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Vegetable

A Girl Needs Her Greens: How to Eat More Greens

A Girl Needs Her Greens: How to Eat More Greens

by liz · Jan 20, 2021

Garlic Greens Crostini & Veggies
Garlic Greens Crostini & Veggies

I had joined a CSA program in my hood, and I was starting to see green. Every week I picked up two large bags full of vegetables, many of them greens of some kind. Curly mustard greens, Chicoria (dandelion greens), Mizuna (Japanese mustard greens) and stinging nettles. What’s a girl to do with all these greens?

The Purist told me the way to cook greens was to wilt them with olive oil and garlic, which was delicious. I began wilting greens at every meal. I had wilted greens on top of my fried eggs and toast, for lunch on a warm goat cheese crostini, as a side to tomato risotto for dinner. I also made salads with the greens, then went back to wilting them. It was all good, and good for me, but I needed something different.

One day we got stinging nettles. I had to handle them with gloves or plastic bags before cooking them so as not to get a red rash from the stinging hairs on the stalk. And what to do with nettles besides wilt them like greens? Then, during a weekend in Santa Barbara wine country, I had a a wild nettle flatbread with farm egg, leek cream sauce, smoked mozzarella and thyme at a local organic restaurant (Full of Life Flatbread Bakery). Pizza! With the slightly bitter/smoky twist nettles had on greens – combined with local produce and mozzerella on crispy organic pizza dough! Oh!

A new flatbread obsession took hold: I had to recreate this flatbread – over and over. A girl’s gonna need more greens.

Thank god for CSA.

Read the results of this eating-more-vegetables-in-season experiment:

  • Where it all started – New Year resolution to eat more vegetables in season
  • Carrot Soup
  • Braised Cabbage you can Eat Every Day

Filed Under: Healthy Stuff, Spring Tagged With: CSA, Market Driven, Organic, Pizza, Vegetable

White Chicken Chili Recipe: It’s Not Complicated

White Chicken Chili Recipe: It’s Not Complicated

by liz · Jan 16, 2021

 

White Chicken Chili
Photo by VeryBestBaking.com

 

This past Valentine’s Day, we decided to have a chili cook-off. It seemed like a much better idea for this romance holiday on a cold winter night, especially with our particular relationship statuses; “it’s complicated” seems to be most popular in our group’s social media circles.

This White Chicken Chili recipe was my submission. I love it for its creaminess, the spicy cumin taste (I actually added a bit more cumin than in the recipe) and the boost of greens with the Spinach. I also added a little cheese on top, and some folks also topped theirs with raw onions and sour cream. Wine pairing note: this soup goes great with Chardonnay.

White Chicken Chili recipe

I’m not sure if my chili won the cook-off, but it was the first pot to be emptied! It took the chill out of a cold night and it warmed our bellies and our hearts. And it’s not complicated.

White Chicken Chili

Recipe by VeryBestBaking.com

Ingredients for 8 servings:

  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
  • 1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast tenders
  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 1 clove garlic, chopped
  • 1 tablespoon ground cumin
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons ground coriander
  • 1 to 1 1/2 cups mild salsa verde
  • 1 can (15 ounces) cannellini beans, drained
  • 1 can (15 ounces) pinto beans, drained
  • 1 cup water
  • 1/2 cup loose-pack frozen corn
  • 1 can (12 fluid ounces) Evaporated Lowfat 2% Milk
  • 1 cup fresh spinach leaves
  • Baked tortilla chips and light sour cream for serving (optional)

Directions:

HEAT oil in large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add chicken; cook on each side until golden. Transfer chicken to plate; cover.

ADD onion to same saucepan. Cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent. Add garlic; cook for 30 seconds. Stir in cumin and coriander; cook for 30 seconds. Stir in salsa verde, cannellini beans, pinto beans, water and corn. Cook for about 10 minutes or until hot.

CUT or shred chicken into bite-size pieces and add to saucepan along with any accumulated juices on plate. Stir in evaporated milk and spinach; cook for a few minutes just until heated through and spinach is slightly wilted. Serve topped with crumbled tortilla chips and dollop of sour cream.

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White Chicken Chili Recipe
Author: VeryBestBaking.com
Recipe type: Entree
Cuisine: American
Serves: 8
 
Try this delicious low-fat version of white chicken chili!
Ingredients
  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
  • 1½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast tenders
  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 1 clove garlic, chopped
  • 1 tablespoon ground cumin
  • 1½ teaspoons ground coriander
  • 1 to 1½ cups mild salsa verde
  • 1 can (15 ounces) cannellini beans, drained
  • 1 can (15 ounces) pinto beans, drained
  • 1 cup water
  • ½ cup loose-pack frozen corn
  • 1 can (12 fluid ounces) Evaporated Lowfat 2% Milk
  • 1 cup fresh spinach leaves
  • Baked tortilla chips and light sour cream for serving (optional)
Instructions
  1. HEAT oil in large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add chicken; cook on each side until golden. Transfer chicken to plate; cover.
  2. ADD onion to same saucepan. Cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent. Add garlic; cook for 30 seconds. Stir in cumin and coriander; cook for 30 seconds. Stir in salsa verde, cannellini beans, pinto beans, water and corn. Cook for about 10 minutes or until hot.
  3. CUT or shred chicken into bite-size pieces and add to saucepan along with any accumulated juices on plate. Stir in evaporated milk and spinach; cook for a few minutes just until heated through and spinach is slightly wilted. Serve topped with crumbled tortilla chips and dollop of sour cream.
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Filed Under: Healthy Stuff, Main Dishes, Recipes, Winter Tagged With: comfort food, low fat chili, Soup, spicy, Vegetable, white chicken chili

Cooking with Wine: Winter Squash Chardonnay Risotto Recipe

Cooking with Wine: Winter Squash Chardonnay Risotto Recipe

by liz · Jan 14, 2021

Every so often, you stumble upon a Chardonnay so refreshing and unique, so unlike typical oaky-buttery-California Chardonnays, that you want to drink it, cook with it, maybe even bathe in it.

You’re lucky if you can find on that is half steel-fermented and half oak-fermented! I love Chardonnay with a creamy freshness and lemon-lime quality that is opposite of oak and butter. That kind of Chardonnay is just as perfect in a rustic dish in front of the fire as a on a warm summer day in the garden. And cooking with wine is just as important as drinking or tasting wine.

Cooking with this kind of Chardonnay adds something special to the dish: a little more citrus, good acid and lots of flavor. And don’t forget to pour a glass to pair the wine to sip with the dish! It’s the perfect pair to either of these winter Chardonnay recipes: Winter Squash Chardonnay Risotto below and Chardonnay Roast Chicken with Santa Barbara herbs.

And for dessert, here’s my other favorite way to use winter squash…and summer squash and fall squash and…

Winter Squash Chardonnay Risotto recipe

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Winter Squash Chardonnay Risotto
Author: Liz Dodder
Recipe type: Main
Cuisine: Italian
Prep time:  20 mins
Cook time:  40 mins
Total time:  1 hour
Serves: 6
 
Cooking with a bright, acidic Chardonnay lends a savory, lemony quality that is perfect with creamy risotto and winter squash.
Ingredients
  • 2 cups (1/2-inch) cubed, peeled winter squash medley
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 4 cloves minced fresh garlic
  • 2 cups organic vegetable broth
  • 2 cups Chardonnay (brincy, acidic and lemony is best)
  • 1 ounce pancetta or prosciutto
  • 1 medium finely chopped onion
  • 1¼ cups uncooked Arborio rice
  • 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh herb mix (like lemon thyme, oregano, rosemary, basil, lavender)
  • Juice of 1 lemon
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • ¼ cup (1 ounce) shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 400°.
  2. Combine squash and 1 tablespoon oil, tossing to coat. Arrange squash in a single layer on baking pan. Bake for 15 minutes or until squash is just tender. Remove from pan; set aside.
  3. Heat a large heavy-bottom stock pot over medium heat. Add pancetta to pot; cook 5 minutes or until browned, stirring frequently. Remove pancetta and set aside.
  4. Add remaining olive oil to pot, then add onion; cook 3 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. Add garlic and rice; cook 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
  5. Add ½ cup wine; cook 1 minute or until liquid is nearly absorbed, stirring constantly. Continue to add remaining wine and broth, ½ cup at a time, stirring constantly until each portion of broth is absorbed before adding the next (about 20 minutes total). Stir in squash, herbs, cheese, lemon juice, ¼ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper.
  6. Top with pancetta.
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Winter Squash Chardonnay Risotto recipe

Filed Under: Comfort Food, Italian Food, Recipes, Winter Tagged With: California, Chardonnay, Cooking with Wine, Italian food, Pasta, Risotto, Vegetable, white wine, winter squash

Cooking with Wine: Roast Chardonnay Chicken Recipe

Cooking with Wine: Roast Chardonnay Chicken Recipe

by liz · Jan 13, 2021

2009 Alta Maria ChardonnayI love French food and wine…and I love eating and drinking local. These two loves inspired me to create a local version of a typical French dish: oven-roasted chicken with vegetables and herbs de Provence. Of course, this is using local Chardonnay – in the dish…and in my glass.

In a Santa Barbara County garden you can find rosemary, lemon thyme, basil and chives. And garlic, of course! Also, fennel is a bountiful crop on California’s central coast, which you can usually substitute for celery, instead of a traditional mirepoix (French base of onion, carrot and celery). Browning the chicken before roasting gives it a richer flavor than more simple roasts and the end result is a savory, delicious one-pot meal that pairs perfectly with the subtle body and flavors of a well-balanced Chardonnay. Think citrus and pear instead of oakey-buttery – find one fermented in steel or concrete if possible.

Also, try this Winter Squash Chardonnay Risotto.

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Roast Chardonnay Chicken with Santa Barbara Herbs
Author: Liz Dodder
Recipe type: Main
Cuisine: French
Prep time:  6 hours 20 mins
Cook time:  80 mins
Total time:  7 hours 40 mins
Serves: 6
 
Cooking with wine makes everything taste better, and Chardonnay is perfect for a French roast chicken made in Santa Barbara.
Ingredients
  • 1 4-pound chicken
  • 3 cups Chardonnay (look for well-balanced, citrusy and flinty)
  • 1 cup olive oil, plus 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
  • 8 cloves garlic: 6 whole, 2 diced
  • 3 tablespoons chopped mixed fresh herbs (like lemon thyme, rosemary, basil, chives, marjoram) or 1 tablespoon mixed dried herbs
  • 2 lemons: 1 sliced, 1 juiced
  • ½ teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
  • Salt, to taste
  • 1 small onion, chopped
  • 4 carrots, chopped
  • 1 fennel bulb, chopped
  • 1 small green cabbage, cored and quartered
Instructions
  1. In large bowl, combine the Chardonnay, 1 cup olive oil, diced garlic, herbs, lemon juice, pepper and salt. Place chicken in the mixture. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight or for 6 hours. Turn occasionally.
  2. Preheat oven to 450°F. Heat remaining olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the onions, carrots, fennel and garlic cloves and cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes. When the vegetables are caramelized, spoon them along the sides of the pan.
  3. Remove chicken from marinade and add to the middle of the pan. Sear each side until slightly brown, about 3 minutes per side. Arrange the quartered cabbage around the sides of the chicken and pour the marinade into the pan over the chicken and vegetables.
  4. Cover the pan with a lid and roast in the oven for 60-70 minutes, until the chicken is done (meat is cooked through when cut, leg separates easily from the body, or 170 degrees on meat thermometer). Remove lid and let it rest at room temperature 10 minutes.
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Roast chardonnay chicken with santa barbara herbs recipe

Filed Under: Comfort Food, French Food, Recipes, Winter Tagged With: California, Chardonnay, Cooking with Wine, Roast Chicken, Santa Barbara county, Vegetable, white wine

Vegetables In Season: New Year Resolution

Vegetables In Season: New Year Resolution

by liz · Jan 5, 2021

Silver Lake CSA Vegetables
Silver Lake CSA Vegetables

I believe in buying locally. I believe in small farms feeding America. I try to eat as many vegetables as possible at every meal because it’s virtually impossible to get in the number of servings recommended for your daily diet, the number needed for fighting off cancer cells not to mention helping regulate various bodily processes more efficiently and keeping you as young as possible. Vegetables = the new fountain of youth.

Eating vegetables in season is just smart, because that’s what you’ll find at your local farmers markets. So when I got an email from my newly-sprouted local neighborhood farm with an offer to join their new Community Supported Agriculutre (CSA) program, I promptly signed up for 10 weeks of fresh, locally-grown winter LA vegetables.

The first Friday pick-up got me a bunch of carrots, celery, arugula, dandelion, spinach, romaine lettuce, fresh garlic, radishes, mizuna (lovely mild mustard eaten raw), red onion and cilantro. The next week I got carrots, red onion, cauliflower, radishes, turnips, broccoli, tat soi, fresh shallots, romaine, arugula, izuna. After that it was celery, broccoli, carrots, radishes, fresh garlic, mizuna, red romaine lettuce, green romaine lettuce, italian parsley, baby bok choy, arugula, green curly mustard… You get the picture. It was a LOT of vegetables.

This CSA share was the best value in Los Angeles, but it was really going to challenge my recipe repertoire.

Read the yummy results of this eating-more-vegetables-in-season experiment:

  • Carrot Soup
  • Eating More Greens for Breakfast
  • Braised Cabbage you can Eat Every Day

Filed Under: Healthy Stuff, Winter Tagged With: CSA, Los Angeles, Market Driven, Organic, Vegetable

Carrots Galore: Two Carrot Soups & a Carrot Side Dish

Carrots Galore: Two Carrot Soups & a Carrot Side Dish

by liz · Jan 3, 2021

Kinda Purist Carrot Soup
Kinda Purist Carrot Soup

After I’d been a member of my local farm share – Silverlake Farms – for several weeks I realized I needed more carrot recipes. These were the most beautiful vibrant carrots I’d ever seen. I’d been eating them raw or in salads, along with the gorgeous radishes I also received each week.

I scoured the internet and asked my cooking friends, but didn’t come up with anything that unusual. Turns out carrots are best in the forms you already know: carrot soup – puréed of course – glazed carrots or as part of a base (as in soups, roasts or mirepoix).

I tried various interesting-sounding dishes I concocted myself, like mirepoix chilaquiles (better than it sounds!) and as an accompaniment in braised cabbage.

I ended up making two soups – the Purist’s form (my friend who knows the right way to cook any food) and one blended with tomato. I also dreamed up a glazed carrot dish with honey and blue cheese. All were supremely delightful.

Tomato Ginger Carrot Soup
Tomato Ginger Carrot Soup

The first soup was the Purist’s. He believes you don’t need to add any sugar, no seasoning besides salt, pepper and ginger nor any chicken broth nor cream.

And it would only work if you had the correct 2-speed Waring Pro blender and homemade vegetable stock made from organic veggies, preferably purchased at a local farmers’ market. So yes, I bought the blender, but I changed the recipe.

I brought my loot over to my friend and fellow foodie’s apartment, the Comedienne. We sautéed the carrots with shallots, onions and ginger, then added sherry, basil, mint and sage stuffed inside a leek (stuffing a hollow leek with herbs was the best idea the Purist had) and let it simmer. We did add chicken stock and cream and then threw it all in the blender. It was divine.

Another cold night, I took inspiration from Au Bon Pain and tried my hand at a tomato-based soup with puréed carrots. This time I sautéed the carrots with garlic and onion (and ginger, a nod to the Purist), added store-bought organic tomato soup, vegetable and chicken stock plus a tiny bit of cream. This soup was satisfying and rustic. I ate the whole pot that night with a crisp green salad.

And finally, tired of soup, I tried a glazed carrot recipe. I sautéed the carrots in olive and grapeseed oil over high heat, adding a dash of white wine and some garlic – ginger too! – and coarse sea salt. I lowered the heat and cooked it all down a bit, then added some honey and finished it with crumbled sharp blue cheese. Honey goes very well with both carrots and blue cheese, so why not put them all together?

This was definitely the best thing I’ve ever done with carrots.

Read the results of this eating-more-vegetables-in-season experiment:

  • Where it all started – New Year resolution to eat more vegetables in season
  • Eating More Greens for Breakfast
  • Braised Cabbage you can Eat Every Day
Honey-glazed Carrots with Blue Cheese
Honey-glazed Carrots with Blue Cheese

Filed Under: Healthy Stuff, Recipes, Winter Tagged With: Carrot, CSA, Market Driven, Organic, Soup, Vegetable

Easy Spring Pasta Recipe: Fettuccine with Peas, Leeks & Thyme

Easy Spring Pasta Recipe: Fettuccine with Peas, Leeks & Thyme

by liz · Mar 5, 2019

Fresh pasta with local, organic spring peas, leeks and thyme for an easy, impressive dinner.

Spring has sprung in California – as well as most of the country. To me that means spring vegetable season; asparagus, leeks, peas, artichoke, fennel and fresh herbs are bountiful in farmers markets. Much of this produce is available year-round, but spring is the best time to get the freshest spring vegetables, whether at your local market, grocery store or from your own garden!

fetpeasveg

And those fresh spring flavors really come through in this easy spring pasta recipe, Fettuccine with Peas, Leeks & Thyme. It’s a cinch to make and it’s packed with flavor and nutrients, plus spring is a great time to get hooked on the Mediterranean way of eating. Adding a bit of the pasta water instead of using sauce is a traditional way to make pasta dishes in Italy. This recipe is a sure way to eat more vegetables and wow your friends with your culinary savvy!

Fettuccine with Peas, Leeks & Thyme

Recipe courtesy of Buitoni.

fetpeaingred2

Ingredients for 3 servings:

  • 1 package (9 ounces) Refrigerated Fettuccine
  • 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/2 cup sliced fresh leek
  • 1/3 cup frozen peas
  • Salt and ground black pepper
  • 2 thyme sprigs, leaves removed and stems discarded
  • 1/4 cup (1 ounce) freshly shredded Parmesan cheese

Directions:

PREPARE pasta according to package directions, reserving ½ cup cooking water. While pasta is cooking, prepare leek mixture.

fetpeasstove

HEAT oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add leek; cook, stirring frequently, until softened and golden. Stir in peas; cook for 1 minute or until heated through. Season with salt and pepper, as shown above.

fetpeaslast

ADD reserved pasta cooking water, thyme leaves and cheese; stir in gently. Toss pasta with leek mixture. Season with salt and pepper.

Wine Pairing

  • Italian wines can be hard to find, other than the super popular Pinot Grigio. If you can find a Soave wine, it’s a soft, fruity, clean wine with crisp lemon flavors and really complements this dish.
  • Grenache Blanc with its acidity and rounded flavors, or Sauvignon Blanc with its herbaceousness, would also be great wines with this pasta.
Print
Fettuccine with Peas, Leeks & Thyme
Author: Buitoni
Recipe type: Main
Cuisine: Italian
Prep time:  15 mins
Cook time:  5 mins
Total time:  20 mins
Serves: 2
 
Spring has sprung in California – as well as most of the country. To me that means spring vegetable season; asparagus, leeks, peas, artichoke, fennel and fresh herbs are bountiful in farmers markets. Much of this produce is available year-round, but spring is the best time to get the freshest spring vegetables, whether at your local market, grocery store or from your own garden!
Ingredients
  • 1 package Refrigerated Fettuccine (9 oz.)
  • 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • ½ cup sliced fresh leek
  • ⅓ cup frozen peas
  • Salt and ground black pepper
  • 2 thyme sprigs
  • ¼ cup freshly shredded Parmesan cheese (5 oz.)
Instructions
  1. PREPARE pasta according to package directions, reserving ½ cup cooking water. While pasta is cooking, prepare leek mixture.
  2. HEAT oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add leek; cook, stirring frequently, until softened and golden. Stir in peas; cook for 1 minute or until heated through. Season with salt and pepper.
  3. ADD reserved pasta cooking water, thyme leaves and cheese; stir in gently. Toss pasta with leek mixture. Season with salt and pepper.
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Filed Under: Healthy Stuff, Italian Food, Main Dishes, Recipes, Spring Tagged With: fettuccine, herbs, Italian, leek, Pasta, pea, Vegetable, white wine

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