Spicy Sausage and Mustard Green Soup

The garden has gone mad. It got off to a very slow start this season but now we have more mustard greens (and chard and kale) than any normal family could use.
And . . . it's spicy, super spicy.
With polish sausage carried home from Ostrowski's in Baltimore and mustard greens in the kitchen I started on soup. First I sautéed celery, carrots, chopped garlic and leek tops I had stored away in the freezer. I hate to waste anything so when I am leaving town I chop and tuck away any vegetable that won't be used while I am gone. The leek tops I was tucking away for a future vegetable stock but since I hadn't been to the store and we had no onions for the soup I tied the leek tops into little bundles and let them simmer as the soup cooked for a little onion flavor.
When the vegetables had softened a bit I added in slices of black pepper polish sausage and let it crisp just a bit. Then I poured in chicken stock and a jar of tomatoes canned from last year's garden. When the liquid came up to a boil I added in handfuls of mustard greens and let the whole pot simmer until the greens were tender and had lost a bit of their assertive flavor. After about 25 minutes I added in cooked white rice (I had that in the freezer too) and some beautiful scarlet runner beans I cooked of all places in the rice cooker.
Soup from the freezer. A warm dinner and then leftovers tucked back in the freezer for James while I am gone again.

Sweet Green Pea Shoots

Many years ago prodded by a waiter at an unfamiliar Chinese restaurant (and by nearby diners digging into the as yet unknown vegetable) I first discovered snow pea shoots quickly sautéed with plenty of garlic. I fell in love with the sweet springy flavor: somehow a more delicious cross between peas, baby spinach and parsley. A vibrant vegetable taste crying out for fluffy steamed rice and a hint of chile sauce.
Since that night I've searched out the spring favorite in Asian restaurants and farmer's markets everywhere. I crave them when weather turns warm and tonight I based our dinner on a fresh picked bag I brought home this afternoon. I sautéed the greens with garlic and caramelized red onion with a quick sauce of chicken broth, rice wine, and fish sauce after a recipe from Charles Phan -- chef and proprietor of one of my long time favorite San Francisco restaurants, The Slanted Door. Grilled chicken breasts marinated in garlic, fish sauce, molasses, lemon juice, sesame oil and chile pepper flakes became a savory side for our steamed rice. Though it's probably not a traditional pairing, savory peanut sauce (1/4 cup creamy peanut butter, 1 TB soy sauce, 2 tsp minced garlic, 5 tsp apple cider vinegar, 11/2 tsp sugar, 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper mixed with 1/4 cup hot water) offered a salty foil for the meal's gently sweet flavors.

Simple and Summery

 Part of our seasonal effort to eat more vegetables, a dinner of roasted sweet potatoes and harissa kissed greens with poached eggs.
Most nights I either sauté greens (today we had a mix of collards, chard and radish tops) in olive oil and garlic or slow cook them in broth flavored with smoked pork. Tonight I veered a little by making a warm salad of sorts with our sautéed greens by adding paprika, cumin and a generous amount of harissa towards the end of cooking. With the spices stirred through I cracked two eggs on top and covered the pan just long enough for the eggs to steam through so at the table the runny yolks mixed with our bitter greens.

A Little Olympic Provisions at Home.

I love polenta. I love grits. I love Olympic Provisions.
Tonight I riffed off one of the Portland restaurant's entree plates to whip up this creamy polenta (well it was half polenta and half Trader Joe's new stone ground grits) for James' dinner. I mixed the grains ( 1 1/2 cups) with salt, butter, 3 cups of water and one cup of milk and popped them into the oven, uncovered, to bake for about 80 minutes. When the polenta came out of the oven I quickly mixed in a hunk of fresh goat cheese and ladled the creamy grains into a bowl topped with griddle sausages and -- because James is not a big tomato fan and our garden is still producing like crazy -- braised kale.

More Gifts From The Garden

Time to tackle the spawning bundle of chard in the fridge. 

Chopping, washing, chopping, washing, chopping, washing. Soup.
I started cooking some lentils in water and chicken stock with thyme, fresh oregano and salt. As the lentils simmered toward tenderness I started some olive oil in a pan and sautéed diced carrots, celery, onions, and garlic until almost soft. I added in the chard and a good sized bunch of chopped green onions. When the chard had just wilted I added the contents of the sauté pan to the lentils, gave everything a good stir and let it simmer for 15 minutes more. added a splash of hot sauce and a dash of balsamic vinegar just before ladling James' soup into a bowl topped with a dollop of fresh goat cheese.
Summer soup for a cool July night.

Rustic Collar Green Pie

The garden is still turning our armloads of collards, chard, and kale so I'm on the lookout for new recipes. I found this rustic style tart on Sara Moulton's web site. I took her initial idea, combined it with the ingredients I had on hand for this dinnertime specialty. First I made up a flaky, Italian style (with egg yolks) pie crust. For the filling I mixed sautéed collards, garlic, and onions, ricotta cheese, 2 eggs and cubed mozzarella. I added oregano, S&P, and a dash of chili peppers with a couple small yukon gold potatoes I peeled and mashed into the filling. I poured the filling in to the rolled out crust, folded over the crust edges for a rustic look and popped the whole thing into the oven. After 40 minutes at 375º we had a new way to use the garden's bounty and a new dish for dinner.

Garden Gone Wild

While I was out of town our garden, with James' faithful watering, went wild. It is positively overflowing with collard greens, chard and kale. Today was a big harvest day and dinner just had to be based on our backyard produce.
The collards were a little bigger (and probably tougher) than I generally like, so I figured a good long stewing period would help tenderize them. I started a pot with olive oil, garlic and chopped onions and added in the just washed (and still a little wet) collards. I covered that pot and let the greens steam tender a bit (about 8 minutes). Then I tossed in a can of crushed tomatoes (from last year's garden), a little water,  a good sized splash (or more like a glass) of white wine, crushed chili peppers, a couple dashes of hot sauce, and because our collards were a little bitter, a splash of balsamic vinegar. I brought that up to a bubble and added in some sliced fingerling potatoes. When the potatoes were tender we had flavorful, spicy collards ready to ladle over fluffy brown rice.
I started out to make a vegetarian stew but mid way through thought maybe those collards -- as they often do -- could use a little crispy, fatty pork. I pan-fried a link of hot Italian sausage to top James' almost vegetarian dinner.

I Had To Use Up The Milk

We are not milk drinkers. Last week we had a guest for dinner and I asked James to pick up the smallest container of milk he could -- I needed a cup and a half for our dessert cobbler. James brought home a half gallon and I knew there'd be at least a couple milk based recipes in his dinner future.  I've whipped up cornbread and cookies and polenta so far.
I can't bare to waste ingredients. You'd think I was a child of the depression they way I take an MK Fisher-like delight in making leftovers new and palatable (pork roast empanadas anyone?) or creating dinners from fridge odds and ends. Today I had to face the milk. Looking around for other ingredients to add to my "don't let food spoil" dinner I spied a bunch of swiss chard (from our garden, even more precious than usual), the mustard greens I didn't use in the other night's sausage pan fry, and odds and ends of several kinds of cheese. Bingo! Macaroni and cheese with greens and mushrooms (while digging around I found a box close to it's last legs). Okay, it's not exactly Sunday church supper mac n' cheese and certainly far from the dreaded blue box but this slightly upscale baked pasta is just what my fridge extras ordered.
I started a pot of water to boil and added in the pasta (no elbows but these fusilli will soak up the cheese sauce nicely). Two minutes before the pasta was cooked (I let it cook for about 2/3 of the stated cooking time so it would finish cooking in the oven in the rich sauce) I added in the chopped greens and drained the whole pot in a colander. Meanwhile in a saucepan I started a white sauce by melting butter (4TB) and then whisking in a couple TB (4 or so) of flour. I just read a NY Times article about cooks in Provence making béchamel sauce with olive oil so I gave it a splash of olive oil too. I know you are supposed to use warm milk and add it little by little. I suppose that's fine when you have one pot going and all day to wash dishes. I added in the milk -- all at once -- right out of the fridge -- about 3 1/2 - 4 cups. I didn't bother to measure. I let the sauce simmer and thicken while I sautéed the mushrooms, grated the cheese and mixed the pasta and vegetables together. I tossed the cheese into the sauce along with S&P and a dash of nutmeg and poured the whole pot over the waiting pasta mixture. Once tossed together, I ladled the pasta mixture into buttered baking dishes (one for tonight and one for the freezer) and topped our mac n' cheese with breadcrumbs, grated cheese, and a drizzle of melted butter.
After 30 minutes at 375º James' dinner was gooey, cheesy and warm with crispy delicious edges -- and we were out of milk. Mission accomplished.

Something New With Collard Greens

Still working on yesterday's harvest.
Tonight I stirred up a bean and greens soup topped off with turkey meatballs.
First the meatballs, I combined ground turkey with eggs, bread crumbs, grated cheese, chili peppers, thyme, S&P, and minced garlic. I formed the mixture into balls and baked them for about 20 minutes at 375º. Meanwhile I sautéed some onions and chopped garlic in hot olive oil along with thyme, dried basil and chiles. After about 6 minutes I poured in a good quantity of white wine and let that cook down until the pot was almost dry. Then I added in several cups of chopped collard greens and about 5 cups of chicken broth. I let the greens simmer in the broth for about 10 minutes and then added in cooked white beans and let the pot simmer for about 5 minutes more. Just before serving I popped the flavorful meatballs into the soup to heat through and then served our garden fresh soup supper sprinkled with grated cheese.

Afternoon's Harvest Evening's Dinner

 After being gone for just a fews day the garden is brimming over. Mustard greens are crowding arugula, cucumbers are being nudged over, collards are reaching out for chard. Time to harvest. I went out and cut armloads of greens picturing flaky Greek style stuffed pies, bean soups with savory collards and spicy arugula pesto.

Tonight I washed up a big bunch of mustard greens and sautéed them with onions, garlic, spices, and rounds of Italian sausage. Simple garden fresh supper served over creamy baked yukon gold potatoes.

Southern Vegetables

We couldn't resist the steam rising off tonight's dinner. James snapped this pic on the way to the table. A Southern style vegetable dinner, flavored -- to be more diet friendly -- with smoky flavored turkey bacon and chicken broth. Long cooking stewed green beans and potatoes, quickly sautéed bitter greens (turnip, radish, spring onions and mustard greens from our own garden) and buttery soft buttermilk cornbread for sopping up the flavorful "pot likker."

What's In A Name

I don't have any idea why Mario Batali calls this recipe Bread Soup. There is no bread in the actual soup, just grilled slices served on the side (I topped ours with cheese). No matter, it wasn't the bread in the title that caught my attention. It was farmwife. Farmwife's bread soup Batali called it, as if he was speaking directy to me. I am a sucker for recipes with rustic, cozy names. Grandma's layer cake, Sheepherder's bread, Farmwife bread soup . . . it's just recipe marketing but it always gets my attention. As I said, I am a sucker.

Tonight I fell for this quick recipe. Sliced onions (1) and chopped garlic (2 cloves) are sautéed in plenty of olive oil (1/3 cup) until soft but not colored. Next go in two peeled, chopped potatoes (I cut into about 1/2 in dice), then sea salt, crushed red peppers, and 2 cups of chopped beet greens. Though he wouldn't eat a beet on a dare, James loves the tasty greens. Everything in the pot sautés for a couple minutes and then go in 4 cups of water (Batali called for 2 but I don't see how that is possible) and a bay leaf. Bring the liquid to a boil and simmer for 15 minutes until the potatoes are tender. The original recipe ends there and advises to serve the soup with grated Pecorino Romano cheese on top. I embellished and poached a few eggs in the simmering soup liquid. What farmwife, I reasoned, wouldn't have a few eggs around the kitchen? And, the yolks added a bit of richness to the otherwise slightly spare winter soup.

Crock Pot Collards

Freezer biscuits (homemade and stored to cook as needed) and crock pot collards form our own backyard. A make ahead, late night, home-grown dinner.

Soup For Supper

I knew late days were coming so I pre-made this soup -- up to stirring in the home grown escarole -- to have dinner ready in a jiffy. I cooked lentils in water and chicken broth with chopped garlic and fresh bay leaves from our garden. In a separate pot I sautéed bite-sized slices of Italian sausage until browned. I removed the sausage from the pan and cooked minced garlic, chopped onions, carrots and celery in the sausage fat (along with a little olive oil) then added back in the sausage and the lentils in their liquid, seasoned with salt and pepper and cooked until the lentils were tender. At that point I put the soup away in the fridge until tonight when I brought it back up to a simmer, added in big handfuls of chopped escarole and allowed the soup to bubble for about 3 minutes until the greens were tender. To serve I sprinkled the soup with parmesan cheese and heated up some homemade bread from the freezer. A perfect late night dinner.

Cleaning Out The Fridge

The cupboard is a little bare but there were a few things I didn't want to go to waste, mainly a big bowl of cooked greens from our garden. I especially hate to waste anything we grow ourselves. This stew wasn't so much planned but evolved in the pan as the rice cooked. I started with chopped Serrano ham over a medium flame with a bit of olive oil. I added in a sliced onion and several cloves of garlic. Next came rounds of Andouille sausage (chicken sausage --- that's why I started with the ham to get a little porky, smokey taste cooked in) and I let all that cook around until the sausage crisped just slightly. Then I added in a large handful of cooked greens, gave them a stir around and then poured in a splash each of cream and chicken broth to meld the flavors, temper the hot sausage a bit, and make a light sauce for the "stew." No complaints from James and a few less leftovers for me.

Another Simple Spaghetti

James hates beets but he loves bitter greens. So when I buy a bunch at the farmer's market I roast the tubers to use in a salad for me and save the greens for him.

Tonight I fished out a bunch of greens for a quick spaghetti dinner. As the pasta boiled I sauteed chunks of slab bacon in olive oil and as it started to crisp added in 3 cloves of garlic and a sliced onion. After a couple minutes I added in a few crushed dried chiles and the thinly sliced (chiffonade) beet greens. I sautéed those leaves for a minute or two and then added in a pinch of salt and about 1/2 cup of the pasta cooking water and covered the skillet and let the greens cook through for about 5 minutes. I uncovered the skillet and let a bit of the water cook off before I added the drained pasta to the greens, tossed in some grated cheese (I used a nice sharp sheep's milk cheese) and brought dinner to the table.

Another 10 minute pasta sauce.

Back To Beans

Not just beans, but fresh, creamy delicious black-eyed peas. I love them.

Into the crock pot went 2 packages of fresh black-eyed peas, 5 peeled cloves of garlic, 5 dried chili peppers (I used a mix of hot and mild), 2 bay leaves, a couple sprigs of thyme, about 2 cups of chopped tomatoes (I used halved mini plum tomatoes from our front yard), about 2 cups of chicken broth, about 2 cups of water, and a large pinch of smoked salt. I left the beans to simmer on high for around five hours. About an hour before dinner I added a big handful of chopped mustard greens from our garden to the crock pot, gave everything a good stir , turned the heat to low and left the beans to bubble until dinnertime. Just before serving I took a couple ladles of beans and puréed them in the blender and then stirred them back into the beans to thicken the broth. I served James' beans over steamed quinoa with a sprinkle of chopped Jamon Serrano and peppered cheddar cheese. It's not quite the bean diet but he doesn't seem to mind.

Herbed Polenta

Right now I have two dinner goals. I am trying to work down our pantry -- use things we have in the house, and find dishes that work for my diet and with a little embellishment work for James too. Tonight, thinking of the mound of now off limits( for me) dairy in our fridge I decided on a creamy polenta. I had a recipe from Osteria Stellina ready to adapt. First I gathered a mix of fresh herbs -- 3 sprigs of thyme, about 2 TB rosemary, 1/4 cup of parsley, and about 1/2 TB fresh sage all chopped together waiting to flavor James' dinner. I melted a TB of butter in with 2 TB of olive oil and added in 1 chopped onion. I cooked the onion over medium heat until it was translucent and soft but not colored (about 4 minutes). Then I added 4 cups of water, 1/2 of the herb mixture, S&P, and brought the mixture to a boil. I stirred in 1 cup of polenta and allowed the pot to boil for just a minute or two until the polenta had started to thicken and then reduced the heat to low (so the mixture was just bubbling) and cooked -- stirring occasionally for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes I poured in about 1/2 cup heavy cream, the rest of the herbs and a handful of chopped raclette (I went for something easy melting) cheese. I stirred for a few minutes more until the mixture was soft and creamy.

While the polenta cooked I whipped up a vegetable topping we could share. To a non-stick skillet barely coated with a spray of olive oil I added sliced mushrooms, chili peppers, garlic, and salt and covered the pan over medium low heat to let the mushrooms color and cook down. I added a bit of broth and a large bunch of escarole, covered the pan again and let the greens steam on top of the mushrooms. For James I sautéed thin slices of chorizo in fruitty olive oil for a drizzle on top. Herbed polenta with sautéed mushrooms and escarole with chorizo oil.

You could call it pantry driven Euro-fusion or, just what James had for dinner.

Baked Pasta

I had to clean out the pantry. Half bags of this and that taking up space that could be devoted to once a year Holiday goodies. James likes spaghetti, white round spaghetti, so I knew that box of whole wheat rotelli would need some attention to clear it off the shelves.

I made a quick mornay sauce (melt butter, add in flour in equal measure and milk -- whisking all the way -- until the consistency is creamy and smooth -- add shredded cheese to melt in the sauce) flavored with gruyère and goat's milk cheddar (I was cleaning through the cheese drawer too). Into the half-cooked pasta and sauce I added chopped ham and sautéed kale and beet greens with just a hint of garlic. I poured it all into a baking dish, topped the dish with bread crumbs sliver of butter and more grated cheese and popped it into the oven (375º) to bake for about 35 minutes nil the top was crispy, the cheese melted and the sauce bubbling.

Macaroni and cheese gets a quick dinner upgrade -- James never noticed the whole wheat.

Beans and Greens

With dried beans in the house and an onion or two dinner is always just a couple hours away. I cooked up some white beans with sage, onion, bay leaf, and garlic until they were tender (about 1 1/2 hours) and added some chopped greens (mustard, collards, chard) I foraged out of our still struggling along winter garden for the last 4 minutes or so. In a separate pot I sautéed some thinly sliced salami (too hard to eat in a sandwich at this point) some pancetta, carrot and celery until they were starting to soften. I added in the beans, greens, more garlic, about 3 TB of shredded parmesan, some of the cooking liquid and let our soup bubble for another half hour or so and served them with thick slices of crusty bread and parmesan cheese.