Category Archives: grains & legumes

Chock Full o’ Greens Soup

18 June 2009 by local kitchen

I made this soup on Tuesday night, in somewhat of a panic to think that the fridge was still stocked full of greens from last week’s CSA and I would be picking up another load of CSA veggies from the farm on Wednesday. I didn’t have a recipe in mind, so I just started pulling things out of the fridge and figured I would wing it. I rarely make up a recipe from scratch; I often have a base recipe that […]

Categories: Asian greens, basil, dill, grains & legumes, main course, pasta, quinoa, rice, soup, spring, summer, thyme, vegetarian • Tags: cooking, food, local, recipes, soup, vegetarian

Flageolet and Roasted Garlic Spread

16 June 2009 by local kitchen

More picnic fare that is easy to make, travels well, yet is impressively yummy and leaves friends wanting more. With the exception of olive oil and black pepper, this spread can be made entirely local with Navy beans from Cayuga Pure Organics; or you could do what I did and fly to San Francisco, visit friends, and hit up the Rancho Gordo booth at the Ferry Building! Adapted from Cannellini Bean Confetti Spread in Heirloom Beans, by Steve Sando […]

Categories: appetizer, beans, cheese, chives, fall, garlic, grains & legumes, heirloom beans, herbs, spring, summer • Tags: beans, cooking, food, garlic, local, recipes

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Locavirgin: Local Crostini

15 June 2009 by local kitchen

Crostini are always much more impressive than store-bought crackers, yet they are extremely easy to make and you control the ingredients. It is much easier to find local artisinal bread, even those made with completely local flour, than it is to find local crackers (or even local crostini). In my area, there are a few local bakeries that can be counted on to provide wonderfully tasty artisinal loaves, many made with locally sourced flour: Ross’ Bread in Ridgefield, CT is […]

Categories: 100% local, appetizer, breads, herbs, Locavirgin, vegetarian, whole wheat flour, year round • Tags: cooking, food, local, quick & easy, recipes, whole grain breads

Whole Grain Blueberry Pancakes

12 June 2009 by local kitchen

I must confess: as someone who owns quite a few cookbooks (not exactly 101, but it’s getting there), and who actually does a lot of cooking, it seems odd that I don’t own the Joy of Cooking. I don’t own Bittman’s How to Cook Everything, I don’t own the Betty Crocker cookbook, I don’t even own Julia’s masterwork on French cooking. Considering that my cooking career began well before the Internet, it seems odd that I don’t have more of […]

Categories: 100% local, berries, breakfast, eggs, fruit, milk, summer, whole wheat flour, year round • Tags: breakfast, cooking, food, recipes

Wild Blueberry & Grapefruit Scones

9 June 2009 by local kitchen

I still have some wild blueberries in the freezer, picked last August up in Minnewaska State Park. I also had a couple of pink grapefruits sitting in the fruit drawer, needing to be eaten soon. As my friend Melissa is coming up for a visit tomorrow, I thought it would be nice to have some yummy nibbles on hand, and scones are such a versatile nibble; perfect for breakfast, an afternoon snack with tea, or a meal-on-the-go in the car. […]

Categories: baking, berries, breakfast, citrus, dessert, whole wheat flour, year round • Tags: baking, cooking, food, local, recipes

Cranberry Bean & Turkey Chili

4 June 2009 by local kitchen

Strangely enough, I’ve never made a traditional, American, ground-meat-and-beans chili. I’ve made authentic Mexican chile verde, plenty of bean and meat stews, and certainly do my fair share of cooking with fresh and dried chile peppers, but somehow I’ve never made the standard Sunday-afternoon-football, serve-an-army chili. (I guess I still haven’t when you consider the heirloom Vermont cranberry beans and Kosher ground turkey; “Kaela Tries to Cook American Food and Fails Miserably – Film at 11!”). It may be because I almost never […]

Categories: 100% local, beans, heirloom beans, hot chile peppers, main course, spring, stew, tomatoes, turkey, wine, beer & liquor, year round • Tags: beans, chili, cooking, food, heirloom beans, local, recipes, turkey

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Three-Bean Veggie Burger

31 May 2009 by local kitchen

It’s weird to think that just today I was making fun of Guy Fieri on the Facebook page, yet when I first made these burgers, I had never heard of him. Oh, the innocence of the Aughts. Of course, it was the Tweens that brought us this gem of a review on Guy’s American Tourist Trap in Times Square: I’m a decade-is-half-full kind of girl. . . . I must admit, I’ve been pretty successful in my New Year’s resolution to […]

Categories: beans, chickpeas, eggs, grains & legumes, main course, oats, parsley, radish, vegetable, vegetarian, year round • Tags: beans, cooking, food, local, recipes, vegetarian

Whole Grain Scottish Rolls (Baps)

29 May 2009 by local kitchen

It’s been a very busy week and these rolls are just what the doctor ordered: quick & easy food processor dough, less than 10 minutes of kneading, 20 minutes in the oven, and then mouth-wateringly deliciousness. Seriously, these rolls are good. These are the rolls to serve to friends & family who “don’t like wheat bread.” Buttery, soft, nutty, wheaty – they’ll be so busy devouring the whole batch, they’ll never notice the whole wheat. This is a small batch so […]

Categories: 100% local, breads, grains & legumes, whole wheat flour • Tags: baking, bread, cooking, food, local, recipes, whole grain breads

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Sunday Spring Cleaning: Runner Cannellini Bean Stew with Herb Pesto

17 May 2009 by local kitchen

I generally think of bean stew as being hearty, thick with sausage, tomatoes, vegetables and a thick gravy. This one, based loosely on a recipe from Stone Barns chef Dan Barber, and presented in Rancho Gordo cookbook Heirloom Beans, is surprisingly light and Springy, with a subtle play of flavor and texture from the white beans, pesto sauce and goat cheese. Like most bean soups and stews, the recipe is extremely versatile, and well-adapted to using up odds & ends of veggies in […]

Categories: arugula, beans, fall, garlic, heirloom beans, parsley, spinach, spring, stew, vegetarian, year round • Tags: beans, cooking, food, local, recipes

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Spring Green Veggie Pasta

6 May 2009 by local kitchen

On my last night in San Fran I tried to cook up all the wonderful veggies we had picked up at the Ferry Building farmer’s market. I had planned on a spring veggie risotto, maybe with some Niman Ranch bacon (which makes any dish wonderful), but it was a crazy day of running around, meeting at friend for lunch at the Beach Chalet, doing laundry, hanging prints, catching up on email… essentially, I did not get out to the store, […]

Categories: beans, farmer's markets, herbs, main course, pasta, spring, tarragon, vegetarian • Tags: cooking, food, local, recipes, vegetarian

Yeasted Pumpkin Bread

24 April 2009 by local kitchen

Hallelujah! The oven is fixed. The ‘Oven Guy’ came yesterday, replaced the igniter, and now I should, ostensibly, have much more consistent oven temps during baking. In celebration, I made one of my favorite “one-day” breads, a yeast bread with my favorite all-purpose vegetable, pumpkin. The eggs and pumpkin puree in this bread give it a moist, cakelike texture with the delicious but subtle flavor of pumpkin and a lovely golden color. The eggs also work to give the bread additional structure, […]

Categories: 100% local, baking, breads, whole wheat flour, winter squash, year round • Tags: baking, bread, cooking, food, local, recipes, whole grain breads

Whole Wheat Rosemary Focaccia

15 April 2009 by local kitchen

This is another one of Peter Reinhart’s two-day whole grain bread recipes; this one for whole wheat focaccia bread. I’ve been tinkering with this recipe for a while – it appears that you need the right volume of dough, as well as the right hydration, in order to get a good rise and a nice, airy structure. I think I’ve finally got it right; this one was nicely browned, chock full o’ holes, and had fabulous flavor. I’ll spare you […]

Categories: baking, breads, rosemary, vegetarian, whole wheat flour, year round • Tags: cooking, food, local, recipes, whole grain breads

Kami’s Birthday Cake: A Cautionary Tale

13 April 2009 by local kitchen

Those who have been paying attention know that I had been testing cake recipes for Kami’s birthday cake, which was due for her birthday dinner, last Thursday. Well, let’s just be brief and say “the best laid plans of mice and men (and crazy red-headed baking chicks)…” Let’s just review the cakes I’ve baked over the last couple of weeks: A mini-version of the Pink Lady cake over at Smitten Kitchen. I cut the recipe to 1/4 of the original […]

Categories: berries, dessert, spring, whole wheat flour, year round • Tags: baking, cake, cooking, disaster, food, local, recipes

Mac. And. Cheese.

8 April 2009 by local kitchen

I can think of but one response to snow (yes, I said snow) on April 8th – mac and cheese. There are about a gizillion recipes out there for macaroni and cheese (actually Google informs me that there are “about 1,420,000“); this one is a classic version, with a bechamel-cheese sauce, a little salt, pepper & nutmeg, and not much else. I like a lot of different varieties of mac & cheese – the Half King in Chelsea makes a great version […]

Categories: 100% local, cheese, pasta, year round • Tags: cheese, cooking, food, local, main course, pasta, recipes, vegetarian

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Homemade Granola

7 April 2009 by local kitchen

Tai had this for breakfast this morning and hasn’t stopped talking about how wonderful it was. I don’t even like granola, and I never eat cereal, but on tasting this, I was tempted to have a bowl; it is that good. And really simple to make – I don’t know why I didn’t do this ages ago. I’m always trying to get Tai to cut down on the boxed cereal he loves, because it contains so much sugar (not to mention the […]

Categories: breakfast, cherries, cranberries, fruit, nuts, oats, raisins, vegetarian, year round • Tags: breakfast, cooking, food, granola, homemade, local, recipes, vegetarian