Hiding Greens Part 2 - Pasta Sauce Anyone?

My ingredient tonight is chard. Having been on vacation last week, we received a make up CSA share this week in addition to our regular share, and so welcomed two small bunches of chard into the house. Chard is a beautiful dark leafy green with colorful stems. I like chard. But, again, how to use it week after week and what to do with it so that my perennial dining companion doesn't mind. Especially when he is working late all week so I'm packing not only lunch but dinner for him the night before and whatever I make must travel and store well. So I raided my refrigerator, pantry and freezer and found, as with most things culinary in life, pasta is an answer! And a tasty one to boot!

3 large tomatoes
2 Italian Sausage links
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium onion, diced
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup good tasting red wine
1 cup great northern beans (from a can or jar, rinsed and drained)
1 small bunch chard, rinsed, dried, thick stems removed and chopped
1/2 pound pasta of your choice ( I used cavatappi)
freshly grated Parmesan cheese, optional


Heat a large pot of water to a boil. Core the tomatoes and put an X in the base of them with a knife and boil 2 minutes. Transfer tomatoes to a cold bowl of water and let them cool.

Bring another pot of water to a boil for your pasta.

Spray a large skillet with non-stick cooking spray. "Uncase" the sausage links and discard the casing so the sausage is loose and break the sausage up with spoon in the skillet as it cooks.

Add the onions and garlic after the sausage is cooked through. When they are softened, add the wine and stir - scraping the bottom of the skillet to deglaze the pan a little.

Take the tomatoes out of the water, remove and discard the skins, and add the tomatoes to the skillet (breaking them into pieces with a spoon as well). Add the beans. Season with salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer.

Cook your pasta according to package directions. When you start to cook the pasta, also stir the chard into the tomato/sausage mixture in the skillet.

Drain the pasta when it is done and serve the sauce over top of the pasta. Garnish with Parmesan cheese if desired.

Dinner for 1? Stir fry made simple.

I am a huge fan of using up odds and ends left over in my refrigerator. I consider it be fun (even after a long Monday at work) to see what you can come up with that uses left over ingredients yet yields a tasty result. Even more challenging is that my perennial dining companion was working late so I was cooking for one.

Here's what I had: leftover rice and coconut milk from a Thai chicken recipe I had made yesterday and a variety of CSA veggies needing to be used plus a pantry full of staples. The answer - stir fry. Here goes:

Saute together for about 10 minutes (or until veggies are softened but not smushy) in a small amount of oil:

1 leek or green onion, cleaned and chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 cup green beans in 1 inch-sized pieces
2 very small summer squash, diced
2 small carrots, peeled and diced

Meanwhile, mix together:

2 tbsp peanut butter
1/4 cup coconut milk
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tsp fish sauce
1/4 tsp red hot pepper flakes
dash garlic powder

And heat left over rice (thoroughly) in a microwave

Mix the peanut butter mixture in with the veggies and heat through. Pour over rice and stir to combine.

Dinner is served.

Welcome Home Inge!

This may be my first baseball post.

I am 43 years old. Which means I was born in 1968. And yes, I do have a 43 year old stuffed tiger on my desk that my dad bought for me in the fall of 1968 when the Tigers won the World Series. And yes, I was 6 months old at that time.

I grew up with baseball. If you were to play me a recording of Al Kaline and Ernie Harwell calling a Tiger game and let me smell the grilling of burgers and the faint smell of Pabst Blue Ribbon, I would know it was Saturday night in the summer of my childhood, which was a very good place. And I can tell you where I was when Kirk Gibson hit a home run in the 1984 World Series. And I wear number 3 on the soccer field because I loved Alan Trammell. And thanks to my dad, I never go to the ball park without buying a scorecard and keeping score. And yes, I know how to keep score.

Brandon Inge has been my favorite Detroit Tiger for years. That is, ever since Bobby Higginson last jogged half-sideways out of left field and back to the Tiger's dugout for the last time. And don't get me going on Bobby Higginson - we may never again see his equal at gunning a man out from left field (Delmon Young, prove me wrong).... But Brandon has been my Tiger for years. And when he doesn't play I have to admit I care a little (but just a little ) less about my beloved Tigers. And few things in baseball are as exciting as watching Brandon Inge stand off third base - you just never know what will happen - and odds are good that if something does happen it will be an excellent play.

To Brandon's credit, he could have quit this summer when the Tigers offered to release him. But the man has the heart and the soul of an athlete. And he went to AAA. And he worked his butt off. And he came back tonight and at his first at bat hit a home run into the stands in left field. And almost hit another home run during his second at bat that went deep into center field and ended in a ground rule double and generated an RBI. And the crowd went nuts as well they should.

Welcome back Brandon Inge! Poetic justice tonight? Perhaps. But way to rock the house on your return! And thanks for making the season more exciting for Tiger fans everywhere - we are cheering for you and the rest of our Tigers. I know I am not alone in thinking our chances for cheering the Tigers on in October just improved exponentially.

Great night, great baseball in the D.

U of M Alumni Game

I had time to sneak into the University of Michigan alumni hockey game at Yost tonight. Yes, the new scoreboard was a draw - it is beautiful and the ice looked perfect - smooth and cold. But there is something to be said for the nostalgia of a homecoming game at what has to be one of the most storied arenas in the game of hockey. And it is hard to pass up a chance to see some favorite players return to the ice they once called home.

I just have to say how amazing it was to see Red Berenson skating with his former players. And doing a pretty darned good job of keeping up. He is an amazing example of "age is relative". Way to go Red! And how good it was to see recent graduates Tim Miller, Billy Sauer and Mark Mitera back on their "home ice".

But most of all, the spirit of the game was so much fun. One of the things I really enjoy about playing rec hockey is how many of the players smile the whole time they are on the ice. Not something you see during most professional or college games. But tonight, at a completely voluntary game, smiles were abundant. Welcome home, Wolverines. And the fans in the stands had a blast watching you enjoy the game.

The Gotta use the CSA Box Tuscan Bean Soup Recipe

First of all, let me say I love my CSA. Organic, fresh produce that varies weekly from a local farm - you can't beat it. But, the dark leafy greens continue to perplex me. They are good for me. I even like them. But what to do with them when they show up in my CSA box week after week. More to the point, what to do with them week after week that my perennial dining companion will want to enjoy as dinner. It is like a home kitchen Iron Chef competition - only I am the only contestant. Your ingredient is Kale.

I also have from the CSA these beautiful Tongue of Fire shelling beans, leeks, potatoes, carrots, and garlic. I picked up tomatoes at the farmer's market. Add ham and chicken broth and the answer is easy. The answer is soup!

1 quart chicken broth (I use organic - if I don't have some stock in the freezer)
1 leek, cleaned and chopped, white part only
1 clove garlic, peeled and chopped fine
4 small carrots, peeled and diced
3 cups shelled beans like Tongue of Fire - if you don't have them use 2 cans of great northern beans. Either way, rinse the beans.
2 potatoes, peeled and diced
2 cups kale, rinsed and chopped
1-2 cups diced ham
2 tomatoes - blanched, peeled and diced or 1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
1 tsp salt
1 tsp fresh ground black pepper
1 tsp thyme
1 bay leaf

Grated Parmesan cheese for serving, optional

Heat the broth and add the leek, carrots, garlic and spices. Simmer for five minutes or so. Add the beans and potatoes and simmer for about 30 more minutes. Test the beans and potatoes to see if they are tender (fresh beans will take longer). If they are close add the tomatoes (see note at the end). Simmer 5 more minutes and then add the kale. Cook until the kale has turned bright green and has shrunk a bit (3-4 more minutes). Taste for seasoning, remove the bay leaf. top with cheese if desired and enjoy. This serves about 4.

Note:

To make the tomatoes, heat water to a boil. Cut the core out of each tomato and make an x with your knife in the bottom of the tomato (be careful). Drop each tomato into the boiling water for about a minute, then remove and soak in cold water for five minutes or so. When they have cooled, peel the skin off and dice them. I don't worry about the seeds but you could seed them if you prefer.