Happy Food Day!

Today is Food Day, a nationwide celebration and movement for healthy, affordable and sustainable food spearheaded by the one and only Jamie Oliver.  Love this guy and all that he does to improve food for kids and adults everywhere!

How can you celebrate Food Day? 

• Take the #EatReal quiz to see how your eating habits stack up
• Check out the Food Day recipes cards and cookbooks, with delicious creations from chefs like Dan Barber & Rick Bayless
• Enjoy a healthy, home-cooked meal using fresh, local ingredients

We are having friends over for a mid-week dinner of roasted broccoli and shrimp, (a great recipe I promise to post soon) and another rustic apple tart as we eat our way through that bushel of local apples. 

What will you eat tonight?  Do share! 

Rustic Apple Tart

Here are four good reasons why you should bake this apple tart: 

1. It's a recipe from the charming new kitchen memoir, My Berlin Kitchen, written by a favorite food blogger and loose acquaintance.
2. There is something perfectly fall-like about a bubbling, baked apple dessert.  
3. It's free form, making it a pleasant, less fussy alternative to the traditional pie.  
4. If your fridge looks anything like ours, below, it uses up a bunch of apples. And this photo was taken AFTER I baked!

So get peeling! I promise your just sweet enough tooth will thank you.

Rustic Apple Tart
Courtesy of The Wednesday Chef

Ingredients
Dough

• 1 cup all purpose flour, plus more for dusting
• 1/2 teaspoon of sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon of salt
• 6 tablespoons (3 ounces) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1 inch cubes  
• 3 to 5 tablespoons of cold water

Filling

• 2 pounds of apples, peeled, cored and sliced (do not through out scraps) 
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 3 to 5 tablespoons sugar, depending on your sweet tooth

Glaze

• Apple scraps
• 1/2 cup sugar

Tools

• Rolling pin
• Baking sheet
• Parchment paper
• Plastic wrap
• Pastry brush OR paper towel

Directions

• Put the flour, sugar, salt and butter cubes for the dough in a food processor bowl.  Pulse a few times, until the butter is broken up into lima bean size pieces
• Drizzle in the cold water one tablespoon at a time, processing or mixing as you go until the dough just holds.  You may need more or less water depending on your climate
• Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface, and quickly gather into a 4-inch-wide disk.  Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes and up to 3 days
• Heat oven to 400 degrees and prepare a floured work surface again.  Remove the dough from the fridge, and roll it out (turning over if you like) until its about 14 inches round.  Since it will be a rustic tart, an ovalish shape is fine
• Place the dough on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Crowd as many apples as you can in concentric circles over the dough, leaving a 2 inch border. Fold the dough over the edges of the apples, leaving an open middle
• With a pastry brush or folded up paper towel, brush the butter over the apples and exposed upper crust. Top with a little sugar
• Slide into the oven on the center rack, and bake for 45 minutes, rotating halfway through
• Meanwhile, start the glaze by dumping the apple cores, peels, sugar and any leftover apple chunks in a sauce pan. Add water until the apple bits are just covered. Bring to a boil and cook for up to 30 minutes.  Strain the liquid, discarding the trimmings.  Return the liquid to the pan, and reduce until syrupy.  About 10-15 minutes
• When the tart is finished, pull off the parchment paper and let cool on a rack for 15 minutes. Brush the glaze over the apples and enjoy warm or at room temperature

Stephen Ritz: A teacher growing green in the South Bronx

One of the most inspirational videos I have ever seen. Please watch this amazing Ted Talk by Stephen Ritz as he shares how he is revolutionizing the idea of local food at a South Bronx school. I just adore it. Go Green Bronx Machine!

Check them out on Facebook and Twitter to learn more.

For more #local food and vegetables news like this, feel free to follow my twitter handle @laurenlocally.

September Foodie Pen Pal

After a month hiatus, I am back as a foodie pen pal.  I was a little disappointed in myself because the box I put together for my own pen pal was a tad lack luster. I had roasted up some of Uncle Steve's Granola for a homemade treat, then right as I went to ship realized it contained wheat germ and my pen pal was gluten free. Out of the box it came. Rats! Luckily, I received a wonderful box from my own sender to perk me up. I will absolutely pay it forward with an extra special box in October.

The highlights of my September Box:

1) This recipe, from my penpal's daughter, a NV State Fair 2012 entry... How cute!
2) Gluten-free corn bread from Red Mills, can't WAIT to try it!
3) Lemon cookies and jasmine green tea, for curling up by the fire.  Love that.
4) Saving the best for last, Lettuce Mesclun Seeds!  I have been meaning to plant vegetables in our MTK garden forever, and this is JUST the sign.  Can't wait to try my hand at gardening in the spring.

Want to be a Foodie Pen Pal?  Sign up here.

Tomatillo & Ginger Baked Salmon

As you may know, I adore tomatillos and I wanted to try using them as the star of a fish dish.  The sauce below would work just as well on top of a white fish such as fluke or cod.  I was cooking for my Dad, who has an aversion to major spice, so I omitted the jalapenos. Do keep them in if you can, as they balance out the acid with a wonderful kick.

I served these shishito peppers and stock-mashed potatoes (boil new potatoes, mash with a slab of butter, a bit of chicken stock and a grind of pepper!) rounding out a nice dinner in under an hour.

Tomatillo & Ginger Baked Salmon

Ingredients

• 1 cup of tomatillos, husks removed
• 4 salmon fillets
• 1 inch of ginger
• 1 garlic clove
• Optional: 1/2 a finely diced jalapeno, seeds omitted
• 1 teaspoon of soy sauce
• Olive oil
• Salt & pepper
• Tinfoil

Directions

• Pre heat oven to 375
• Boil 1 cup of husked tomatillos in boiling water for 4-6 minutes until they turn mustardy yellow
• Carefully remove from the pot, and let cool
• Meanwhile, peel and chop one inch of fresh ginger, one clove of garlic and the jalapeno
• Sauté the jalapeno, ginger and garlic in 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat until fragrant, 1 – 2 minutes
• Add the tomatillos and with the back of a wooden spoon crush them into the ginger, garlic and, if using, jalapenos
• Add one teaspoon of soy sauce and cook the mixture, stirring frequently, for 2-3 minutes
• Place each salmon fillet on a piece of tinfoil, top with a healthy scoop of the tomatillo sauce and seal each fillet in the tinfoil packet
• Place on a baking sheet, and bake for 18 – 25 minutes depending on the thickness of your fillets and oven heat

Tomatillo Sauce

Salmon Pre-Tin Foil Packets

Homemade Hummus

I kind of obsess over the photos that accompany my blog entries. I often make a dish for dinner, then remake it a few weeks later snapping a lot of pictures.  Sometimes 25 photos per vegetable.  Then I edit those photos down, and test between two and 10 pictures with each entry before posting.  It's fun to me, if also a bit obsessive.

Earlier this week, when I tweeted about my love of homemade hummus and a fellow foodie tweep asked for the recipe, I realized sometimes I should simply post without going crazy with the camera.

So here it is: My super simple, totally addictive homemade hummus recipe.  I love that homemade hummus doesn't have a uniform texture, and you can feel the chunks of the chick peas. There are two great things about this recipe1) you can not screw it up and 2) you can have lots of fun trying additional ingredients to spice it up... I'm looking at you roasted cherry tomatoes and pine nuts!

Homemade Hummus
Ingredients 

• 2 cups of chick peas / garbanzo beans*
• 2 cloves of garlic, finely sliced
• Up to 1 cup, plus 1 tablespoon of good extra virgin olive oil 
• 2 - 4 tablespoons of tahini
• Fresh Lemon Juice
• Salt 

*While canned chickpeas work just fine, it is sooooo easy to cook your own.  Soak dried chick peas in water over night. Rinse the beans, bring to a boil in a fresh water and lower the heat to a simmer, cooking for 1 - 1.25 hours.  Extra beans easily freeze. 

Directions 

• Saute garlic in 2 tablespoons of olive oil, over medium heat for 1 - 2 minutes
• Add garlic, oil from the pan and chick peas to a food processor
• Pulse a few times until the chick peas start to break up
• Now, add 2 tablespoons of tahini, a quarter of the olive oil (1/4 cup), a sprinkle of salt and 1 tablespoon of lemon juice.  Pulse the mixture well. Add another 1/4 cup of olive oil, if it's seeming dry. 
• Taste it! Do you like it?  
• Do you want a nutty flavor? Add the remaining tahini.  If you are looking for a smoother consistency, add the olive oil in 1/4 cup increments until you reach your desired consistency. For a brighter bite, add more lemon juice

Skirt Steak with Chimichurri & Husk Cherry Sauce

We enjoyed a lovely 10 day holiday in Montauk over Labor Day which included a BBQ at the house with friends.  I was determined to use those husky little guys above and decided to serve grilled skirt steak with two sauces... An herby chimichurri and a sweeter, roasted husk cherry sauce. 

Skirt steak is a perfect crowd-feeding cut because not only is it in-expensive, it is super easy to prepare (salt, grill, serve) and just looks good sliced on a serving platter. Paired with a choice of a sweet or spicy sauce, there was a taste for everyone.  Forgive me for the strange lighting in the picture of the final plate; I still had my camera on the night setting trying to capture the Harvest Moon below!

Grilled Skirt Steak with Chimichurri & Husk Cherry Sauce

Ingredients

• 1/3 a pound per person of skirt steak
• Salt & Pepper

Directions 

• Salt & pepper the steak liberally
• Grill 3 minutes per side over medium heat
• Let rest 5 minutes before slicing

Roasted Husk Cherry Sauce
Ingredients

• 1 cup of husk cherries, husks removed*
• 1/2 cup of olive oil
• 1 teaspoon of red pepper flakes
• Salt & Pepper 

*Cherry tomatoes can be substituted if husk cherries / ground cherries are not readily available 

Directions

• Preheat oven to 325
• Peel the husks off the fruit
• Toss the husk cherries / ground cherries with the half of the oil, salt & pepper and red pepper flakes
• Spread in an even layer in a glass pan and roast for 25-35 minutes until they just start to wrinkle
• Let cool, then puree adding the remaining olive oil as needed
• Heat gently before serving

Before

After

Chimchurri
Modified courtesy of Food52 

Ingredients

• 1 cup of cilantro
• 1/2 cup of mint
• 1/4 cup of fresh oregano
• 4 cloves of garlic, minced and sauteed in olive oil 
• 4 tablespoons red wine, rice or sherry vinegar 
• 1/4 cup of olive oil 
• 1/4 cup of fresh lemon juice
• Pinch red pepper flakes
• Salt & Pepper to taste

Directions

• Saute the roughly minced garlic in olive oil until fragrant
• Cool and transfer to a food processor or blender
• Add the remaining ingredients, and blend until processed
• Salt & pepper to taste

About Husk Cherries or Cape Gooseberries

Husk Cherries or Cape Gooseberries (not be confused with regular Gooseberries!) are little nightshades, covered in a papery husk.  Sweeter than a cherry tomato, they almost have a pineapple or jammy flavor.  They can be eaten raw in salads, dried or cooked into a dessert.