You say Eggplant, I say Aubergine

August 30, 2012 by 8 Comments

In the UK an eggplant is an aubergine. We also call a zucchini a courgette. And of course a tomaydo is a tomahto…

One of my former college roommates moved to the UK a couple of years ago and we met up at a local pub when we were in England in April. Upon surveying the menu,  she lamented the lack of vegetable options, saying:  ”You go to the market (that would be supermarket in England) and they have all these wonderful vegetables, but in a restaurant they only serve peas and carrots!” So true. I have no idea why that is.

Moving on.

I like belonging to a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) because I am forced to cook with veggies I would never buy in the grocery store, eggplant being one of them. I have this great book, Eating Local, The Cookbook Inspired by America’s Farmers, which contains some great recipes for your CSA veggies, along with some of the most beautiful vegetable pictures I’ve ever seen. Seriously, I think they must be airbrushed. In the book is a recipe for Grilled Eggplant Cannelloni with Ricotta and Prosciutto. This recipe, I realized, would use not only the eggplant but also the CSA onions, tomatoes, and garlic scape that had been languishing in the fridge for a while, waiting for me to do something with them. I made a modified version, sans prosciutto, so it could be a veggie dish. The recipe was a bit daunting at first (2 pages!) but I found it was actually very simple and had no problems making the recipe, even the tomato sauce. I thought tomato sauce came in a can.

Anyway, not only was it easy to make but it tasted delicious. I’ve actually made it twice and, seeing as there were eggplants in today’s CSA box, I plan to make it again! Here’s my modified recipe:

Ingredients

2 large eggplants, 1.25 to 1.5 pounds each
Kosher or sea salt
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Tomato Sauce
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 yellow onion, minced
2 large cloves garlic, minced
1.5 pounds plum tomatoes, chopped (no need to peel) (I used grape tomatoes from the CSA box)
8 to 12 fresh basil leaves
1 teaspoon dried oregano
Kosher or sea salt

Ricotta Filling
2 cups whole-milk ricotta cheese (or one 15 oz container)
1/2 cup freshly grated pecorino or Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
2 tablespoons minced fresh Italian parsley
1 large clove garlic, minced
black pepper
1 large egg, lightly beaten

1/2 cup  freshly grated pecorino or Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, for topping

1. Slice off the eggplant’s green cap, then cut each eggplant lengthwise into slices about 1/3 inch thick. Discard the first and last slices, which are mostly skin. Sprinkle slices on both sides with salt, then set them on a rack and let stand for 30 minutes, Moisture will bead on the surface.

2. Prepare a moderate charcoal fire or preheat a gas grill to medium (375F). Pat eggplant slices dry with paper towels, then brush on both sides with the olive oil. Place the slices directly over the coals or gas flame and cook, turning once, until they are nicely marked by the grill and pliable, about 3 mins each side. Set the slices aside on a tray to cool.

3. To make the tomato sauce, heat the olive oil in  a large skillet over moderate heat. Add the onion and garlic and saute until the onion is soft and beginning to color, 5 to 10 mins. Add the tomatoes and cook, stirring often, until they soften and collapse into a sauce, about 10 minutes, depending on ripeness.

4. Remove from the heat, and pass the mixture through a food mill (I put it in the blender). Return the puree to the skillet over moderate heat. Tear the basil leaves in half and add to the skillet along with the oregano and salt to taste. Simmer gently, stirring occasionally, until the sauce is thick.

5. To make the ricotta filling, put the ricotta, pecorino, parsley and garlic in a medium bowl. Stir until blended, then season to taste with salt and pepper. Stir in the egg.

6. Preheat the oven to 350F. Choose a shallow baking dish large enough to hold all the eggplant rolls snugly in one layer. Spread 1/3 cup of the tomato sauce on the bottom of the dish.

7. Put a generous 2 tablespoons filling on each eggplant slice and spread it evenly. Carefully roll each slice like a jelly roll, and place the rolls, seam side down, in the baking dish.

Top with the remaining tomato sauce and sprinkle the pecorino over the top.

8. Bake until lightly browned and bubbling, about 45 minutes. Cool for 20 minutes before serving.

Enjoy! Do you have any eggplant recipes? Any vegetables that stump you? 

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Cool as a….zucchini? Heat Acclimatization and a Recipe

July 4, 2012 by 14 Comments

During my 62 mile ride this morning, my riding partner mentioned how hot it was. It was then that I realized I hadn’t even noticed the heat. Make no mistake, it was sweltering. It was so hot, that when I got back to my car 4 hours after we started, my coffee (which was in a plastic travel mug) was still warm. Of course, when you’re riding there’s always a slight breeze, not like running in the heat which just feels like unnecessary torture…

Still, I feel like I’m acclimating better than usual this year. Even running at 9:00 in the morning (that’s when my kids have swim practice, therefore when it’s easiest for me to run) hasn’t felt too awful. Generally speaking, heat acclimatization takes 5 – 10 runs of an hour or more in the heat, with cardiovascular adaptations starting within 3 – 5 days and sweating changes (your body starts to sweat sooner, and sweats more, to provide greater cooling) taking up to 10 days. For these reasons, you should reduce intensity in the first few days of training in the heat, and consume extra fluids and electrolytes.

But I really haven’t spent much time acclimating, given that the heat came on so suddenly, so I don’t really know why I’m not feeling the heat as much these days. The only thing that’s different is that I’ve been eating a LOT of zucchini. Maybe it has internal cooling powers? Maybe we should be saying “cool as a zucchini” instead of “cool as a cucumber”… yeah, maybe not. Anyway, the reason for all this zucchini eating is that my CSA has been delivering a lot of it. Just keeping up with the 5 pounds or more of zucchini, summer squash, and patty pan squash that arrives every Thursday is an effort. I came across this recipe last week, in Eating Local: The Cookbook Inspired by America’s Farmers, so thought I’d share it. I didn’t have any arugula but I did have a lot of cucumber (thanks, CSA!) so I used that instead. I also can’t be bothered with the mandoline and just used a knife to cut the squash…and I didn’t do it lengthwise…such a rebel. ;)

Summer Squash Carpaccio with Arugula, Pecorino, and Almonds

Ingredients

1/4 cup sliced almonds, toasted
1 lb small zucchini (mix of green and yellow)
2.5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1.5 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 small clove garlic, minced to a paste
Kosher or sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 handfuls of arugula (about 3 ounces)
Chunk of pecorino toscano, ricotta salata, or other medium-aged pecorino cheese, for shaving

1. Preheat the oven to 350. Toast the almonds on a baking sheet until golden brown and fragrant, 10 to 15 minutes. Let cool.

2. Trim the ends of the zucchini. With a mandoline or other manual vegetable slicer, shave the zucchini thinly lengthwise. Discard the first and last slices of each squash, which are mostly skin. Put the zucchini ribbons in a large bowl.

3. In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, and salt to taste. Add the dressing to the shaved zucchini and toss with your hands to coat evenly. Taste and add more salt if necessary. Let stand for 5 minutes to allow the zucchini to soften.

4. Add the arugula to the zucchini. With a  cheese plane or vegetable peeler, shave about 3 ounces of cheese into the bowl. Add several grinds of black pepper.  Top with the toasted almonds. Serve immediately.

I also came across a recipe for zucchini “pasta” on the blog Cook Eat Move, which I haven’t tried yet but thought I’d share! If you try it, let the author know what you think!

 

How do you acclimatize to the heat?

What are your favorite summer recipes?

 

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Summer = Triathlon = L.O.V.E.

June 28, 2012 by 4 Comments

I am not the kind of person to jump on a bandwagon; in fact, I tend to deliberately do the opposite. It’s not that I don’t like group activities or don’t want to do what everyone else is doing. It’s just in my nature to march to the beat of my own drum. There are times, of course, when I toe the line and sign up for the same race as a bunch of teammates, but I find I’m just as happy going solo.

So my first reaction when my good friend RunWiki posted her Six Summer Running Essentials, a follow-up to Miss Zippy’s What I’m Loving Right Now #fitgear, which was a follow-up to Shut Up and Run’s 5 Things I’m Loving Right Now, was “I like it, and love reading this stuff, but everyone’s doing it and so I’m not.” It’s a knee-jerk reaction that I’m working on…

And then a strange thing happened. I started thinking about the things I love. The clothing I love to work out in, the foods I love to eat; dammit, I was even on my bike last week and said, out loud to my training partners, “I love my bike!” Who does that? Maybe I should look into therapy, but writing a post is cheaper.

So, without further excuses or explanations, here’s my list of summer triathlon (I have to be a little different) #fitgear:

I feel fast in TYR durafast...

1. TYR Durafast diamondback swimsuit. I have tried many suits since I started swimming regularly 4 years ago. First up was a 14-year-old number that immediately disintegrated upon contact with the water. Fortunately I was swimming at night so no-one could see my awful technique… These days I am a swim snob and ONLY wear TYR diamondback suits. They fit great, don’t ride up (or down), allowing me to focus on the swim and not whether my suit is working its way into my butt crack. As anyone who swims knows, suits have a horrifyingly short shelf-life, and so I buy them in bulk from Swimoutlet. I’ll often buy the “grab bag” as I don’t care too much about color, just the style, and this saves a ton of $$$. (The suit pictured is my favorite; the color is Pacific Plaid.)

Nuun - don't ride/run/swim without it!

2. Kona Cola and Banana Nuun. While I like Nuun for its portability, great electrolyte balance, and low sugar, I must admit I’m not a fan of most of the flavors. I used to really enjoy Banana but then it was discontinued (story of my life, it seems). Fortunately I found Kona Cola, which soon became a new addiction…strange because I don’t actually drink coke. Just a few days ago Nuun announced they are bringing back Banana flavor as one of their special Tour de France flavors (Nuun says, “Banana: for the leaders” which I really like!) , so I plan to stock up! If you haven’t tried Nuun or are running low, now’s a great time to buy as from now until July 6th shipping is free!

For once my outfit matches...

3 AND 4. Brooks Epiphany Stretch Short and Athleta Sprint Seamless Bra. I love these shorts – they’re the only shorts I wear for running. They provide great coverage, don’t flap around, and have a cute color matching waistband that you can fold down to show off your abs. I love teaming up this pair with the blue Athleta sports bra as the colors match perfectly! The bra fits really well and, because it’s very stretchy, is much easier to pull on and take off (esp. when sweat-soaked!) than most other sports bras, so if you’re like me and hate getting all tangled up in your sports bra, check this one out.

Shorts with built-in AC!

5. 2XU Compression Tri Short. These are my favorite biking shorts. I don’t actually wear them when racing triathlon because I prefer the fit of my all-in-one suit, but I love wearing these shorts for long rides. The compression really helps my legs stay fresh and they have this ICE X feature explained on the web site as follows: “Xylitol is embedded in the yarn of the fabric to draw heat from the body and IR blocking inhibits penetration of infrared rays to lower skin temperature by up to 5.4°F.” I thought that must be bunk (how could a short provide cooling?) but I have experienced it for myself on a ride on the hottest day of the year when my team-mates were complaining about the heat and I felt like the Ice Queen. Fantastic, fascinating stuff.

Spring onions, radishes, zucchini, squash, kale, tart cherries!

6. CSA veggies. I’d be remiss if I didn’t include my weekly veggie box from Great Country Farms in the #fitgear list, as it’s an essential part of my training right now. I am far from a gourmet cook, and find it a challenge to incorporate all the veggies into my meals, but I am eating a much healthier diet because of it. The patty pan squash recipe I made last night was delicious and I found I had a little extra energy for this morning’s swim, probably because of it. Don’t forget to eat your veggies!

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Wednesday Quickie

June 27, 2012 by 7 Comments

Getting ready to take my youngest to a swim meet but must share a couple of things with y’all:

1. Some of you have heard about my scary “incident” on the W&OD trail Monday. I’ve been playing it down but people have been telling me to report it to the Sheriff so I will be doing that. Here’s my husband’s report on what happened. Be safe out there.

2. I’ve been getting a ton of squash in the CSA delivery box, and had no idea what to do with it. Fortunately my CSA, Great Country Farms, sends an e-mail with links to recipes featuring the foods they deliver (I know, they are beyond cool!) and this one from O She Glows caught my eye. Here’s the finished product:

I just tried it and it was delicious! It’s a vegan recipe that I instantly de-veganized by putting parmesan cheese on top!

Enjoy!

 

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Tart Cherry Crumble

June 21, 2012 by 5 Comments

Last weekend Lisa from RunWiki and her family came over to my house for a “so long, farewell” dinner before their move back to Southern California. I was so excited to host them but nervous about cooking because, by my own admission, my cooking is a bit hit-or-miss, and generally more miss. I’m fine making a salad or a side for a potluck, but ask me to make a complete meal and I’m at a loss. I have this recurring nightmare of being handed an assortment of ingredients like they do on the TV show “Chopped” and told to make a meal from them. Not happening. Not even if Gordon bleep Ramsey were yelling at me. I’d chuck the food and run…

Anyway, I decided to dodge the bullet by having my husband cook (AKA barbecue) so I just had to prep the food: marinate flank steak – check, make Scott Jurek’s lentil-mushroom burgers – check (although I did forget to mash the lentils…see what I mean?!) which left me to focus on something I seem better at: dessert. Both eating and baking, that is.

I had just picked up my CSA box (if you don’t do CSA I highly recommend it; great way to eat local and very inexpensive. Also, if you like surprises, it’s always fun to open the box each week) and it happened to contain 2 pints of tart cherries! I posted not long ago about anti-inflammatory foods and, while tart cherries weren’t on the list for some reason, they’re known among athletes for their anti-inflammatory properties. Be sure to get the tart ones (a taste-test will confirm for you!) not the sweet ones such as the Bing variety.

My CSA, Great Country Farms, (where, by the way, you can pick tart cherries right now!) always e-mails great recipes and they just happened to send me one for tart cherry pie. I don’t know about you but I find making pie crust a total fag. And I really don’t like to buy it. So I don’t do either. Instead, I make a much easier “crumble” topping that’s very popular in England. This is the dessert I made for Lisa and her family. I like to serve it warm, a la mode:

So, without further ado, here’s the recipe for tart cherry crumble, a combination of Great Country Farms’ recipe and a cookbook my mum gave me:

Tart Cherry Crumble

Ingredients

  • 4 cups fresh tart cherries
  • 1 to 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
  • 4 tablespoons cornstarch
  • 2 teaspoons almond extract

For the crumble top:

  • 6 oz flour
  • 6 oz sugar
  • 3 oz butter, softened slightly and cut up

Directions

Place cherries in medium saucepan and place over heat. Cover. After the cherries lose considerable juice, which may take a few minutes, remove from heat. In a small bowl, mix the sugar and cornstarch together. Pour this mixture into the hot cherries and mix well. Add the almond extract. Return the mixture to the stove and cook over low heat until thickened, stirring frequently. Remove from the heat and let cool. If the filling is too thick, add a little water, too thin, add a little more cornstarch.

While cherries are cooling, place flour, sugar, and butter in stand mixer bowl and mix until well-combined. (This takes a while – just let the mixer do its thing.) If you don’t have a stand mixer, put flour and butter in a bowl, rub butter into flour, and then add sugar.

Place cherries in a pie dish and sprinkle crumble mix on top. Do not flatten. Place in 375 degree oven for 20 – 30 minutes, or until crumble starts to brown.

Enjoy!

Do you love to entertain but, like, me, have trouble with the cooking?

Do you belong to a CSA?

What’s your favorite summer dessert?

 

 

 

 

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Veggie Tales

June 3, 2011 by 2 Comments
CSA Veggies

Healthy, delicious AND local

Growing up in England we ate rhubarb and runner beans from the back garden and picked wild blackberries from bushes along the side of the road. I find it hard to grow much of anything in my garden here – bad soil and hot weather, combined with a not very green thumb make for slim pickings. Thankfully, I’m a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) member!

I picked up this huge box of veggies from Cox Farms in Centreville yesterday. I highly recommend membership in a CSA if you have one in your area. A CSA membership means that you own a share in the farm’s crop, and each week you get your share of whatever is ripe. The food is fresh from the field, local, and, while not usually organic, has not been sprayed with a ton of chemicals. The farms usually try to use natural pesticides. Here in NoVA we’re spoiled for choice. I am a member of Great Country Farms‘ CSA, which sells out every year. I chose Great Country Farms for several reasons:

1. Free entry for the family to the farm, in Bluemont, any time. This is a great deal because there’s a ton to do at the farm but it can get expensive if you’re taking the whole family.
2. Fruits as well as veggies. Some CSAs just provide veggies. I like getting fruit, too. This week (and probably the next couple of weeks) the fruit is strawberries, but during the season we’ll also get pears, apricots, peaches, and apples.
3. I get a certain amount of free U-pick veggies/fruits each week. So when we go to the farm we can pick, say, a container of blackberries or some tomatoes or a bag of green beans.
4. Local pick up. I can’t get to the farm every week and I save about $100 by picking up from the bulk drop site at Cox Farms rather than having delivery to my house.

If you’re not sure a CSA is for you, how about a farmer’s market? There are many in our area, and it’s great to be able to meet the farmer and ask them about their products.

I also use local farms for meat, poultry and milk products. I have them delivered to my house for a small fee from Holy Cow Delivery, based in Strasburg, VA. Polyface Farm in Swoope, VA has a similar program with local drop sites.

Do you buy local? How far have your veggies traveled?

Useful websites:
http://www.buylocalvirginia.org/
http://www.dcfood.org/northern_virginia_community_supported_agriculture.cfm
http://www.ecostewardsalliance.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=14&Itemid=4

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