As you can tell, I made it to my goal of cooking last week but I failed in the photography department. It's been too hot, I've been too tired and too busy. This week wont fare much better as I have dinner plans with friends nearly every night this week! Thank the good Lord for the cooler temperatures today- training for the half marathon has been brutal these last few weeks. I often find myself running in Lakeview Cemetery because there's not much traffic and I find a lot of peace and quiet, along with great shade, along the paths. The other plus is they have water spigots placed around the grounds so just when I feel like my head is going to explode from being so hot, I can stop and cool off.  

This weekend I enjoyed the 2nd annual Tremont Ale Fest in Lincoln Park. Who wouldn't love all you can drink beer, volleyball, music and friends for a measly $20? This is an event I will definitely put on my calendar for next year (if I'm still in Cleveland, that is). Afterward my friend and I headed over to Tremont Taphouse for a burger before checking out the Black Keys concert at the Nautica Pavilion. Every time I see the Black Keys perform they simply blow my mind, to be cliche. There are very few times a band sounds better live than on their CD, but in this case these guys are MUCH better live. And they're local!

My Greek grandfather always had some ingenious way to deal with any problem you might have. Duct tape can fix anything wasn't just his motto, it was his way of life. Born to a Greek immigrant and grew up in South City St. Louis working at the family grocery store, Grandpa became a machinist and worked almost until the day he died. A man of few words but the ones he did say were very memorable.

I remember the story about how they were jealous of the new color TVs that had just come out. Ever the innovator, my grandfather decided to upgrade his just as good ole black and white TV with strips of colored cellophane. Blue at the top for the sky, orange in the middle for people's skin, and green at the bottom for grass. And no, I am not making this up! Another instance when my aunts were very young they were complaining about the muggy, hot St. Louis summer my grandpa said, "Girls! Just think cool thoughts." That saying became one of the family's running jokes even to this day and it was what I was thinking the other day when it was so hot and muggy here in Cleveland. I guess God was listening because he has blessed us with some cool days since then. With today's dish you wont need to think cool even if it was hot!  (Again, I've been too lazy to get the camera out and too focused on eating. I'll try to do better next week :)

Cool as a Cucumber Pesto Pasta
***Add celery for more crunch

1 C orzo pasta, cooked to al dente, optional
1 C shredded chicken
1 English or regular cucumber (Source: FFM)
1 lb flat romano green beans, blanched (Source: FFM)
1 C chickpeas
Basil pesto (Source: garden)
Olive oil
S&P

Cook your pasta to al dente if using, drain, coat with olive oil and set aside to cool. Poach or roast your chicken and shred- I used leftover roasted chicken that I had stored in the freezer for a time just like this! Blanch your green beans in salted water just until they have lost some of their bite and plunge into an ice bath or run under cold water to stop the cooking process. If you get heartburn from regular cucumbers like I do, remove the skin and seeds from the cucumber and slice into 1/4" thick half moons.

You can make your pesto or buy it- I wont tell. I processed fresh basil, garlic (3 cloves!), S&P, olive oil, a touch of lemon juice and pistachios in a food processor to make mine.

Toss orzo, veggies, chicken, and pesto together in a bowl. Top with crumbled feta cheese and S&P to taste.

In less than three weeks I will be basking in the delicious sunshine of Isla Mujeres, MX, enjoying my 2 for 1 mojitos and huevos machaca for breakfast. I have always had a soft spot for what I thought was Mexican food and margaritas. After my first trip to Isla last year, I realized I had never really had Mexican food, but some relatively tasteless goop on a plate. Although we don't have great traditional Mexican food in Cleveland, we do have great modern takes on the cuisine at Momocho. I crave their cucumber margarita with chile lime salt regularly, and although I never seem to get over there as much as I would like, it's still one of my favorites.

I've waxed poetic about my love for quinoa on this blog several times already, but I'm always on the hunt for new ways to prepare it. About three years ago I got sucked into the vortex that is the Pioneer Woman Empire and found many quinoa recipes on her new recipe site, Tasty Kitchen. I can think of no better way to enjoy the farm fresh sweet corn, cilantro and cherry tomatoes than to make this dish. Even if you aren't a Pioneer Woman fan, you have to try this recipe. I almost think it's better than the "real" thing.

**Sorry for no pictures. I was under the weather yesterday and I just was too hungry to get the camera out!!

Quinoa Taco Salad
***I always make extra of this as it makes great leftovers, with the flavors deepening over time. The recipe originally appeared on Tasty Kitchen and for once, I have made few alterations to it.

1 cup Quinoa
1 whole Red Onion, Chopped
3 cloves Garlic, Minced
½ cups Red Bell Pepper, chopped- I omitted all the peppers as I didn't have any on hand
½ cups Yellow Bell Pepper, Chopped
½ cups Green Bell Pepper, Chopped
1-2 C fresh corn, cut off the cob (Source: FFM)
1-½ teaspoon Cumin
½ teaspoons Oregano
1 teaspoon Chili Powder, Or More Depending On Heat Preference
1 dash Cayenne Pepper
15 ounces, weight Black Beans, Drained And Rinsed
¾ cups Diced Tomatoes, Fresh (Source: FFM)
2 whole Limes, Divided (or lemon juice if it's easier)
Salt And Pepper, to taste
8 ounces, weight Baby Spinach
1 cup Cilantro (Source: FFM)
⅓ cups Cheddar Or Feta Cheese, ** I used the raw milk Gouda cheese from this week's share (Source: Mayfield Creamery, FFM)


Cook the quinoa according to package instructions. I usually do this in the microwave- 5 minutes on high uncovered, 10-15 minutes on medium covered. Use a 1:2 ratio of quinoa to water. Let cool while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.

Meanwhile, swirl a bit of olive oil in a saute pan. Heat oil over medium high heat. Add onion and saute for 3-5 minutes, until translucent and tender. Add garlic, cumin, oregano, chili powder, cayenne and peppers and saute for an additional 2 minutes.

Remove from heat. Stir in the black beans, tomatoes, and the juice of 1 lime. Stir in the quinoa. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Chill. I often skip the chilling process as I'm just too impatient!

Roughly cut baby spinach into strips like you would shred iceberg lettuce for tacos. Remove about 1 cup of cilantro leaves from the bunch, rinse and pat dry, and toss with the spinach. Divide spinach and cilantro mixture evenly among 4 salad plates. Top each plate with a scoop of the quinoa salad. Top each salad with your choice of cheese and diced avocado. Cut the remaining lime into slices to garnish the plates.

To say that graduate student life is stressful would be a vast understatement. The long hours, the failed experiments, the anxiety over papers and grants, it's all a big ulcer waiting to happen. Somehow, I have avoided bad frozen dinners, greasy takeout (save for the few times Mama Santa's pizza was just what I needed), Ramen noodles, and bowls of cereal for dinner. I think it's because coming home from a place where you almost have to be perfect in your precision and being able to leisurely dice up some ingredients and toss them together to create something delicious but far from perfect is a great stress reliever. Plus I often make a giant mess and something about that is quite liberating compared to the sterile environment of working in a lab.

But there are times when the only ingredients I have in the house, or the only thing that sounds appealing to me. On Sunday I was hanging out with a friend and we were watching Food Network, which is basically a recipe for gluttony even when you aren't hungry. Then a commercial about free waffles at Hampton Inns came on and we both decided that waffles were definitely in order. But when cake covered in syrup  (or in my case, jelly) isn't going to cut it, savory breakfasts are some of my favorite things to make for dinner. Breakfast for dinner is always a good go-to meal when you are cooking for one. But on this night, I was blessed with some pretty good company- thanks A and G!

Patty Pan Squash Hash

2 patty pan squash, chopped into about 1" pieces (Source: FFM)
2 leeks, sliced (Source: FFM)
1 lb romano yellow beans (Source: FFM)
1 lb Berkshire Pork Chorizo (Source: FFM)
2 poached eggs (Source: FFM, I had some left over from a few weeks ago)
fresh basil
S&P

Prep your veggies and heat 1-2 TBL olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Toss in your squash first and saute about 5 min. Add beans and leeks and increase heat to medium high in order to get some carmelization going. While your veggies are working, cook up your chorizo (or whatever you are using) in a non stick pan. Boil some salted water and poach your eggs 1.5-2 min. Toss veggies with chorizo (and resulting fat, it's seasoned from the sausage so don't throw it away!) and serve poached eggs on top. S&P to taste, and you could always garnish with some cheese too.

I slowly peeled myself out of bed this morning, planted my feet on the cool hardwood floor. Another day, another dollar as they say. One foot in front of the other to the shower where I desperately try to scrub away the pain. Cereal poured into a bowl, shoveling spoonfuls into my mouth on auto-pilot. And then in a flash I think of the sweet, fresh corn dripping in butter (though it surely didn't need it) and the juicy grass-fed burger- which needed few condiments because it was so delicious- I enjoyed yesterday with some of my good friends. I am disgusted by breakfast out of a cardboard box; by the fact that I am able to eat it without thinking, without enjoyment. What stark contrasts between these two meals. When we are good to food, food is good to us.

 

After a while- Author Unknown
After a while you learn the subtle difference between holding a hand and chaining a soul. And you learn that love doesn't mean leaning and company doesn't mean security.

And you begin to learn that kisses aren't contracts and presents aren't promises and you begin to accept your defeats with your head up and eyes open, with the grace of a woman, not the grief of a widow.

And you learn to build all your roads on today because tomorrow's ground is too uncertain for plans and futures have a way of falling down in mid flight.

After a while you learn that even sunshine burns if you get too much. So plant your own garden and decorate your own soul instead of waiting for someone to bring you flowers.

And you learn that you really can endure. That you really are strong. And you really do have worth. And you learn and learn ... with every goodbye, you learn.

I never wanted this blog to become anything more personal than two poor scientists trying to eat locally and sharing my love of photography and food with anyone that would listen. I'm still not entirely sure how personal I want to get, but writing has always been therapeutic to me. Never a regular journal keeper as my thoughts are often too quick for my pen, I find that typing out life's circumstances is far easier for me. Of course there are definite benefits and drawbacks to this approach- one being that it is so fast you can write (and publish for all to see) something out on the world wide web that you might not really want everyone and their mother knowing. On the other hand, that delete key is mighty handy when editing my thoughts.

At any rate, you have noticed by now that there has been significant upheaval in the ChewsLocal home. I'd rather not get into particulars but the good news is that food has still been a comfort to me. Now, grocery shopping on the other hand was surprisingly difficult to do on my own for the first time in years. I had to stop myself from shopping for two instead of one, and at the same time it was exhilarating to purchase only my favorites. I'm not going to lie, some gummy bears and a Kit Kat found their way into my shopping cart, but hey, I figure I deserve it. The life I thought I had came crashing down about two weeks ago, I'm training for a half marathon (and in this ridiculous heat I hear you burn more calories, or at least that's what I keep telling myself), and I had a thesis committee meeting yesterday. A little chocolate and high fructose corn syrup never hurt anyone. Besides, I tempered it with half a pound of grapes. That counts for something right?

This week I plan to try to cook 3-4 dinners. The most I've tried since branching out on my own. I find myself healing through the cooking process, even if it's painful to remember that I don't have a sous chef anymore. There's something very satisfying about taking raw ingredients and turning them into something delicious. In the quietness of cooking for one (and I'm not going to lie, I always have left overs!) there is a bitter-sweetness to the activity. But then I remember something that I said nearly a year ago in an interview about how my college experience had positively influenced my life.

If you open yourself up to the will of God, He will bless you
immeasurably. It may not always be in your time or in the way you asked,
but when He blesses you, it is abundant.

I have not talked much about my faith on this blog, but it is what is sustaining me along with the fresh local ingredients from God's bountiful earth provided through Fresh Fork Market at this most difficult time. I would not have chosen these circumstances for myself, but I know that I will be blessed abundantly for submitting myself to His will. There is no other way to live when something like this happens. There is always hope for a better tomorrow.

This week's bounty includes (sorry no pic, my camera battery was dead! But I will charge it up for the meals this week!!):

6 ears Super Sweet Corn
1 slicing cucumber
2 Lancelot Leeks
1 lb romano green beans
1 lb romano gold beans
2 pieces patty pan squash
1 lb Berkshire pork Chorizo sausage
1 bunch cilantro
1 pint cherry tomatoes
1 head red leaf lettuce
6 oz grassfed raw-milk Gouda

And God Said "No"- Author Unknown
I asked God to take away my pride and God said, "no." He said it was not for Him to take away, but for me to give up.

I asked God to take away my illness, and God said, "no." He said the body is only temporary.

I asked God to grant me patience and God said, "no." He said patience is a by-product of tribulation. It isn't granted, it's earned.

I asked God to give me happiness and God said, "no." He said He gives His blessings. Happiness is up to me.

I asked God to spare me from pain and God said, "no." He said sufferings draw you apart from worldly cares and bring you closer to Him.

I asked God to make my spirit grow and God said, "no." He said I must grow on my own, but He will prune to make me fruitful.

I asked God if He loved me and God said, "yes." He gave His only Son who died for me and I will be in heaven someday because I believe.

I asked God to help me love others as much as He loves me and God said, "Ah, finally, you have the idea."

I have a unique love affair with squash. In particular, me and butternut are best buds and acorn and spaghetti squash are good friends. I think I ate squash almost every day for weeks last fall when squash was plentiful. Unfortunately, I am just not as big of a fan of summer squash for whatever the reason. I don't know if it's the flavor, the texture, or what but it just really isnt my thing. But I love the golden yellow and deep green colors on a hot summer day so I was pleased to see we received some in last weeks share.

Last night I was dying to cook so I quickly sauteed some summer squash and garlic, tossed it with the garlic chive pasta from Ohio City and garnished with some scallions and cheese. My favorite way to prepare summer squash is to saute it over high heat with olive oil in my stainless steel All-Clad pan. I love the caramelization that happens because honestly, I dont think summer squash has much flavor otherwise. If I had had some fresh cilantro on hand, it would have been a great addition to this light, fresh pasta. I'm loving the sunshine, but not so much the humidity so I was totally in love with this dish. Perfect for a hot and muggy day. I can't wait to eat the leftovers. I still haven't busted out the old camera, so I hope you will forgive me for a lack of photos. Hopefully next week will be better!

I had a reader question the other day about what to do with your excess green beans. Bring a deep saucepan of water to rolling boil, salted so that it tastes almost like the ocean.  Prepare your green beans (snap 'em if you like) and an ice bath. Blanch the green beans in the salted boiling water (water should be boiling the entire time for this process to work, so always leave it on high heat as the addition of the green beans will bring down the temp some) for about 2-5 min. I usually go on the shorter side so when I cook 'em up later they are still a bit cruchy. Immediately plunge the green beans into your ice bath to stop the cooking. Spread the completely cooled beans on a tray and freeze. Once frozen, pop them into a freezer safe bag. Cook just like you would any frozen vegetable you might by from the store. 

Looks like the rain is going to hold off, come on down- I'm taking a picnic with some friends for the life music and atmosphere.

I haven't quite gotten back to cooking and photography (letting other people take care of me right now- it's quite nice!) but Im hoping next week's CSA share will inspire me enough to get the 12" all clad skillet, my wustoff knives, and my Canon 40D back out for a few new posts. I see that some of you are still checking in, thanks for bearing with me during this time. I cant guarantee I will master the joy of printable recipes, though!

Don't forget about the Tremont Ale Fest of Saturday, July 24th at Lincoln Park. $20 advance tickets, all you can drink from over 100 beers. Then the Black Keys take the stage at the Pavilion at 8pm!

It was bound to happen sooner or later.  Despite our best efforts to utilize every last leaf and portion from our CSA and patio garden, we found ourselves with an abundance of herbs and spinach.  Not to fret!  While nothing beats fresh herbs and produce, there is a way both 1) save the excess crop and 2) have "fresh" herbs and greens at your disposal during the winter months (when there would typically be no crop to harvest anyway). 

Freezing Herbs (good for up to about 6 months post freezing):  There are several methods to go about this.  One involves laying out the  herbs on cookie sheets and placing them into the freezer until, well, frozen, and then locking them airtight inside of freezer bags.  The method we went with involves placing some of the herbs into ice cube trays 1/2 full with water, and once the water has frozen, filling the tray full with water.  Then, pop out your herb cubes, and place into freezer bags.  When you're ready to use some fresh herbs during the winter months, just grab a few cubes and toss into your soup or stew or sauce that you're making.  The amount of water per cube is pretty low so you don't have to worry about diluting out anything you're preparing.  Obviously, you can also dry the herbs, but this looses the freshness and a lot of the oils that make fresh herbs so tasty.

Freezing Greens (good for up to about 6 months post freezing):  Wash your greens (spinach in our case) well in cold water.  Water blanch for 2 minutes, and then plunge into an ice cold water bath.  Pat dry with towels, and then pack into freezer containers/bags.  Done.

It wasn't that hard (maybe took up 5 minutes of our time).  We'll see come winter how it all panned out (or earlier depending on how the rest of our garden does).

In it's 5th season, the Tremont Farmers Market has been a little haven of goodness for us on Tuesdays.  From 4-7pm, growers and artisans from all backgrounds come to share their passions with those fortunate enough to show up.  We've found ourselves putting down the pipettes and hurrying home to assemble our dinner into a picnic in time to take in the sights, listen to  the live music, and enjoy our locally grown food in Lincoln Park.  It's such a delight to see families with their kids and pets milling around, impromptu games of duck-duck-goose, and...a community (and city) coming together over local goods.  I know, the "local" movement has been gaining legs these past few years, but as someone not born/raised in CLE, I can't help but be amazed at how much of an emphasis there is on being green / supporting local business here.  I also can't help but think of the amazing potential CLE has to become a truly green and locally supported city.  Where else do you have the ability to incorporate new businesses (in terms of land / available spaces even downtown), such a dense and rich agricultural community within a short drive, a community hungering for local products, and well, a city that needs to reinvent itself?  I've found myself becoming more and more invested into my neighborhood and city (perhaps it's the food?), and concerned about it's well being and growth.  I'm just hoping the future of this city doesn't follow the track record of CLE sports teams and leave me heartbroken.  But i digress. 

Back to the farmers market.  The sunshiny personality radiating from the from the Lucky Penny Farm Creamery stand on this overcast day were inescapable, so we had to take a closer look.    We were immediately drawn to the soaps (the smells were amazing), and decided we had to buy a few.  A family owned and run goat farm (with several varieties of goats),  they recently just started selling their artisan goat cheese , and had a few to sample.  Hole..eee..smokes.  Both the Chevre and Feta were amazing.  You have to check them out (they are also involved in a summer lecture series showcasing different foods, cooking tips, and other culinary treats).