Monthly Archives: July 2009

Market Week 2009: Herbed Scrambled Eggs

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So while we bought both a 3-pound chicken and a 2-pound cut of flank steak from the market, we were unable to get either of them to defrost by the time dinner rolled around on Saturday night. So I decided to kick it old elementary school and have breakfast for dinner!

Although, I have no idea which elementary schooler is cooking Ina Garten recipes.

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As Ina Garten says, the best way to make scrambled eggs is to cook them low and slow. This was kind of a surprise to me, as I tend to cook mine as quickly as possible over high heat. But no one can contradict the Barefoot Contessa! She knows her schtuff.  And no surpise, these eggs are really freaking good. I mean, I had to convince myself not to eat them for breakfast, lunch, and dinner for the next 2 days. I’m still seeing a repeat performance of these happening in my very near future.

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This post also conveniently fits in with Real Food Wednesdays – the theme this week is “100 ways to eat more fat.” Eggs, check. Whipping cream, check! Plus, the eggs and herbs are all sourced locally. Omit the bread, and it’s a gluten-free dish.

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The Flip-Flop Contessa’s Herbed Scrambled Eggs

Adapted from Ina Garten

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Ingredients

  • 3 eggs
  • 1 tablespoon heavy cream
  • A dash of chiffonade basil
  • A dash of minced thyme
  • A dash of minced parsley
  • salt and pepper

Preparation

Combine minced herbs in a medium-sized bowl. Crack eggs into bowl and whisk to combine.

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A helpful note: I like to crack one egg at a time into a smaller bowl, just in case one of my eggs is bad. That way I won’t have to throw away everything I’ve been working on, like I would have to if I cracked all of them into the bowl at once.

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Add heavy cream and whisk again to combine. Season with salt and pepper. Melt a knob of butter over medium-low heat. Add the egg mixture. Scrape the bottom of the pan with a spatula until the eggs come together. Serve with toast or hashbrowns.

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Playing in the Kitchenette: The Black Keys / I’ll Be Your Man, dedicated to Kristin (remember your promises should your 4GB thumb drive come into use)

Market Week 2009: Boulder Farmer’s Market, July 11th

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I’m sure you all know why I’m late on posting this - I went to the Farmer’s Market at 6:30 am on Saturday morning and I’m just barely now recovering from all my lost sleep. I mean, I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again – have you looked up dedication in the dictionary? It says “ex. The Kitchenette.”

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Anyhoodle, I got some primo market booty this time around at the Boulder Farmer’s Market - the only thing I was missing was dairy! I was unable to find milk, cream, or butter in Boulder. I asked one of the ladies running a cheese stand (cheese was abundant at the market, go figure), and she said they have a “dairy share,” which is much like a dairy-only-no-vegetables CSA program. I mean, can you imagine? Getting fresh, unpasteurized cream and milk and butter each week? Swoon.

If you visit on a semi-regular basis, you may have realized that I’m joining Kelly over at EatMakeRead in her Market Week 2009 challenge. All of us who are participating have pledged to buy all of our groceries for the week (or for a few days, or even just for one meal) from the farmer’s market, or harvested from our own garden, to the extent that we are capable. My strategy was to get at least one vegetable for every night of the week.

Here’s the booty for the week!

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Daring Cooks July 2009: Skate with Powdered Traditional Flavors

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Yay! It’s a big day today! It’s the reveal of the July 2009 Daring Cooks Challenge! So exciting!

… Okay maybe I’m the only one who’s that excited, but I am. For those who don’t know, the Daring Cooks is an online group that food bloggers can join. Each month, there is a “challenge” to cook something you’re unfamiliar with. This month’s challenge, from Sketchy over at Sketchy’s Kitchen, was Skate with Powdered Traditional Flavors.

Powdered Flavors, you say? Yes, this dish is big on molecular gastronomy. MG often uses (food-safe) chemicals to manipulate the properties of common food ingredients, and it can result in some pretty cool dishes. (Mine is not one of them.)

According to the Monterey Bay Aquarium, skate are severely overfished and their population is on the decline since the fish grow slowly and have long lives. Because skate is listed as avoid, I chose to use Pacific cod instead. I also halved the recipe, making about 1 pound of fish instead of two, and halved the butter for the recipe as well.

  

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Read the recipe and see more pictures after the jump!

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Plum, Goat Cheese, and Dandelion Greens Salad with White Balsamic Vinaigrette

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I feel like dandelion greens kind of have a bad reputation outside of the foodie world. I certainly didn’t know anything about them before I started cooking hardcore about 6 years ago. I mean, what do we think about when someone says “dandelion”? That nasty yellow flower that grows in your front yard when you don’t want it to! Do I want to eat that? Of course not!

But then once you try dandelion greens, you realize how freaking awesome they are. Sure, they are an acquired taste, but I think overall, I think they are pretty delish. It’s definitely a bitter green, not quite as sweet as baby spinach or even mature spinach; however, with the right ingredients, I think it’s quite delicious.

Mixed greens would work just as well in this salad, or try some other greens from your garden or the market. And other stone fruits would also work well; use whatever is in season in your area.

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Sauteed Quinoa

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“Quinoa, you say? What, Kitchenette, that leafy green up there? Pish posh. Quinoa is clearly a grain, you half wit.”

Dudes and dudettes, I would have been saying the same exact thing not 2 weeks ago. But I scored some raw quinoa from the farmer’s market last week. I would equate the experience of buying raw quinoa to, I don’t know, seeing your elementary school teacher at a strip club, or seeing your dog walk on it’s hind legs. You’re kind of like, “wait – quinoa actually grows on a plant? It doesn’t just show up in my Whole Foods bulk aisle of it’s own accord?” 

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Zucchini and Summer Squash Pickles

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So, a few weeks ago, I bought an abundance of summer squash and zucchini at the farmer’s market, because it was $0.50 each, and the squash were each like a foot long… it was the deal of the century. And then I got home, and I was basically like, “Crap. What do I do with all of this squash that I bought?”

So I decided to try pickles… which is sort of ironic because I’ve never actually eaten a pickle before. I know. You may commence judging me now, because I am a poor human being deprived of all good things. Well, I spent 25 years absolutely disgusted by the smell of pickles. But I will qualify that statement by saying that I’ve only been exposed to the limp, puke green commercial pickles. I’ve never had the chance to delight in homemade pickled deliciousness.

Besides, I’m a complete sucker for trying new recipes, and I had been eyeing this recipe for a few months now.

The original recipe calls for yellow or brown mustard seeds, but I used black mustard seeds, which are more pungent than yellow or brown mustard seeds. Black mustard seeds are apparently used mostly in pickling (good to know I was on the right track) and as an aid in causing confusion to their enemies. Watch out, people! I have black mustard seed and I know how to use it!

I bought my mustard seeds from the Savory Spice Shop here in Denver. Savory only has 4 locations here in Denver, but you can order online from them. and there are also spice shops such as Penzey’s that are a national chain.  The advantage of shopping at stores like Savory and Penzey’s is that you can get small amounts of spices, rather than a jar, so you can pay for only the amount of spices you need, as opposed to paying for the packaging. Of course, I buy larger amounts of spices from Savory, for the spices I use often, but when recipes call for whole cumin seeds or some other spice that I don’t use regularly, I’ll buy the amount I need for the recipe instead of buying a jar. Since most spices lose their potency in six months, I try to buy only the amount that I will use in 6 months, and I write the date that I purchased it on the packaging, so I know when the spices should be used by.

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I tripled this recipe… because the squash were multiplying in front of me and I needed to do something with them. Consequently I had 2 1-quart canning jars full, plus another quart or so in a bowl, ready to eat.

And let me tell you, I’m glad I made that much… because these pickles ARE FREAKING DELICIOUS. I actually did the fist pump because I was so proud of myself for making something so tasty.

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