Baked cod with smashed potatoes and roasted balsamic asparagus

One of the many great things about living on the coast is the abundance of fresh seafood. The fish stand at the farmer's market I go to every week always has a great selection of fresh fish. I grew up eating lake fish, mostly catfish, so I've had to learn to get used to some new types of fish. Skate and hake are two good ones, as is the commonly known cod fish. I paired the fish with smashed potatoes, (yes smashed, not mashed, because I didn't peel them) and roasted asparagus (I know, I know it's not in season!). This meal was inspired by a friend's meal at the Brooklyn Public House a couple weekends ago.

To cook the asparagus, break off the tough ends wherever it breaks easily when pressed. Peel the ends. Steam until tender, shock in ice water (blanch). Toss with olive oil, lemon juice and balsamic vinegar. Season with salt and pepper and roast for about 12 minutes at 350 degrees F.

Bake Cod:
Juice of 1 lemon
sauteed mushrooms
1 T vinegar
drizzle of olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
bake at 350 degrees F
Finishe dwhen fish turns from opaque to white

Smashed potatoes - no directions here..you know what to do!

Vegetable Quiche

Quiche is the perfect weekday dinner. It's simple, you can put whatever you want in it, and it's delicious. I used one of the frozen pie crusts I made a couple days before and thawed it out while I was at work. I used an assortment of vegetables, my favorites are spinach and mushrooms, but I also added caramelized onions and another green leafy vegetable identified at the farmer's market as "spicy mix". The Chinese lady who sells it has yet to give me any more information about it. A quick google search says that spicy mix is some singer in India..wait, what? I'll just go with my instinct and refer to it as a micro green....

I sauteed one small onion in butter, then added fresh spinach and my spicy mix. Cook the greens until wilted, season with salt and pepper. I sauteed my mushrooms separately (in more butter), to make sure they got nice and browned. As Julie said in Julie and Julia, the secret to cooking mushrooms is to give them their space. Also, covering the pan and letting the mushrooms release all of their moisture, and then sauteing a little longer to allow them to brown works nicely too.

For the egg mixture, beat together 4 farm fresh eggs, add 1/2 cup milk or so, 1/2 cup shredded cheese (I used cheddar and pepper jack), salt and pepper, and I added some dried herbs like marjoram and thyme as well. I had a bit of sour cream left too, so I threw that into the mix for good measure.

After forming your pie crust in your pie pan, add your cooked vegetables, then add the egg mixture. Bake at 350 degrees F for about 40 minutes, or until eggs are set.

Veggie Burgers and sweet potato fries

Veggie burgers used to be something I only ordered at restaurants, but if you learn to make your own, you'll be glad you did! These veggie burgers have black beans and kidney beans, and that special something to hold them together - sweet potatoes! I made 4 veggie burgers and froze two of them for another night. I used dried beans again, but canned beans work just fine.

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 medium sweet potato, diced small
1/2 red onion, minced
salt and pepper to taste
cumin
garlic and onion powder

Add the diced sweet potato to a pot of water, bring to a boil, then simmer until sweet potato is very soft. Add beans before sweet potato is cooked through. Once sweet potato is thoroughly cooked, drain water. Add seasonings and minced red onion. Mash with a potato masher or wooden spoon until the mixture comes together. Form into burger patties. Wrap in plastic wrap and freeze until firm.

Sweet potato fries are even more simple. Don't bother peeling them either! Simply cut several sweet potatoes into french fry length. Lay out flat on a baking sheet, add olive oil and salt and pepper. Roast in a 350 degree oven for about 50 minutes or so, stirring the fries several times while cooking. Season to taste again and enjoy! Better for you than deep frying and just as delicious.

American Pie

The best thing about pie, is the crust. It should be anyway. If you take the time to make a delcious flaky crust, you won't regret it. I made 4 pie crusts all at one time, used 2 of them for the pie, and froze the other two. Next time I have a craving to make something sweet, I'll already have the crust ready to go. Just thaw the frozen crust at room temperature. Here is a delicious pie crust recipe compliments of my mother-in-law, pie make extraordinaire, Kathy Beach:


3 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 T sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 cup shortening
1/4 cup butter (1/2 stick)
1 T. cider vinegar
1 egg
ice water (about 5 oz)

In a large bowl, mix dry ingredients. Add in shortening and sliced butter and mix with a pastry cutter and finish with fingers until mixture resembles small peas.
Stir together egg and cider vinegar. Add enough ice water to make approximately 6 oz. Make a well in center of dough mixture. Add most of the liquid all at once and stir quickly and gently with fork until just incorporated. Add more liquid if not holding together, but not too much or it will be sticky. Do not over mix.
Form into 4 disks. Wrap with seran wrap and chill.
Gently roll into pie shells ,using plenty of flour.
Disks can also be frozen well covered. Thaw at room temperature.

For the apple pie, I used an assortment of apples from the Farmer's market. I added lemon juice (to keep the apples from turning brown), cinnamon, sugar and nutmeg.

For the egg wash, I used an egg yolk and heavy cream.

I baked the apple pie at 400 degrees F for 20 minutes, then at 350 degrees for another 40 minutes.

We enjoyed it with some homemade cinnamon vanilla ice cream and friends!

Blackbean and sweet potato chili

Nothing beats coming home and smelling chili that's been simmering in the crockpot all day! I like to use dried bean (more bange for your buck) that I soak overnight, then add it to my crockpot in the morning to simmer with tomatoes, peppers, onions, spices and this time sweet potatoes! I used sweet potatoes to give the chili more substance, especially because I didn't use any fresh peppers (it's February people!).

1/4 pound dried black beans, rinsed, sorted, and soaked
1/4 pound dried kidney beans, rinsed, sorted, and soaked
1 medium onion, diced
1 medium sweet potato, diced (I don't even peel it, that's where all your nutrients are!)
2 cans organic diced tomatoes with green chilis
2 garlic cloves, minced
cumin
chili powder
salt and pepper
garlic and onion powder

Simply saute garlic and onion until soft, combine it with the rest of the ingredients, season to taste and let the crock pot work its magic! I always rinse out the canned tomatoes and add the water to the pot. A dollop of daisy make it even better!

Comfort food

There are many foods I think of when I hear "comfort foods", but some of my favorites are homemade macaroni and cheese and baked beans! Believe it or not, these two comfort foods taste delicious together! Throw in some sauteed green leafy vegetables and it's really a delicious and somewhat nutritious meal!

I was inspired to make homemade macaroni and cheese after our annual African American History meal at work. This year, instead of using a pre-made macaroni and cheese product that comes frozen and with loads of preservatives and sodium amongst other things, we need it from scratch! I made it from scratch at one of my schools actually, because my cook called out sick that day. Turns out, making it for 300 kids isn't all that different than making it from me and Rob at home!

Homemade mac and cheese goodness:
For 6 large servings I used
3/4 pound of whole wheat macaroni (look for the package with the fewest ingredients!)
shredded cheddar
shredded parmesan cheese
milk
I also used some pepper jack cheese for good measure
salt and pepper to taste

Boil your macaroni in salted water, drain, pour into baking dish you will be using. Add milk until you can see it through the macaroni at the bottom of the pan, add as much shredded cheese as your stomach can handle, stir, cover and bake for about 40 minutes. Remove from oven, stir again, top with even more shredded cheddar and bake uncovered for another 10 minutes. Enjoy!

Mom's baked bean recipe:
1 small onion, diced
1/2 tablespoon butter *or use diced bacon and omit the butter
1 14 oz can red kidney beans, undrained (or use dried beans and cook them 1st)
ketchup
mustard
brown sugar
Worcestershire sauce
Tabasco
salt and pepper
garlic and onion powder

Saute the diced onion in butter (or bacon fat, yum!)
Combine baked beans with cooked onions in a small baking dish
Add remaining ingredients, stir well, cover and bake for about 30 minutes
Amounts for the bbq sauce ingredients vary, if you like saucy beans (who doesn't like saucy beans?) add more or less ketchup, the remaining ingredients are just add more flavor to the sauce. Feel free to taste as you add the seasonings to figure out what you like. Add some cayenne pepper for a little more spice too!

The City that Ended Hunger :: Belo Horizonte, Brazil

The City that Ended Hunger :: Belo Horizonte, Brazil