Baba Ghanoush (eggplant hummus)

I would describe Baba Ghanoush as "eggplant hummus".  The base of hummus is chick peas, whereas Baba Ghanoush is mostly eggplant, but the spices and extras are about the same in both.  Baba Ghanoush is a great dip for football games and parties, especially because it's pretty healthy, and it's a great way to use your extra eggplants.

Baba Ghanoush

1 large or 2 medium eggplants

2 tablespoons lemon juice

2 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon fresh cilantro or parsley

2 tablespoons tahini (Sesame seed paste- in the ethic or middle eastern section of your grocery store.  Available in bulk at the East End Co-op)

2 garlic cloves

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground pepper

Remove the stem from the eggplant, stab a few times with a fork, then wrap in foil and cook in oven until mushy (about 1 hour at 400 degrees, alternatively put it in the oven when you're cooking something else, and if it's a lower temperature just cook it longer).  Let the eggplant cool.  Remove the eggplant pulp from the skin and add to a food processor.  Add all the other ingredients to the food processor as well and process until smooth.  Serve with pita bread or pita chips.  For homemade pita use the recipe from my lamb souvlaki post (shown on the right).

Vichyssoise (creamy potato leek soup)

Vichyssoise (apparently pronounced vish-ee-swaze) is one of my favorite soups.  The only difference between Vichyssoise and potato-leek soup is that it has a little bit of cream.  I made an especially good batch last night and I'm going to give credit to the fresh, local ingredients.  I bought the potatoes and leeks at the East Aurora farmers market (outside of Buffalo, NY) while I was visiting the area.  I must admit that that farmers market has a much bigger selection than the ones in Pittsburgh (although they have less "organic"/pesticide free).  Anyway, here's the recipe:

Vichyssoise

6-8 large servings

Total time: 45 minutes

6 medium leeks

3 tablespoons butter

6-8 large potatoes (about 1.5 pounds)

5-6 cups of chicken or vegetable broth (enough to cover potatoes)

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp white pepper

1 cup of cream (or 1/2 cup cream and 1/2 cup milk)

First remove roots and green part of leeks (some green part is okay, just remove the really thick stuff).  Then remove the outer layer and rinse, as there tends to be some dirt stuck here.  Then chop into thin slices.  Saute chopped leaks in butter for about 15 minutes (until tender but not brown).  In the mean time peel potatoes and chop into thin slices.  Once leeks are tender add potatoes and enough broth to cover them.  Also add the salt and pepper.  Bring to a boil, then turn the heat down and simmer until the potatoes are tender (about 25 minutes).  Then add cream and blend until smooth.  An immersion blender is a great tool for this, but a regular blender works fine too (just be prepared for a mess).  Alternatively the soup can be mashed (I know people who prefer it a little chunky).  Garnish with chives (optional).  Serve hot or chilled.

Preserving Peppers

I planted just a few Thai pepper seeds this year (from Seed Saver's Exchange) and I have way more Thai peppers than I can use right now.  They're small peppers (only about 2 inches long) so they can dry whole.  I used a needle and thread to string them together to hang in my kitchen to dry.  They look great and I'll be able to use them for months!

Five-Spice Beet Soup

We got a lot of beets in our farm share for the past few weeks and I don't think it's cool enough to store them in the basement yet.  Instead I made some Five-Spice Beet Soup (recipe from epicurious.com).  Definitely a healthy soup, but I wouldn't recommend it for a meal.  I served myself a big bowl, and I stopped enjoying it towards the end.  It would be good for an appetizer, but I think I like roasted beets better.

Two-hundred Tomatoes

A few weeks ago I ordered a bushel of tomatoes from Dillner Family Farm, and I received way more tomatoes than I expected.  There were over two-hundred Roma tomatoes (I wish I took pictures of the boxes).  So Mark and I spent six hours peeling, removing seeds and cooking down the tomatoes for pasta sauce, tomato soup and curry.  Although it was a lot of effort the pasta sauce we made turned out fantastic!  We added some ground beef and pork italian sausage from Burns Angus Farm, as well as some onions and garlic from Dillner Family Farm.  A little Italian herb mix from Penzey's and a few bay leaves gave it some extra Italian flavor.  I will definitely plan to do it again next year!

Polish Feast

For dinner last night my friend and I made a Polish feast of kielbasa, homemade sauerkraut and homemade pierogi.  I chopped up the cabbage for the sauerkraut about 4 weeks ago and it had been fermenting in the basement, and it was finally ready to be eaten.  It was my first attempt at sauerkraut, and it came out really well.  Making sauerkraut is fairly easy, I basically just added a bunch of salt to some chopped cabbage and put it in a pot for 4 weeks (tons of recipes available online).  We mixed the sauerkraut with a chopped onion and 6 thinly sliced apples then put the kielbasa on top and let it braise for about 30 minutes.  The kielbasa absorbs the moisture from the sauerkraut, and the sauerkraut acquires some extra flavor from the kielbasa- it was fantastic!  We also made pierogi dough and filling and stuffed about 24 huge pierogis.  Here is the recipe we used:

Pierogi Dough
Servings: 24 huge pierogis

1 cup yogurt
2 3/4 cups flour
1 tbsp melted butter
1 egg
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp vegetable oil

Mix all the ingredients until they form a soft, pliable, but not too sticky dough (add more flour if necessary).  Let rest covered for 10 minutes.  Roll out the dough until thin.  Use a circle cookie cutter or a drinking glass to cut dough into circles.  Fill with filling and fold over.  Press the halves together so it looks like a semi-circle.  Seal the round edge with a fork.  Cook in boiling water for 10 minutes or pan-fry in butter.

Cheese and Potato Pierogi Filling

1 pound potatoes, peeled and cooked until tender
3/4 cup grated cheddar cheese
1 tbsp butter
1/2 cup milk

Mash together until thick but not too dry (add more milk if necessary).

Garden French Lentils

Lentils are a fantastic little food.  These legumes are high in protein and fiber and very low in fat.  They are also packed with nutrients like folate and iron.  Their flavor is slightly nutty and they have a firm but smooth texture.  Lentils also cook quickly, without the need for presoaking, until other legumes.  I've been eating a lot of lentils lately, as they are a much healthier (for you and the environment) than meat. This is one of the best recipes I've tried yet!

Garden French Lentils 

Servings: 4-6

Time until finished: 45 minutes

1 1/2 cup french lentils (french lentils are also known as green lentils. Brown lentils will work too- but french lentils have a nuttier flavor)

1 tbsp olive oil

1/2 onion diced

1 clove garlic, minced

10-15 grape or cherry tomatoes, halved

3 cups of uncooked spinach or kale torn into smaller pieces

pinch of salt

1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper

1 tbsp lemon juice

10 basil leaves cut into small pieces 

1/4 cup parsley cut into small pieces

Put lentils in about 4 cups of water then bring to a boil and simmer, covered, for about 40 minutes (or until desired tenderness).  In the meantime prepare veggies- they will only take 5 minutes to cook so wait until the lentils are almost done to cook them.  If using kale steam for 3 minutes.  Once lentils are almost done put oil in a saute pan or saucepot and saute onions until almost translucent.  Then add garlic, tomatoes, spinach/kale.  Pour water off lentils and add to the pan with the veggies.  Then add lemon juice, salt, and ground pepper.  Next turn off the heat and add the basil and parsley.  Enjoy!