Diggin’ My Potatoes

When I was growing up, my sister and I spent our Thanksgiving vacation with our Gram at her house on Prairie Lake in Chetek, WI. This particular holiday meal is etched in my mind like a piece of glass art … turkey breast (no one in the family ate dark meat); mashed potatoes with gravy; “dressing,” (stuffing, in the northern Wisconsin vernacular); the ubiquitous green bean casserole; Brown ‘n Serve rolls; pumpkin pie; and a cranberry salad, which Gram made using a charmingly old-fashioned manual grinder that attached to the countertop in her cozy kitchen, with its big, blonde-wood-framed windows that overlooked the lake. (This is the closest dish I could find that resembles my memory of the actual recipe.)

The next day, when there were various leftovers wrapped up tightly in the fridge, Gram would use the cold mashed potatoes to make what she called “potato patties:” essentially just small portions of the leftover potatoes pressed into pancake shapes in a skillet, and fried golden-brown in a little dab of butter (or, being that this was the 80s/90s, it’s more likely that it was margarine. Blech).

This was one of those Gram recipes that was just so shining in it’s simplicity – quite a lot like her grilled cheese sandwiches, which she always referred to as “toasted cheese;” they were the most basic combo of her favorite English muffin bread, Kraft singles and her little toaster oven, but they were somehow the best grilled cheese sandwiches in the universe.

We had a heap of mashed spuds leftover after Thanksgiving, so I used them to make Gram-style potato cakes for a quick weeknight meal. I decided to deviate from the OG potato patty by adding two beaten eggs, 1/4 cup of flour and some dried chives to the mix, just to create more binding action, and stretch the potatoes a little farther.

I pulled out the griddle for convenience (it WAS a weeknight, after all), but in hindsight, my beloved Lodge cast iron skillet would have given the cakes a much better golden crust.

Regardless, they turned out delish, and we had them topped with sour cream and applesauce. I made some roasted chicken breasts as well, but these could definitely be a meal in themselves – or good with some spring greens in vinaigrette on the side.

Either way, I’m thinking Gram would be proud. 🙂

Glass Onion

I’m super proud of our garden this year – it’s really exploded over the last month! We did a section of herbs, and a then a few veggies: zucchini, summer squash, red peppers and cherry tomatoes.  I also scooped up a few these amazing thornless berry plants, which can be grown in large pots on the deck, easy-peasy.

I planted a row of rainbow chard, simply because I think it’s pretty to look at, but also because it’s my not-so-secret mission to love eating rainbow chard. Every time I go to our local co-op grocery store, I get taken in by those colorful gorgeous greens like they’re a bad boyfriend. And then they either wilt in our crisper drawer, or get passed along to a chard-loving friend who can give them a better home than me.

During my last dalliance with rainbow chard, I went to great pains to re-create this recipe for garlicky greens and polenta. Normally, Bon Appetit’s Carla Lalli Music and her “Bin It to Win It” videos are my jam, but even this recipe just could not turn greens into anything that didn’t taste exactly like the dirt they were grown in. (Sorry, Carla.)

But then I came to a glorious realization – I can use my chard to make PESTO. Omg. If anything can make a bland old plant taste like heaven, it’s heaps of toasted pine nuts and a butt-ton of freshly-grated parmesan cheese.

I loosely followed this recipe, but I think pesto is pretty much up for interpretation, as long as you have a food processor. I’m a pine nut freak, so we usually always have a container in the house, and the rest of the items (garlic, parmesan, olive oil, etc.) are usually things most people have on hand.

From backyard garden …

to glorious green pesto! This was about 3 big handfuls of rainbow chard, minus the stems.

I used the pesto in a super easy dinner of grilled salmon and fresh egg pappardelle, but there are so many more uses for it that I have to try – my friend, Jen, who is a regular recipient of my cooking experiments, used it in a quesadilla with roasted veggies.

Next up: some research on zucchini recipes, because we will be BURIED in them once August rolls around. 🙂

Orange Crush

Although it’s super weird for winter in Wisconsin, we haven’t had any snow to speak of this year until last night, during which a snowstorm dropped several inches (and turned our relatively modest, 25-minute Friday evening commute into a snails-pace, hour-and-a-half ordeal. Ugh).

But this morning, all ’twas a winter wonderland outside our windows, and, pretty though  it might be, it also had me feeling COLD. I like to start my Saturdays with a little cooking or baking for breakfast, so I found this sunny, citrusy, whole-grainy, carroty recipe online, and let me tell you, YUMMMMM. I love orange-scented baked goods, because they remind me of these simple yet wonderful orange cookies that my Gram used to make when I was little – something a bit like this, but of course, nothing will compare to Gram’s original handiwork.

Luca is always happy to help with baking, and luckily, grating carrots is a favorite activity, because I was loathe to get the food processor out and wash that beast.

There just so happened to be a few random oranges in the refrigerator, and because we are a Montessori household, we have not one but TWO child-sized citrus juicers (another messy yet satisfying Luca pastime).  There’s only about a tablespoon of zest and 1/3 cup of fresh OJ in this recipe, but the resulting orange flavor is super bright and sunny. Viva la orange!

Talk Soup

I’ve become seriously obsessed with cooking as I’ve gotten older.  There’s something inherently zen-like about the process to me … the fragrant ingredients, the chopping/slicing/dicing (Joe and I splurged on this Shun knife set when it went on sale after Christmas, and they’re kiiiiind of life-changing), and of course the end result of eating all that hard work.

I’m looking to make more soups/stews lately, because the leftovers make great, easy-to-transport work lunches, and also because we’re trying to eat more veggies and protein. I’m a carb-lover from way back, and, as much as I hate to admit it, I feel a LOT better (and lose weight) when I try to limit them.  Sigh.

I recently found this chicken soup recipe from Ambitious Kitchen, and I just thought it looked so beautiful – the turmeric gives the broth this lovely golden hue, and it’s generously studded with pearl couscous, which is a great sub for traditional noodles, as they don’t soak up as much of the liquid.  This recipe is touted as “soul-soothing” and great for those nasty winter colds, and it’s true that the combination of aromatics (SIX cloves of garlic, ginger, fresh herbs) is almost medicinal.  I’m not currently sick, but damn if I won’t make this soup the next time I am – it’s like the culinary version of Vicks vapo-rub and a warm blanket.

And apparently, very particular three-year-olds also approve.  😉