The Charmed Kitchen

I have always had a special love for beans, green or yellow. When I was a kid my family would go out to the country on weekends, usually Sundays and stop at roadside stands on the way home. When they were in season we would always buy green beans. My Mom would boil them until just tender then pile them up on a big plate. She sprinkle them with a little salt and add a pat of butter to the top. We’d sit there and pick up a bean, run it over the butter and eat it. Can’t think of beans without thinking of my Mother and Sunday night bean feasts. To this day I like them simple.

One of the treasures in my bag this week from Blue Pike Farm are Yellow Roman or Italian Beans. They are so fresh I ate several raw while still at the farm.  Here is one of my favorite bean recipes. The Yellow Roman beans will pair up nicely with the other ingredients.

Green Beans with Herb Butter

1 lb. Green or yellow beans, washed and trimmed

¼ c. butter

¾ c. minced onionor shallots

1 clove garlic, minced

¼ c. minced celery

2 T. sesame seeds

2 T. chopped parsley

¾ t. salt

¼ t. each rosemary and basil

Boil or steam beans until tender, about  8 minutes. Drain and set aside. Meanwhile, start sauce. Heat butter in skillet and add onion, garlic, celery and sesame seeds. Cook 5 minutes then add seasonings and cook, covered, 10 minutes more. Toss beans with sauce.  Serves 4.

Hearts and Flowers Pickles

I made sweet pickles today from beets, carrots and turnips cut into heart and flower shapes. I know, this makes me look like I have too much time on my hands. At the moment the opposite is actually true. I am pretty busy these days. I’ll blame it on Jonathan who gave me the idea the other night. I had turnips I planned on pickling and was going to add beets to them for color and flavor. I just wasn’t excited about it.  He suggested cutting out the veggies into little heart shapes. Well, I must admit I did want to make them after that- just to see how they would come out. I also added carrots to the mix. I peeled the carrots then ran the tip of a knife blade along them to make grooves. when I sliced the carrots the grooves made them look like little flowers. They are out of the canner and I must say they are adorable. Best to let them “pickle ” a few more weeks so I’ll let you know how they taste then.

I will be at the Blue Pike Farm market tomorrow (July 12)  from 4-7. I’ll have my jams and jellies, zucchini bread, herb packets and chocolate beet cake. Last time I’ll be at the market until August. Blue Pike Farm is located at 900 E. 72 Street- just South of the Shoreway and North of St. Clair.

It is going to get hot again. I got this recipe from Brad Reynolds via Carl. I thought it might be a nice idea for you to try. I made the soup and LOVED it! Wasn’t sure but I must admit the taste was great. There was the sweetness of the watermelon balanced out with the earthiness of the beets. I added the stock to the first batch I made but found myself enjoying the taste of soup without it on the second batch. Sort of a super healthy smoothie. I made a bigger batch the second time.You gotta love the color, too. So pretty.

Brad thanks so much for your recipe!!!

Cold Beet and Watermelon Soup

1 part diced beet (cooked)

1 part diced seedless watermelon

Put in blender

Add Chicken or Vegetable stock to taste/consistency

Add salt if desired

Dollop with Creme Fraiche or Sour Cream or even Greek Yogurt, if desired

Garnish with fresh mint.

With any cold soup- chill well after you make it. You might even want to chill the bowls and spoons.

If you are awash in squash like I am right now another zucchini recipe is a good thing. What’s nice about these is they cook so quickly you won’t heat up the whole house making them. Oh, and they taste yummy, too.

Zucchini  Pancakes

2 medium zucchini

2 eggs, lightly beaten

2 T. flour

¼ t. baking powder

1 t. salt or to taste

Pepper to taste

2 T. grated onion, I used dried chopped onion

½ c. oil

Trim zucchini and grate coarsely. Place in large bowl.  Add the rest of the ingredients, except the oil and stir to combine. Heat oil in a skillet. Drop rounded tablespoonfuls of the batter into the skillet. Cook several minutes per side or until golden and crispy. Drain on paper towels and serve. Serves 6-8.

OK folks, here is the other beet cake recipe- using raw beets. As an added bonus I am also including the Parsnip Cake recipe.

Beet Cake

4 eggs

2 cups sugar

1 cup vegetable oil

2 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon cinnamon

2 teaspoons vanilla

3 cups shredded fresh beets

1 cup chopped walnuts

Heat oven to 350 °.  Grease and flour 13×9 baking pan. Beat eggs, sugar and oil until light and fluffy. Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon. Add to egg mixture and mix well. Add vanilla, beets and walnuts. Beat for 1 minute on medium speed. Pour into pan, bake for 45 minutes, or until a pick comes out clean.

Parsnip Spice Cake

1½ c. flour

1 c. sugar

1 T. ground ginger

2 t.  each baking powder and cinnamon

¾ t. each salt, nutmeg, allspice and cloves

3 eggs

½ c. oil

½ c. whole milk

1 t. vanilla

2 c. packed peeled, shredded fresh parsnips, about 3 large

½ c. toasted, chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour a 13×9- inch baking pan. Combine flour and sugar with dry ingredients and set aside. Whisk together the eggs, oil and milk and vanilla and pour over the dry ingredients. Stir until just combined and then stir in the parsnips and walnuts. Pour into prepared pan and bake for about 25 minutes or until tester comes out clean.  When cool dust with powdered sugar or frost with cream cheese frosting.

Chocolate Beet Cake

This post goes out to all my friends in the NEO foodies group. Our first annual potluck was an explosion of passion, fun, love, energy and great food. I want to name all of you- but fear I will forget too many. I will try, though. Thanks to Larry  and Rai Collins for hosting and for the idea to begin with. Kay Ryan, Susie Sharp, Kevin Scheuring ( grill master), Pat Hartmann, Liga Zemesarajs, Judy Novak, Diane Sikorski, Timothy Smith, Quintin Brail, Nancy Heller and even a surprise visit from Ryann Anderson. So fun putting names and faces together. Thanks, too, to Linda and T.J. Roby for letting me park at their house and for being such dear friends for so many years. So many people worked so hard to make it a success. Weather was perfect and staying to watch the sunset by the lake was the perfect end to a perfect day.

My contribution was a chocolate beet cake that was enjoyed by many. As promised I am posting the recipe for all of you. Love and hugs!!

Chocolate Beet Cake

2 cups all-purpose flour

1½ teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/2 cup cocoa powder

3 large eggs, beaten

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, Canola or corn oil

1½ cups grated cooked beets

2 teaspoons vanilla

Powdered sugar, optional

Preheat oven to 350°. Combine flour, soda, salt, sugar and cocoa in a bowl; set aside. In a mixing bowl, combine the eggs and oil. Beat in vanilla and continue beating until well blended. Slowly beat in dry ingredients until well mixed; stir in beets. Pour into a greased and floured 9×13-inch baking pan. Bake at 350° for 25 to 35 minutes, or until cake bounces back when touched lightly with finger. Cool in pan on a rack. Frost cooled cake or dust with powdered sugar.

Cream Cheese Frosting

8 oz. Cream cheese, softened

3/4 c. powdered sugar

1 stick butter, room temperature

Beat all together until fluffy. Frost cake and refrigerate until ready to eat.

Broccoli Salad

I love broccoli. Eat it all the time. In hot weather I often make a big batch of broccoli salad so I can have it whenever I want. I cook my broccoli in a steamer made for the microwave. Keeps the kitchen cooler than conventional steaming. Whether you opt to cook in a microwave or on top of the stove be sure to steam the broccoli, not boil it. The broccoli will be too wet for the salad if submerged in water for cooking.  Be flexible with the recipe. You can add bacon, turkey bacon or even ham, or omit for a vegetarian version. I also often add cauliflower to the mix for fun. Don’t overcook the broccoli. For the salad the broccoli should still have some bite to it. Also remember the broccoli will cook a little after you stop steaming it so remove from the steamer a little crispier than you want the final product to be.

Broccoli Salad

4-6 c. broccoli flowerets

1 can water chestnuts, drained and chopped

4-5 slices turkey bacon or regular bacon chopped, cooked crisp and drained

about 2/3 c. mayo or salad dressing, or to taste

salt and pepper to taste

1 sweet red pepper, seeded and diced, optional

Cook broccoli until tender/crisp. Cool and combine with remaining ingredients. I like to add the diced pepper closer to serving time as it can make the salad runny if added too soon. Chill. Serves 4-6.

Note: I will sometimes use dressing for cole slaw for a slightly sweeter taste.

So hot and sticky today the thought of eating something hot just did not appeal to me.  I had a beautiful bag of leafy lettuce I got from Carl yesterday so I decided to play it simple for dinner. I got some real turkey at the deli, sliced extra thin. I placed a slice  of the turkey on a lettuce leaf, added a small drizzle of balsamic vinegar and wrapped it up. Repeated several more times. Ate with fresh cherries and some watermelon. You could just as easily use cheese slices or shreds or even chicken or tuna salad. Get creative but keep it cool. Perfect dinner for a scorching day!!

Beets at the Market

Great day at the market at Blue Pike Farm. My bag of goodies this week includes leaf lettuce, green onions, garlic, summer squash, beans and beets. I love beets and I can’t seem to get enough of them. Several CSA members wanted more recipes for beets so here we go.

German Style Beet Salad

 2 bunches beets

2 tablespoons water

1/4 cup cider vinegar

2 tablespoons caraway seeds

1 teaspoon white sugar

2 tablespoons minced green onion

1 teaspoon prepared horseradish

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

5 tablespoons vegetable oil

Wash beets and trim off greens. Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil, add beets and cook, covered, until beets are tender. Remove from heat, drain, and peel and slice when cool. In a large bowl, whisk together the water, vinegar, caraway seeds, sugar, onion, horseradish, cloves, salt, pepper and oil. Add beets and toss to coat. Let stand for several hours, stirring occasionally. Serve at room temperature or chilled, as desired. Serves 6.

Roasted Beets with Beet Greens

1 bunch beets with greens

1/4 cup olive oil, divided

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 tablespoons chopped onion (optional)

Salt and pepper to taste

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Wash the beets thoroughly, leaving the skins on, and remove the greens. Rinse greens, removing any large stems, and set aside. Place the beets in a small baking dish or roasting pan, and toss with 2 tablespoons of olive oil. If you wish to peel the beets, it is easier to do so once they have been roasted. Cover, and bake for 45 to 60 minutes, or until a knife can slide easily through the largest beet. When the roasted beets are almost done, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil in a skillet over medium-low heat. Add the garlic and onion, and cook for a minute. Tear the beet greens into 2 to 3 inch pieces, and add them to the skillet. Cook and stir until greens are wilted and tender. Season with salt and pepper. Serve the greens as is, and the roasted beets sliced with either red-wine vinegar, or butter and salt and pepper. Serves 4.