Carrots for Breakfast and the Other 40%

                    

I was listening to a the Kitchen Chat podcast on the way home from work the other day that discussed food waste in America. Guest Dana Gunders, a staff scientist at the Natural Resources Defense Council, quoted a statistic that 40% of all food in America goes to waste, and that landfills are mainly filled with tossed food.  I am not sure I agree with that last statement, having spent a lot of time at the dump getting rid of yard waste from my always-overgrown backyard, but nonetheless, I do agree that there is a lot of food waste.  When you think how much water, energy, and other resources are dedicated to producing food, it's not hard to see how our green footprint could be improved by wasting less food.  (link to Kitchen Chat podcasts here)

My ingredients:  Brussels sprouts, horseradish,
parsnips, tumeric root, carrots, and 1/2 a shallot

Gunders recommends keeping a bin or place in your fridge with nearly expired foodstuffs as a reminder to eat those things first.  I don't have a bin, but I do actively attempt to use up expiring food first and to make the best use out of all parts of the groceries I buy.  In fact, for me I think it almost becomes like a game - what can I make with this odd assortment of items today?  One of my favorite ways to relax is to make an inventory of what's in my veggie bin or my chest freezer, and then spend an hour soaking in a bubble bath while reading cookbooks or surfing the web looking for just the right recipe to use it all up.

I am also a bit of a hoarder when it comes to using all parts of the food I buy.  One of my favorite take-aways from legendary chef Jacques Pepin is his advice to save all vegetable trimmings in the freezer so they will always be available to make fresh stock.  He keeps a bin in his freezer just for this purpose.  Clean carrot and potato peels, onion skins, mushroom stems, leek tops, parsley stems, celery trimmings and lots of other aromatics make their way into a ziplock bag that resides in my freezer. Whenever I have some chicken, beef, or lamb bones,  I add them to a kettle of water with the frozen scraps. On weeknights, I'll let the mixture simmer slowly all night long, and in the morning, I drain the solids and chill down the broth in an ice bath before placing it in the fridge to cool while I'm at work.  Upon returning home in the evening, I will again simmer the strained broth over a low heat all night long to reduce it further.  By the morning it's ready to chill, vacuum seal, and freeze for future use if I don't have an immediate need for it that day.  I have lots of other weird food-saving habits too, like always zesting lemons, limes, or oranges before juicing them. The zest stores really well in a baggie in the freezer, ready when needed. I save, seal, label, and freeze everything that might have some future use. If it's still hiding out after a few months, I will reluctantly toss it out, but only after making one last attempt to find a suitable recipe for its use.

The finished relish - it only gets better with age

The bottom line of all this rambling is that the podcast and Gunders' comments inspired me to inventory my veggie bin again. I found a recipe in Saveur magazine that called for two key ingredients I happened to have on hand - carrots and fresh horseradish root. After taking stock of the other items in my produce drawer, I realized I could modify the recipe slightly to use up some excess brussels sprouts,  parsnips, a piece of tumeric root, and a half of a shallot in place of some of the carrots.   The article touts this as a relish to accompany gefilte fish on Passover but I used it as a spread on toasted baguette slices and ate it for breakfast with a poached egg instead.  It was quick and easy to make, even on a workday. morning.  The flavors were bright and fresh, and a great way to start of the day.

Here is the link for the recipe:  Saveur recipe for Carrot and Horseradish Pickle Relish.

Carrots, horseradish, and lemon zest ready to pulse

The modifications I made were:  Used only two carrots, added 3 peeled parsnips, 5 brussels sprouts thinly sliced, a one inch piece of peeled diced turmeric root, and 1/2 of a large shallot, sliced thinly then minced.  The recipe instructs you to blanch the carrots.  I blanched the parsnips first, then pulsed them in the food processor, then set them aside.  Next I blanched the carrots and tumeric root together and processed the carrots/turmeric as directed in the recipe.  When making the pickling solution, I omitted the 1/4 cup sugar recommended in the recipe, and substituted two heaping teaspoons of Splenda (need to manage my blood sugar or else I would have used the regular sugar).  I added the pickling solution to carrot and horseradish mixture in a food processor and pulsed it until slightly chunky. At this point, I stirred in the shallots and Brussels sprouts, then let the whole mixture marinate for a few minutes while I poached an egg in the blanching water.

Also, while I was waiting for the water to heat for the initial blanching, I decided to make some parmesan cheese crisps to go along with the toasts. I preheated the oven to 400 degrees (miracle - my oven is still working... hope my luck holds out), and placed four little mounds, 1 tablespoon each, of grated parmesan cheese on a parchment paper-lined baking tray. I sprinkled each with some smoked paprika and a dash of cayenne then let them melt and crisp in the oven for about 3 minutes.  The combination of the salty cheese, the tangy relish, and the creamy egg yolk made a perfect light meal.

The end result:  this healthy and delicious breakfast!

Nothing like Cioppino when you're feeling Crabby

I have been struggling with my Bay Area commute lately.  Usually it's a predictable 1 hour and 15 minute ride each way which gives me a chance to unwind, chat with my best friend Cathy, listen to all the podcasts I follow or enjoy some soothing, relaxing music. Lately, however, it has been horrific, with several days in the last two weeks taking more than 2 hours in each direction.  Even all my trusty shortcuts (like the secret route through the convent grounds) have been clogged up, making me irritable and very hangry by the time I get home.

Eating out is an option but it comes with a cost - both expensive and pretty unhealthy since most restaurant food is loaded with butter and sodium. It's hard to lose weight when you eat out a lot, so I have been making an effort to try to cook for myself whenever possible.  With all that thinking time on my hands as I crawl home at 3 miles an hour, I was able to strategize this fairly quick recipe which used a fresh, whole dungeness crab and some ingredients I had on hand from my farm box delivery - basil, bell peppers, onions, carrots, and celery, plus a can of San Marzano crushed tomatoes and some tomato paste.  I like to make the cioppino base extra thick, similar to how they do it at Sotto Mare in San Francisco's North Beach - a gem of a hole in the wall restaurant that has THE BEST cioppino in the entire world.  You can add other seafood to this besides just crab, but I was in a hurry and wanted to go with what was easy and convenient.  Any firm white fish (I'm not a fan of salmon in a dish like this), shrimp, clams, mussels, or scallops would be a good addition.

Including the time spent stopping at the store to buy the crab, this whole dinner took less than an hour to make and was very satisfying despite how low-fat it was. Best of all, there was a lot of sauce left over, which I was able to re-use to make a version of the French Basque dish, Piperade.   Both recipes are included below.

Crab Cioppino

3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 medium yellow or white onion, chopped into small dice
3 large garlic cloves, minced
1 large red bell pepper, cut into small dice
2 carrots, diced
3 stalks celery, diced
1 tsp salt
1 28 oz can crushed San Marzano tomatoes
1 12 oz can tomato paste
1 cup full bodied red wine (like Zinfandel)
1/2 cup water
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1 whole cooked Dungeness crab, cleaned, and well-cracked (body broken into 4 pieces and legs left whole but cracked liberally to allow sauce to seep in)
1/4 cup fresh basil chiffonade

Heat a skillet over medium high heat, add and heat the oil.  When the oil heated, add the onion and saute until it starts to soften and is translucent, about 5 minutes.  Add the garlic, bell pepper, carrots and celery, stir to coat with the oil. Sprinkle with 1/2 of the salt and cook until softened, about 8 - 10 minutes. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, wine, water, remaining salt and red pepper flakes and stir to combine.  Turn up the heat to high and cook for 5 minutes to blend the flavors.  While the sauce is simmering, clean and crack the crab, then add it to the sauce and stir well to coat.  Cook for an additional 15 minutes, then stir in the basil which has been chiffonaded (? is that a word?*). To serve, remove the crab pieces and serve them in bowls with some of the sauce and toasted garlic bread. Reserve the left over sauce for a second use.

* When you are writing sometimes you get stumped on how to properly describe something.  This was my dilemna when trying to discuss basil chiffonade and a quick web search indicated I am not the only one stumped by this word.  See the Pioneer Woman's blog post about this very topic, and learn how to prepare basil chiffonade at the same time!   http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/how-tochiffonade-basil/

Cioppino-style Piperade

Piperade is traditionally made with lots of bell peppers but this cioppino sauce has a very similar flavor profile so I just adapted it slightly so it can be used in the same way piperade is traditionally eaten - with soft boiled eggs and crispy slices of baguette.  There is nothing so delicious as breaking into the warm, rich, runny egg yolk and letting it flow into the tomato sauce before you scoop it up with a crisp piece of toasted bread!  Note, however, that because this base was used to cook shellfish, there is a definite seafood flavor to it.  If you are expecting a traditional sweet pepper flavor with this, you will be disappointed.

1 tsp piment d'espellete or smoked paprika
2-3 eggs
optional 1 cup broth, white, or red wine
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
Several slices of crispy toasted baguettes

To the leftover sauce, add about a teaspoon of piment d'espellete or smoked paprika and rewarm ina skillet over medium heat.  If you need to stretch the sauce you can add some broth or additional white or red wine to get to the consistency of a very thick pasta sauce.  Make two or three wells in the sauce with your spoon and crack an egg into each well.  Cover the skillet.  Simmer until the egg whites are set but the yolks are stilll runny, spooning a little sauce over them now and then to help the tops to set.  This should take about 8-10 minutes.  Remove from the stove, sprinkle with the cheese and serve with crispy, toasted baguette slices.