Corn and Lobster Chowder

With summer coming to a close and the abundant sweet corn with it, I wanted to make up for the corn ice cream debacle and share something with you all that I would actually make again. This time I thought I should stick with something a bit more mainstream as far as corn recipes go. Chowder came to mind right away because, like the corn, seafood chowders are something that I associate with summer. I know that hot, creamy soups are generally not high on the menus during the summer, but for me the association has more to do with summer beach trips. The taste of chowder brings memories of the sounds of the surf and smell of the salt in the air. The result of this recipe was truly excellent, and the only thing that would have made it better would be cooking it at a beach house while watching the waves. Ah well...there's always next summer.

Rice and Squid Stuffed Peppers

If you are into food blogs, I imagine that you have at some point spent time on Smitten Kitchen. It's one of more well known out there, and a recent post there for rice stuffed tomatoes caught my attention. However, with an abundance of bell peppers coming in over the last few weeks, as well as the pepper plants in my garden starting to produce (yes, despite the fact that I'm getting a half-bushel of vegetables every week from the farm that I can barely keep up with, it seemed like a good idea to ALSO plant a vegetable garden) I realized I needed to get working on this pepper backlog and now was the perfect time to go for a meal of stuffed peppers. 

I still wanted to use a tomato/rice mixture based on the Smitten Kitchen recipe as the stuffing, but since the plan was to have this as a stand alone meal, I was worried that it would not be filling enough as is. Adding some seafood to the rice seemed like a good answer and I picked squid because it pairs so well with tomato, and anyway, seafood risottos are a favorite at my house.

Given a choice I would have picked a sweeter (red, orange) bell pepper for this dish, but green was what I had to work with. In the end though, the slightly bitter taste of the green bell pepper paired pretty well with the sweetness from the tomato used to cook the rice and if I make this again in the future, I may purposely seek out green peppers. Its always fun when the necessity of using an ingredient on hand results in a something tasty that you never would have discovered otherwise!

Fish Tacos with Charred Corn, Radish and Kohlrabi Slaw

If there were a contest to decide the world's most perfect food, I am sure that tacos would be near if not at the top of the list.  They would certainly get my vote.  For me a taco is a blank canvas of corn or flour tortilla that invites creativity and experimentation.  There is a little taco shop near my house that has made its name with interesting fillings like pork with orange peel, chorizo and black bean, and even cactus!  Delicious as they are, they are small, so you need at least 4 for a meal and at $3-$4 each, I'd go broke pretty quick if I didn't make my own.  Tonight my thoughts turned from the local taco shop to the southwest and fish tacos!  The best fish tacos I've had have been on my trips to Southern California, but since six hour plane rides are not a good ingredient in any meal, I've had to make do with cooking them myself. The key to good fish tacos is (big surprise) the fish.  I've played around with this recipe for a couple years, trying different fish and seasonings before settling on what's shown here.  I use tilapia because of its mild flavor and that it stays in one piece and won't flake apart when cooked, cod works as well if you can't get tilapia, but may fall apart easier. For seasoning, I've tried it seems almost every possible spice combination, but ultimately settled on Old Bay seasoning.  Part of me felt a bit lazy doing this ("a real cook makes his own spice rub!") but in the end the folks at Old Bay know what they are doing when it comes to seafood seasoning.

The other toppings for the taco change every time I make it depending on what I have on hand, but there are typically three of them; a cheese, a vegetable and a sauce or salsa.  Tonight I dug in to the remnants of last week's share for the vegetable and pulled out some radishes and the kohlrabi bulb to make a simple light slaw. The two complimented each other nicely to give a cool crunch to the taco.  A charred ear of corn provided a bit of sweetness (and a fun popcorn smell) to balance the peppery radish.

Share contents used:
Radish
Kohlrabi

Charred Corn, Radish and Kohlrabi Slaw
One fresh ear of corn
1 cup julienned radish
1 cup julienned kohlrabi
Lime juice
Salt

I used a mandolin to julienne the radish and kohlrabi, but if you don't have one you can use a knife. Start by peeling the kohlrabi and then cut it in half.  Place the flat side on the cutting board and cut in into thin slices.  stack the slices and then cut again into matchsticks.  Slice the radishes the same way (no need to peel those).

Normally I would use the grill to char the corn, but I didn't feel like getting the grill set up and heated for just one ear (also its 90 degrees and humid out), so I turned to my gas stove.  After removing the corn from the husk, I placed it over the open flame, turning occasionally with tongs until it had nice char marks on all sides.  A word of caution on this technique, some kernels may pop and splatter you with hot corn juice, so an apron and/or potholder may be in order. Immediately after you've completed the char, wrap the corn in foil so the residual heat will cook the kernels all the way through.

When the corn is cool, cut it off the cob.  Toss the kernels together with the radish, kohlrabi and the juice of half a lime.  Season with salt to taste.

Fish Tacos
1 lb tilapia fillets (or other firm white fish)
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 tbs Old Bay Seasoning
Salt and pepper
Olive oil

Corn tortillas
Queso Fresco (or any soft, crumbling cheese)
Lime wedges
Mango sauce (see below)

Preparation
About 15 minutes before you will eat, wrap the tortillas in foil and place in a 275 degree oven to warm.

In a medium bowl, mix the flour and Old Bay.  Cut the fish into 1 inch cubes, then season with salt and pepper and toss with the flour mixture until lightly coated.  Heat the oil in a non-stick skillet over medium heat.  Add the coated fish and cook until the fish is cooked through and starting to brown, about 5-7 minutes.  

Assemble the tacos by spooning a few pieces of fish into a warm tortilla.  Top with some of the crumbled cheese, mango sauce and the corn, radish, kohlrabi slaw.  Serve with lime wedges and any other toppings that you enjoy (sour cream, tomato, etc.)

Mango Sauce
3/4 cup ripe mango, fine dice
1/4 cup cider vinegar
Juice of one lime
1 small clove of garlic, crushed
1 tsp Serrano chili pepper, minced
1 tsp Thai hot chili paste
1 tbs chopped fresh parsley

Preparation
Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix well.  Let stand at least 30 minutes before serving for the flavors to meld.

Baked Shrimp and Grits with Swiss Chard

When picking recipes, I usually don’t give much thought to the type of cuisine.  I focus more on the ingredient(s) I want to use and search around until something catches my eye.  Then I look closer to make sure it’s at least somewhat healthy, not too time consuming to make (for weeknights at least) and won’t require a bunch of ingredients that I don’t have already.  Overall though, the majority of my cooking falls into the Italian/French/American category with only occasional deviations to Latin America or Asia.  Within the American realm of food, southern style cooking is a favorite of mine and the urge for shrimp and grits bubbled to the surface when I came across this recipe from the Food Network while looking for a use for the Swiss chard in last week's share.  

First thing you've probably noticed after clicking on that link is that this is a polenta recipe, not grits.  “What’s the difference?” you ask?  Well, to that I do not have an answer that would prevent me from receiving irate emails from Italians and Southerners alike.  So instead I suggest you take a look at this very informative article on NPR.com in which the author explains the differences much better than I ever could.

The recipe below is basically the same with less garlic, replacing the polenta with grits and the addition of the shrimp. The end result was very good, and felt much more like a Southern style dish than Italian, which was my goal.  I suppose that if you wanted to be even more Southern in the ingredients, you could replace the mozzarella with white cheddar and use collard greens instead of the chard.

Share contents used:
Swiss Chard

Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
8 to 10 cups chopped Swiss chard, stems and leaves kept separate
Butter for greasing dish plus 1 tablespoon butter for the grits

2 cups milk
1 1/2 cups water
Salt and pepper
1 cup white corn grits
3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup grated mozzarella cheese
1/3 cup sour cream
1 pound shrimp, peeled and cleaned, tails removed

Preparation
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook 30 seconds, then stir in the Swiss chard stems. Pour in a few tablespoons of water and cover the pan. Cook the stems 2 minutes. Remove the cover, the mix in the Swiss chard leaves. Cover the pan again and cook until the leaves wilt, about 3 minutes. Toss occasionally. Remove the pan from the heat and let cool, uncovered.

To make the grits, combine the milk, water, and salt in a medium size saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium low and slowly drizzle in the dry grits, whisking all the while with a wire whisk. Continue to cook and whisk the grits until it is the consistency of mashed potatoes and tears away from the sides of the pan, about 5 minutes. Whisk in 2 tablespoons of the Parmesan cheese, the 1 tablespoon of butter, and the mozzarella cheese.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Butter a 2 1/2 quart shallow baking dish, spread half the grits in the baking dish. Spoon on the Swiss chard and distribute it evenly. Drop on small spoonfuls of the sour cream and spread it with the back of a spoon. Spoon on the remaining grits and spread it out. Place the shrimp in a single layer on top of the grits.  Season shrimp with salt and pepper and sprinkle on the remaining tablespoon of Parmesan cheese.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the shrimp are cooked through and the grits are starting to brown.

Pan Seared Salmon with Swiss Chard

The prepared food section of our local Whole Foods can be a great place for inspiration. Recipes for much of what you see behind the glass can be found on their website, and are often relatively simple to follow.  To find a use for the remaining Swiss chard, I searched their recipes until the dish shown here caught my eye.  Simple, healthy and only took about 30 minutes (most of that from washing and chopping all the greens) from start to finish.  I ended up adding the kohlrabi leaves because there was not quite enough chard left.  The kohlrabi had a slightly tougher texture, but otherwise we could not tell the two apart when mixed together.

The recipe below is from the Whole Foods website with just a couple small tweaks.

Share contents used:
All the remaining Swiss chard
Kohlrabi leaves

Ingredients
1 bunch Swiss chard (plus the kohlrabi leaves)
4 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
1/2 medium onion, thinly sliced
3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
4 (4- to 6-ounce) salmon fillets
Salt and pepper, to taste
Juice of half a lemon
1 teaspoon tamari (dark soy sauce)
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

Wash and dry the chard. Cut the leaves from the stems. Roughly chop leaves and set aside.

Heat 2 teaspoons of the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and cook until the onions are soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in chard leaves, cover and cook 3 to 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add 1 tablespoon water, if necessary, to create enough steam to cook greens quickly. When ready, greens should be wilted but still bright green.  Season with salt and pepper to taste before serving.

Meanwhile, season the salmon with salt and pepper. Squeeze lemon juice over the top, then drizzle on the tamari and sesame oil. Turn pieces to coat all surfaces.

Heat the remaining 2 teaspoons oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Add salmon and cook 2 minutes on each side, or just cooked through.

I served the salmon and chard along with rice and the kohlrabi fries shown in this post.

Scallops with Spinach and Beans

A quick one for tonight. Canned beans cooked with garlic, onions and spinach make for a hearty accompaniment to some fresh sea scallops.  Serve this with a crisp side salad lightly dressed with oil and vinegar to give yourself an acidic bite in between the rich mouthfuls of scallops and beans.

Share contents used

All the spinach

A few of the red leaf and romaine leafs for the side salad

Ingredients
1 tbs olive oil
1/3 cup onion, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 can white beans (14 oz), rinsed and drained
4 cups baby spinach
1 lb large sea scallops
Salt and black pepper to taste
1/2 tbs olive oil

1/2 tbs butter
2 tbs fresh lemon juice

Preparation
Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over low heat. Add the onion and garlic; saute until the onion is soft and translucent, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the beans and spinach and continue to cook until the beans are hot and the spinach is wilted. Cover to keep warm.

Heat the 1/2 tbs oil and butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Rinse and dry the scallops and season with salt and pepper on both sides. Add the scallops to the pan and sear the scallops for 2 to 3 minutes per side, until nicely browned.

Before serving,  season the beans with salt and pepper, then divide among your plates and top with scallops. Drizzle with the lemon juice and serve immediately.

Lettuce Wrapped Fish with Herb Butter and Roasted Golden Beets

In my hunt for a non-salad use for lettuce, I came across the idea of using it as a wrap for fish. The lettuce holds in the fish's natural moisture during baking and traps the aroma of the herbs until you cut into the little packet. It is definitely a neat cooking method and the fish turns out moist and very flavorful.

As for the golden beets, a simple roasted preparation seemed the best way to enjoy their sweet, earthy flavor, and a nice compliment to the milder flavors of the fish.  For those who have never used golden beets, you don't have to worry about them staining your hands (and cutting board, clothes, counter top...) as red beets would.

Share contents used:
Red leaf lettuce
Scallion and parsley (from week 2, still good!)
Golden Beets







Roasted Golden Beets
2 cups golden beets, peeled and cut to a half inch dice
1 tsp olive oil
Salt and pepper

Toss the beets, oil, salt and pepper together until coated.  Spread on a baking sheet and roast in a 400°F oven until starting to brown (15-20 minutes).

Lettuce Wrapped Fish with Herb Butter
3 tablespoons salted butter, softened
1 tbs chopped fresh parsley
1 tbs chopped fresh sage
1 tbs chopped scallion (green part only)
4 6-ounce tilapia fillets (flounder or sole will work as well)
4 large red leaf lettuce leaves, washed and dried, center rib cut out

Preparation
Preheat oven to 400°F

Mash together butter, herbs, and scallions. Spread 1 Tbsp butter mixture on bottom of a 1 1/2-quart
shallow baking dish.

Season fish with salt and pepper. Divide remaining butter mixture and spread on each fillet. Fold or roll the fillet so it roughly fits a 3x3x1 inch box.  Thick fillets that won't fold can be cut and stacked.  Place 1 fillet on a lettuce leaf, then tuck leaf around fish to enclose fish and place in baking dish.

Cover dish tightly with foil and bake until fish is cooked through, about 15 minutes.  Serve immediately with the roasted golden beets and a side of jasmine rice.

Linguine with Shrimp and Leeks

Five days into the first share, and there isn't much left.  Today I finally get into the leeks with a delicious recipe from Bon Appetit. The acid from lemon and spice from peperoncini compliment the buttery shrimp, and an abundance of thin sliced leeks adds a mild sweet onion flavor to every bite.  I highly recommend that you buy unpeeled shrimp and take the time to make the broth from the shells, as this adds a wonderful depth of flavor to the dish.  If you can't get unpeeled shrimp (or don't want to bother), regular seafood stock or clam juice will work as well, or even chicken stock.  Just don't use plain water, that will make the dish very bland.

Here is the link to the recipe: Bon Appetit

In addition to the leeks in the pasta, I used the last of the red leaf lettuce, the tomato and radish in a side salad.

Share Contents Used:
2 Leeks
Red leaf lettuce
Greenhouse tomato
Radish