In any case, I recently received 5 ears of corn in my CSA.  Long time readers will remember that my CSA is local & organic, which meant… there were worms in my corn.  After I’d taken care of those (shudder) and cut what kernels I could off the cob, I thought about what I wanted to do with it.  Well, I’d also received cilantro… and I had some tomatoes from a previous week… and of course shallots and red onions… yeah, go to the store and pick up some limes and jalapenos, what do you have? 

Something delicious, my friends. 

I “bribed” Beer Boor into making me more fresh tortilla chips by giving him half of the fresh corn salsa, and the trade worked wonderfully.  I even made this batch spicier than I normally do, partially because I thought he’d like it more, and partially because heck, why not? 

I like pushing myself sometimes to eat spicier foods. 

And this, my friends, was bangin’. 

5 ears of corn, cut off the cob – RAW! (feel free to blanch it quickly; see note below)
1 bunch cilantro, chopped (I like the stems a bit so I usually keep some in there too, but you can use just the leaves if you like)
1-2 shallots, diced
1 small red onion, diced (I used the combination because that’s what I had, but feel free to use what you’ve got on hand)
1 tomato, diced
2 jalapenos, diced (I removed the seeds and ribs completely, but if you want it spicier, feel free to leave those in or use more jalapenos)
Juice of one very juicy lime

Mix everything altogether.  Salt to taste (I used very little or no black pepper).  ENJOY.  This was so good on the chips, but would also be delicious with a nice light white fish, or alongside chicken, or … well, with just about anything.  Slightly spicy kick, sweet corn, and just yum.  I had to stop myself from inhaling it all. 

In fact, I decided to make more a week later, since I still had chips but no more salsa.  So I went to the supermarket and finally bought some packaged corn on the cob, and did just about everything the same… but the corn didn’t taste quite as good.  It was a lot starchier and just had this taste to it that might have been washed away, had I blanched it first.  So I guess I learned my lesson: my local organic corn was so much better than the supermarket stuff.  Wah. 

In any case, enjoy the recipe as it is, and let me know how you like it!  I would really like to put this with some flaky white fish for a slammin’ meal… yum yum yum! 

Happy eating!

© Feisty Foodie for The Feisty Foodie, 2011. | Permalink | 10 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: salsa

The first year I joined a CSA, I posted about it on a near weekly basis.  Last year, I posted much more infrequently about it, but I continued to eat my way through boxes of vegetables every week.  And this year, I imagine the posts will be even more infrequent, as, for my CSA duties, I’ll be blogging for them (my first article is here!).  I made the above with the arugula I got the first week this year.  I’ll be honest, I don’t particularly like arugula, so I wilted it a bit to cut through the bitter pepperiness I don’t like.

1/2 pound of campanelle (or other small pasta form)
1 bunch of arugula, carefully washed
diced sausage (I had wild boar sausage, so that’s what I used)
minced shallots (or onions)
minced garlic
peppadew peppers, sliced (optional)
bit of butter

Cook pasta according to directions. 

As water comes to a boil, melt butter in a heavy bottomed skillet over low heat.  Add sausage, garlic and shallots (or onions if using). 

As pasta finishes cooking (about a minute before your desired doneness; it will continue to cook), use a slotted spoon to scoop into the skillet with the garlic/sausage/shallot mixture.  Turn off heat.  Add arugula, tossing everything together until the arugula begins to wilt. 

If you have the peppadews, add them now, along with the excess liquid from the bottom of the container.  If not, squeeze the juice of one lemon over everything, season to taste with salt (no pepper needed!), and enjoy! 

Quick and easy pasta dish that you can make any night of the week with tasty results.  How do you prepare your arugula?  I have another bag in my fridge…

© Feisty Foodie for The Feisty Foodie, 2011. | Permalink | 5 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: One Pot Meals

Recently, to help celebrate the launch of TravelZoo’s deal site, we were invited to SD26 for some nibbles, beverages and mingling.  SD26 sits at the north end of Madison Square Park, home to NYC’s best burger.  The space is large and can easily accomodate large groups, as we proved by taking up the entire front section and then some. 

Some of the nibbles passed around were foccaccia with mortadella, and crostini topped with an out of season tomato.  We enjoyed these while taking advantage of the open bar – some of us a bit too much – and spent our time chatting with various members of the TravelZoo team about their plans in the future with the deal site, and what distinguishes them from the other deal sites that have all popped up in a short time. 

Another bite that was passed around – chickpea fries with a bit of dipping sauce.  I wasn’t too fond of these, finding them a bit mealy and uninteresting, but other people sure seemed to like them.  As we munched, we chatted merrily away. 

And the best part of the evening?  The goodie envelopes we received, containing vouchers for Kirakuya Sake Bar in K-town, which I plan to put to use soon (and yes, I’ll be writing about that meal as well!). 

Thanks for the fab party, TravelZoo!  Check out their site for more great deals. 

Please note that I received no monetary compensation for this post, nor was I obligated to post anything about it whatsoever, positive or negative.  I received the above mentioned items (food, drink & voucher) courtesy of TravelZoo. 

© Feisty Foodie for The Feisty Foodie, 2011. | Permalink | 3 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: TravelZoo

The good folks over at The Ingredient Finder recently emailed me to let me know about their nifty website: geared towards those of us home cooks who unfortunately may not have easy access to the more esoteric, less common ingredients that are sometimes required for certain recipes, The Ingredient Finder is a great tool.  While I am located in New York City, there are still some things I can’t always just run out and pick up at the store easily, so this is great even for those of my readers in NYC!   

Inviting me to test out the site, they also sent me over a Spanish-themed goodie package containing saffron from Spain, piquillo peppers, Cataluna spice blend, and a container of pimenton de la vera or sweet paprika.  I decided to take a shot at making some Spanish goodies, realizing I actually don’t cook much stuff with a Spanish flair to it. 

And so it was on Super Bowl Sunday that I found myself whipping up goodies to eat while watching the game alone. 

First up, I decided I wanted deviled eggs.  This was super easy, just a little twist on deviled eggs.  If you don’t already know how to make them, it’s really simple: hard boil some eggs (I did only one because it was just me); cut in half lengthwise and scoop out the yolk.  Mix the yolk – here I used a bit of mustard, a bit of mayo, sweet pickle relish, some diced onion, lemon juice, diced up piquillo pepper, salt/pepper and a bit of paprika.  Then scoop the yolk back into the egg white ‘shell’ and serve!  I sprinkled a bit more paprika on top for color. 

Delicious, and easy!  The piquillo peppers added a lot of sweetness to the creamy yolk mixture, while the paprika brought a little smokiness to the table. 

Next up, stuffed piquillo peppers.  Be sure to rinse the peppers of any leftover seeds and pat them dry- the seeds won’t hurt you, but could be unpleasant to bite if you’re not expecting them.  This was just a random mixture I threw together: salmon with St. Andre Triple Creme, a bit of salt & pepper.  I could have added some paprika but I wanted to keep it simple.  If you don’t have St. Andre Triple Creme, I would use cream cheese – in fact, I might use that next time anyway, because the St. Andre, as mild as it is, interfered a little with the flavor of the peppers.  Otherwise, this was a great little bite-sized snack to munch on while watching the game.  Yummy. 

And last but not least, I made garlic-tarragon quick bread to smear with tapenade. 

So easy, it’s hard to call this a recipe. 

Piquillo Tapenade

5 cloves of garlic, peeled
1 can of black olives, drained
3 piquillo peppers, rinsed and drained
Paprika, I think I used 2 teaspoons

Whirl together in a food processor until consistency is spreadable.  Add olive oil as necessary.  Taste to check for seasoning – you may want to add some freshly cracked black pepper, though you probably won’t want salt as olives are pretty salty as it is.  YUM. 

Tarragon Garlic Quickbread – from Savory Baking, Mary Cech, Chronicle Books

1 large clove garlic, minced
4 tablespoons unsalted butter (1/2 a stick)
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh tarragon
1 egg
1/4 cup sour cream
1 cup buttermilk

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Spray a loaf pan with some non-stick spray.  Put the garlic and butter in a small saucepan over medium heat just long enough to melt the butter.  Set aside. 

Stir the flour, baking powder, salt, pepper, sugar, and tarragon together in a medium bowl.  Crack the egg into a small bowl and whisk in the sour cream and buttermilk.  Pour the egg mixture and garlic butter over the flour mixture and stir just until moistened through. 

Spoon the dough/batter into the prepared pan and place it in the oven.  Bake until the top springs back when gently touched in the center, 45-55 minutes (I made this twice; first time at 45 it was too raw, but second time at 50 it was perfect).  Put the loaf on a cooling rack until just warm; unmold the loaf and wrap it in plastic film. 

Yes, I baked again.  Aren’t you proud of me?  And it tasted pretty good, though the tarragon flavor was muted a bit.  The second time I made it, I added way more garlic and more tarragon and was better pleased with the results.

You might not think it, but wow, the tapenade was absolutely perfect on the toasty warm bread.  The flavors really melded well together… I was one happy girl.  I mean, funny enough, I made the bread with the tapenade in mind, but when they came together, it was like they really were made just for each other.  SO good. 

But honestly, the recipe I threw together of which I am the most proud was definitely the salmon linguine with saffron cream sauce. 

Just look at how awesome that is. 

Take a good, long look, because you know this is what you’ll be eating for dinner tonight, right? 

I shamefully admit that though I made enough for 2-3 meals, I wound up standing over the pan in the kitchen and ate more than one person’s share that first night.  Mmm.  So damn good. 

Salmon Linguine with Saffron Cream Sauce

1/2 package linguine
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 large Spanish onion, minced
2 healthy glugs of a nice white wine (remember, if you wouldn’t drink it, you don’t want to cook with it; and I used a sweet Riesling)
2 tablespoons heavy cream
Pinch of saffron threads, steeped in hot water (reserve the water)
1 tablespoon sour cream
Kosher salt & freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
1 can good quality salmon, drained and broken up a little in the can

Cook the linguine according to the package directions.  Reserve a half cup or so of the cooking water for later use. 

Meanwhile, melt the butter in the bottom of a heavy skillet over medium heat.  Add the onion to the skillet, letting it soften before adding the wine.  Allow the onions to absorb some of the wine and some of the wine to evaporate before adding the heavy cream.  Then, add the saffron – including the water it was steeped in – and let meld together before you whisk in the sour cream.  Let come to a bubble.  Season to taste with salt & pepper. 

Add the linguine as it finishes cooking, tossing in the sauce to coat each strand with the amazing flavors.  Add about a tablespoon of the pasta water to help thicken the sauce; if the sauce is too thin, add a bit more until it is the right consistency.  As all of this finishes and comes together, add the salmon from the can directly into the pan, tossing together to evenly distribute the salmon.  Cook until the salmon is heated through, then turn off heat. 

Serving suggestion: alongside some crusty baguette, with a bit of parsley flakes sprinkled on top (like above).  So good!  I was blown away by just how little saffron you need to perfume the entire pot of deliciousness.  Mmm, I think I might make this again tonight… (and yes, you can use fresh salmon, which I tried the following week, but you’ll have to stay tuned for that recipe!) 

But wait… there’s more!  The Ingredient Finder has graciously agreed to host a contest for all of my lucky, lovely readers!  That’s right, you have a chance to win a goodie pack of your very own (items included may or may not be the same as what I received, at the discretion of The Ingredient Finder). 
All you have to do is check out The Ingredient Finder yourself and share in the comments below what your dream ingredient prize from the site would be, and what you would make with it.  Or you can tell me what you’d make if you had the ingredients I received (hey, help a girl out here, so I can make more food to share with you, my darling readers!).  You have until midnight EST on Tuesday, March 8th, 2011, to leave your comment and be entered!  At that time, I will use Random.org to pick a winner from the comments. 

It doesn’t hurt to Tweet links to this post (cc: @feistyfoodie and @findingredients) or fan The Feisty Foodie and The Ingredient Finder, either! 

Good luck and as always, happy eating!

Please note that I received no monetary compensation for this post, and that I was under no obligation to post an opinion, positive or negative.  I express my own thoughts herein; thanks again to The Ingredient Finder for your generous goodie package, it was a lot of fun to play with the ingredients and come up with new things! 

© Feisty Foodie for The Feisty Foodie, 2011. | Permalink | 17 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: contest, snacks, spices

This was posted over on the Forest Hills CSA website, but I figure if you haven’t seen it, it’s still valid… although it was written in November and it’s February now, so that comment about the weather BECOMING chillier… yeah, not so much.  Enjoy!!!

With the weather quickly becoming chillier, what better than to make soup with your CSA goodies? 

Leeks, sliced and swished through cold water a few times to dislodge any dirt that may have been stuck in them. 

A couple of pounds of Russet potatoes that were then peeled and chopped into cubes. 

Everything added together into a big pot of cold water, just to cover, then set over medium heat until the potatoes were fork tender.  As in, I could slide a fork easily through any given cube of potato. 

Once the potatoes were super tender, I turned off the flame and ran my hand blender through the whole thing until it was super creamy-smooth.  Oh, and I’d been roasting five heads of garlic (they were small! and I love garlic) in the meantime, which I now peeled and added to the pot.  Yum! 

For serving, I scooped a bunch into a bowl and made myself a ‘toppings bar’. 

From top to bottom: sour cream, crispy bacon bits, and shredded cheese (a Monterey jack and cheddar blend). 

Prepping for additions!

A bit of cheese, a bit of crispy bacon…

Doesn’t it look good?

But the finishing touch, a dollop of sour cream to add richness and depth to the soup.  It makes the soup feel luxurious without it being too fatty! 

In it goes…

then, you

swirl!  Enjoy!!!

Roasted Garlic Potato Leek Soup
adapted from Tasty Eating

Five heads of garlic, for roasting (use less if you don’t like garlic that much; mine were really, really tiny heads)
2-3 lbs. of potatoes, peeled and cubed
2-3 large leeks, sliced and cleaned
salt, pepper, to taste

Toppings (optional):
2-3 ounces of bacon, cut into small pieces and cooked super crispy (reserve bacon fat for other uses)
sour cream
shredded cheese
caramelized onions
sausage (sweet or hot), cooked & crumbled

Cut the bottoms off of the heads of garlic; place on foil.  Drizzle with olive oil and loosely crumple the tin foil around the bulbs together.  Roast in an oven at 400 degrees for an hour or until the cloves are super soft, slightly brown, and squishy. 

Meanwhile, put the potatoes and leeks into a pot with enough cold water to cover.  Simmer over medium heat for about the same amount of time, or until the potatoes are so tender that a fork easily pierces straight through it. 

Remove garlic from skins – careful, they will be very hot – and add to pot before blending using hand blender.  If you don’t have a hand blender, a regular blender can be used as well – work in batches and be very careful as hot liquid expands and will try to force its way out of the blender.  A food mill is another option, if you have one of those.  Once the entire pot is smooth (or if you’ve left some chunks because you like that texture in your soup), season to taste with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. 

Enjoy as is, or with some toppings! 

Yum, perfectly tasty and warms you to your core on a chilly night!  Also, very healthy, no dairy (without the toppings), not much added fat (just the olive oil in the roasted garlic) and vegan as well!!!  

Happy eating

Check out my adventure with last year’s CSA! 

What do you like to make with your CSA goodies?  Share in comments! 

© Feisty Foodie for The Feisty Foodie, 2011. | Permalink | 4 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: soup/stew