Scallion Goat Cheese Muffins

I think I am back. I am done with cooking school and doing an internship at a restaurant. I still don't know what I am going to do, but I know what I want to keep doing: I want to keep cooking and I want to keep finding nice ways to use CSA ingredients.
This is the 5th week of CSA, unbelievable, how fast summer is passing by. We are getting lots of scallions and they look so beautiful, fresh, they smell awesome, how can you let this go unused? I found this wonderful recipe from Gourmet Magazine and I want to share it with you. It calls for 1 cup of chopped scallions, I would use an additional 1/2 cup next time.
Serve it with sauteed spinach, kale or beet greens and you will have a wonderful complete meal!

Scallion Goat Cheese Muffins

Makes 12 muffins. Gourmet

Ingredients:

1 cup whole milk

4 ounces soft mild goat cheese

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 stick (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter

1 large egg

1 bunch scallions

Method:

Preheat oven to 400 F. and butter twelve muffin cups.

Prep Goat Cheese:

In a small bowl stir together 2 tablespoons milk and goat cheese until combined.

Mix Wet, Dry and Scallions:

Into a bowl sift together flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt.

Melt butter and in another small bowl whisk together with remaining milk and egg. Finely chop enough scallions to measure 1 cup.

Stir butter mixture and scallions into flour mixture until just combined.

Bake:

Divide half of batter evenly among muffin cups and top each with about 2 teaspoons goat cheese filling. Divide remaining batter over filling.

Bake muffins in middle of oven until golden and a tester comes out clean, about 20 minutes.

Source: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/reviews/Scallion-Goat-Cheese-Muffins-100599

Shiitake and Japanese Herbs Pizza

I was not sure if this recipe would turn out good. Mixing up Japanese flavors (teriyaki, japanese herbs) with Italian, hum… However, it turned out really well. The Japanese herbs came from my Aerogarden. You can use spinach instead. I need to review Japanese cooking, as I am going to start giving my friend Shelley some lessons on traditional Japanese ingredients!

Shiitake and Japanese Herbs Pizza

Ingredients

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1 tablespoon light soy sauce

1/2 tablespoon sake

1/2 tablespoon mirin

1 teapoon brown sugar

8 ounces fresh shiitake mushrooms, coarsely chopped

1 store bought whole wheat pizza crust

olive oil spray

1 cup coarsely grated mozzarella cheese

2 ounces chilled soft fresh goat cheese, coarsely crumbled

1 - 2 cup raw Japanese herbs (crisantemum, mitsuba) or cooked, drained spinach

Directions

Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a small pan. Turn the heat to very low. Add soy sauce, sake, mirin, brown sugar. Stir well. Add mushrooms and toss to coat well.

Spray pizza dough with olive oil; top with the Japanese herbs, sprinkle with mozzarella. Top with mushrooms, then dot with goat cheese.

Cook according to pizza package instructions.

Eggplant Pizza

Today is cleaning fridge day and I have some eggplants to use up. The Fairy Tale eggplant is delicious, creamy and delicate in taste. Tossing the pizza with garlic and pepper flakes before baking is a must. I will definitely make this recipe again.

Eggplant Pizza

4 servings

(Adapted from Gourmet, Sep 1999)

Ingredients

1 large eggplant (1 1/4 pound)

1 large tomato

Store bought whole wheat pizza dough

3 ounces grated mozzarella (3/4 cup)

3/4 ounces grated Parmesan (1/4 cup)

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 teaspoon dried hot red pepper flakes

Fresh basil leaves

Directions

Cut eggplant into 1/3-inch-thick rounds and arrange in 1 layer on a foil-lined large baking sheet. Spray both sides with olive oil spray and season with kosher salt. Broil 2 to 3 inches from heat until golden brown and tender, 5 to 8 minutes on each side. Cut tomatoes into 1/3-inch-thick slices. Toss together cheeses and sprinkle 1/4 over dough. Spread basil leaves over cheese. Cover with eggplant and tomato slices, overlapping them, and sprinkle with remaining cheese. Heat olive oil in a small skillet over moderate heat until hot but not smoking, then cook garlic and red pepper, stirring, until just fragrant, 30 to 40 seconds. Spoon evenly over eggplant and tomato. Bake pizza according to package instructions.

Spicy Black Bean Soup with Beet Greens, Balsamic Tomato and Basil

August 26th, 2009

After having the eggplant pasta last night, I asked my husband about tonight's dinner. He said, in a joke tone, "black bean soup". Well, that's what we are going to have then!  
My mom used to make this soup with watercress, and I sometimes like to use arugula. But today I have beet greens I need to use. They are delicious too!

Spicy Black Bean Soup with Beet Greens

4 Servings

Ingredients

1 large spring onion, chopped

1 spring onion stem, 3 – 4”, finely chopped

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 anaheim pepper, chopped

1 cherry pepper, chopped

4 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth

1 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

4 (15 1/2-ounce) cans black beans, drained but not rinsed or 15.5 oz of cooked beans

2 bay leaves

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Elbow macaroni, cooked, 2 cups

Beet greens, 4 cups (or arugula, or watercress)

Thinly sliced scallions, for garnish (optional)
Cilantro leaves for garnish (optional)


Directions
Put the olive oil into a large heavy pot and
place it over medium heat. Stir in the spring onions, chopped peppers, and cook, stirring, until they 
start to turn brown, about 10 minutes. 
Stir in the garlic and cook until you can smell it, 
about 1 minute.

Add the beans, bay leaves, broth, Worcestershire. Turn the heat to high and bring to a boil. Adjust the heat so the soup is bubbling gently and cook 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Remove the bay leaves and blend the soup with a hand blender. Add the elbow macaroni and the beet greens. Cook until heated through and greens are wilted.Serve with the garnishes. I served it with the Balsamic Tomato Basil, see recipe below.

Balsamic Tomato and Basil

2 servings (as soup garnish)

1 serving (as salad)

Ingredients

2 medium red tomatoes, cut in 4 or 6 pieces

1 cup yellow pear tomatoes, cut in half

¼ cup julienne cut
fresh basil

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1/2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

Kosher salt

Fresh ground pepper

Directions

Mix together the red and yellow tomatoes in a medium bowl. Sprinkle with the salt, pepper, add the vinegar and olive oil and mix well. Add ½ the basil and mix. Top with the remaining basil. Serve as a salad or as a soup garnish.

We've got these beautiful peaches in the CSA box. Should I make some peach cobbler?

Fresh Tomato and Japanese Eggplant Pasta, Baked Beets with Goat Cheese

August 25th, 2009

Today is the day of the week I get my CSA box. Although they send us an email the day before telling what they might send in the boxes, getting to them is like Christmas, as there is always something different than what they told you. So yesterday I have planned to make farro with kale for dinner. But oh, there was not kale in the box! but lots of tomatoes and eggplants instead! There you go, deal with the unexpected and surprise yourself with delicious food!

Fresh Tomato and Eggplant Pasta
Ingredients

2 Japanese eggplant, cut lengthwise into 1/4-inch slices

Coarse grained salt

Olive oil spray

3 cloves garlic, minced

10 medium tomatoes

1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

Salt and coarsely ground fresh black pepper

1/2 cup basil torn

8 ounces whole wheat farfalle, cooked al dente

Parmesan cheese to taste

Directions

Set oven to broil. Spray cookie sheet with olive oil spray. Place eggplant slices on cookie sheet. Sprinkle with coarse grained salt and spray with olive oil. Place in oven. When lightly brown on one side, about 5 to 6 min, flip. Broil on other side until lightly brown, about 5 to 6 additional minutes.

Place a saucepan 3/4 full of water over high heat and bring to a boil. Dip tomatoes that need to be peeled in the boiling water for 1 minute. Remove tomatoes and set aside to cool enough so that you can handle them. Gently pierce, just barely, the skin of the tomatoes with the tip of a sharp knife. Loosen the skin with the knife and peel away. Repeat with all the tomatoes. Cut peeled tomatoes in half lengthwise. Hold tomato half in your hand over a small bowl. Gently squeeze tomato half so that seeds drip into the bowl. Put the seeds and their juice through a strainer. Discard seeds, add the strained juice to the bowl of tomatoes. Crush the tomatoes with your hands leaving big pieces. Add the balsamic vinegar and a couple of basil leaves. Stir.

Place the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic, cook until it starts to brown, but do be careful not burn it. Add tomatoes and their juice to the pan. Simmer about 5 minutes to reduce sauce a bit. Add broiled eggplant. Taste and adjust seasonings. Add the basil and cook 1 minute more. Add the pasta and heat through. Serve with parmesan and more basil if desired.

Baked beets taste much better than boiled!

Baked Beets with Goat Cheese

Ingredients

3 medium beets, washed and cleaned

1 – 2 oz goat cheese, at room temperature

Extra virgin olive oil

Herbs

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Place beets in a roasting pan, cover with foil, and bake 1 hour until al dente. Cool until easy to handle, then peel. Slice, dice into 1” cubes. Place in a bowl. Top with crumbled goat cheese and parsley, or dill. Drizzle with a little bit of olive oil.