. No worries. I have had some practice at life sans oven because I grew up in a hot climate where we basically didn't use our oven for 6 months of the year. But when I was growing up we had a BBQ, and that was our go to cooking equipment for the summer, we don't have a BBQ in the city. Maybe we will figure a way to get a tiny grill on our fire escape at some point, but I think it's officially illegal... I'm tellling you all of this because yesterday it finally cooled off and I decided to use the oven for dinner! This offered an exciting variety of options different from just using the stove top every night.

We had turnips and salad greens from the CSA share at home and I decided to pick up a couple more things on my way home to round out the meal. It started pouring during the afternoon, and by the time I got home I was sopping wet. All the more reason to get the oven started. I don't know if I fully exploited the oven opportunity, but I decided on steak, oven roasted root vegetables and salad for dinner. I felt like some simple comfort food. Here is the way I decided to use the turnip:

Oven Roasted Root Vegetables
Preheat oven to 450°

3 small red potatoes, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
2 small turnips, peeled and chopped
1/2 large onion, chopped
olive oil
sea salt
pepper

Combine the vegetables. Add enough olive oil to coat the vegetables and salt and pepper to taste. Bake for 45 minutes, or until tender. Stir occasionally to prevent the vegetables from sticking.

We really enjoyed the meal. It's amazing what a little olive oil, salt, pepper and heat can do.

Beans and Greens

Last night I arrived home to find my husband putting the finishing touches on dinner. I'm always starving by the time I get home from work, so this was a wonderful surprise. We had planned on having beans and greens with sausage, but we didn't have all of the traditional ingredients on hand. He made some substitutions that worked out really well.


The traditional beans and greens are usually a mixture of greens, garlic, white beans and chicken stock. Here is the City Share version, it happens to be vegan (in case that is of interest to you):

City Share Beans and Greens (vegan)
1 -2 bunches of greens
5 cloves of garlic, sliced
1/4 c. water
1 t. miso
1 t. Dijon mustard
1 16 oz. can of garbanzo beans

Soak and rinse the greens. Remove any tough stems. Saute greens until tender. Push to the side of the pan, and add water, miso and mustard to the other side. Stir the sauce together until combined. Add beans and cook for 5 minutes stirring occasionally.

We topped this with sausage and caramelized onions to make it a meal (and no longer vegan). The sausage came from Alleva Dairy. We are lucky to have this old school Italian market close by. It feels like it hasn't changed in 50 years (in a good way) and the staff is really helpful. It's a great place to pick up all sorts of Italian specialties including sausage.

Happy eating!

House Vinaigrette

I've just recently started reading blogs (I'm a bit of a Luddite). I never got into them before because I thought it was mostly people putting lots of personal details out to the world. I didn't feel the need to read other people's diaries, and so I stayed away. Recently this changed when I started reading food blogs. There I found some information that I could use. I decided that I could feel comfortable sharing what I ate for dinner, and City Share was born.

The one dangerous thing about these food blogs is that they seem to feature A LOT of desserts. Desserts with gooey, tempting photos. I can almost feel myself going into sugar coma just reading them. I try to keep the baking to a minimum. Or when I do bake, the goods need to be whisked away to work, someone else's house, or a party so that I don't eat a half a pan of brownies or a pie in one evening. Because of this, we will be focusing not on desserts, but meals.


Last night's dinner was a salad with a side of steamed asparagus. The asparagus was just steamed and served plain. Why mess with a good thing? The salad featured greens and radishes from our share, napa cabbage, carrots, bits of mozzarella, pepitas (pumpkin seeds) and sautéed chicken breast. I think the salad dressing is key, and luckily my husband makes the best salad dressing! We occasionally buy a bottle of dressing to make life easier, but it always disappoints. This is our go to recipe, and we decided to call it our House Vinaigrette. He never really measures, but here's a best guess of the proportions:

House Vinaigrette
Juice of half a lemon
1 clove garlic, minced
Splash of cider vinegar (approx. 1T)
1/4 t fresh ground pepper
1 t Dijon mustard
2 T olive oil

After mincing the garlic, drag the side of the knife over the garlic to crush the garlic and release the juices. This step of smearing the garlic is the key to the whole dressing. Combine ingredients.

Happy Eating!

Day Off

Yesterday we didn't prepare anything from our CSA share. We had family in town and ended up eating out for all of our meals. However, the meals out and about are worthy of mention.

The first stop was brunch at Public. We have walked by there plenty of times, and I have even read the menu on several occasions, but I was never really tempted to stop. For some reason, we popped in yesterday on a whim and it exceeded our expectations. It was delicious!


I ordered the Crispy pork belly with poached eggs, potato hash, buttered spinach, roasted tomatoes and a harissa hollandaise. The sauce was amazing, and at some point I will try to recreate it.


My husband was much more sensible and got the Salad of herby lentils, green beans, avocado, toasted pecans & baby gem with pomegranate molasses and avocado oil vinaigrette. (The descriptions are just too good. I had to quote them.) I guess my palate is unsophisticated because the dressing just tasted like balsamic vinaigrette. Luckily, this will make it much easier to recreate.

For dinner, we met up with family for Vietnamese food at Bao Noodles. I was too embarrassed to take photos, so you'll just have to trust me that the grapefruit salad and Bún ga nuong (grilled chicken vermicelli) were the perfect meal for the end of a hot, humid weekend. After dinner we strolled through Stuyvesant and Union Squares, and arrived at Crumbs. I never really succumbed to the cupcake craze- I didn't have the budget or extra inches in my waistband- so the selection was a little overwhelming to me. After much deliberation, I decided on the red velvet cupcake. I actually found it disappointing. I was looking forward to some rich cream cheese frosting, but instead it was slathered with a disappointing sugary butter cream. This really worked out well because now I'm not dying for a repeat visit.

Tomorrow we return to the tale of our CSA share.

Dinosaur's Mean Greens

I couldn't wait to start digging into our share last night. I decided to cook up the braising greens based on a recipe from Dinosaur Bar B Que. If you have never been to Dinosaur Bar B Que, it is worth the trip. It started in Syracuse, and now has a location in NYC at 125th St (right across from the Fairway). Friends from Texas even think the brisket is good, and it's hard for a Texan to admit that New York State BBQ is even edible.

So I started with the Dinosaur recipe for "Mean Money Greens Revisited," and made a couple of tweaks based on what we had available. This is what I ended up with:



Dinosaur Inspired Greens
1/2 pound braising greens (use up to 1 pound)
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
1/2 large onion, chopped
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
4 large cloves of garlic, minced
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon Tabasco sauce (or to taste)
1 teaspoon maple syrup (or honey)

Wash the greens well. Drop the greens into a couple of inches of boiling water. Boil for 5 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water. Coarsely chop. Pour the olive oil into a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the peppers and onions. Once they're soft, add the garlic and cook 1 minute more. Dump in the greens and give them a stir. Add 1 teaspoon of salt, 1 teaspoon pepper, the vinegar, Tabasco, and maple syrup. Stir a couple of more times, and it's ready to serve.

Ours ended up heavy on the peppers and onions because we only had a little over a half pound of greens, but it was really tasty and we got a rainbow of vegetables right in one dish. All of the veggies were still firm. If you prefer a more traditional texture, just keep on cooking them until they are to your liking before adding all of the seasonings.



Even though the greens were good enough to eat by themselves, we decided to add a couple of other things to our meal. We started with a salad of mixed greens with a bit of red onion and some yogurt dressing leftover from some Pakistani takeout (from Lahore Diner - delicious!), and the rest of the menu included some blackened salmon and lemon, garlic quinoa. Doesn't it look delicious on our gorgeous mustard yellow plates?

Looking forward to the next delicious meal.

Anticipation

We are looking forward to getting our first CSA share of the season tomorrow. The members of the CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) pay for a share of the farm's vegetables at the beginning of the season. We joined a CSA two summers ago and we were really disappointed with the amount of food we received. We would head to the Farmers' Market each week to supplement our vegetables and found that it would have been cheaper to just buy each week at the market. Of course we joined the CSA to support the farmers and have a culinary adventure, but it would have been nice if it felt like a good value too.

We took a break from CSA life last summer, and now we are ready to venture out and try again. We have joined the Foodstocking CSA. We thought we'd blog our way through the summer to hold ourselves accountable and share our ideas on using up massive amounts of kale and other veggies. But who knows, maybe there will not be massive amounts of anything... please join us on our adventure.