Mmmmmm CSA is finally here!

The summer is finally in full swing and we've been enjoying the harvest from Groundwork Organics. I'm still trying to learn how to cook freestyle by rummaging through the fridge and throwing things together. Last night's dish turned out a-ok! Hard to go wrong with farm fresh summer veggies - garlicky tomato sauce with sauteed shrimp and zucchini topped with parmesan and basil on a bed of spaghetti.

Puree a can of whole peeled tomatoes (or use fresh). Pour into a hot pan with some garlic and olive oil. Add a pinch of chile flakes. Let simmer until thickened.

Use vegetable peeler to slice very thin slices of zucchini. Saute in olive oil and garlic on medium high heat. Add salt and pepper. Remove zucchini and add more oil. Add peeled, deveined shrimp and saute until just cooked through.

Toss zucchini with spaghetti. Add shrimp, and tomato sauce. Top with basil and parmesan. Voila! It's not fancy but at least it tasted really good. It's kind of liberating not having to follow a recipe and still end up with something that is edible!

Beets and freestyle cooking.

I used to cook like I was doing a science experiment, down to the exact detail. One day I realized that I don't really know how to cook cook and lacked any improvisation at all. I envy those who are able to whip up something delicious based on leftovers and whatever they find in the fridge. So here I am trying to freestyle cook. It's not like I don't go with recipes anymore but I've now allowed myself to be a bit free-er and spontaneous so to speak. There have been successes and oh there have been failures. Like big ones. Ones that resulted in ordering out for pizza. I suppose it's still important like a learning experience. Freestyle cooking has been especially useful when we started subscribing to a CSA. I just didn't feel like filtering through recipes that had the most of the veggies I had on hand, then realizing that I needed to go to the store to pick up the rest.  

It's beet season and I was able to pick up gorgeous Chiogga and red beets this past weekend. Normally I don't buy beets but there were so many I figured I could try to add them to my regular menu. Here is what I came up with, it's not original nor fancy but tasty anyways. 

Roasted beet salad

2 bunches of small beets, washed and trimmed

juice from half an orange

splash of white wine vinegar

extra virgin olive oil

salt and pepper

chevre

orange zest

Wrap beets in tin foil and roasted them at 400F until fork tender, ~45-60 minutes. 

Allow to cool.

Cut in wedges or slices and place into a bowl.

Add orange juice and white wine vinegar to the beets. Taste and season. 

Add olive oil and toss thoroughly to coat the beets.

Top with chevre and orange zest.

The salad would probably look even prettier with chopped parsley too but I didn't have any in the fridge!

mmmm chocolate chip cookies...

About a year ago I discovered the best chocolate chip cookie recipe ever. The only downside to it is that it requires 2 different kinds of flour and 24 hours chilling time before you can bake and eat it. Indeed it makes a very good, chewy, not-too-sweet dark chocolatey chip cookie. But it is very rare that I have the patience to allow the dough to chill and to always have cake flour and bread flour on hand. I am an unbleached all-purpose flour gal. I have yet to be the hard-core baker that can taste the differences among the different types of flour or keep 3 or more different flours in the pantry. I've been tinkering around with the recipe to simplify it a bit and adjust the sweetness. I thought I had it but tried the new version and was underwhelmed to say the least. Fail! I'm not sure what happened but I think I did not let the butter come up to room temperature for proper creaming resulting in a curdled dough before I added the dry mix. The actual cookie ended up being very crumbly and not chewy at all. Back to the drawing board. Until then make the New York Times one, you won't regret it!

Green garlic pasta

I picked up some wonderful looking green garlic from the farmers market this afternoon. I've never cooked with it before but thought I'd give it a go. I tried a very basic recipe - garlicky pasta. I like to keep the recipe really simple when I use an ingredient for the first time, this way its true taste can come through. So this picture doesn't do the dish justice. It's not just an ode to the flying spaghetti monster. The pasta was flavourful with a hint of richness and mild garlic. I should've added a bit more stock though, the pasta absorbed a lot of it by the time we were seated at the table. My 4 yo loved it even though she claims she doesn't like garlic or anything green. I served it with some sauteed rainbow chard and breaded herbed tilapia fillets.

Green garlic pasta

pasta of your choice (enough for 2 servings)

3-4 stalks green garlic, white and light green parts sliced thinly

1 cup stock (chicken or veg)

several tbsp of unsalted butter

shredded parmesan

Cook pasta according to directions

Saute garlic in 1 tbsp butter until translucent 

Add 1/4 c warm stock and continue cooking a few minutes

Whisk in several tbsp of butter and stir until slightly thickened

Toss in pasta, add more stock to loosen it up

Top with parmesan cheese

Farmers Market season

Just got back from the Tuesday Farmers Market. I'm such a newbie here and got caught in a downpour. Note to self, never leave the house without an umbrella. On the bright side, I actually ran into an acquaintance and had a lovely chat huddling under a big umbrella. This was kind of nice since I still feel like a newcomer in the city. Despite the sogginess, baby and I got a great haul of produce from our CSA farm. Chiogga beets, baby carrots, green garlic, basil, mesclun greens, red russian fingerling potatoes and 2 honey sticks (for my older daughter) and a slice of rhubarb coffee cake all for $20. I'm really looking forward to the CSA season which starts in about 3 weeks. Too bad we miss our first box since we'll be in Canada! Lucky for our friends who share our subscription, they will get the entire box. Now the fun begins, what to make...