Pasta with wild leeks and green garlic

This weekend we went to the Portland Farmers' Market, and we got some wild leeks and green garlic (which is just very young garlic, including the green shoots). We decided to make a very simple pasta dish with them, so that they were the predominant flavor.

Just roughly chop the leeks and garlic, after removing the roots.



Sautee them in a skillet with olive oil over medium to medium-high heat until they are just getting soft. Salt and pepper to taste. Remove the skillet from heat and let the leeks and garlic cool a bit. Zest half a lemon into the leeks and garlic and mix it up.

After cooking your pasta, dish up the pasta and top with the leek and garlic mixture. Finish it off with a sprinkling of lemon zest, and then grate some parmesan cheese on top. If you like, you could also drizzle a bit more olive oil over top.

The flavor is fresh, and the oniony-garlicy flavor goes well with the lemon zest. It's a nice, simple pasta that only takes about 20 minutes to make and is super cheap.

lemony lemons

Spring has fully sprung around here and that leaves me craving all things bright and fresh tasting. A few weekends ago we had our first try at homemade lemon curd. It turned out great and was much easier than I anticipated. I can tell this may become a staple in our fridge. I tried the recipe from this book, Alice Waters' The Art of Simple Food, which I HIGHLY recommend! :)

Lemon Curd

Wash and dry 4 lemons
Grate the zest of one lemon. Juice the lemons; there should be about 1/2 cup juice. (If you find you only have one lemon around the house you can use one fresh lemon for it's zest and juice and supplement the juice with some already squeezed juice)
Beat until just mixed:
2 full eggs plus
3 egg yolks
2 tablespoons milk
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt (omit if using salted butter)

Stir in the lemon juice and zest and add
6 tablespoons butter, cut into small pieces

Cook the mixture in a small nonreactive heavy pan, stirring constantly, over medium heat until it is thick enough to coat a spoon. Do not boil or the eggs will curdle. When thick, pour into a bowl or glass jars to cool. Cover and refrigerate.

Warning: Highly addictive. You might find yourself eating this by the spoonful, or creating things to bake just so you can use some more.

BSET Sandwich

That's Bacon, Spinach, Egg, and Tomato. We made this today for lunch, and it's a delicious sandwich. We also want to try it with watercress or arugula instead of spinach at some point as well. Cheers!

Lightly toast a couple pieces of bread.
Top with fried egg, of your preferred style - lightly salted and peppered.

Next, roughly chopped spinach and sliced tomatoes.


Bacon on top

And a bit of herbes de Provence mustard on the top slice of bread

Delicious

Teagan wanted some too, as always.

Bon Appétit Magazine: The Terrific 10 Foods

We saw this article in Bon Appétit magazine this month, written by Daniel Duane, and thought it was really good. Hopefully it'll be useful and interesting for you all :)

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For us, healthful eating isn't about deprivation. It's about deliciousness. We believe that a good-for-you diet includes both buckwheat and bacon. A balanced dient is all about, well, balance. Eating a wide variety of great foods will keep you satisfied, interested - and busy in the kitchen. The key is to focus on whole, minimally processed foods, then let your stomach be your guide. Begin your quest for a delicious, healthful life with our ten favorite foods.

1/Bacon
Ever see that old Woody Allen movie Sleeper? The one where he goes to sleep in 1973 and wakes up 200 years later, only to discover that decadent foods (fudge, cream pies) turned out to be healthful? Well, here comes Jennifer McLagain, author of a book simply called Fat, telling us that 45 percent of the fat in bacon is monounsaturated, the good-for-you fat that can help lower bad cholesterol levels. Better still, bacon's monounsaturated fat turns out to be oleic acid, the same fat found in olive oil. So that means that some could argue that bacon is about half as good for you as olive oil and about 100 times more delicious. Of course, moderation is key here, and you should seek out artisanal varieties without preservatives. One of the best things about bacon is that a little goes a long way. Not convinced? Fry up just one slice along with the aromatics for a pot of soup, or chop it up and use it as a garnish for fish or sauteed greens.

2/Whole Milk
Wait, you're still drinking skim milk? It's time you got the good news: Whole milk can be good for you. It turns out that saturated milk fats may help us absorb calcium better, and also contain big helpings of vitamins A and D. That's why our government requires milk producers to fortify skim and low-fat milk with synthetic vitamins. Also in support of whole milk are several studies that have found low-fat diets can be counterproductive to weight loss, along with a Swedish study of 19,000 women that focused on the consumption of full-fat milk and cheese. Researchers monitored these women for nine years and discovered that women who ate one serving of whole milk or cheese a day put on less weight than women who ate these foods less often. Another study suggests that one or more servings of whole-milk products a day may enhance a woman's fertility.

3/Pine Nuts
Pine nuts might be small, but they have significant nutritional clout: about 11 grams of protein in about one half cup. Pine nuts are also loaded with cancer-fighting anti-oxidants and pinolenic acid, a natural appetite suppressant. If you're still worrying about all the fat in nuts, you can forget about that, too. A 2003 study in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition found little evidence that eating nuts causes weight gain; some of the evidence actually pointed to weight maintenance. And the best part is that roasted pine nuts are a terrifically easy way to toss a little flavor, richness and texture into everything from last-minute salads to weeknight pastas. But a word to the wise: Like all nuts, pine nuts turn rancid after a while. Buy small quantities and store them airtight in the fridge or freezer.

4/Duck Breast
Duck has a decadent reputation (duck-fat fries, anyone?), but that doesn't make it bad for you to cook at home once in a while. And sure, duck does come with a hefty layer of fat beneath the skin, but according to McLagan (see "Bacon"), duck fat is among the healthiest of animal fats. Weighing in at 63 percent unsaturated fat, duck handily beats out beef and is right up there with health-food icon chicken. Duck fat also happens to rank near bacon on the short list of "The World's Tastiest Substances." So committed carnivores shouldn't be afraid to splurge on a duck breast every now and then. Score the skin and sauté it skin side down to render out much of the fat, sprinkle with sea salt, and enjoy the duck's world-class simplicity.

5/Watercress
You already know that greens are good for you, but watercress, the star of many a tea sandwich, might be especially healthful. A 2007 study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that watercress has a high enough antioxidant count to make a measurable difference in reducing DNA damage to our white blood cells, which is a precursor to many forms of cancer. Eating watercress was also found to consistently lower elevated blood triglyceride levels, a risk factor for heart disease. If you already love arugula for its bright, peppery contrast to rich foods, toss some watercress with a Dijon vinaigrette and experience the perfect accompaniment to a grilled grass-fed skirt steak (or a duck breast).

6/Cannellini Beans
This hardworking pantry staple is budget-friendly, versatile, and incredibly good for you. Beans are packed with cholesterol-lowering soluble fiber, potassium, and magnesium that help regulate blood pressure, and complex carbs and protein that keep you from feeling hungry 30 minutes after you finish your dinner. We love all beans, but cannellinis (white kidney beans) are the essential building blocks for some of the most delicious soups, salads, sides and appetizers. When buying beans, shop at a store that moves big quantities (such as specialty foods stores with busy bulk sections), so you know they haven't been sitting around. Or, better still, shop online at ranchogordo.com for delicious, high-quality dried heirloom beans. Soak the beans overnight, simmer until tender, and drain. Throw them in a pan with good olive oil, garlic, and rosemary. Cook long enough to meld the flavors - then spread over toast for one healthy bruschetta.

7/Leeks
Leeks are a great source of dietary fiber. How great? One medium leek can contain more fiber than a bran muffin. They also have plenty of folic acid, iron, potassium, vitamin C, and cancer-fighting antioxidants. And leeks are more versatile than you think. Use them in a quick potato-leek soup, try in place of celery in stock and stew recipes (just like über-chef Thomas Keller does), or slow-braise them for a nice side dish for roasted meats.

8/Anchovies
Omega-3 fatty acids have been found to be so beneficial that some doctors suggest taking fish-oil supplements for protection against everything from heart disease to depression. And any expert can tell you that small, oily fish, especially from cold northern seas, carry a high concentration of omega-3s with a minimum of mercury. That, in turn, brings us to one of the great foodie win-wins: anchovies. With 2.4 grams of omega-3s per 6 ounces of uncooked fresh fish, anchovies have just as much omega-3 as salmon and nearly twice as much as halibut. Nobody eats anchovies in the same serving sizes as salmon, of course, but anchovies add such an incredible depth of flavor to so many dishes - from pastas and salads to homemade mayonnaise - that you can easily get some omega-3s in a variety of surprising and delicious ways.

9/Fresh Strawberries
When it comes to healthful eating, color is key. Scientists have found that brightly colored fruits and vegetables contain the highest levels of phytonutrients, powerful disease-fighting compounds. In the case of bright red strawberries, a study conducted at the University of Illinois found that the fruit may fight inflammation, cancer-causing compounds, and may even be capable of suppressing the progression of tumors. Adding to the good news is a recent study published in the medical journal Metabolism that found that strawberries may help reduce bad cholesterol.

10/Buckwheat
Buckwheat isn't a grain, as often thought, but an herb that's related to rhubarb and sorrel - and it's incredibly good for you. Buckwheat contains all of the essential amino acids, B vitamins, phosphorus, magnesium, iron, zinc, copper and manganese, and a fatty acid critical to good health. And with 4.5 grams of dietary fiber in every cup. It's right up there with health-food darling granola. Enjoy your buckwheat in the form of soba noodles, French-style crepes, or pick up some buckwheat flour and whip up a batch of buttermilk buckwheat pancakes, a terrific way to a low-glycemic-index, high-protein breakfast that won't leave you lurching for a mid-morning muffin. Look for buckwheat flour at some supermarkets and specialty food stores or order it online at arrowheadmills.com