Celery Overload - The Star Ingredient

If you read my last post you know that we have been getting a good portion of our food supply delivered. Admittedly, a few of those were extravagant purchases; aka caviar and lobster, which we repeated for our New Year’s treat. So, now as I return from cloud 9 and settle back to the reality of creatively nourishing ourselves I offer up a solution for when you have an abundance of one item, and lack of others. The ongoing practice of: Use What You Got.

As I mentioned in that post, there are some items I get from Restaurant Depot and those come in amounts that are way more than what 2 people can easily consume. To be honest, it’s way more than a family of 10 can consume. I hate wasting food ever, but even more so in these times. And so I started using some items in ways I never have before.  Like celery.  I typically have only used this raw in salads or diced fine as part of a mirepoix (for soups, or sauces).  But since we had so much, and were lacking in some other produce areas, I starting sautéing it as the main vegetable.  i know this isn’t revoluntionary but how many of you only cut up celery as your side? Not me, but I must say I quite like it.

Given that I had so much I’ve used it before if you recall in my post entitled; 5 Ingredients- 4 Different Dishes.

But on two nights in a row I really went to town using celery for both meals. The first night I used celery stalks, plus whatever straggler veggies I had.  Then I sautéed some shrimp, made my Ba-Ba-Basil-ed Potatoes and had a complete meal.

After using up everything the night before, I only had celery and onion for the next meal, and so that truly made celery the star. I topped it with sautéd fish and a scallion basil sauce.

When celery is cut on long diagonal it make a more substantial base.

I am only listing ingredients, not amounts, because this is one of those times that calls for using what you have in the amounts you have. I encourage you to use all your senses to judge how much you want to incorporate. The more you use this skill the sharper it will become. And then there will be a time when you just know how much of an ingredient to add. i know that some of you are already quite skilled at this.

Ingredients 

Meal #1 Celery/Onion Sauté with Grilled Shrimp

Celery, sliced
Onions, thinly sliced
Bell Pepper, I had an orange one, use whatever you have
String Beans, sliced on diagonal
Shrimp
Basil-ed Potatoes

For this celery meal, I used a wok for a stir fry effect. Starting with the onions and celery first, then adding the string beans and orange pepper.
I removed those and used the same pan to stir fry the shrimp, which were salted, peppered first.
I had made my Basil-ed potatoes earlier, and then plated it all up.

Although I added a few extra items, celery was the main veg. Since neither the orange pepper or the string beans were enough to make a complete side dish, but enough to beef up the celery and round the whole dish out. Those were the straggler veggies I had. You can do this with a few asparagus, or an extra carrot, whatever you have.

Meal #2 Celery/Onion Saute with grilled Salmon & Halibut
Celery, sliced on the long diagonal
Onions, thinly sliced
Scallions, thinly sliced
Magic 3 (Olive Oil, Salt, Pepper)
Salmon
Halibut

For the Sauce
Scallions
Basil
Olive Oil, Salt & Pepper

Onion, celery and scallions sautéing.

Instructions

Simply slice the vegetables as mentioned above. I used a cast iron skillet for this version.
I sautéd the celery, onion and scallion in olive oil, salt and pepper until tender but still with a good firm texture. Then removed the vegetables and used the same pan to grill the fish.

Salt and pepper the fish on both sides and get a good sear before flipping.

I made a simple salsa for the fish using scallions, basil, salt, pepper and olive oil and buzzing it in a mini processor.

The second meal was pretty similar, minus the orange pepper and string beans. But cutting the celery on that extra long diagonal made them a heartier vegetable able to stand on its own.

I quite enjoyed the large amounts of celery. I think the celery also enjoyed stepping out from behind the curtains of its usual supporting player and taking on the leading role in this movie of the week.  Who knew celery could be more that a filler.  Now I do.

Squash, Tomato, Peppers & Onion Bake

What do you do when you are mandated to follow a food regimen that limits the ingredients you can consume? First, take a sedative. A big sedative. Next, check the food list and start getting creative.

As I mentioned a couple of months back, I started seeing a new naturopath. Among one of my main goals is to try to cure my 3 year sinus issue. Yes, 3 whole years. As we all know, the shin bone’s connected to the thigh bone, the thigh bone’s connected to the hip bone. The hip bone’s connected the backbone. And so on and so on. You get the point. Everything in our bodies is connected and related to one another. Which is why gut health is key. So among one of the paths to curing my sinuses is getting my gut better. To recap, I’ve been following the GAPS* regimen which cuts out all carbs, grains and starchy vegetables. I had been following this diet for weeks, so when I say sedative, there wassn’t enough sedation to calm my aching pasta brain. But I was a trooper, and wanted to get better so I stuck with it and came up with yummy things to eat.

* Links for more info on GAPS at the end of the post.

I decided to visit my happy place, AKA the farmer’s market, where I picked up as many of the things I could eat. Zucchini, Yellow Squash, Onions, Peppers, Tomatoes, Herbs. These immediately reminded me of those baked dishes with swirls of zucchini. So, I thought I would give it a spin.

The vegetable line up. Zucchini, yellow squash, red and yellow peppers and onions.

Now you know I couldn’t just leave it at that. On this ‘diet’, I can actually have goat and sheep cheeses. Thank goodness, or a crime might have been committed without this one saving grace! With curds in hand, this veggie swirl was going to be topped with cheese glorious cheese.

Ingredients

2 medium zucchini, sliced
2 yellow squash, sliced
2 medium onions, sliced
2 red peppers, sliced
2 yellow peppers, sliced
4-5 plum tomatoes, sliced
3 T dry oregano
Salt, pepper, olive oil
3/4 - 1 cup feta cheese & goat

(The first time I made this dish I used a combo of both. Next time I only had feta,
so used 3/4 c)

I like using plum tomatoes for this dish.

You’ve all heard to talk about the mise en place. And I’m a true believer, but there is a delicate balance between having everything ready, and multi-tasking. Using your time wisely to prep some items while others cook is the perfect harmony of mise en place and smart prep.

Use your time wisely. While one thing is cooking, prep the next.

Instructions

1. Thinly slice onions and peppers. Sauté peppers first in a pan with olive oil. Once they start to soften add the onions, salt, pepper and 1 teaspoon of oregano. Let cook slowly over medium low heat until they are completely softened and nicely caramelized. Approximately 45 minutes.

Cook the peppers down first a bit. They take a bit longer than the onions.

2. Meanwhile, cut the zucchini, yellow squash, tomatoes in even slices. You can assemble on the board as you go. Or assemble in the baking dish. Whichever you prefer.

Try to make the slices the same width so everything cooks evenly.

Assemble on the board and then just transfer to the baking dish.

3. Once the peppers and onions have cooked down, place them on the bottom of a baking dish (11” x 8”).

Caramelized to sweet goodness. This creates a bottom layer that add both another texture and flavor to the dish.

4. Then begin to assemble your vegetables on top. I like alternating one of each in rows. Or if you only have a round baking dish, you can swirl the design around. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt, pepper and 1 tsp of oregano. Bake at 400 for 35 minutes.

Beautiful colors, beautifully arranged and ready for baking.

Only have a round baking dish. No problem, just create a swirl.

5. After 35 minutes, pull of out the oven and crumble the cheese over top. Drizzle a bit more oil and the final oregano. Bake for another 25-30 minutes until its golden brown, the veggies are softened and the liquid is bubbly.

Once the vegetables are partially baked, then you can add the cheese.

That’s some crumbled yum right there. Back in the oven to get yummier!

The first time I made this I inhaled it... I mean, enjoyed it as the main meal. It was a pretty big dish so naturally there were leftovers which I ate for lunch the next day with a piece of sautéed fish. Which is how I ate it the second time, too. Naturally, this dish begs for something starchy to accompany it. Believe me when I say the irony of that thought slays me. Only I would cook up something that pairs perfectly with shit I couldn’t eat at the moment. This combo of flavors would be great with pasta or rice, but my growling stomach thinks that thick slices of roasted or grilled potatoes would the ideal companion. Plate it up alongside a lovely piece of protein like chicken, fish or meat and a complete meal is a done deal.

I like this dish for several reasons. And not because one day soon I’ll be eating it with pasta. But because this recipe is equally suitable for an informal dinner party as it is for a weeknight meal with leftovers for the week. It’s delish piping hot, but I’ve enjoyed it at room temperature as well. I even relished it topped with poached eggs. Which is why I’m posting this right before New Year’s Eve. I think this is a fantastic recipe to make for a New Year’s Day Brunch or even on the buffet table on the eve. And those are just a few good reasons to give this a try. I’m sure there are more. So what are you waiting for?

For those interested in learning more about the GAPS diet and anti-inflammatory methods below are a few links. As a foot note, I stayed on this regime for 6 weeks, and I although it was difficult, and I truly craved some warm, soft starch in my tummy, I stuck with it and did find that it helped my gut. It is meant to help heal, and not necessarily meant for a lifetime regime, unless of course you have a more serious gut issue.

GAPS Diet
GAPS Protocol
GAPS Overview
GAPS Outline
What is GAPS Diet

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Vegan Chick Pea Mash

First things first, please do not be put off by the fact that I named this Vegan Chick Pea Mash. This recipe doesn’t contain any weird, mystery ingredients posing as something else. I would never do that to you. I’m not going to take some soy based crap and try to turn it into bologna. NEVER. This is vegan simply because it doesn’t have any animal products whatsoever.

Now that we have that out of the way, let’s get down to how this dish came to be. I love a good challenge. One of my skill sets is solution providing. I love figuring out a better way, an easier way or simply just A Way to accomplish a task. So, when I was hired to cater a Traditional British Style Tea Party the major request was to offer gluten free and vegan options. Normally this shouldn’t be too much of a challenge, but remember the typical Tea Party food is finger sandwiches, which do not sit squarely inside the gluten free and vegan circle. But I’m so glad I was put to the test because it yielded some good finds. Like this Vegan Chick Pea Mash.

Since the event was all about finger food, I needed to devise a bite sized morsel that would fit the vegan criteria. Chick peas are a hearty protein, and versatile thus the top choice in helping me solve this dilemma. Chick peas being what they are, dense and round, make them easy candidates for rolling off the plate, onto the floor and then ultimately squashed under foot. Goal: No rolling. So, how do you keep them from falling onto the floor instead of your mouth? Smash ‘em before they hit the floor. And so I did. But you can’t just scoop up smashed chick peas with your fingers! They needed a vessel, and colorful would be nice, too. Introducing the baby bell pepper brigade to the rescue. Perfectly suited to be filled up with the robust, chunky flavor of chick peas; smashed, of course.

Since I had a good variety of other food offerings in different flavor profiles, I wanted to ensure that this protein mash could stand on its own with savor. The first thing that came to mind was garlic and onion, but then kept layering more and more flavors as I cooked it, adding cumin and turmeric, cilantro and lemon juice. Here’s how it went down.

Ingredients

1 15 oz can Chick Peas
1/2 red onion, minced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 t ground turmeric
1/4 t cumin
1 T cilantro, minced
1/4 c Aquafaba (chick pea liquid)
1 T + lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste
3 T olive oil

Instructions

1. In a large sauté pan, heat oil, add onions and cook until softened.

2. Add garlic, cumin, turmeric, salt, pepper and cook until the aromatics are nicely toasted.

3. Add the aquafaba and 1 T lemon juice and stir until combined.

4. Add the chick peas, let warm through and then using a fork or a potato masher begin to smash them. I like it chunky so I smashed some very well and other only lightly to give different textures.

5. Squeeze some more lemon juice to finish, then add the cilantro.

You can serve this dish warm, room temp or cold. It truly does work well at any temperature. As I mentioned, the first time I made this was a for a catered event, so making individual pieces was the goal. The baby bell peppers as the vehicle to steer them into people’s mouths was a great choice. The sweet, crunch of the peppers perfectly complemented the earthy flavor of the chick pea mash so much so that it is my preferred serving vessel.

The size of the baby bell peppers makes it an ideal cocktail party bite. And because the chick peas are smashed, no rolling off onto the floor.

You could also, place the chick pea mash in a bowl, place on a platter filled with baby bell peppers and cucumber rounds and use it as a dip. Either way, these made the perfect bite size treat. I recently decided to test drive this again at a backyard party we hosted for our neighbors using the peppers, and then two days later for a small family gathering using endive. Happy to report; it was a hit with every serving.

The tower of offerings. Chick Pea Mash, Salmon Roll Cucumber Rounds and Watercress, Herb Butter Tea Sandwiches.

Since I had some leftovers, I served them up again using endive.

Now, of course, this dish can be used in a variety of other ways. You should know me by now, everything I make has to do double, triple, well, multiple duties. I had some leftover and tossed it over warm pasta. Naturally, it was yummy. You can spread this on toast and add avocado or tomato or both. Go ahead. Start your creative engines…

Postscript: In reading some of the comments, it got me thinking about this recipe. I don’t know why it didn’t occur to me before but this can be a heartier substitute for hummus in a pita sandwich. It’s chunkier and therefore will be squish out less than traditional style hummus. Keep it vegan and add cucumbers, sprouts, olives, etc. Keep it vegetarian and add some feta cheese. Just thought I would share the ‘stuff it in a pita’ idea, which quite frankly seems like a no brainer that I’m surprised I didn’t think of before.

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Versatile Summer Crunch Salad

I think it is safe to say that summer has finally arrived here in the Northeast. We wait long and patiently. I’ve finally put away my heavy sweaters and traded cozy fireplace nights with dreams of warm days and cool nights. I also started dreaming up dishes that cool the palate and refresh during those toasty days. Chalk it up to another one of those times when I just started pulling whatever I had to create a salad for lunch. Now remember, salad is a term that sums up any combination of food that is cut up in small pieces, and can be served cold, room temp or even warm. Think about it; a salad can be of fruit or lettuce. It can be potato or pasta. Bean or tabouleh. You get the picture. The word salad is probably one of the most versatile words I know in the culinary world. So why not create a versatile salad, one that can be used in a variety of ways.

Here goes. As you know from other salads I’ve made, I cut each ingredient in ways that combine well for that particular salad. Some items sliced, others diced. In this salad, in order to create a chunky bite- ful, cut all the veg to approximately the same size.

The line up: Fennel, red onion, scallions, mini bell peppers, English cucumber, celery.

Ingredients

1 English cucumber, seeds removed, cut in cubes
7 mini bell peppers*, seeds removed, cut in pieces
1 heaping c fennel, stalks & bulb, cut in chunks
2 scallion, sliced
1/4 c red onion, diced
3 celery stalks, cut in pieces

* If you don’t have the mini peppers, use one regular sized red pepper

Dressing
3 T fresh lemon juice
1.5 T fennel fronds, minced
1/4 c olive oil
1/2 t salt
1/4 t black pepper

I feel silly even writing the title ‘Instructions’ and giving a step by step since all this is chop and dress. Maybe I should just leave it at that. Chop. Whisk. Dress.

For some salads I leave the seeds in an English cucumber. For this one, no seeds. I use a demitasse spoon to scrap the seeds because it’s the perfect size. Then I cut down the center lengthwise and then cut cubes.

Chop all your vegetables and place in a bowl. As I mentioned, for this salad, the key is chopping everything into bite sized chunks. That helps to create the crunch factor.

Cucumbers

Mini bell peppers

Red onion

Scallions

I used both the fennel stalks and the bulb, chopping them in chunky rounds.

For the dressing, just whisk together all the ingredients and pour over.

Super simple, fresh mix of lemon juice, fennel fronds, salt, pepper and olive oil.

Pour and mix and sit and think of all the ways you will use this salad.

Chunky, crisp, refreshing with lots of flavors mixed up in every bite.

So why is this versatile? Because it can be the base to bigger salads or to fill out a lunch plate as I did. I grilled up some asparagus, sliced some avocado and spooned a heaping of this crunch salad for a satisfying lunch.

Then the next day I included it on a lunch plate for JuanCarlos which featured salmon, arugula as a base with the crunch salad on top alongside some store bought tabouleh. Now that is a lunch for a king. King JuanCarlos.

But in case you need a few other ideas:

• Add chick peas, or make it a multi bean salad adding black beans and cannellini

• Add tuna and stuff the whole kit and kaboodle into a pita

• Cook up some pasta shells and toss them all together

• Use the full leaves of Boston or Romaine and fill them with this mixture

Ok, you get it. That’s a start. I trust you will come up with a few of your own. For now, start with the base and build from there. Salad: versatile no matter how you dice it.

Happy Summer!

A Pork Full Sandwich & More

You may remember way, way back I wrote about our travels to Chile and the biggest, sloppiest, oddest pork sandwich we encountered, Germany in Chile - A Super(bowl) Pork Sandwich. Thanks to the advice of the dearly missed, uber-talent of Anthony Bourdain, JuanCarlos and I visited one of his restaurant recommendations. The draw to the unusual German spot was a pork sandwich called the ‘lomito’; for what Tony described as a ‘towering monument all its own’ and delicious. And it was. (To watch the episode, and you should, visit Anthony Bourdain No Reservations. I miss him and his thoughtful insights into cultures around the world. A moment of pause for his passing.)

The sandwich was not just good because we were tired, starving and practically had lost hope on finding a place to eat. It was good because it was filled with individually good foods that seemingly didn’t go together, but somehow worked.

I promised way back then that I would try to recreate it. It may have taken awhile, but JC and I finally did. Mind you, this was not exactly that sandwich but it was our homage to the lomito. Nothing truly can ever be the original experience. But according to our guests, ours was delicious.

First you have to make the pork. Or you can buy cooked pork from a specialty market. You can go two different avenues - the pulled pork kind or roast pork slices. Here is what we did with JuanCarlos leading the charge on the pork as I captured his messy hands along the way. If you make your own pork, bare in mind that you have to start a day (or 2 depending on what time you need to serve it) ahead of time because once the pork is marinated it needs rest in the fridge for several hours or overnight, plus the cook time of an additional 7 hours. So, this is not one of those “let’s make pork” tonight recipes.

The spice rub line up.

The pork shoulder. Definitely a piece of meat you can lean on.

Ingredients

We used Ree Drummond Pork Recipe as a guide, but added a few of our own ingredients. Below were the amounts we used. Follow the linked recipe for cooking. JC made two modifications. He didn’t refrigerate overnight, and he cooked the pork for only 6 hours. This gave us pork slices instead of shreds but I would be careful doing it this way as it is easy to run the risk of the pork not being tender. If you are experienced with cooking pork shoulder, go ahead. If not, I would recommend cooking it according to the Ree’s recipe to get the pull of the pork. Also, we did not use BBQ sauce. We only used the luscious juices that it produced along with the onions.

For the Pork Roast

1 Pork Shoulder roast
1 t Cayenne
1 T Chili Pepper
1 t Cumin
2 T Anise Seeds
1 T Paprika
Bay Leaves
1/3 c Garlic
1/2 c Sugar in the Raw
1 heaping T salt
1 t freshly ground black pepper
4 onions, cut into halves

For the Sandwich Fixings

Spicy Slaw
Guacamole (store bought)
Mayo or Yogurt Lemon Sauce
Sautéed Peppers & Onions
Buns

We used fresh garlic.

After you have all the ingredients mixed together, lovingly rub the mixture ALL over (front and back) the pork. Then wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerator for several hours or overnight.

Rub-a-dub-dub, Rub it with love.

Then place the pork in a large roasting pan on a bed of the onion halves and cook in a 300 degrees F. Roast until fork-tender and falling apart, about 7 hours. Remove the pork from the pot and set it on a cutting board. Slice some of the onion.

While you are waiting for the pork to cook, move on to making all the fillings. I decided that instead of the limp string beans, I would make a slaw. I used my Spicy Crunch Slaw recipe which I knew both the crunch and spice would work well with the pork. I bought guacamole because frankly I had way too many other things to make, and a good store bought one can be delicious. I made caramelized peppers and onions, and created my own type of ‘mayo’. I used half mayo, half greek yogurt with lemon juice to thin it a bit, salt and pepper, but you can use mayo if that’s your groove. Once I gathered all the ingredients, all that was left to do was to pile them onto a soft bun.

Everyone was ready and waiting to be piled on.

Guac first

Start piling on the flavors. I think the slaw works nicely with the guacamole.

Pork and onions.

Creamy and tangy mixture of mayo, yogurt, salt and pepper.

Sautéed peppers & onions.Simply slice them thin and slowly sauté them in oil and butter until they are soft and caramelized. Salt/pepper, too.

A platter full of pork with luscious juices and soft, flavorful onions.

Funny enough, my original blog post suggested that this was a Super(bowl) of a sandwich and I posted right before SuperBowl Sunday thinking you might serve it for the big game. And now, I am posting my recreation again right before the SuperBowl. So, now you can serve up this ‘towering monument’ of pork to your cheering fans. You may also want to include a charcuterie/cheese platter, as I did. A few other ideas for game day; maybe make my 3 Dips or my Tapenesto. Great choices for a crowd. No matter what you serve, you are a winner in my book.