April Community Kitchen Digest

It was great! The food was delicious, and even though there was a lot for everyone to do, it seemed like no one broke a sweat. I'm glad. But at the same time, unrest stirs in my heart.

You guys are all too good. 

I should have expected that eventually it would get too easy for you to just follow my recipes. Since that day has come, let me tell you how the Pike Market Community Kitchen is going to go from now on:

The New Paradigm

-I won't write any recipes for you to follow anymore. 

-I will buy a variety of nice things to cook, and it will be up to you all to figure out what to do with it.I will be there for advice or to answer questions, but I'm done telling you all what to cook. You tell me. 

-Consider it extended training in making really good meals out of whatever you can find. I will write down what you come up with in recipe format and send the recipes out to you after the kitchen.

So! Last Thursday, we made a delicious salad, a braised chicken sandwich, and an entree of roasted and sauteed vegetables over Israeli couscous.The usual bright flavors of fresh produce and liberal use of spices pervaded. 

The recipes had no names. I was hoping that they would grow names in the community kitchen, but it was not meant to be. So, they will remain nameless, and therefore kind of kitchy. Their recipes are attached.

I don't think there's anything more to say about the recipes. Try them at home, if you didn't get a chance to come to the community kitchen. Let me know what else you've been coming up with to make, or share with me your favorite recipes. Let me know what you'd like me to buy for the next community kitchen, and I will get it if I can find it!

This is your community kitchen now. Use it well.

Cheers!

-Ryan

Name This Entrée (V)

Note the new, condensed recipe format!

Cooking skills focus: Roasting, sautéing, marinating, balancing flavors

Ingredients:
2 ½ # tomatoes, diced

1 C red wine vinegar

3 T Harissa

Salt and pepper

[combine and marinate for an hour. Do not drain the liquid when you combine this with the other ingredients.]

1 head garlic; top 1/3 cut off from the top]

2 T olive oil

2 t Syrian Zahtar spice blend

Salt and pepper

[roast in foil with spices, salt and pepper sprinkled on top at 375 for 30-35 min, squeeze out cloves and chop coarsely.]

1 onion, cut into 1/8ths

½ bu celery peeled and cut bite-sized

4 T olive oil

Salt and pepper

[roast at 375 for 25-30 min. chop the onions bite-sized.]

½ head red cabbage, cut bite-sized

4-6 T cooking oil (over a few batches)

Salt and pepper

[sauté over high heat in batches for 6-8 min per batch.]

1 grapefruit, juiced; zest of ½ of it added

3 bu spring onions, sliced thinly

2 T olive oil

3 T Syrian Zahtar spice blend

Salt and pepper

2 bu lacinato kale, sliced ½” thick

2 honeycrisp apples, medium diced (1/2” on a side)

3 bell peppers, julienned then cut in half

1 bu spring onion, sliced thinly

Name This Sandwich

Note the new, condensed recipe format!

Cooking skills focus: Braising, Sautéing, balancing flavors

Ingredients:

6 chicken legs
1 T cooking oil

1 yellow onion, diced

½ bu celery, peeled and cut ½ “ thick

½ head garlic, cloves peeled & sliced

1 # tomatoes, diced

3-4 T Urfa Biber

Salt and pepper

[brown the chicken well, then sauté the onions, celery, thyme and garlic in batches, then put in a deep dish, cover and braise at 375 for 1 hour. Pull the meat off the chicken in a separate bowl and add the chicken back to the roasted veggies.]

½ head red cabbage, cut bite-sized

½ bu chervil, chopped

2 T olive oil

1 lemon, juiced

1 T Urfa Biber

Salt and pepper

[combine with the chicken and other vegetables. Use as a filling for a sandwich or a wrap with cheese if you want.]

Name This Salad (V)

(Chervil, probably my favorite herb)

Note the new, condensed recipe format!

Cooking skills focus: Roasting, sautéing, marinating, balancing flavors

Ingredients:

1 onion, julienned

2/3 C red wine vinegar

2/3 C water

Salt & pepper

[marinate 1 hr and drain.]

3 # Yukon gold potatoes, diced large (3/4” on a side)

2 T olive oil

Salt & pepper

[roast; oven at 375. Check after 30 min.]

1 lb assorted mushrooms, sliced thickly

½ head garlic, cloves peeled & sliced

3 T cooking oil

Salt & pepper

[sauté mushrooms over high heat in oil for 15 min, then drop heat to med and add garlic, cook 5 min more.]

½ bu chervil, chopped

1 bu spinach, chopped bite-sized

1-2 Fresno chiles, sliced (if you want)

2 lemons, juiced

2 T Vadouvan Curry powder

3 T olive oil

Salt and pepper

[combine everything.] 

I bought some food.

For today's community kitchen, I bought the following:

Yellow onions
Celery
Garlic
Spring Onions
Yukon Gold Potatoes
Lacinato Kale
Mushrooms
Tomatoes
Red Cabbage
Spinach
Fresno Chiles
Chervil
Thyme
Lemons
Grapefruit

Vadouvan (French) Curry Powder
Harissa Spice Blend
Urfa Biber (Dried Turkish Chile)

Israeli Couscous
Chicken Legs

So, I know what I came up with. What I'm curious about is: What would you have made out of this?

Spiced Bean Stew (V)

This is from my second community kitchen, which is actually a weekly after-school program at the Miller Community Center for kids attending the Secondary Bilingual Orientation Center. It's so much fun!

Spiced Saute

This is from my second community kitchen, which is actually a weekly after-school program at the Miller Community Center for kids attending the Secondary Bilingual Orientation Center. It's so much fun!

Caramelized Onion Hummus (V)

Cooking skills focus: Sautéing, balancing flavors

Ingredients:
2 T cooking oil

2 yellow onions, diced

½ head garlic, cloves peeled & sliced

Salt and pepper

6 cans garbanzo beans

½ can tahini

2 lemons, juiced

½ head garlic, cloves peeled & sliced

2 ¼ C water

Salt and pepper

1 bu parsley, minced finely

Olive oil for serving

Instructions:
1. Heat a large sauté pan over high heat. Add the cooking oil, then add the onions and cook for 5 minutes.

2. Add the garlic, lower the temperature to medium-high heat, season with some salt and pepper and cook for 5 minutes more. Then add about ¼ C water, and stir. Wait until the water evaporates, then do it again. When that water evaporates, turn off the heat and set the onions aside to cool slightly.

3. Put all the ingredients except the parsley and olive oil in a food processor, in batches if necessary, and puree until very smooth and creamy.

4. Transfer to a bowl, mix in the parsley and serve topped with a little olive oil.

March Crazy Salad (V)

Cooking skills focus: Roasting, sautéing, balancing flavors

Ingredients:
2 # baby red potatoes, cut in half

2 T cooking oil

Salt & pepper

2 t Ras El Hanout spice blend

2 # crimini (brown) mushrooms, quartered

4 T cooking oil

Salt and pepper

1 grapefruit, juiced

1 lemon, juiced

1-2 T olive oil

1 T Ras El Hanout

Salt and pepper

2 bu lacinato kale, sliced ½” thick

2 honeycrisp apples, medium diced (1/2” on a side)

3 bell peppers, julienned then cut in half

1 bu spring onion, sliced thinly

Instructions:
1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

2. Toss the potatoes with the first 2 T cooking oil, salt, pepper, and 2 t Ras El Hanout. Put on a sheet pan and roast in the oven for 30 minutes or until golden brown.

3. Heat a large sate pan over high heat, then add the 3 T cooking oil. Add the mushrooms and sauté until browned, then set aside in a large bowl.

4. In a medium bowl, whish together the citrus juice, the olive oil, the last of the Ras El Hanout and season with salt and pepper.

5. Add everything to the large bowl, toss together, then toss with the dressing and serve.