rhubarb berry pie

Rhubarb has factored heavily in my summer eats as far back as I can remember - rhubarb pie, rhubarb cake, rhubarb sauce, rhubarb compote, rhubarb conserves. Maybe it's just a Vermont thing, I don't know...but rhubarb seems omnipresent around here in the summer. Thus, summer officially arrives for me when I get the first call from my dad that the rhubarb is ready to cut!

This pie is actually my dad's idea. The first time he added blueberries to a rhubarb pie, I thought he'd done lost his mind, but it was SO. GOOD. Now berry-rhubarb pie is my favorite! I've never actually measured anything except the sugar in this "recipe". I basically just peel and chop what looks like 2.5 cups of rhubarb, add about a cup of frozen mixed berries, add about 3/4 of a cup of granulated sugar (you may want to use more - I like my pie pretty tangy), 2 Tbsp of flour, and toss to combine. I dump it into a prepared, docked pie crust (no, I don't make pie crust from scratch. It's one of the few things I've decided is more of a pain in the ass to make at home than it's worth. HAH!), then roll out a top crust and use cookie cutters to cut some decorations out. The top crust goes on, the edges get crimped, the decorations get stuck on, and the whole thing gets brushed with a beaten egg and sprinkled with a little bit of granulated sugar, and it goes into the oven for about 45 minutes.

herbed chicken breast and sauteed kale

Pretty simple, really. I took boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, rubbed them with a little olive oil and sprinkled them with black pepper, dried rosemary, and dried thyme. They went into a 425 degree oven for about 25 minutes. Meanwhile, I washed a big bunch of kale, trimmed the stems off and cut into bite-sized pieces. In a large pot, I browned a little bit of chopped bacon. Once it was crisp, I removed it and added a chopped Vidalia onion. The onion cooked until it was softened somewhat, then I removed it and set it aside, and added the kale, tossing well to coat. I added about a half cup of low-sodium chicken stock, covered the pot and let the kale cook, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes. When the kale was almost tender, I added the onion and bacon back in and cooked for another couple of minutes, then removed from heat and tossed with a splash of apple cider vinegar before serving.

leeky potato salad

We don't eat potatoes that often anymore, but I had a wicked potato salad craving last night (to go with my T-bone steak that was super on sale...score!), so I found a recipe in my latest issue of "Real Food" magazine (it's the little Martha Stewart one) and it was fantastic, semi-healthy, and the (unaltered) recipe is veg-friendly to boot! Unfortunately, I didn't get a chance to take a picture of it because a) I was drunk and b) I was hungry. Sorry about that...;)

Anyway, here's the recipe as it was in the magazine:

2lb red potatoes, washed and chunked (bite-sized pieces, or quartered / halved if you're using little potatoes)
1 bunch leeks (about 2lbs, white and light green parts only)
2 Tbsp Dijon mustard
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp white wine vinegar
1/3 cup water
1/4 cup or so of roughly chopped parsley

Boil potatoes in salted water for about 15 min or until tender. Trim leeks and split length-wise, cut into 3/4 inch chunks, rinse well. When potatoes are cooked, remove from boiling water with a slotted spoon and drain. Meanwhile, add rinsed leeks to the boiling water and let boil for about 10 min or until tender. When leeks are done, remove with slotted spoon, drain a little, then transfer to a blender. Add mustard, oil, vinegar, and a little of the water. Blend until smooth, adding water to thin if necessary. Pour warm dressing over potatoes, add chopped parsley, and toss to combine. Serve warm or room-temp.

Now...two things happened while I was making this. The first was that I somehow ended up with cilantro rather than parsley, so I skipped that. The second was that, as previously mentioned, I had been drinking wine since I started cooking. In my inebriated state I had a mini-epiphany and decided to crisp up some bacon and crumble that into the salad as well. The result reaffirmed yet again my personal mantra that Bacon Makes Everything Better.

Also, I would point out that unless you drain the ever loving crap out of the leeks once they're cooked, you likely won't need anywhere near the amount of water the recipe calls for. I used 1/4 cup and my dressing was quite thin. Next time I'll start with no additional water and just eyeball whether or not the dressing needs thinning once it's been blended.

And just to prove that it's not just a merlot-induced memory, I'm having the leftover salad for lunch today (sadly not drunk), and it's still REALLY friggin' good. In fact, I warmed it up a little in the microwave and added a packet of tuna packed in olive oil to it, and my mouth is very happy.

pernil al horno

Pernil al horno is a traditional Puerto Rican preparation of pork shoulder. I've used this method of preparation before with a loin roast, which was decent - but a shoulder roast has more fat running through it as well as on top of it which keeps the meat succulent.

Mmmm, porky goodness!

The method of preparation is dead simple, really. For a 5lb roast, I threw 4 big cloves of garlic, half an onion, 2 teaspoons of sea salt, 2 teaspoons of black pepper, 1 tablespoon of dried oregano, 2 tablespoons of olive oil and 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar into a food processor and let it whiz until it was a paste / liquid. The fat cap on top of the roast got scored and then the paste was evenly schmeared over the meat, into every crack and crevice! The roast was put in a pan, covered with foil and stuck in the fridge for about 5 hours, then the oven was preheated to 350 and the roast was added to it. It baked for about 3.5 hours, with the pan being rotated a half-turn every hour or so. I let it sit for about 20 minutes while I prepared my side-dishes, then it was go-time:

The side dishes are spinach sauteed with shallots in a little bit of coconut oil, and a sort of black beak succotash I made up on the fly and really enjoyed. To make the beans, I chopped up a little bit of bacon and let it render in a pot until crispy then scooped it out to drain and reserved about a teaspoon of the fat in the pot. To the hot fat I added half of a chopped yellow onion. I let the onion cook until it was softened a little, then added a can of black beans which I had previously rinsed thoroughly. The beans and onion cooked on medium high for a few minutes, then I added a can of diced tomatoes and a tiny pinch of sugar to balance out the acid. When everything was warmed through, I scooped it into a serving bowl and topped it with the crisp bits of bacon I'd rendered the fat from earlier. It was quite good for just sort of thinking it up on the fly, and while legumes aren't considered part of a "primal" or "paleo" diet, I think enjoying them every once in a while probably isn't that bad. :)

thai green curry with chicken

I picked up a little jar of green curry paste a few weeks ago and then pretty much forgot about it until yesterday afternoon when I was pondering what to make for dinner that would use up some lime I had hanging around. I'd never made green curry before, so I figured it was worth a try!

Here's the actual recipe I used:

Thai Green Curry with Chicken
Serves 4

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
3/4 cup sliced shallots (about 5 large)
1 3/4 teaspoons Thai green curry paste
1 14-ounce can unsweetened coconut milk
2 teaspoons fish sauce
1 pound skinless boneless chicken breast halves, cut into thin strips
1 large red bell pepper, cut into strips
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice plus wedges for garnish


Heat oil in large saucepan over medium heat. Add shallots and curry paste. Stir until shallots soften, about 2 minutes. Add coconut milk and fish sauce; bring to boil. Add chicken and bell pepper; stir until chicken is just cooked through. Stir in chopped basil and lime juice. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Divide curry among bowls. Garnish with basil sprigs and lime wedges.

It was super yummy! Normally you would serve it over rice, but we don't eat rice so we just scooped the curry into bowls and ate it like stew.

fajita-style beef salad

Mmm, fajitas. They're one of our favorites, but what's a girl to do when she can't eat tortillas? Stick the fajita fixings on a salad, of course!

I started with some flank steak, which I cut as thinly as possible across the grain. This went into a bowl with a mixture of lime juice, olive oil, cumin, coriander and cayenne pepper and marinated while I sliced up some bell peppers and some mushrooms. I cranked a frying pan up on high and seared the strips of meat in batches, then stir-fried the veggies in the same pan so they'd pick up some of the flavor of the marinade. When the veggies were done I made big beds of spring mix and dressed them with some roasted-garlic salsa, plain yogurt, sliced red onion and a little shredded cheddar cheese. The stir-fried veggies went on top, and then the meat. I topped the whole shebang with some chopped avocado and it was ready to eat. I love the combination of warm meat / veggies with cold lettuce and dressing, and it's hard to beat the tang of lime juice with beef. Yum!

catching up

Sorry I've been gone so long! Here are some of the goodies I've made in the past few weeks. If you're interested in specific recipes for anything, drop me a line or leave a comment and I'll write it up for you and post it. I'll be back to regularly scheduled posts with recipes starting this coming week, I promise. :)

Pot Roast with carrots, onions and gravy:

Home-made almond butter:

Tzatziki burgers with kale chips:

Easter quiche - mushroom and chives:

Ham, zucchini and onion saute:

MOAR QUICHE! Ham, onion and cheddar cheese:

MOAR QUICHE! Ham, onion and cheddar cheese:

gyro salad:

pot roast with onions and carrots, parmesan-roasted asparagus:

super duper salad with salmon: