Kale Hummus

Last Saturday I had some week-old kale that was on its last legs, yellowing in its vase. I wasn't sure what to do with it. It didn't fit into my dinner plan of braised lamb and cabbage. Being just a few leaves, it didn't seem like enough to make it worth it to sautee and freeze it for some future meal. And the leaves were too small to make kale chips.

Then Jesse requested an appetizer before dinner. Not wanting to spend money on cheese and crackers or non-local salad greens, I thought about what I had in the kitchen. A can of chickpeas, easily transformable into hummus. And an opportunity to use up old flour to try my hand at making crackers for dipping. But would kale go well with hummus? A quick search on google revealed that it has indeed been done before
in the form of kale and sundried tomato hummus. I didn't have sundried tomatoes on hand, but I went ahead and made it without it.

The kale hummus turned out surprisingly tasty (though my crackers did not). And as I mentioned, it was so good that we ruined our appetite for dinner. In fact, I'm still paying the consequences of this - I've been trying to use up the leftover rice and cabbage in various forms for lunch and dinner all week. I've found that grated parmesan cheese and crushed red pepper work wonders at masking the taste of slimy old braised cabbage.

I recommend only using half a bunch of kale or less so that the kale taste isn't overpowering. While I enjoyed this kale hummus just fine, I can see how it would benefit from sweet sundried tomatoes. But I'll have to wait till tomato season to try that combination, if I ever get around to making my own sundried tomatoes.

Kale Hummus

1 can chickpeas (or 1 cup chickpeas soaked overnight and simmered for an hour until tender)
few leaves of kale
2 tbsp tahini
1 tbsp olive oil
2 fat cloves garlic
salt
pepper
lemon juice
cayenne pepper
paprika

Tear or chop kale into pieces, discarding thick stems. Place in a pot with half an inch of simmering water and cover until steamed(wilted). Remove kale from pot and let cool.

Combine first six ingredients in a food processor and process until smooth. Add remaining spices to taste and process again. Add water if needed until hummus reaches a creamy consistency. Serve with pita or crackers.

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Dark Days Challenge Week 7: Braised Lamb Shanks and Cabbage over Rice

I know I said weeks ago that I would be making braised lamb shanks soon, but life got in the way. It was hard to find time to go to Union Square to procure the shanks from 3-Corner Field Farm, and then to find at least three hours to hang out in the house while the shanks cooked away in the oven. This weekend, I worked out a plan - Saturday I would stay home, bake bread, and cook lamb for diner, and then Sunday we could go out and play, somewhere upstate to indulge fantasies of wanting to move out of the city.


So while Jesse went out drinking in the afternoon (his typical weekend activity), I baked a loaf of bread, made crackers inspired by Straight by the Farm (that turned out too thick and tough because I didn't roll them thin enough and I skimped on the oil, so be careful about that), made a hummus with kale that turned out fab, made braised lamb, and and braised cabbage. I was going to make them in the same pan, until I realized that lamb is meant to braised in red wine and green cabbage is not. So two separate pans it was. And then Jesse made the rice. We used Red Himalayan Rice that was a gift from Jesse's mom, but you could also serve this over brown rice, polenta, or mashed potatoes. And then after we ate I did all the dishes while he watched TV. Housewife much??


After all that we were too full on crackers and hummus to really enjoy the meal. But at least we will have lots of tasty leftovers. I was a little disappointed by how fatty the lamb tasted, but maybe I should have expected that. Or maybe I should have done a better job cutting off the fat (I am horrible at cutting off fat, it's so hard to maneuver a slippery piece of meat and a knife.) But still overall a good dinner - tender meat falling off the bone, with soft warm wedges of cabbage and sweet red rice.


Braised Lamb Shanks
butter
olive oil
2 lamb shanks
1/2 onion
2 cloves garlic
1 cup red wine
2 cups chicken stock
salt
pepper

Preheat oven to 325.
Trim fat off the lamb shanks.
Brown shanks in butter and olive oil over medium high heat, about 3 minutes on each side. Remove lamb and drain off most of the fat.
Add a little more olive oil to the pan and return lamb to pan. Sautee diced garlic and onion over medium heat with the lamb.
Once onion has softened, add red wine, salt and pepper. Bring to boil and then let simmer a few minutes until wine has reduced by half.
Add chicken stock, bring to boil, and let simmer a few minutes. Transfer everything to a casserole pan and add additional stock if needed, until shanks are covered halfway. Cover pan and place in oven.
Let braise in oven for 2 1/2 hours until tender, turning shanks over halfway.
Serve each lamb shank over rice and cabbage, with spoonfuls of the sauce the lamb was cooked in.


Braised Green Cabbage
1 medium head green cabbage
1/2 onion
2 cloves garlic
1/2 cup chicken stock
olive oil
salt
pepper

Once lamb shanks are in oven, prepare cabbage. Discard outer layer of green cabbage. Chop off bottom core. Cut into approximately eight wedges. Lay cabbage in a large baking dish. Dice onion and garlic and scatter over pan. Pour in chicken stock. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and olive oil. Cover and let braise in oven for 1 1/2 hour until tender.

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Dark Days Challenge Week 7: Gramercy Tavern

I have wanted to go to Gramercy Tavern since, oh, I don't know, probably since I moved to New York City. Not only is it one of the best restaurants in the city, but they also rely heavily on foods from the nearby Union Square Greenmarket, elevating it to the status of food heaven for me. (Hence why I am including it as part of my Dark Days Challenge). As they describe it so wonderfully on their website: "Committed to local produce and inspired by the seasons, Executive Chef Mike Anthony cooks from the heart with a blend of fresh greenmarket ingredients, bold flavors, and refined presentation."

But it always seemed like I needed a special occasion to go. There was one horrible Sunday when Jesse and I were wandering hungover around Flatiron and Gramercy and thought we might as well give Gramercy Tavern a try, but alas it was closed. After that, I plotted for months to take Jesse there for his birthday. Except when his birthday finally rolled around, he, being the Manhattan-snubbing/Brooklyn-snob he is, wanted nothing to do with a night out in the big city, so we ended up at an old favorite in Brooklyn, Flatbush Farm, instead. A delicious meal all the same, but still, Gramercy Tavern remained elusive.

Until my coworkers were chatting about going to Gramercy Tavern and we all decided to bite the bullet and just make plans to go. We headed over right after work and got there early enough that we didn't have to wait for a seat in the Tavern Room. (You can make reservations for the Dining Room in the back, but why would you do that unless you were a bazillionnaire who could afford to shell out $88 for a prix fixe, not including drinks, extras, tax, tip, etc.)

I forgot to bring my camera, so I apologize for a lack of pictures. Picking out a drink was easy - a pint of Brooklyn-made Sixpoint IPA of course (also luckily one of the cheapest drinks on the menu). For my entree, I had trouble deciding between pulled pork and scallops, but eventually I went with the scallops because it sounded healthier. It was elegantly plated, simple, fresh, and well executed - grilled scallops over roasted beets thickened with a little yogurt dyed deep red from the juice of the beets, and dotted with flecks of bacon. The scallops were nicely charred from the grill, and it was fun to run them with my fork across the plate and coat them in rich red sauce. I realized I could make this at home with ingredients from the Greenmarket - and I probably will before the winter is out - though it probably wouldn't taste as good. It is nice when eating out actually inspires my home cooking.

I also had a chance to try the stuffed meatballs, which I've heard is considered one of the restaurant's signature dishes, and I would agree that the meatballs were worthy of the title. I took a bite, expecting an ordinary meatball, but suddenly there was an explosion of spices in my mouth, followed by a rich, velvety texture from soft fontina cheese. Wow.

I was glad the portion size of my entree was filling without overstuffing, because I actually had room for dessert without feeling guilty. We split the apple crisp, which I definitely recommend. Warm baked apples with a sweet crunchy crumb topping, all coated in balls of cinnamon and vanilla sour cream ice creams that melted over it into a sweet gooey and delicious mess.

What a night. So the moral is - you need not be intimidated into thinking that you need a special or romantic occasion to dine at Gramercy Tavern. Just gather your lover or friends, show up early (before 6:30 or so) on a weekday to get a table without waiting, and enjoy a good meal with good conversation.

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Dark Days Challenge Week 7: Sausage Pizza and Roasted Beet Salad

I've made pizza before, but it always came out dense and crunchy throughout. This time I was amazed to open the oven and see a beautiful golden brown puffy crust. It may have actually risen this time because I used sugar instead of raw honey. I know I shouldn't use raw honey, since I've read it sometimes has bacteria that can kill yeast, but I love the idea of using local honey too much to give it up. Well maybe I should.

Or it could have been because I kneaded the dough in the food processor instead of by hand. I have always been afraid of using the dough option on my food processor, worried that the dough would come out over-kneaded. However, it was so amazingly easy and quick that I'll have to do it again. I'm horribly inefficient at kneading dough. First I am never sure if the consistency is right so I keep adding water and flour. Then I feel like I'm kneading forever but the dough never stops being sticky. But 45 seconds in the food processor and the dough was perfectly kneaded.

I topped this with flavorful DiPaolo turkey sausage, tomato sauce, and some parmesan. I'm not big on cheesy, greasy pizzas and can thus hardly stand most pizzeria pizzas these days - so this simple combination was enough for me. On the side, we enjoyed a roasted beet salad again. Amazing how I gobble down roasted beets these days, when I barely knew beets existed before this year.

Pizza Dough
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup white flour
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup warm water
1 1/2 tsp instant yeast
1 tbsp olive oil
3/4 tsp raw sugar

1 cup tomato sauce (from a jar or can since it's winter)
2 large cloves garlic
1/2 onion
1/3 lb turkey sausage, not in casing

Pour flour and salt into a food processor and stir to combine. In a small bowl, combine water, yeast, oil, and sugar. Pour wet mixture into food processor. Process on dough button for 45 seconds. Use a spatula to turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead a couple times. Form dough into a ball and place in a large bowl, covered with a plate, and let rise in a warm spot (I place the bowl inside my oven, turned off and propped slightly open) for 45-90 minutes, depending on the temperature of the ingredients and your warm spot. My yeast came straight from the fridge and the flour straight from the freezer, so it took a full 90 minutes to double in size.

Turn dough out upside down on a lightly floured surface and gently press down to deflate. Form dough into a ball and return to bowl. Let rise another 25-40 minutes, approximately half the time of the first rise.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 500 degrees. Place a large cookie sheet at bottom rung of oven to preheat.

Meanwhile, sautee diced onion and garlic in olive oil over low heat. Add turkey sausage, stir and chop it into crumbles, and continue to cook until browned.

Turn dough out upside down on lightly floured surface and gently press down to deflate. Roll dough out into a thin, flat circle. Top pizza with drizzled olive oil, then tomato sauce, then sausage mixture, then grated parmesan cheese, crushed red pepper, and oregano and basil.

Remove the baking sheet from the oven and sprinkle cornmeal over it. Carefully slide pizza onto the sheet and bake for 10-15 minutes until puffed and golden brown.

Makes two filling servings.

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Falafel in Pita with Red Cabbage Slaw and Tahini Sauce

I've wanted to make falafel and pita for a while, since I started reading cookbooks about various types of bread. As an advocate of eating less meat, I love getting falafel and pita from street vendors instead of chicken gyros, and I wanted to replicate it at home. I attempted this once a few weeks ago, but let the chickpeas soak out at room temperature for 36 hours, and they foamed and smelled bad, and after much innternet research, I decided I was scared of the bad chickpeas and thre them out. This time I let my chickpeas soak in the fridge for just 24 hours and was determined to make it happen. I even left early from hanging out with my friends on a lazy Sunday evening to get 'er done.


It was really making pitas that was the time consuming part of this meal. Look! My pita puffed! Not perfectly, though. I don't think I rolled my pitas out thinly enough. Or else I let them rest for too long before putting them in the oven. I've read that if you leave them too thick they will think they are supposed to be buns. These were like half buns/half pita - small in diameter but thick and fluffy on the inside, with pockets of air. Most importantly, they were delicious! Bread is bread and I'll always love it unless it tastes bad. I just sliced them down the middle to be able to stuff them pita-style.

I followed Jennie's pita recipe from Straight From the Farm almost exactly, with a few changes - I used half whole wheat flour and half white flour and replaced the 1 tsp sugar with 3/4 tbsp honey to up my crunchy factor, and then baked the pitas on personal squares of aluminum foil instead of a preheated bakingsheet. I got that idea from Susan from Farmgirl Fare. Dealing with a preheated baking sheet scares me so much. I have to take this huge scalding hot sheet out of the oven, lay things on it, and then put it back in the oven again. Me and hot baking sheets don't get along. That's how I've gotten so many burns, and why this blog is called The Wounded Chef. Anyway, so squares of aluminum foil was easy, and foil cools much more quickly than a baking pan. And it worked all the same.


I don't do deep frying. Instead I cooked each falafel ball in a thin layer of olive oil on one side for a few minutes till it browned, then flipped it over till the other side browned. I kind of squashed my falafel balls down in the pan so that as much as surface area browned as possible. Then I was paranoid that I didn't cook them enough, but I didn't get sick later that night, so I think they were cooked just fine.

Lettuce and tomato are typical accompaniments to pita, but since it's winter and they're not really seasonally available, I used a diced red cabbage slaw for the vegetable factor. I was amazed at how well the tastes of the pita, falafel, cruncy cabbage, and saucy tahini went together. It needed all four components to make it whole. Without the tahini it would have been try dry, and withought the cabbage it would have been too boring. I'm finding that cabbage is a great winter replacement for crunchy summer vegetables like lettuce, celery, or cucumbers. For example, shredded cabbage also worked well in place of celery in a chicken salad recently.

Falafel
1 cup dried chickpeas
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tbsp fresh parsley
1 tsp baking powder
3 tbsp tahini
2 tbsp flour
olive oil

Soak chickpeas overnight in water. Rinse and drain chickpeas. Combine ingredients in a food processor until smooth. You want to be able to form small balls of dough without it sticking too much to your fingers.

Heat a thin layer of oil in a pan. Fry falafel balls several at a time in the pan until browned on each side, and then place on paper towel to cool and to absorb off some of the oil.

Makes more than enough falafels for 8 small to medium-sized pitas.

Tahini Sauce
This one's easy.

4 tbsp tahini paste (look for it near peanut butter in your grocery store)
3 tbsp water
ample salt, pepper, and paprika
squeeze of fresh lemon juice if you have it
1 or 2 cloves of garlic, minced

Whisk ingredients together, adding water slowly, until smooth creamy sauce forms. Use less water for a thinner sauce, or more water for thicker sauce.

Red Cabbage Slaw
1/3 head red cabbage
1/2 red onion
1/2 tbsp honey
1 tbsp vinegar
1 tbsp olive oil
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp salt

Chop cabbage into very thin slices, or even dice if desired. Dice red onion. Combine ingredients until thoroughly mixed. Voila.

Stuff a few falafels into a pita, top with slaw, and then spoon sauce over it to coat the top. Take a giant bite and enjoy.

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Dark Days Challenge Week 6: Grilled Bison, Colcannon, and Roasted Beet Salad

A true Valentines Day feast. Those are the same flowers from last week's dinner party, just barely holding on. I'm such a weirdo environmentalist and frugalist that I didn't even want my boyfriend to bother getting new flowers, organic or not. I just wanted him home for a great dinner.

We picked up bison from Elk Trails Farm at the Union Square Greenmarket last Saturday with the plan of cooking it for V-Day. "Oh yeah, I had grilled bison last night," I can just imagine myself saying tomorrow. Doesn't that just sound so cool? I did some research online and read that good cuts of bison, such as rib eye, strip, or tenderloin, can be grilled straight off with a little olive oil, salt, and pepper. But lesser cuts like flank steak, which we bought pretty much because it was cheaper than better cuts, are best marinated for at least 6 hours before grilling. I didn't have any wine, so I improvised a marinade of: 1 1/2 tbsp balsamic vinegar, 1 tbsp mustard, 3 tbsp water, 1/2 tsp fresh lemon juice, 2 minced garlic cloves, and plenty of fresh ground pepper. Elk Trails sells their bison frozen, so I let it defrost overnight in a water bath in the fridge and then left it in the marinade in the fridge throughout the work day.


We are lucky enough to have a grill on our miniscule deck, and it wasn't freezing tonight, so Jesse grilled the bison. "Not too long," I warned him. Bison is so lean that you have to be careful not to cook it too hot or too long, because there's not enough fat in it to slow down the cooking. My research also warned us to turn the bison on the grill using tongs, not a fork, because piercing it lets out its vital juices. Well, with my advice, Jesse cooked it perfectly. I've never been one for steak - I always find it too tough and tedious to chew, even when on the rare side. But this bison steak was delicious, tender, and lean. I'm glad that our experiment into bison, and my first time marinating steak, was a success. On the side, we enjoyed colcannon and a salad of roasted beets over mixed greens dressed with splashes of balsamic vinegar, olive oil, and lemon juice. A yummy, healthy, and guilt free meal worthy of a special night like tonight.

So take a chance and try bison, the other red meat, the one you forget exists. I was intimidated and had passed Elk Trails stand dozens of time in the past, but now I've seen the light, and I look forward to more bison to come in my life.

PS. I remember having a conversation with some people earlier this week about how it's hard to eat local in the winter because so little is available. Not in New York City - are you kidding me? I feel filled with an amazing sense of possibility even at Union Square in the winter. Check out this handy dandy guide for which vendors are there when from New York Magazine.

All ingredients for this meal were found at Greenmakets from farms within approximately 250 miles away, except except for balsamic vinegar, mustard, olive oil, lemon, salt, and pepper. Oh and the organic mixed greens from California I could have done without, but Jesse requested them, and I obliged to make him happy on this romantic occasion.

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Dark Days Challenge Week 6: Buckwheat Apple and Chocolate Chip Muffins

I know Valentine's Day is the day you are supposed to bake a deliciously decadent chocolate treat, but between feeling like I overloaded on sweets last week, and reading that eating too much sugar is bad for you in Nina Planck's Real Food: What to Eat and Why I decided to take it easy and make muffins. Plus Jesse coerced me into getting a huge bag of buckwheat flour at the farmers market last week, so I needed to start using that up.

I still haven't found my tried and true muffin recipe. I tend to play around with them, and they usually come out okay anyway. This time, I used half honey and half sugar to cut down on the sugariness that would go straight to my bloodstream. Then I used the wetness of the honey as an excuse to cut down on the oil/eggs. And you know what, this recipe worked out great. Delicious and moist, with a touch of the buckwheat taste that I love in pancakes. You could also replace the buckwheat flour with more whole wheat flour or white flour.

Just be careful or you will eat half the muffins yourself in one sitting. You should aim to at least save a few for breakfast the next morning, or else what's the point of making muffins? These are definitely better for you than the ginormous muffins you might get at a nearby bakery on your way to work. Who even knows what's in those things? Corn syrup, god forbid.

Buckwheat Apple and Chocolate Chip Muffins

1/3 cup canola oil (or olive oil)
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup milk

1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup buckwheat flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger (optional)
1 tsp ground nutmeg (optional)
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup semisweet or bittersweet chocolate chips
1 apple, diced

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine wet ingredients in a large bowl until combined. Then dump dry ingredients over wet mixture and stir till mixture is smooth. Stir in chocolate chips and apple. Distribute among greased muffin pan. Bake for 22-30 minutes, until knife inserted comes out mostly clean. Let cool for ten minutes before removing from muffin pan.

The flour, eggs, and apple for this recipe were local. I could have used local milk if I hadn't run out out of it earlier this week. I think this might work with 1/2 cup local butter in place of the oil too. But isn't butter supposed to be more of a cookie thing and oil more of a cake/muffin thing? I still haven't figured out the difference. My cakes and muffins err on the dense side while my cookies err on the light cakey side. Traditional baking 101 this is not.

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