Togarashi Braised Chicken Sandwich

Ingredients:
1 T cooking oil
6 chicken thighs or drumsticks

1/2 red onion, julienned
1/2 head garlic, cloves peeled and thickly sliced
1 bunch rainbow card, ribs and stems removed and leaves cut bite-sized

1/2 grapefruit, juiced
2 t togarashi shichimi powder (Japanese 7-spice), or to taste
1 t soy sauce, or to taste

Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 375.
2. Heat a large saute pan over high heat. Add the oil when the pan is hot, then add the chicken and brown well. Remove to a small baking dish.
3. Heat the same pan again over medium-high heat, then add the onions. Cook for 3-4 minutes, then add the garlic and chard. Cook for 7 minutes more, then mix in with the chicken.
4. Cover the baking dish and braise the chicken and veggies for one hour. Pull the meat off the bones when they're cool enough to handle, then add the remaining ingredients and taste for seasoning. Make some sandwiches with this filling and some shredded carrots. Delicious!

Chorizo, Apple & Kale Sandwich

From the September Pike Market Community Kitchen at the Pike Market Senior Center.


Cooking skills focus: Sauteeing, balancing flavors

Ingredients:
1 t cooking oil
6 chorizo sausages (Spanish style, fresh, not cured), sliced 1/2" thick
1 T cooking oil (if needed, see below)
2 bu kale, ribs removed & cut bite-sized
1 head garlic, cloves peeled & sliced
salt & pepper TT
1 lemon, juiced
3 apples, diced medium (1/2" or so on a side)

Instructions:
1. Heat a large saute pan over high heat. When you can see some wavy smoke lines coming from the pan, add the 1 t oil. Allow it to heat up for a few seconds, coating the pan, and get ready to add the chorizo.
2. Add the chorizo and brown well. reduce heat to medium-high and cook through. Remove and set aside. Heat the pan again over medium-high heat.
3. You will be adding the kale in batches since the pan won't hold all of it at once without being really overcrowded. Before the first batch, if there isn't enough combined oil and fat rendered off the chorizo to coat the bottom of the pan with a decent layer, add up to 1 T cooking oil.
4. Add the kale and garlic in batches, season with salt and pepper and stir gently, cooking each batch for 6-8 minutes or until the kale is well-wilted. When everything's cooked, mix it on a bowl with the chorizo and add the lemon juice. Taste it and season it with salt and pepper if it needs it. Add the apple.
5. Stuff it in a sliced, toasted baguette and eat it!

Taste how the sweetness of the apple complements the spiciness of the chorizo, the tartness of the lemon contrasted with the savory depth of the onion, garlic and kale, and how the textures create a variety of mingled sensations on your mouth. Great job!

Black Pepper Pineapple (vegan)

From the September Pike Market Community Kitchen at the Pike Market Senior Center

Cooking skills focus: Balancing flavors

Ingredients:
1/2 pineapple, diced
1 tiny pinch salt
a couple good pinches of black pepper, preferably freshly ground

Instructions:
1. Toss the pineapple with the salt and black pepper, and leave to macerate (break down and exude its own syrup) for 15 minutes. Serve as-is, or over ice cream or cake.

Is this even a recipe? I almost feel silly writing it down, it's so simple.

Roasted Chard Salad

*Written for Clean Greens Farm & Market*

The texture of this salad is even more of a treat than the flavor, which is also excellent. Mmmmmmm!

Ingredients:
1 bunch rainbow chard, stems removed and leaves roughly torn (save for soup stock)
1 T olive oil
salt & black pepper TT
1 head red leaf lettuce, chopped bite-sized
1 C cherry tomatoes, halved
1 C Italian parsley, chopped
½ baguette, sliced 1/4" thick
Optional: 2 sausages, halved lengthwise and sliced. [Cook sausages in skillet over high heat using
approximately 1 t cooking oil for 6-8 minutes or until cooked through & well-browned.]

Dressing:
2 t soy sauce
1 lime, juiced
2-3 dashes ground cinnamon
4-5 dashes Tabasco sauce
2 T olive oil
Salt & black pepper TT

Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 375.
2. Lightly crumple chard leaves onto baking sheet. Drizzle leaves with olive oil and mix with your hands. Add salt & pepper to taste. Chard should be left to roast for 12 minutes or until it is wilted & crispy around the edges. When done, set aside. But while it's cooking:
3. Line baguette slices on a baking pan, rubbing both sides of slices with olive oil, salt and pepper lightly. Bake until edges are browned. Once cooled to touch, use hands to break-up slices into bite-size pieces.
4. Combine chard and lettuce in large bowl with dressing, then top with baguette pieces, sausage (if used), tomato and parsley. Serve.

Chicken + Greens Supper

*Written for Clean Greens Farm & Market*
serves 3 as a main course or more as a small plate

Ingredients:
1/2 t cooking oil
salt & black pepper TT
6 chicken drumsticks (free-range and grain-fed whenever possible!), scored deeply with a knife for faster braising

salt & black pepper TT
1 bunch kale, chopped bite-sized
6 red potatoes, diced bite-sized
2 T olive oil
3 slicing tomatoes, cut in half & sliced 1/2" thick
½ head garlic, peeled & sliced 1/4" thick

Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Season the drumsticks with salt and pepper. Heat a large saute pan over high heat. Once it's hot, add the 1/2 t oil. Add the drumsticks and brown on all sides for about 6-8 minutes. Set them aside in dish and reduce heat to medium-high. Add the kale (in batches if necessary), season with a little salt & pepper, and cook for about 5 minutes or until wilted. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, toss the potatoes with the olive oil, salt and pepper. Layer a baking dish from bottom in order as follows: potato, kale, chicken, tomato (embed among chicken), and garlic. Sprinkle with a bit more salt and pepper. Cover and bake until chicken falls away from the bone, approximately 2 hours.

Caution: Chicken is terribly delicious. This chicken is especially terribly delicious.

Summer Vegetable Naked Casserole

*Written for Clean Greens Farm & Market*

Vegetables!! Mmm-mmm. Fill your belly! So delicious and good for you!! You will feel a charge of wholesome energy after eating this and similar dishes.

serves 3-4 as a main course or more as a small plate

Ingredients:
1 1/2 C brown rice, rinsed
1/2 t salt
1 1/2 C water

1/2 head cauliflower, chopped bite-sized
2 broccoli crowns, chopped bite-sized (save the stalk for soup base!)
½ bell pepper, cut into 1/2" thick strips
3 carrots, cut into 1/2" thick coins
½ head garlic, peeled & sliced 1/4" thick
½ pint cherry tomatoes, cut in half
½ red onion, sliced thinly

½ bunch thyme, rinsed & picked off the stem
1/4 C olive oil
1 lemon, juiced
plenty of salt & black pepper TT

Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 375.
2. Cover the bottom of a casserole dish with the rice, the 1/2 t salt and the water, mixing gently to combine. Layer vegetables atop rice, preferably with cruciferous veggies (cauliflower & broccoli) at the bottom, bell pepper & carrots toward the middle, and tomato & onion on top. Season each layer with some garlic, salt & pepper as you build the casserole. If you try to season the whole thing at the end, from the top, there will not be enough seasoning and picky eaters may think to themselves, "You know what? Vegetables are bland and that's why I don't eat more of them." And we don't want that. Anyway, finish by sprinkle thyme across the surface and drizzle on the olive oil
3. Cover with foil and bake for approximately 1 ½ hours, making sure the rice on the bottom is cooked. Sprinkle the lemon juice on top, then serve hot or at room temperature. Pretty easy, right? Who said cooking from scratch was hard?

*Note: A "naked" casserole is just an assembly of delicious things baked together, as a casserole would be, but without a binding component such as eggs, flour, or cheese.

Summer Afternoon Sandwich

*Written for Clean Greens Farm & Market*

makes about four little sandwiches

Ingredients:

2 T olive oil
½ medium red onion, thinly sliced
½ lb crimini mushrooms, cut in half & thinly sliced
3 cloves garlic, peeled & thinly sliced
½ bell pepper, julienned (cut into thin strips)
6 sprigs thyme, rinsed & picked off the stem
1 c. cherry tomatoes, cut in half

½ lemon, juiced
½ c. parsley leaves, rinsed & coarsely chopped
salt & black pepper TT (TT=to taste*)

½ baguette, cut into 4"-5" segments and then cut in half lengthwise

Instructions:

1. Heat a large saute pan over high heat. Once hot, add the olive oil. Then add the onion and brown for one minute.
2. Add the mushrooms, tossing to combine with oil and onion. Reduce heat to medium. Cook for 6-8 minutes, until the mushrooms have cooked down and the onion is translucent.
3. Add the garlic and bell pepper and cook for 2-3 minutes, until they are just tender. Mix in the thyme and tomatoes and cook 3-4 minutes more, unti lthe tomatoes have broken down a bit. Turn off the heat. Add the lemon juice and parsley, and season with salt and pepper.
4. Allow this filling to cool slightly before assemblin the sandwiches, then serve. Enjoy with friends! mmm…

*Note: "To taste" implies that you taste your food before you serve it to make sure it's seasoned properly. If you're not already in the habit of doing this, get into the habit! It makes a big difference in your results.

Naked Vegetable Casserole with Greens and Spiced Pecans

A naked casserole is a casserole-type combination of delicious things without a binding component such as eggs, cream, flour or cheese.

You know, I like cheese, eggs, milk and flour. But I also like the deliciously clean flavor of vegetables cooked together with some nice oil and a bit of seasoning. You don't have to be naked to cook this casserole, but you will be more popular if you are.

Ingredients:

2 T cooking oil
1 bu greens, washed and chopped bite-sized (any will do; I used collards)
2 shallots, peeled & sliced
1/2 head garlic, cloves peeled & sliced
salt & pepper TT

1 T olive oil
1 1/2 C pecans
1 t spice blend (I used a chimichurri spice blend from World Spice; most any spice or spice blend will do; just choose one you like)
salt & pepper TT

1/2 head cauliflower, washed & chopped bite-sized
1 crown broccoli (or enough to match the cauliflower), washed & chopped bite-sized
2 T olive oil
salt & pepper TT

1 1/3 C brown rice
1 1/3 C water
salt & pepper TT (enough to season the rice)

1 lemon, juiced
1 T truffle oil (optional)


Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. Heat a large saute pan over medium-high heat and add the 2 T cooking oil. Allow the oil to heat up and then add the greens. Saute for about 5 minutes and then add the shallots and garlic and cook for another 5 minutes. Do this in a couple of batches if you think you're crowding the pan too much. Set aside. Wipe out the saute pan.
3. Heat the saute pan again over medium-low heat. Add the 1 T olive oil, pecans, and seasoning. Stir together and cook for 5 minutes. Set aside.
4. In a large mixing bowl, combine the cauliflower, broccoli, 2 T olive oil, salt & pepper. Toss to combine and set aside.
5. Rinse the rice and layer it in the bottom of a baking/casserole dish. Add the water and season with salt & pepper.
6. Top the rice with the broccoli and cauliflower. Top that with the greens. Top that with the spiced pecans. Top that with a cover and bake for 40-50 minutes, or until the rice is done.
7. Sprinkle with the truffle oil (if using) and lemon juice. Serve hot or at room temperature.

Summer Vegetable Salad

So pretty.



Ingredients:
2/3 lb crimini mushrooms; washed, cut in half & sliced thinly
2 T cooking oil
salt and pepper TT

2 T cooking oil
5 ears corn, kernels cut off the cob
1/2 head garlic, peeled & cloves sliced
1/2 red onion, diced small
salt & pepper TT

1 bu lacinato kale, 1/2" trimmed off the bottom and sliced 1/2" thick
1 t cooking oil
salt & pepper TT

2 bu French breakfast radishes, washed & trimmed
1 T white wine vinegar (I used a really nice Pinot Grigio vinegar that my mom sent me)

Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Toss the mushrooms with the first 2 T cooking oil and season with salt and pepper. Lay on a sheet pan and roast in the oven for about 20 minutes or until crispy.
3. In the meantime, heat a large saute pan over high heat and add the next 2 T oil. Add the corn, onion and garlic, season and saute for 6-8 minutes, or until lightly browned and softened. Remove from heat and reserve.
4. Heat the saute pan again over medium high heat and add the last 1 t oil, then add the kale. Season lightly with salt and pepper, and cook for 5 minutes.
5. Combine all ingredients and serve.

Black Pepper Strawberries

I know, it's barely a recipe.
from the last Pike Market Community Kitchen

Ingredients:
1 pt strawberries, washed, trimmed and quartered
1 t sugar
a few good pinches of black pepper, preferably freshly ground

Instructions:
1. Toss the strawberries with the sugar and black pepper, and leave to macerate (break down) for 15 minutes. Serve as-is, over ice cream or cake.

Cucumber & Sausage Green Salad

Ingredients:
1 t cooking oil
2 sausages, diced (I used smoked chicken pesto sausages.. any would be fine)
1 lemon, juiced
salt & pepper TT
1 T olive oil
4 Persian cucumbers (I found these at Trader Joe's... you could use one English cucumber instead)
3 C or so salad greens

Instructions:
1. Heat a saute pan over medium-high heat and add the cooking oil.
2. Saute the sausage until well-browned and then remove to cool.
3. Add the lemon juice to the pan with a bit of salt & pepper and the 1 T olive oil. Scrape the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon and mix to incorporate; this is your salad dressing.
4. Combine all the ingredients when the sausage is pretty cool. Serve as-is or with bread.

Roast Pork Tenderloin Sandwiches with Fresh Apple-Corn Relish

This was one of those "just throw it together" things that turned out really well.

Ingredients:
1 t oil
about 2 lbs pork tenderloin
salt & pepper TT

1 t oil
3 ears corn, kernels cut off the cob
salt & pepper TT
1 lemon, juiced
1 Fuji apple, diced

1 baguette, sliced thinly

Instructions:
1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. Season the tenderloin well with salt and pepper.
3. Get a large saute pan hot over high heat, then add the first teaspoon of oil. Allow to heat up, then brown the tenderloin well. Transfer to a baking dish and roast in the oven for about 12-15 minutes, or until pretty firm to the touch.
4. Let the meat rest for 5-7 minutes under cover on a cutting board, so it remains moist when you cut into it.
5. Get the same saute pan hot over medium-high heat, add the last of the oil and the corn. Saute for 4-5 minutes.
6. Cut the heat and add the lemon juice. Scrape the good stuff off the bottom of the pan, turning it into a sauce with the lemon juice. Add the apple. Taste it. Mmmmm. Taste it again. Mmmmmm.
7. Cut the tenderloin into thin slices. Make sandwiches with the bread, pork and the corn relish.

Lamb Heart Salad

or... what did they call it last night? the bleeding heart? the bloody heart salad? it had something to do with blood and I think it was funnier than either of these. I had prepared beef heart before but never lamb, but it was a pretty straightforward muscle, with a few parts that were too rubbery for me to want to serve. find the lamb heart at a butcher and the pepper paste at a latin foods market.



Ingredients:
2 lamb hearts, fat & arteries trimmed (save trim) & diced about 1/2" on a side
1 t oil
2 shallots, peeled & sliced
1 t oil
1 bu radishes, washed & quartered
1 T & 1 t aji panca pepper paste
1/2 bu cilantro, sliced thinly
salt & pepper to taste
1 T white wine vinegar

Instructions:
1. Heat a saute pan over medium-high heat. Add the heart trimmings and render the fat off of them for about 5 minutes. Remove the trimmings and discard (or save for stock).
2. Heat the pan to high heat, add 1 t of the oil to the pan and add the shallots. Allow to brown then lower the heat to medium. Season the shallots and caramelize them for about 10 minutes. Remove form the pan and set aside.
3. Heat the pan over high heat again and add the last 1 t oil. Add the diced heart and cook over high heat until brown and cooked through, about 6-8 minutes. Deglaze the pan with a little water and add the pepper paste to coat the meat.
4. Combine all the ingredients, season to taste and serve.

This could also be a sandwich, or something served on crackers or toast.

Every Day Bread Pudding

This is the recipe you drag out whenever you have a bit too much bread. Better yet, after making this once, I think you'll find it's so simple that you don't need a recipe anymore.

this is a condensed-format recipe, designed for a pocket recipe book called "Learn to Cook" I made and gave out to random people at the Pike Market for a few months in 2009. some of the ingredients may be difficult to find outside of the market, and can be substituted or disregarded.

[Prep: cut bread cubes, make flavor base; do these a day ahead if you want to.]
[Production: assemble and bake.]

Flavor base*
About 12-14 oz stale bread, cut into cubes
3 eggs
1/2 C milk, cream or half & half (depending on how sassy you're feeling)
1 t kosher salt
1/2 t black pepper

[preheat oven to 350 degrees]
[beat the eggs and milk together with the salt and pepper.]
[mix everything together and let sit for a couple of minutes to let the bread soak everything in, then press the mixture into an olive oil-coated baking dish. cover and bake for 20 minutes or until set. allow to cool, cut and serve.]

Easy Fresh Lasagna

This is a great recipe if you can get your hands on some fresh pasta. If you can't, just use dried and pre-cook the lasagna sheets most of the way to compensate.

this is a condensed-format recipe, designed for a pocket recipe book called "Learn to Cook" I made and gave out to random people at the Pike Market for a few months in 2009. some of the ingredients may be difficult to find outside of the market, and can be substituted or disregarded.

3 cups crushed tomatoes (almost one large 28 oz can, minus the 1/2 C crushed tomatoes used in the Delicious Soup recipe)
1/2 head garlic [cloves peeled & sliced]
1 t kosher salt
2 large pinches black pepper
[combine half the garlic with the other ingredients in a saucepan and simmer on medium-low for 15 minutes]

1 bu broccoli rabe [wash and slice 1/2" thick to within a half inch of the stem]
2 T butter
[saute broccoli rabe and the remaining garlic in the butter for 5 minutes over medium-high heat and set aside]

1/4 lb fresh mozzarella cheese [slice thinly]
fresh or dried lasagna sheets to create 4-5 layers in your baking dish
[layer from bottom: sauce, pasta, greens, cheese, etc.. try to end on cheese]
[bake at 375 for 30 minutes]

Pasta in Broth with Fresh Peas

this is a condensed-format recipe, designed for a pocket recipe book called "Learn to Cook" I made and gave out to random people at the Pike Market for a few months in 2009. some of the ingredients may be difficult to find outside of the market, and can be substituted or disregarded.

serves 2 (or 4 as a 1st course) for under $10

1 lb English peas [shell]

[boil 2 qts water for the pasta, add salt until the water tastes as salty as the ocean, about 1/4 C kosher salt]
1 lb pasta, any
[cook pasta in boiling water according to directions. drain and toss with olive oil or butter and set aside.]

1 pt Delicious Stock
shelled English peas (above)
3 sprigs thyme [pick leaves & rough chop]
1 t kosher salt
2 pinches fresh ground pepper
[combine in a saucepan, cook on medium 5 minutes or until the peas are just done.]

1/2 lemon [juice]
[add to saucepan, add the pasta to warm it, taste & serve.]

Chicken Soup

Ingredients:
1 chicken, meat cut off the bone and diced; skin and fat trim reserved
2 yellow onions, peeled & quartered
1 head garlic, peeled; ½ of it sliced
¾ lb crimini mushrooms, sliced ¼ inch thick
1 full bag vegetable scraps (or about ¾ lb vegetables if you haven't been saving your scraps in the freezer)
4 carrots, peeled & diced about ¼” thick
¾ C rice
1 lemon, juiced
salt & pepper TT

Instructions:
1.Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2.Roast the chicken carcass (with leg bones) with the onions and the whole peeled garlic cloves for 30-40 minutes or until well browned.
3.Meanwhile, start a large pot with 2 ½ quarts water simmering over medium-low heat. Add the bag of vegetable scraps and the trim from the carrots. When the chicken, onions and garlic are done roasting, add them, too.
4.Simmer the stock over low heat for 3 ½-4 hours.
5.At some point while the stock is cooking, heat a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Add the chicken skin and fat trimmed off the chicken and render the fat off for about 5 minutes. Remove the chicken and add the mushrooms. Brown well for about 8-10 minutes and reserve.
6.Strain the stock into a new or cleaned pot and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Add the chicken, mushrooms and rice and cook for 15 minutes. Add the carrots and sliced garlic, and cook until the rice is cooked through, about 20-30 minutes more. Add the lemon juice, season to taste and serve.

Vegetables over Rice

Ingredients:
1 t oil
½ bu celery, peeled & sliced ½” thick
1/2 head garlic, peeled & sliced ¼“
½ cup water
1 t oil
5 carrots, peeled & sliced ¼”
1 1/2 C rice
salted water
1 wax cucumber or ½ English cucumber, peeled (if wax) and sliced ¼ inch thick
salt & pepper TT
2 T white wine vinegar

Instructions:
1.Heat a saute pan over high heat and add 1 tsp oil. Add the celery and garlic, season and brown for a few minutes. Transfer to a small saucepan.
2.Deglaze the saute pan with the water, then pour over the celery and garlic. Cover the saucepan and cook on low for 20 minutes.
3.Meanwhile, start to prepare the rice according to package instructions.
4.Heat the saute pan again over medium-high heat, and add the last 1 tsp oil. Add the carrots, season and and saute for 2-3 minutes.
5.When all the vegetables are done, combine with the cucumber and add the vinegar. Taste for seasoning. Serve over the rice.

Random Vegetable Soup

I just bought a few dollars worth of vegetables from the slightly blemished section of the produce stand and decided to make soup with it. I don't think this recipe works well as something to actually follow, but instead as an example of how one can make soup with pretty much any assortment of vegetables, if they're all cooked in batches to that they get done at around the same time. And the nice thing about this method is that you always get a soup where all the ingredients really taste just like themselves.

Ingredients:
1 yellow onion, chopped large
1 head garlic, top 1/4th cut off
1 T oil
1 sweet potato, diced medium
6 baby red potatoes, diced medium
1 white potato, diced medium
1/2 bu celery, peeled and sliced 1/4" thick
4 carrots, peeled and sliced 1/4" thick
2 bu thin asparagus, bottom 1/3 cut off
2 tomatillos, diced small
1 zucchini, diced small
1 t oil
salt & pepper to taste
1-2 T white wine vinegar, to taste

Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Toss the garlic and onion with the oil and roast in the oven 25 minutes.
3. Start a large pot with 2 qts water simmering over medium-low heat. Add all the vegetable scraps to it and start to simmer.
4. When the garlic and onions are done roasting, squeeze the garlic cloves out of the head and add them to the stock along with the roasted onions. Simmer the stock for around 45 minutes total, then strain.
5. Put the stock in a pot and add the sweet potato, potatoes, carrots and celery. Cook for 20 minutes over medium-low heat. Top the pot off with water if the level is too low.
6. Get a sauté pan very hot and add a teaspoon of oil. Sauté the asparagus, tomatillo and zucchini until slightly browned.
7. Season the soup to taste with salt, pepper and vinegar, and serve garnished with the green vegetable sauté.

Cucumber & Almond Salad

(conforms to the elimination diet)
Serves 2

Ingredients:
1 English cucumber
½ t salt
1 pinch pepper
1 tsp honey
1 lime, juiced
¼ bunch cilantro or parsley
1 oz almonds

Method:
Slice the cucumber about ¼ inch thick. Toss with everything else but the almonds and allow to marinate for 30 minutes. Top with almonds and serve.