Gourmet, Unbound

Last night I made my recipe from a May issue of Gourmet. This one was from 2000,which it's hard to believe is ten years old already.

Each month, I start searching for the recipe I'll test for Gourmet, Unbound by going to my shelf of old issues, and checking for pages I might have tabbed back when I first received that magazine. This month I decided to try one of the recipes I'd tabbed in 2000. I checked the recipe on Epicurious.com and found a range of reviews. Some reviewers loved the dish, and others thought it was bland. After testing it out last night, and enjoying the light, yet distinctive flavor, I think I've figured out the problem some of the reviewers might have had. It's possible that those who thought the dish was bland just didn't have really fresh asparagus. I was lucky that this is the beginning of high asparagus season in this area so I had asparagus fresh from the fields via the farmstand. I wonder if the Mexican or Peruvian imports have as much flavor.

Surprisingly, this dish does not overwhelm with the taste of asparagus. Even the less exuberant asparagus eater in my house enjoyed the dish. The lemon (I used one of my last Meyer lemons) lightened the flavor perfectly, though I added a little lemon juice - probably 1/2 lemon's worth - at the suggestion of many of the reviewers. The sauce is silky due to the addition of the pasta cooking water and, apart from the white pasta, is relatively healthy. It's mostly vegetable based with a hit of olive oil and parmigianno reggiano. I reduced the olive oil slightly from the recipe with no ill effects. I used three tablespoons of olive oil instead of a quarter cup.

The dish appears so simple with its brief ingredient list, but there are several steps to the process that you need to plan ahead for. Prep the asparagus, zest the lemon, and most importantly, put that water up to boil right away - you need to boil the pieces of asparagus spears for six to eight minutes (which I thought seemed a little to much so I reduced it to four or five minutes), and then blanch the tips, before you cook your pasta in that same water. If I wasn't also preparing a salad and a salmon dish to go alongside, it probably wouldn't have been a problem. When I make this next, I would not concurrently prepare something that requires last minute attention, as this is an of the moment sauce that should be served immediately.

Click here (http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Pasta-with-Asparagus-Lemon-Sauce-103382) for the recipe at Epicurious.

Trying to Get Going Again

I've been away far too long - busy, busy and not cooking so much, but the farm stands are reopening and my ideas are flowing a little bit once again. I had a lovely afternoon yesterday, brunching with other DC participants on food52.com. The gracious Mrs. Wheelbarrow hosted us and it was a great opportunity to chat, for hours, with other food obsessed (in a good way!) people. Most of them are also bloggers, so now I've now got some new blogs to read and learn from.

I brought my smoked trout dip (http://healthierkitchen.blogspot.com/2009/11/and-now-for-something-little-different.html) and a springtime farro dish. I was hoping to find peas and ramps at the farm stand that morning to create a dish with farro, peas and a ramp pesto. Unfortunately, I could get neither peas nor ramps, so I had to think fast. I love farro and thought that would still be a good base, but instead of peas, I used asparagus, pea shoots, parsley and some sharp micro greens. I quick thawed the last of my frozen pesto to use as a base. Giada DiLaurentiis does a farro with coarse pesto but it is very parsley based which I don't love as much as other herbs. For this, I started with some previously made basil pesto and added some finely chopped parsley and rough chopped pea shoots to the mix. Because this pesto did not have cheese added, I used a few tablespoons of goat cheese to make things a little creamy. Lastly, I sprinkled the micro greens on top for a little extra flavor. The beauty of the dish is the bright, springy flavor and the flexible ingredient list. You can easily sub peas for the asparagus and pea shoots and feel free to use any sort of pesto you like.

If you make your own pesto, try it without the parmigianno or pecorino sometime, and add a few tablespoons of goat cheese to the pesto and hot pasta or farro. It's a lighter and creamier taste and is nice for a change.

Farro, while not available in every store, is quite a bit easier to find these days than when I first started making it. I have seen it in Whole Foods, Balducci's, and Harris Teeter grocery stores, as well as my local organic market (Mom) and in specialty Italian grocers (in my area, Vace). It is not cheap, running between $6 and $10 for a just over a one pound bag, but one pound of farro is much heartier than one pound of pasta. It truly feeds a crowd.

I like to serve this as a side dish, but you could also use it as a main dish alongside a lettuce salad. As a side dish, it could accompany fish, chicken or meat quite well.

Springtime Farro

(serves 8 - 10 as a hearty side dish)

6 cups salted water

small bunch fresh asparagus, ends trimmed and cut into one-half to one inch pieces

2 cups farro (a little less than the 1.1 pound Rustichella d'Abruzzo package)

1/2 cup of your favorite pesto

1/4 cup goat cheese, if your pesto is cheese-less (If you're concerned about the cheese, feel free to try 2 tablespoons at first and taste after mixing. Add the other two tablespoons, one at a time, if you like)

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley

1 large handful pea shoots, rough chopped

salt and pepper to taste

1. Bring salted water to boil in a large saucepan. Once boiling, drop in the asparagus pieces. After 30 seconds to a minute, use a slotted spoon or a skimmer to pull out the asparagus pieces and drop them either into a bowl of cold water or into a strainer and run it under cold water. Do not drain the water as you'll use it for the farro as well.

2. Once the water comes back to boil, put in the farro and cover pan. Lower burner and simmer for about 20 minutes. Taste farro to make sure it is soft, yet firm in the inside. Drain, reserving a half cup of the water.

3. Place all ingredients into a large bowl and mix gently, but well. Add some of the reserved cooking water if it seems dry.

4. Taste, and add salt and pepper as needed.

One Year and Holding, Barely

Today, Healthier Kitchen is one year old. I had high hopes last month when I thought about an anniversary post. Maybe I'd create a really spectacular new recipe or even plan a dinner party filled with healthier recipes to blog about. The reality is I have nothing for you today.

All I can tell you is that, until last night, the last two weeks have been filled with restaurant food, carry out, a couple of old standbys, and ready to heat items from Costco and Trader Joe's. Last night I finally worked up a jambalaya using brown rice (I think no one knew), chicken andouille sausage and jumbo lump crabmeat, but I failed to photograph the dish and truly don't have the time or energy to write it up today. I owe you this recipe.

Instead, I thought I'd go back a year and remind you of some of my favorite recipes. In looking into the archives, I realized that the list of recipes I wanted to share today include just about everything I posted last March. I suppose this could be a seasonal thing - the foods I was cooking last March are just "March-ish" foods. On the other hand, it could be that I started the blog with a whole lot of energy in March, and lost creativity thereafter. Or, it could be that I'm too distractible by life's ups and downs.

At any rate, I invite you to revisit, or if you're new to the blog, visit, March, 2009. My very first post set out what I was hoping to accomplish with this blog and let everyone in on the unbelievably simple way to make irresistible cauliflower, as oxymoronic as that may sound. The salmon recipe is still my favorite. The mayo free cabbage slaw would be a great side dish for a St. Patrick's day dinner, and the banana-oat bread is just the thing for those softening bananas. I gave you my special, formerly secret, chili recipe. I also linked to Michelle Obama's healthy, faux creamed spinach. Perhaps my favorite post is the tribute to Laurie Colwin with the red lentil soup. This is the perfect time of year for that soup and anytime is a good time to read Laurie Colwin, particularly now, as her Home Cooking is about to be re-released later this month. To find any of these, simply check out the archives to the right in the margin and click on 2009, then look at March. You could also look for specific foods in the recipe index also in the margin on the right.

Enjoy!

Valentine's Dinner for Nine

Valentine's evening proved to be the perfect time to try out my March Gourmet recipes. We had family visiting from out of town for President's weekend and we were nine for dinner - four adults, my two teens and my nieces and nephew who are 11, 8 and 5. I ended up making two recipes from different issues of March Gourmet magazines, both of which were delicious and perfect for Valentine's dinner.

The first, Chicken in Riesling, was from 2008 (find the recipe here). I had made this once before back in September or October and moved it into the "keeper" file as all four of us liked the dish. It's rich without being heavy as a result of the lighter touch of the creme fraiche (!) and lemon juice. It's a one pot meal with carrots and potatoes cooked right in with the chicken and Riesling. The header notes to the recipe say that it's just another chicken in wine stew, like a coq au vin.

I simplified a little, as you all know I have a hard time leaving a recipe alone. I cut the butter, and used olive oil for the leeks, but added in a tablespoon of butter into the stew at the end for richness. I also used cut up chicken pieces instead of the whole chicken. I used a mixture of breasts, thighs and legs, with extra legs for the kids. I used more than the equivalent of one chicken this time, as there were so many of us. Lastly, I used a mix of some really lovely, tiny little yellow potatoes I had purchased for heaven knows what a week or so earlier, and some cut up baby red potatoes to fill in. Only downside? My brother-in-law thought the tiny potatoes looked enough like olives that this usually hearty eater took a rather petite serving of this dish. Once every one had been reassured they were potatoes, everyone dug in. You can see from the photo that he was justified in his confusion.

This is not close to the health quotient of the quinoa/bulgur/lentil dishes I also love, but this would make a great meal for company or a special occasion. It's just rich enough that you simply can't overeat, but light enough that you don't feel like you need an immediate angiogram. The sauce is compelling, silky from the creme fraiche and dab of butter and with that tangy hit of lemon. The recipe says to add the lemon juice to taste and I ended up using 2 tablespoons.

This is lovely with a baguette as you will want to sop up some of the sauce. You don't need to serve any other vegetable, but if you like, a salad with a touch of lemon juice in the vinaigrette would be a nice complement. We drank more Reisling with dinner.

Later, the adults enjoyed some Kir Royale Sorbet from March, 1994 (find the recipe here), while the kids had ice cream sundaes. The vivid red color of this sorbet makes it the ideal Valentine's day dessert. Plus, it was light and tart after the chicken. I used frozen raspberries as there are no domestic raspberries available in our DC area markets this time of year.

Behind the White House Photo Opps, School Gardens Desperate for Help

I just wanted to share this with everyone. This came from a DC schoolteacher and was originally posted on another blog. I've wanted to write about this issue since I read the always incendiary Caitlin Flanagan's piece in the January/February issue of the Atlantic, entitled "Cultivating Failure." This snowstorm has given me the time to finally do so.

In her piece, Flanagan criticizes the Edible Schoolyard concept as she claims it doesn't help students in the failing California schools to pass standardized tests. However, as is her way, she doesn't just opine, she pokes everyone in the eye with her extremist posturing. Instead of providing an even, journalistic article, Flanagan begins with a completely hypothetical example of the American born child of an illegal Mexican immigrant farm laborer who is here by virtue of his parents' sacrifice to offer him a better life, entering sixth grade in Berkeley, CA, only to "head out the field, where he stoops under a hot sun and begins to pick lettuce" rather than learn math. She continues with her diatribe by insulting Alice Waters, school volunteers, and ultimately faults the school system for falling prey to the "visionary and charismatic" Waters and "allowing these gardens to hijack the curricula of so many schools."

When I first read her piece I had an instinctual opposition to everything she was saying, but I wanted to stop and think about whether I was actually responding to her thesis or if I was just put off by her hyperbolic and ridiculous assertions. Was she hiding a kernel of truth under a bushel of hyperbole? Has she exposed the Emperor in the "altogether" or is she a bitter and biased shrew all too willing to once again criticize well intentioned school volunteers, not to mention Alice Waters?

After a second thorough reading of her piece, I concluded that her argument was too flawed to be persuasive. While Flanagan is correct that the situation in many California schools, much like DC schools, is desperate, isn't the problem due more to budget constraints not the existence of an Edible Schoolyard garden in several schools? Perhaps most importantly, she did not speak to staff or families in a school with a garden to get their perspectives on how helpful and effective they are as teaching tools and as a means for nutrition education.

We are all distressed by the poor state of many schools today, and as important as it is to shore up the math and reading instruction, it just doesn't make sense to ignore other enriching learning experiences, especially those that can greatly affect the health of the students.

Check out what one DC school teacher has to say:

Behind the White House Photo Opps, School Gardens Desperate for Help

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