grilled asparagus with tomato jam

kids start going back to school this week.  i always feel like the last 2 weeks of summer is about cramming all of the dinners, projects, and trips that didn't happen throughout the summer. 

we had a little dinner party and invited some kids and friends over for a feast.  we grilled some salmon and asparagus and made some pesto with basil from the garden.  a wonderful celebration of summer with friends.

tomato jam
serve over 2 bunches of asparagus or green beans, grilled
tomato jam ingredients
1 teaspoon olive oil, more if needed
1 small sweet onion, diced
2 cloves of garlic, diced
1 1/2 pint of garden fresh tomatoes, diced or halved if using cherry tomatoes
1 Tbsp maple syrup
s & p
directions
-on medium heat slowly cook the onion for 10 minutes or so
-add garlic clove
-add the tomatoes
-turn up to high heat and stir tomatoes until tomatoes cook down.  add some water if you need more liquid
-once the tomatoes have finished cooking down, add syrup and salt and pepper to taste.  
-spoon over your grilled asparagus or green beans
-enjoy!

photo and recipe by kristen bach

Jeruselum Rice

there were so many highlights from our beauty day and we have loved sharing our recipes, arrangements, and overall inspiration from the day!

one of my highlights of the day was spending the day in the kitchen, cooking up fresh and beautiful food with a group of talented ladies! i spend a lot of time in the kitchen but not a whole day, it was a big treat for me! 

many of the attendees asked for this rice recipe and i promised to share, it comes from the Jerusalem cookbook by yotam ottolenghi.

here is a link to the original recipe, i of course had to add some of my own touches!
while this recipe is about as perfect as they come, i wanted to add some spring bounty to the mix since we have so many wonderful herbs and vegetables growing right now. 

we added loads of fresh chives, grated carrots, spring onions, and a little bit of cilantro. we topped the beautiful salad with some chive blossoms for presentation.  give it a try and add some locally grown goodness to the mix!  and enjoy!

photos and words by kristen bach

harvesting kumquats

while we were in florida we took advantage of taking in lots of fresh citrus.  we spent one afternoon at the tupelo honey homestead which had a kumquat tree that was bursting at the seams with ripe fruit.  they let us go wild and pick a big bag. 
i know that eating kumquats raw can be pretty tart but these were so sweet! i couldn't wait to get home and make something delicious....and we ate quite a few straight from the tree!

i will be sharing a yummy kumquat recipe next week...  in the meantime check out this yummy candied kumquats recipe!

photos and words by kristen bach

winter detox rice salad

this is one of my favorite salads to make.  it is a perfect whole food and it is such a great healing meal.  after a long holiday season filled with lots of good eating this salad is a great way to reset your body and detox

ingredients
dressing
3 inch piece of fresh turmeric (remove skins if needed)
3 inch piece of fresh ginger (remove skins if needed)
2 cloves of garlic
2 Tbsp of tamari
1 Tbsp of rice vinegar or fresh lime juice
1/4 cup of peanut butter
salt to taste
red chili flakes (optional)
-water for thinning

rice
2 cups jasmine rice
1 can of coconut milk
1 cup water
1 tsp salt

salad
1 1/2 cup roasted (unsalted) cashews or peanuts
1 small bunch of cilantro
1 medium head of green cabbage
1 small red onion
3 scallions, diced
1 red pepper
3 carrots, peeled if not organic
 you can add other veggies like kohlrabi, daikon radish

-make your rice by bringing your coconut milk, water, salt, and rice to a boil.  turn to low and let simmer for 20 minutes or until liquid is absorbed
-meanwhile, dice the vegetables and toss together in a large serving bowl
-put all of the dressing ingredients in a blender
-blend until smooth and add enough water until it reaches the consistency of dressing
-when the rice is done cooking, cool
-when it is cooled toss with the mixed vegetables
-pour over dressing a little bit at a time and gently toss together until mixed
-enjoy and serve alongside some rooster sauce if you want some spice!

photo and recipe by kristen bach

warm radish and bean salad

we had a the first taste of fall this weekend.  the mornings were nice and cool and the days warmed up in the afternoon.  perfect weather if you ask me!  for supper last night we wanted something fresh but a little comforting and so this nice warm salad came about!

dressing
2 Tbsp white vinegar
4 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon dijon mustard
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
a sprinkle of salt and freshly ground pepper

-put all ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend. 
-this can be made by hand by putting all ingredients in a jar and shaking
-serve on top of salads, roasted or fresh vegatables, or noodles
-store in fridge for a week

vegetables
1 Tbsp olive oil
radishes
fresh green beans
salt and freshly ground pepper

-pre-heat oven to 400 degrees
-wash vegetables
-slice radishes in half
-in a medium size bowl add vegetables and toss with olive oil
-on a baking pan, line with parchment paper and arrange vegetables. cut vegetables can be placed cut side down
-sprinkle with salt and freshly ground pepper
-roast in oven for 20 minutes

-let the vegetables rest for 5 minutes before assembling your salad
-toss the vegetables with dressing and serve on top of a bed of greens, as a side, or on top of a grain or pasta

photos and recipe by kristen bach

fermented pickles

over the past couple of weeks we have been getting lots of veggies from our garden and our csa box.  so....we have been fermenting lots of them.  one of our favorites has been making fermented pickles.  these are so simple to make and can be enjoyed for months.

ingredients

1 quart mason jar

2 1/2 Tbsp Sea salt

filtered water

2-3 cucumbers

2 cloves of garlic

a few sprigs of fresh herbs: dill, garlic scapes, parsley, fennel, ect.  

1 Tbsp peppercorns

cabbage or grape leaf to hold down pickles into the brine

directions

-put 1 cup of filtered water and salt in the bottom of jar and swish around until dissolved.

-slice cucumbers into coin shaped slices.

-add cucumbers to jar leaving 1 1/2 inch at the top.

-add herbs, garlic, and peppercorns to jar and top with filtered water until all cucumbers are submerged in water.

-put a top on the jar and gently agitate to combine all ingredients.

-open jar and put your cabbage or grape leaf on top to help keep your cucumbers submerged.

-set your jar on your counter for a couple of days (just depends how you like them).  the jar will start to look cloudy, and that is good.  you can taste the pickles each day to release the gasses and also see how they taste.  when your pickles taste good, put them in the fridge and this will stop the fermentation.  you can leave in the fridge for up to 6 months. 

photos and recipe by kristen bach

grilled bok choy

last sunday, we grilled out with friends at their farm.  it is still cooling off enough in the evenings where grilling is still tolerable.  soon those days will be long gone and the heat of summer will have moved in! 

grilled bok choy

-cut several heads of bok choy in half and place on a baking sheet or large plate

-drizzle with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and sprinkle with salt and pepper

-place on a heated grill

-with metal tongs flip the bok choy when it begins to brown

-enjoy!

photos by kristen bach

kohlrabi and kale cakes

i recently made these for supper and we devoured them outside on the back porch.....enjoying the lovely spring eve.  It was a great spring meal!

kholrabi and kale cakes

-pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees

-shred 1 large potato and 2 medium sized kholrabi (removing skin from both) with a cheese grater

-finely dice the whites of 5 spring onions and a small bunch of kale (roughly 3/4 cup when diced)

-in a mixing bowl, combine kohlrabi, potato, kale, and onions

-mix in 1/2 teaspoon salt, and freshly ground pepper

-mix in 2 beaten eggs and 1/2 cup flour until all ingredients are combined

-line a cooking sheet with parchment paper and lightly coat with olive oil

-using an ice cream scoop, carefully scoop out your mixture and flatten a bit

-bake for 30-40 minutes, flipping midway through

i served these up with a simple sauce that i made by adding cucumber, salt, and fresh herbs to some plain greek yogurt

photos and recipe by kristen bach

balsamic roasted fennel and beets

we are on the cusp of the growing season right now.  spring veggies are getting planted and the winter ones are getting harvested. 

this past week we roasted up some of the hearty winter veggies that we love.  it was a simple side that even my 5 year old gobbled up.

pre-heat your oven to 400 degrees

-wash your beets and fennel well and trim the tops of of both

-slice the beets and fennel into smaller pieces, mine were both small so I halved them

-in a bowl toss with salt and a generous amount of freshly cracked pepper, 1 tsp olive oil, and 1 tsp good balsamic vinegar

-line a baking sheet with parchment paper and arrange roasting veggies

-roast for 20 minutes or until your vegetables are cooked all of the way through

-return to bowl and quickly toss with a tiny bit of balsamic again

-enjoy!

photos and recipe by kristen bach

winter minestrone

this year the weather has been chilly and no signs of spring seem to be anywhere in sight.  this past week we had our first flurries of the year, an ice storm, and tomorrow we have snow in the forecast. winter just doesn't want to let up! 

with that being said, I am going to keep making soups to keep us warm through these cold days.  this minestrone is a perfect soup to do just that.

winter minestrone

-in a large stock pan, saute 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil, a pinch of salt, 1 large diced yellow onion, 3 cloves of diced garlic, 1 large or two small fennel bulbs, sliced and core removed.  saute on med-low heat for 20 minutes

-add 5 cups of good quality vegetable stock, (homemade if you got it), 2 cups water, 1 can of white beans, 1 small can of fire roasted tomatoes (14.5 oz), salt to taste, a pinch of pepper, 1 Tbsp of maple syrup or another sweetener.  if you have any rinds of parmesan cheese you can add them to the stock for flavor.  let simmer for 1 hour to allow the flavors to develop.

-add a handful of sliced greens such as chard, kale, collards, turnip greens, or spinach and also add 1 Tbsp of finely diced fresh parsley.

-lastly, add 1 cup of orzo and allow the pasta to cook for 20 minutes or so.  bon appetit!

photo and recipe by kristen bach

photo

winter bounty bowl

around our house we call these bounty bowls.  what's a bounty bowl?  it's a mix of seasonal vegetables all cooked up (or sometimes raw), a protein, then layered into a bowl with a sauce of some sort. to me this is the most ideal and satisfying comfort meals.  and quite lovely i might add. 

this winter bounty bowl was composed of charred kale, roasted brussel sprouts with raisins, roasted sweet potatoes, and black lentils.  the sauce i made is one from a cookbook called "go dairy free".  i have been making this sauce for years and putting it on top of rice, noodles, salads.....and more~

magic sauce (a variation from a recipe out of the "go dairy free" cookbook)

-in a food processor or blender, add: 1/3 cup tahini, 3 cloves garlic, 1 handful of parsley, a dash of salt and pepper, juice of 2 lemons, and 1/3-1/2 cup water.  you can also add fresh cilantro if you have some on hand.

-blend until mixed adding more water if necessary.  the texture should be smooth like gravy.

-serve atop salads, mashed potatoes, vegetables, noodles, or rice. 

photo by kristen bach

shotgun supper in thomasville, GA

rebecca and i just returned from a super inspiring trip to south georgia.  we started off our trip by stopping at the dahlia farm and packed our car full of flora for this lovely dinner. 

about a year ago, our friend nan visited athens and we brought her to a supper club dinner.  mimi's dinner planted the seed which quickly grew into what nan and partner, carol call "shotgun dinners".  each dinner is prepared by a visiting chef and held at a secret spot. the ingredients are locally sourced and nan brings her special designer touch to the table.  

this shotgun supper's guest chef was prepared by mimi maumus of home.made in athens and was held at a quail hunting plantation in thomaville.  it was a special treat to visit this lovely plantation amongst great company and wonderful food.

photos and words by kristen bach