Restaurant Widow

Curried Cauliflower Salad

Husband made this for dinner last night and it was delicious.  The perfect thing to round out a dinner with lamb kebabs - especially good because I think it will prove to be excellant with cold lamb leftovers today.  (oh you haven't tried cold lamb?  It's wonderful).  Let's see if I can fit anymore praise adjectives into the remainder of this paragraph . . . Anyway, try it, it's good.

Curried Cauliflower Salad - serves 2, with leftovers for lunch next day

1 head cauliflower, florets cut off and broken into small chunks - 1/2" or so

1/4 cup dried currants

1/4 cup almonds, slivered or roughly chopped

3 medium shallots, very small dice

12 kalamata olives, pitted and roughly chopped

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp rice vinegar

1 tbsp dijon mustard

1 tbsp yellow curry powder

Have ready a large bowl of ice water.  Bring a large pot of water to a boil and blanch the cauliflower for 30 seconds; drain and place the strainer, with cauliflower, immediately in a bowl of ice water; leave for 1 minute and then drain again.  Place the cauliflower florets on paper towels and dry thoroughly.  Place the currants in a small bowl of hot water and set aside while you get on with things.

Place the almonds in a dry saute pan over medium heat and toast, shaking frequently, until nuts are fragrant and beginning to release their oil, about 5-7 minutes.  Be careful not to burn them or set on fire.

Drain the currants.  Combine the cauliflower, currants, almonds, shallot and olives in a medium bowl.  Mix together the olive oil, vinegar, mustard and curry powder and whisk until you have a light emulsion (30 seconds - 1 minute).  Toss into the cauliflower mixture and stir to combine completely.  Allow the salad to sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, to let the flavors mingle.  Serve at room temperature.

By the way, 1 cup of cauliflower (100 grams) has 25 calories, 3 grams of fiber, 77% of your daily vitamin C, 26% of vitamin K, 11% of B6, 14% of folate and 12% of potassium.  Of course, as we've prepared it here, it has added fat, but it's still good for you. 

Photo Album Update

I just wanted to let you know, dear readers, that I have updated my photo album with 30ish new photos, including many veggie closeups and even an undocumented dinner at Alana's.  Enjoy!

Kohlrabi and What to Do With It

Kohlrabi is a bit of an oddity.  It's a strange-looking root sort of vegetable (although it grows above ground) with wavy green tops, and I think many people have never eaten one.  I am out to change that.  My mother so laments the lack of kohlrabi in North Carolina that it was the one thing she requested when she came to visit a few weeks ago. 

Kohlrabi is a member of the cruciferous (cabbage) family; the stem just above the soil swells to a fat little round, with leafy green tops.  The tops are edible - they are very cabbage-y - and can be cooked in the manner of any tough green.  The bulb itself, as far as I am concerned, should only be eaten raw.  Although the Food Lover's Companion claims it is best steamed, I disagree completely.  In fact, I have only eaten them cooked on two occasions, and I was disappointed both times.  Kohlrabi has an incredibly crisp texture - a friend of mine compared it to a water chestnut - and a flavor which is reminiscent of a radish-scented turnip.  Although the flavor is usually quite green, mellow and soothing, occasionally you will find a kohlrabi with a little bite.  There are two types of kohlrabi, green and purple, but the purple one is just the same inside.

You should choose small, heavy kohlrabi which are firm and relatively unblemished.  The skin is slightly woody and requires a firm hand with a peeler - usually a very sharp paring knife works better, but be careful not to cut yourself.  I like kohlrabi simply sliced and sprinkled with salt, although it makes a crunchy addition to salads when cut into matchsticks or ribbons.  It is also a great addition to slaw.  One of my new favorite ways it to turn it into a refrigerator pickle.  This recipe reminds me of the pickled turnips we get sometimes at Silla, which is what I was going for.  These are great for snacking while standing at the fridge, and make a nice, cooling munchy at the dinner table.  Be brave - try something new!

Quick Kohlrabi Pickles

2-4 small kohlrabi bulbs, trimmed, peeled, and cut into 1/2" cubes

Good olive oil (optional)

Rice vinegar (not sweetened, available in Asian grocery stores and some well-stocked supermarkets.  If you don't have rice vinegar, you could substitute something rather mellow - white wine or sherry vinegar, or even white vinegar with just a pinch of sugar added)

Kosher Salt

Fresh Black Pepper

Place the kohlrabi chunks in the bowl of a lidded, airtight container.  Drizzle with a touch of olive oil, a good splash of vinegar, and sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper.  Replace the lid and shake well.  Taste and adjust seasoning.  Place in fridge, shaking occasionally.  They are best after they have marinated for a few hours, and will last about a week, becoming more intensely flavored but still largely retaining their lovely texture. 

1 cup (135 grams) of kohlrabi contains a mere 36 calories, 5 grams of fiber, 2 grams of protein, 19% of your daily potassium intake, 10% of B6, and 139% of your daily vitamin C intake.

On this day last year, I was reporting on more market finds.

July 8th CSA & Market Report

I love this time of year.  We are finally getting some sweet corn.  For this week, the line at the Worthington Farmer's Market is longest at Saum Family Farm - it's usually at Gillogly Orchard, but we're a week from peaches - and they only sell one thing:  sweet corn by the half or baker's dozen.  Say what you will about Ohio - it's full of cowtowns, whatever, but we know sweet corn.  Life is better with a little sweet corn.  It's only drawback being its love for butter and bacon.  Ah, well, everything in life in moderation as they say, right?

My CSA box this week included a bag of lettuce mix which included edible flowers as well - now I have to eat it!, beets, tiny little new potatoes, Swiss chard, 1/2 dozen eggs, tiny little red onions, a head of very young garlic and I'm sure something else.  I also bought carrots from a farmer who is new to the North Market this year and whose name I have now completely forgotten.  But he's youngish with a bald head and big nerdy glass like me.  He supplied lovely little carrots which I brought home and ate immediately, with the greens still attached, in the style of Bugs Bunny.  So good luck, new farmer whose name I will remember next week, I promise.  I also bought some shitakes from Toby Run Farms, of course - they're just so delicious, more beets and cauliflower from Elizabeth Telling, and some green tomatoes.

From the Worthington Market, I bought the aforementioned sweet corn, some bread from Great Harvest (have to eat fried eggs and toast immediately upon returning home), onions and a giant $1 bag of basil from Pop & Judy's farm (try their ruby red popcorn), and a large bunch of kohlrabi for $2.  For anyone who still thinks the farmer's market is expensive, I bought kohlrabi from the grocery store the other day and it was $7 for the same amount.  So there.  I even bought green beans for Husband because I know he likes them, and some broccoli, plums, and kale.

My favorite thing about yesterday's market was the return of Arbor Hill Organics.  I was starting to get a little  nervous - and impatient - about their return, fearing for some unforeseen reason they wouldn't be there, but this week they were back.  Arbor Hill grows the most wonderful potatoes - tiny little Russian Thumb new potatoes, and later in the year, more varieties.  The Russian Thumbs have delicate pink interiors and melt in your mouth.  Oh, I have something very special in mind for them, yes indeed.

And that concludes this week's market report.  I promise to have some recipes to use some of this wonderful bounty throughout the coming week.  As for today, I'll see you at the Ohio Wine and Food festival at the North Market!  I'll be the one eating the Jeni's Lemon Yogurt with a glass of Ohio Raspberry Riesling, all couth gone down the drain (Typepad doesn't recognize "couth" as a word, but it is).

Last year on this day, I was making Roasted Chicken on Spring Onions & Croutons, and you should, too.

It's Summer - Get Out There and Enjoy It

Well, it's officially summer.  A farmer pulled his truck up to the back door of the restaurant and asked chef if he was interested in any sweet corn.  This farmer showed up last year, too, and supplied us with sweet corn and other produce all summer long.  Being from the Ohio Valley, he already has tomatoes - nothing fancy, just tomatoes, which he sold to us for 50 cents a pound (no, I'm not kidding).  Chef went right to work on making 2 batches of pickles with the crate of cucumbers the farmer brought in.  He sliced up some cucumbers and tomatoes - still warm from the sun, drizzled them with olive oil and sprinkled with salt, and we all stood around, eating summer.  It's amazing how beautiful the simple things are, when they're simple and good.

As to how to enjoy this lovely summer weekend we're supposed to have, I recommend visiting the North Market's Ohio Wine and Food festival.  The event features numerous Ohio wineries (yes, we have them - some are even good) as well as local chefs cooking up local food.  It seems the Market has decided to expand the event onto Spruce St. this year, which seems very wise - drinking wine in a hot crowd can be a little less refreshing than one might think.  Admission is $5, which includes a souvenir glass and 2 tasting tickets.  Additional tastes are 50 cents to $1.

Husband Presents::Grilled Bananas

Husband made these delicious bananas the other night and I thought I would pass the recipe along, being as it is grill season and everything. 

Grilled Spiced Bananas - serves 4

4 ripe bananas, preferably still in a bunch

1/4 cup honey - Husband prefers the super-dark, almost molasses-y chestnut honey he brought me from Italy, but any honey will do

2 tbsp brown sugar

good dash - okay, 1/4 tsp or to taste - good Vietnamese cinnamon

pinch salt

1/2 tsp lemon juice

Husband found it was easiest to leave the bananas in a bunch, in a row, so that they fit neatly on the grill.  Cut a slice lengthwise down each banana, being careful to not cut through to the other side; set aside.

In a small saucepan, combine the remaining ingredients (I thought cumin would make a nice addition, but was vetoed) over low heat until just combined (or put in microwave for a few seconds) and drizzle evenly over each banana.  Place the bananas over low coals - this is good to do after you have finished your main grilling, leaving the bananas to cook while you are eating - for about 15- 20 minutes, or until the banana is very soft inside.  The peels will turn black almost immediately.  Serve hot with vanilla ice cream and a few fresh berries.

July 1st CSA & Market Report

  What a beautiful day we had on Saturday.  Nearly every farmer I spoke with commented on what a lovely market day it was - I think it might actually be Summer.  I can almost taste the tomato salads.  Speaking of tomatoes, my tomato plants are really starting to flower and we have about 20 tomatoes of various shapes and sizes.  This Cherokee Purple is one of my favorites - I managed to snap a picture of him in between rainstorms this morning. 

My CSA box this week contained a bag of lettuce mix (still don't have that salad spinner), a bunch of beets (yum!), some Swiss chard, some mint (which Ms. Sterret instructed me was for the use of mojito making and drinking over the holiday weekend), and 1/2 dozen eggs.  Other market buys included blueberries, raspberries, sweet cherries, a ton of sour cherries, some kale, cucumbers, baby zucchini, more beets, lots of sugar snap peas (my current favorite vegetable), a few "plain old" tomatoes (no heirlooms yet - these are still shelter/hothouse from Wishwell farms), lots of spring onions and scallions, and some broccoli. 

I was also pleased to see someone new (to me) at the North Market Farmer's Market - Quiver Full Family Farm, which sells fresh, local cornmeal and whole wheat.  Farmer Jim Barr explained to me that they grind their corn while it still contains moisture, which leaves the germ alive and full of nutrients - and means the cornmeal must be refrigerated.  Commercial grinders heat the corn to dry it out (for preservation), which kills the germ and many of the nutrients therein.  Fascinating.  I will use it soon for some cornmeal raspberry muffins, I believe.  The cornmeal was $4 for a 2 pound bag.  I usually buy my cornmeal wholesale from Chef, who buys it from Anson Mills, so I don't know how that compares with other prices.  Next week I'll have to try some wheat.  Now, we just need a dairy farmer out there!!  Any volunteers?

WCB #56 - Still a Few Tinies, Not So Tiny

Would you believe, I still have Yoda and her brother, appropriately named "Brother," around.  They are so cute!  Hopefully we can solidify their final living arrangements this week so that the house can get back to normal - not that I don't love having them around. . . Yoda remains tiny, as you can see from the picture:

Yoda and Brother, waking from nap:

Where's mom?

I know you're in there!!  Come ON!

A HAA!!!!

Visit Boo over at Masak Masak for all the other cuties!