Get Your Greens In!

For Christmas, I received a copy of "What Chefs Feed Their Kids" and immediately found a fun food game that our family loves. One of the chefs played a game with her children called "open your mouth and close your eyes and I will give you a big surprise!"  My kids love playing this game and have tried lots of new foods because it's so fun. I begin by closing my eyes and letting one of them give me a bite and I try to guess what they gave me; then it's my turn. It's most fun when there are a mix of new/familiar foods on the table, or where foods can be arranged to make tasty bites (like tacos or stir fry).

The recipe I'll share here is adapted from the Greens Puree in the book. I suppose this would be a fine baby food, if you are into making your own (I was not -- we just fed bites from what we had for dinner). It's also suggested as a nice addition to soups or sauces. I had other plans for it: smoothies! 

Green smoothies hit the spot!

I love to add greens to smoothies, but I also like my smoothies really smooth, not grainy or lumpy. Since I have still not fulfilled my Vitamix lust (those things are pricey!), I have not been able to add kale or other "toughish" greens to my smoothies, just spinach occasionally.

The recipe calls for a mix of kale, collard greens, basil and spinach with 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil, same amount of water, and 1 tsp salt. Steam greens on low heat for 15-20 minutes (till things are soft and wilted), then add herbs till wilted. Puree in blender; thin with water, stock, etc. 

Steamed Greens, ready to puree

I had a lot of kale and a tiny bit of spinach. We had a very warm February down South and that was not terribly helpful for the spinach in the area. I also didn't have basil yet, but I did have parsely and lemon thyme, so I used that. My bright green puree went straight into the freezer!

Greens Ice Cubes for smoothies

This is a great base for smoothies! We have added it to all kinds, but if you mix the green with berries or other red/blue colors, the final smoothie is tasty, but a very unappetizing brownish hue. For "green smoothies" we add peaches, banana, pineapple and yogurt or water. I've found if I save fruit in the freezer and use that instead of ice cubes, then I can thin the smoothies with water instead of juice and not worry about watering down the flavor.

Garlic: good for what ails you

Begone, sniffles and sneezes!

Our house is infested.  For the first time ever, we have all succumbed to one of the earth's most ancient maladies: the common cold.  To battle the onset of coughing and sneezing I called upon one of the earth's most ancient medicines: garlic.  One note, I've read that it's best to chop garlic just prior to cooking to receive the most benefit from allicilin, a compound known to kill 23 types of bacteria, including salmonella and staphylococcus.  Take that!

This is quite easy to make, even when you can barely move.  My husband was fairly skeptical that I could manage any cooking in my condition and assured me that leftover chili would be wonderful, but I'd already decided that nothing but garlic would do.


Garlic Tourin
 adapted from "White Garlic Tourin, A Classic French Soup"

1 TBSP duck fat (if you don't have it, use butter/olive oil)
1/2-2/3 sweet onion, minced
1 large head garlic, roughly chopped
6 cups water (or water/chicken stock), boiling
large bunch fresh thyme
salt/pepper, to taste
1 fresh egg, separated
1/2 TBSP red wine vinegar
 optional: crusty bread, vermicelli or fine egg noodles, cheesy croutons, chopped parsley....or cheese toast


In a medium saucepan, fry the minced onion in duckfat on med-high until it begins to brown.  I actually have duckfat in my freezer, saved from last Thanksgiving.  How very French.  While the onion fries, roughly chop garlic and bring water/stock to boil.  I boiled 4 cups in my electric kettle and another cup + frozen chicken stock cubes in a small saucepan.  Add garlic and cook, stirring frequently -- be sure not to allow garlic to burn.

Add boiling stock, thyme and s&p and simmer at least 15-20 minutes.  Check after 20 minutes and adjust seasoning.  Fish out the thyme and discard.  If you are making this when well, pull the itty bitty leaves off the thyme, but hey....if you're sick don't sweat it.  I hit it with my immersion blender and let it simmer 10 more minutes. 

At this point, I realized we had no crusty bread or cheesy croutons in the house and briefly planned to top this soup with grated cheddar and parsley, but rallied enough to make two slices of cheese toast (wheat bread/cheddar cheese) while the soup was simmering.  Once the toast was out of the oven, I whisked the egg white until slightly fluffly and added slowly to the soup, whisking constantly.  You can temper it a bit if you wish, but I really did not have the energy to do this.  Cover the soup and continue to simmer about 5 more minutes.  While you do this, beat the yolk and vinegar together. Remove soup from heat and whisk in yolks -- I added a handful of fine egg noodles at this point and then covered it and let it stand for a few minutes while I chopped parsley and cheese toast.

To serve, I cut the cheese toast into cubes, placed those in the bottom of a bowl, ladled the soup over that and topped with some freshly chopped parsley.  Sadly, I was too hungry and weak to get a final shot, but it was delicious.  This made two bowls each for the two hungry adults.  Follow with a nip of medicinal whiskey and go to bed.  Sleep well!

Celebrate Summer Squash

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Summer Squash and Sweet Corn Soup (with a kick)

adapted from Alice Waters

1/4 cup olive oil

1 large onion, thinly sliced

pinch saffron

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp coriander seeds (crushed if possible, just some dried coriander)

1/4 tsp turmeric

1 tsp paprika

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (go to 1/2 or more if you like it hot)

2-4 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced thinly

5 medium green or yellow summer squash

3 cups chicken broth

3 cups water

1-2 ears fresh sweet corn

Heat oil in stock/soup pan.  Add onion, spices and garlic and cook over medium heat, stirring often.  Cook until very soft, but not brown.  While this cooks, slice squash into fairly thick slices (3/4").  When the onions are done, add squash and salt to taste.  Cook for a few minutes, then add stock and water.  Bring to a boil, then reduce to simmer and cook until squash is tender.  Cut the corn off the cob and add half at this point and cook for a few more minutes.  Let it cool a bit and then puree in batches in a blender until smooth.  Add second half of corn, then taste, adjust seasoning and serve hot with a swish of Yogurt and Mint (recipe below).

Yogurt and Mint

Pick a handful of mint.  Pick off the leaves and julienne.  In a small mortar, pound 2/3 of the mint to a paste, then stir in the remaining mint, about 1/3 cup yogurt, 1 TBSP olive oil and salt to taste.  If you like sweet with spicy, add a squish of agave nectar.  Enjoy!