Turnip and Potato Patties

I searched my favorite food blogs for turnips and this is what I had for dinner tonight (on a bed of lettuce greens). Heavily adapted from this recipe at Simply Recipes. I think they would be great as a breakfast potato substitute.

Turnip and Potato Patties

1/2 pound turnips, cut into 1/4-inch cubes (about 1 1/3 cups)
6 oz potato cut into 1/2-inch cubes (about 1 cup)
2 medium sized carrots, grated
2 green onions, chopped
1 egg, beaten lightly
1/4 cup all-purpose white-wheat flour
Grapeseed oil, peanut oil, or canola oil (high smoke point vegetable oils)
Salt and pepper
1 teaspoon of curry powder or gram masala

In a large saucepan of boiling salted water, cook the turnip and potato cubes for 12 to 15 minutes, until they are tender, and drain them. In a bowl, mash them with a fork and stir in the scallions, the carrots, the egg, flour, and curry powder, salt and pepper to taste.

Coat the bottom of a large, heavy bottomed skillet with about 1/4-inch of the oil. Heat the pan on medium high heat until the surface of the oil begins to shimmer, but not smoke. Spoon 1/4-cup mounds of the turnip potato batter into the pan, flattening them into 1/2-inch thick patties with the back of a spatula. Fry the patties until they are golden, turning them once, about 4 minutes on each side. Transfer the patties to paper towels to drain off excess oil.

Yields: Six patties

Time: 1/2 - 3/4 hour

Recipe adapted from Gourmet Magazine, January 1985.

Ps. I think Andy took the memory card reader to Italy (I need to check at his house to be sure). It that's the case, no photos for a while (I am taking them I just can't get them off my camera easily). You'll have to imagine and I'll add them in a month or so....

AB's Unbirthday Cake

So.... a certain someone left for Italy today....for a MONTH. His birthday is next week while he's away so I made this unbirthday cake for him early and we ate it during a fierce game of twelve-letter Scrabble last night.

I combined two recipes into:

Chocolate Mint Ice Cream Sandwiches
from Fresh Mint Ice Cream via Orangette
This ice cream is the best mint ice cream you have ever had. Very minty without being artificial in any way. I described it as "floral", Andy said "it's just goood".

1 cup 2 % milk
¾ cup sugar
2 cups heavy cream
Pinch of salt
2 cups lightly packed fresh mint leaves
4 large egg yolks

Warm the milk, sugar, 1 cup of the cream, and salt in a small saucepan. Over low heat, warm until small wisps of steam are visible but not bubbles in the liquid. You do not want the liquid to come anywhere near a boil. So, go slow. Once steam is seen, turn off the heat and add the mint leaves. Stir until they’re immersed in the liquid. Cover and let steep at room temperature for about 1 hour.

Strain the mint-infused mixture through a mesh strainer into a medium saucepan. Press on the mint leaves to extract as much of the flavor as possible, then discard the mint leaves. Pour the remaining 1 cup heavy cream into a large bowl, and set the strainer on top.

Rewarm the mint-infused mixture. Again go slow with the heat. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks. Slowly add the warm mint liquid into the egg yolks about 1/4 cup at a time, whisking constantly; then scrape the warmed egg yolks back into the saucepan.

Stir the mixture constantly over low-medium heat with a heatproof spatula, scraping the bottom as you stir, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula. You do not want to scramble the egg mixture so its essential to go low on the heat and constantly stir. It’s done when your finger leaves a definite trail that doesn’t flow back together. Pour the custard through the strainer and stir it into the remaining cream. Stir until cool over an ice bath.

Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator, then freeze it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions. In the last 2 minutes in the ice cream maker I added a 1/2 cup of chopped semi-sweet chocolate chips.

AND

Chocolate Sandwich Cookies
from Chocolate Sandwich Cookies with Vanilla Cream filling via Nosheteria

1 1/4 cups all-purpose white whole wheat flour
1/2 cup unsweetened Dutch process cocoa
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) room- temperature, unsalted butter
1 large egg

Set rack in the middle of oven and pre-heat to 375 F.

In a bowl of an electric mixer, thoroughly mix the flour, cocoa, baking soda and powder, salt, and sugar. On low speed, add the butter, and then the egg. Continue mixing until dough comes together in a mass. (I was skeptical that the dough would come together but it did perfectly without any finessing)

Roll small round teaspoons of dough between your palms and place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet approximately 2 inches apart. With palm, slightly flatten the dough. (The cookies will spread a lot. Even for ice cream sandwiches make the initial balls slightly smaller than a ping-pong ball.) Bake for 9 minutes, rotating once for even baking. Due to the dark nature of chocolate cookies be careful not to burn the edges. Check quite frequently if you add any minutes to the baking. Set baking sheets on a rack to cool. Wait a few minutes to let cookies set before removing from sheet.

ASSEMBLY
Once the two component have been made and respectively frozen and cooled. Remove the ice-cream from the freezer and allow to soften for about ten minutes on the counter, assemble into sandwiches and re-freeze.


Pictures... you ask?? We ate them too quick!

Eatwell Farms

I am sure many of you are not only aware of the Community Supported Agriculture (commonly referred to as CSA) movement but are active participants. A direct partnership between eater and farmer this movement supports smaller often organic family farms, lowers oil/gas consumption of transit and improves the tastiness of dinner. If you are not, I encourage you to look for such an operation that appeals to you in your neighborhood.

This week I picked-up my first delivery of produce from Eatwell Farms. I could not have been more impressed with my share. In my first box, I received:

• Bing cherries
• Strawberries
• Lettuce
• Garlic (for drying)
• Onions
• Summer squash
• Green beans
• Yukon Gold Potatoes
• Turnips
• Carrots
• Mint

Let me tell you the strawberries were the best I have had this summer AND we have them growing in our own backyard; the mint is brewing right now for a tasty tea in the morning and the carrots are just the cutest carrots you have ever seen and super crisp and sweet. Eatwell also has organic eggs available. I did get a 1/2 a dozen but haven't tried them yet, can't wait for an opportunity.

Seriously, I am swimming in produce. It's great!

Ps. Does anyone know what to do with turnips?? I have never had them let alone cooked them.

Caesar Salad Dressing

Into a food processor goes:
2 egg yolks
4 cloves of smashed garlic
3 T of Dijon mustard
1/4 cup of lemon juice (juice of approx. 1 1/2 large lemons)
zest of 1 lemon
2 T red wine vinegar
1 T of Worcestershire sauce
Whorl around until very well blended. Then add:
1 can of chopped up anchovies (but not the oil they are packed in)
Whorl just a few seconds. Slowly drizzle in:
1 cup of olive oil

Voila! Caesar salad dressing.

Time: 10 minutes
Yields: 1 1/2 cups of dressing, enough for 2 large salads
Due to the raw egg yolk the dressing should be used or tossed in a few days, and always refrigerated.

I make Caesar salad with 2 chopped romaine hearts, a generous cup of garlic croutons and 1/4 cup of shredded Parmesan. You can always add grilled chicken breasts or shrimp for a full meal.

Banana Bread

This banana bread recipe never fails me. Its quick and very good. You can also add 1/2 cup of chocolate chips for a sweeter treat

1 3/4 cup of whole-wheat white flour
2 teaspoons of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
3/4 cup of sugar
1/2 cup of veggie oil
2 eggs
3 very ripe smashed bananas
1/4 cup of chopped walnuts

Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda mix in a large mixing bowl. Combine sugar, eggs and oil and beat till frothy. Combine wet and dry ingredients. Add mashed bananas and nuts stir until combined. Place in a 5" x 9" loaf pan. Bake at 325 for about an hour.

Really-good Chinese Chicken Salad

Over the weekend, I roasted 2 chickens (I rarely roast just one chicken. 2 takes just a few minutes longer and the cooked meat is called for in so many recipes). I made chicken pot pie on Sunday for nine, this fantastic salad on Monday and nachos with remaining meat last night.


About 1 1/2 cups of veggie oil
10 wonton wrappers, cut into 1/4 inch wide strips

Pour the veggie oil into a 3 to 4-quart pan (the oil should be about 1/2 inch deep), heat over medium-high heat. Do not allow the oil to smoke, remove from heat if it does. Add the wonton strips in a single-layer and fry, flipping very quickly, until golden brown on both sides, less than a minute total. Lift out with a slotted spoon and transfer to paper towel to drain.

1/4 of a small cabbage, finely shredded
1/2 head of romaine lettuce, chopped
1/3 cup of cilantro, chopped

In a large bowl toss the cabbage, romaine and cilantro.
1/2 pound asparagus, trimmed and cut diagonally into 1-inch pieces
1 orange, peeled, sectioned and most of the pith removed
2 green onions (including tops), chopped
3-4 carrots, thinly sliced on the diagonal2-3 cups of cooked chicken, shredded

In a 2 to 3-quart pan over high heat, bring about 1-quart of water to boil. Add the asparagus and cook until crisp-tender, not more than 3-minutes. Drain, then plunge asparagus into ice water to halt cooking. Drain and set aside. Add cooked asparagus, orange, green onions and chicken to salad. Toss.

Spicy soy-ginger dressing:
In a medium bowl, whisk together:
2 Tablespoons of rice wine vinegar
2 Tablespoons of brown sugar
1 shake of Tabasco
1 1/2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
Slowly drizzle in 1/4 cup of veggie, grapeseed or olive oil (or combo of all three).

Dress salad 30 minutes before serving and refrigerate. Garnish with wonton strips.

Strawberry Ice Cream

I have lived in a house with an ice-cream maker for almost three years and haven't made homemade ice-cream till now. To be honest, I thought it was difficult to make ice-cream, it is NOT. However, it IS delicious.

Simple Strawberry Ice-cream

about 1 lb of fresh strawberries, hulled and cut into large chunks
8 oz of cream cheese
3/4 cup of sugar
1 cup of milk
1 Tablespoon of lemon juice
dash of salt

1/2 cup of cream

Into a large, somewhat powerful blender hull and quarter the strawberries. Add cream cheese, sugar, milk, lemon juice, and salt. Blend until thoroughly combined, check the strawberry chunks, stop when pleased. Stir in the cream.

Transfer liquid to ice cream maker and follow manufacturer's directions.
Basically, after freezing the metal bowl at least over-night, add the liquid, insert the paddle and turn it on. I found this on-line resource for real manufacturer's directions. About twenty-five minutes later, voila, soft-serve ice-cream. Can be placed in the freezer till desired hardness. Careful, it gets really hard!

From Epicurious