Colonel Mustard in the Kitchen with a Knife

See what I did here? My font is mustard... 

I'm not going to lie... I had to do some research about these Mustard Greens. I knew nothing about them, are they the same thing as collard greens? Are they something skinny people put in their green shakes? Who eats them anyway? As much as I consider myself a foodie, I try and stick to typical greens such as kale, spinach, Romain, and if we want to get a little crazy I'll even go for some swiss chard. Needless to say these mustard greens were going to be a stretch. 

Turns out these leaves have great health benefits. They originally made their way over from India, and eventually into southern kitchens during the time of slavery as a substitute for other greens. They are packed full of antioxidants, help fight cancer, aide with anti-inflammatory and lower cholesterol and have other cardiovascular benefits....who knew...  (now all of this research was done on the interwebs so it's definitely true.)

So now I'm looking for recipes and I come across one were the first ingredient is bacon, so naturally I decide to make this one... 

Ingredients
4 slices bacon, chopped
3 bunches mustard greens, trimmed and chopped
2 tablespoons white vinegar
2 teaspoons sugar
Coarse salt
2 cups chicken broth
Directions
In a large skillet over medium high heat brown bacon and render its fat. Add chopped greens to the pan in batches and turn until they wilt, then add more greens. When all of the greens are in the pan, add vinegar and cook a minute. Season greens with sugar and salt. Add chicken broth to the pan and cover. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer greens 15 to 20 minutes then serve.


Turns out it's from Ms. Rachel Ray herself, some days I love her, some days I don't, today I question her vinegar choices. 

I tasted the greens raw and they actually have this great peppery flavor to them. Too bad I braised the crap out of them with too much vinegar, otherwise this would have been great. It should also be noted I used turkey bacon.I suggest to cut back on the vinegar or perhaps substitute it with apple cider vinegar instead. Today I have failed as the mustard green queen, but there is always next week. Bottom line, this recipe needs tweaking, but the mustard greens have potential.

Here's to hoping my chicken marinade saves the day later. 

Eat on...

-Laura 

Easy as Pie!

Let's talk leeks....

Pull out your pie dish! We're making dinner. 

Tonight I made a super delicious quiche with spinach and leeks.

First things first, you need to make a flakey crust. 

Crust:

1 cup of flour 

1/2 teaspoon of salt 

1/4 cup of ice water 

1/4 cup of olive oil 

Mix the dry ingredients together with a fork. Mix the wet together, pour in to the dry ingredients and press your pie crust in to your pie dish. 

I froze it for 20 minutes and then I baked it at 350 degrees for 30 minutes with parchment paper and another pie dish on top. Next, I took the second pie dish and parchment paper off and baked it for 10 minutes until it got to be a nice golden brown. 

While all of the freezing and baking is happening, you can make your filling. 

Leeks + Spinach Filling: 

3 large eggs 

4 oz. Heavy Cream 

1 cup of Skim Milk

2 Leeks Sliced thin

3 oz. Spinach Chopped 

First I sauteed the spinach with olive oil spray, garlic powder, salt and pepper. I let them nicely wilt and then set aside. Repeat with the leeks. 

I  beat the eggs and combined all ingredients above. 

Put it all together...

Finally the flakey crust is a golden brown and your veggie custard is ready. Next I took an italian cheese blend and covered the bottom of the pie crust with cheese, filled the pie with the filling and put some more gooey cheese on top. 

I baked it for about 35 minutes at 350 degrees. 

The hubs topped it with fresh a fresh tomato. 

Seriously tasty, seriously easy, really fresh. 

No more pencils, no more books!

I'm going to do my best to stay sane this summer as I find myself in a summer of transition. I'm a first grade teacher changing school districts, I'm a wife selling our home and I'm a dog Mom adjusting our new pup, but my favorite title of the summer is Chef. 

I love food,  I love to eat and I truly enjoy cooking (during the summer, during the school year I'm no fun). During the summer my husband and I join the local farm's CSA program. We pick up a fresh box of fruits and veggies every Tuesday. Most of the time there are ingredients in the box that I have never used before. I'm going to challenge myself in a "Chopped" fashion to use everything in the box. I will research recipes, try recipes from the farm, make up my own fancy recipes, and some weeks keep it simple on the grill. 

Dreyer Farms in Cranford, NJ has completely inspired my inner Summer Chef and my hope is to come out of this summer a better home cook with new techniques and a better handle on some of these fresh ingredients! 

Dreyer Farms
Savory Spice Shop

This Tuesday (June 25) we were given: 
Zucchini 
Cucumber 
Tomato
Blueberries 
Leeks 
Mustard Greens 
Basil 
Broccoli 
Lettuce 
Homestead Spice Pack from Savory Spice Shop in Westfield, NJ. 

My plans for today are to make my own pesto, eat fresh blueberries, find a recipe for a yummy cheese sauce for the broccoli and figure out these mustard greens! 

Stay cool.

-Laura