all up in your grillz

Photo © Brian Sorg

The Green City Farmers Market's long anticipated outdoor season is here! For us that means one thing: vegetables on the grill. They're easy, quick & there are a million ways to prepare...but when you're fortunate enough to get farm produce so delicious on its own, simple is best. I eat vegetables by the bucket load & thankfully Brian is happy to partake, especially if the grill is involved. We always stop by Mick Klug Farm's stall to pick up whatever they have that day; in this case they had gorgeous purple asparagus (the thinner the better, in my opinion). 

Spears x Sorg

1 bunch asparagus

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 lemons, zested & juiced

1 tbsp olive oil

Hearty amt of salt & pepper, coarsely ground

Trim bottom stems, throw above ingredients in a plastic bag and let marinate for an hour in the fridge. Heat grill, put asparagus directly on the grill, tossing every couple minutes, 5-7  minutes. 

Instructions from the grill-master:

- Eat these spears with your fingers, not a fork.

- Pair with Crooked Tree's 'Tilted Smile Imperial Pilsner' (*or a glass of sav blanc)

sorg in the kitchen

Photos © Brian Sorg

I got lucky because I love to spend time in the kitchen and Brian happens to be a really great cook/smoothie & juice maker/griller/chopper, etc...he is way more patient than I am & his diced vegetables always come out perfectly uniform. This weekend though we realized where he really shines is at 'bowl things'. Aka things that work well with a dipper of some form. His salsas never last long (except when he maxes out on habaneros & burns my tongue right off) & his hummus is smooth, creamy & nice & garlicky. 

Brian's Hummus

Juice of 2 lemons

2 cloves peeled garlic (3 if you want it extra garlicky)

2 tsp tahini

Couple dashes cumin

Couple dashes cayenne

1 can garbanzo beans with 1/4 can juice 

Blend together in a food processor & drizzle w/olive oil & a few dashes paprika for garnish (optional)

Serve w/pita chips, lentil chips, cucumber, celery or over a veggie burger! 

southern comfort

Photo © Brian Sorg

After getting a tease of spring in New Orleans and looking to make something out of what we had (while also needing a detox after all that southern food), we went for our go-to summer salad. While best in summer, when the ingredients are found at the market, we made do w/frozen corn & threw in a zucchini that was leftover from veggie patties. So, while this is certainly the opposite of cooking seasonally, it's definitely a comfort food of ours! Also, it's as easy as chopping and combining, so that's an added bonus.

Southwestern Confetti Salad
1 cup cooked black beans (soak 1/2 cup overnight, boil ~2 hrs/drain, or 1 can black beans)
1 - 2 sm zucchinis, diced
1 shallot, minced
1 cup thawed frozen corn
1 - 2 red/green/yellow pepper, diced
2 jalapenos, seeded, diced
1 tbsp olive oil
3 -4 limes, zested & juiced
1 tsp cayenne (more if you prefer spice)
Salt & pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients together and allow to sit at least an hour for ingredients to marry. An option for added protein is to throw in some quinoa, but brian's feeling on quinoa is 'not my favorite' (while my feeling is 'it's my favorite'), but relationships are about compromise, right? I say this as a person who is working on loosening the control and bringing in more of that compromise...I'd say it's a work in progress and I'm not sure what Brian would say. Fortunately he's not around to poll on the matter so I say progress is happening :)

styled

I am surrounded by wonderfully talented people, including super-human super-stylist Lorrie J. This girl has more energy than anyone I've met...up at the crack of dawn to workout with her trainer (she can do more pull ups than most dudes), run around with her dogs, prop/shop/style on set all day, cook, re-do her house and on and on.

Lorrie's a great cook, but until recently, vegetables weren't a part of her diet unless they were battered, fried, and served alongside some red meat (or pizza). A month ago she told me she was doing a raw, vegan weekend with her trainer and I was definitely excited because Lorrie is always happy to share. Everything she makes is delicious and comes with a kick in the form of a jalapeno, while also looking beautiful. Enter her raw, vegan sushi...

Jalapeno 'Rice' in the form of blended cauliflower & pine nuts...

layers of avocado, cucumber & peppers...

Photos © Rex Waters, Styled by Lorrie J

The finished product which I would eat over the real deal any day; I actually preferred the texture of her 'rice' because dry rice is so common in sushi. It should be noted that when I attempted to cut the roll she gave me for dinner it was a giant sushi mess and the opposite of what you see above.

Lorrie has since done a 21 day raw, vegan cleanse, and told me she wanted to test her willpower while cleaning the toxins out, acknowledging that she ate a pretty poor diet before. She read 'Crazy Sexy Diet' where the author talks about the healing powers of food and was inspired. While this is by no means a permanent change in lifestyle for her, one of the best side effects was that she 'learned to like veggies!' Bonus  for me who is always a happy recipient of samples...and let's be honest, some things (like homemade sushi) are better left to the pros.

on foods

I don't eat meat, a lifestyle which was gradual and made the most sense for me, especially given my propensity for vegetables and legumes. I'll put almond milk in a smoothie, but in general my dairy intake is pretty low...except for cheese. There are always hunks of parmigiana reggiano & pecorino romano in the fridge & I snack on slices of manchego, brie (triple cream), blue (camembert), or my other standbys (sartori bellavitano or midnight moon) all day. I'm not sure I could ever give up dairy completely, nor could I go fully vegan (even if stella mccartney could dress me every day). You can only do your best and what makes the most sense for you!

At any rate, I've been experimenting with laying off cheese out of curiosity as I am Asian and lactose intolerance is common. This kale/quinoa pilaf is a fave as it is simple & delicious, so I eliminated the goat cheese & added more pine nuts, which is always a good idea in general.

One Pot Kale & Qunioa Pilaf
1 cup quinoa (I used red, but any kind works)
2 cup salted water
1 bunch kale, washed/chopped into 1" pieces (stems discarded)
3 tbsp or more toasted pine nuts (watch them closely, they burn easily so pull off heat as soon as fragrant)
3 scallions chopped
zest and juice of one small lemon (I like meyer if you can find)
~a tbsp of olive oil
salt and pepper
goat cheese (optional)

1. Bring water to boil, add quinoa, cover and turn to down to simmer for 10 min. Top with kale, re-cover, then simmer 5 more min. Turn off heat and allow to steam for 5 min.

2. Combine scallions, oil, zest and juice & pine nuts. Check quinoa, kale should be bright green & quinoa should have absorbed the water. Toss all together, salt and pepper to taste and enjoy!

Photos © Rex Waters

in your pantry

Seeing as how braving whole foods on a sunday can be seriously traumatic (yesterday I overheard a woman telling her friend she has never seen it like that and I fully agreed), I'm always thrilled to find a delicious recipe that consists of staples that are usually on hand already. Enter Food 52's Farro Salad w/Roasted Mushrooms.

I tweaked it a bit because I prefer a higher 'goods' to grain ratio and added toasted chopped walnuts/almonds; the only thing I'd do differently is make more...The roasted mushrooms have such a rich, intense flavor, the farro brings that nutty texture, & the parmesan, parsley & acid pull it all together. 

Here's my version:

3/4 cup uncooked farro
1 lb mushrooms (I used a mix of shiitake & cremini), wipe & trim, cut into bite-sized pieces
Sea salt & freshly ground black pepper
1 lemon
Olive Oil
1/4 cup parsley, chopped
1/4 cup parmigiano reggiano, finely chopped (creates little bites of flavor)
1/4 cup chopped nuts, toasted in saute pan (they burn easily, keep an eye and stir frequently, once fragrant pull off heat)

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. In med pot, combine farro and enough cold water to cover it by an inch. Soak for 20 minutes. Drain and return to pan, again covering with cold water. Add a few pinches of salt and bring to a boil over high heat. Lower the heat, cover and simmer for 20 - 23 minutes, until the farro is tender but still has some bite.

2. Arrange mushrooms on a rimmed baking sheet & drizzle generously with olive oil, sea salt and pepper, toss gently. Spread eventy and put in oven for ~20 minutes, stirring halfway until crisp around edges and cooked through.

3. When farro is done, drain well. Once farro and mushrooms have cooled, combine them in a serving bowl. Add the juice of a lemon, drizzle at least 3 tbsp olive oil (more if seems dry), tossing gently to combine. Add Parmesan  pepper, parsley, nuts & a generous grinding of pepper. Toss gently to combine. Taste and add more salt & pepper if necessary. Enjoy!

Photos © Rex Waters

Added bonus...the next morning I warmed this up in a pan and scrambled it w/an egg and some arugula...adios hangover!

christmas spirit

I lack the holiday decoration pinterest gene...in fact, it would be nice if my place was decorated at all. So, when a coworker asked me if we'd gotten our tree set up yet, I had to laugh as I was re-telling this to Brian over dinner. My tree would probably look something like this...

image © Charles Schutz

We started talking about the holidays though, and by the end of dinner we'd decided that not only would we get a tree, but we were going to chop it down ourselves and then bake cookies. A pretty ambitious plan considering we had no idea where to do this, nor do we own a mixer (I regrettably gave my Kitchen-Aid to the movers in a dramatic fit of house cleaning). 

Ultimately we decided on ginger molasses cookies, and worked from this recipe...we upgraded a few ingredients and cooked a little less than called for. The ingredients used are strong and full of flavor, making these delicious cookies spicy and rich, and not overly sweet. Here is our (enhanced) version:

Spiced Ginger and Molasses Cookies

2 1/4 cup all purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon allspice

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

3/4 cups unsalted butter, room temperature

3/4 cup packed dark muscovado brown sugar *KEY (we used India Tree brand, found at whole foods)

1 egg

1/2 cup unsulfured molasses

1/3 cup diced candied ginger *KEY (the candied ginger at the spice house is fresh and delicious on its own)

Granulated sugar for rolling

1. Combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ground ginger, allspice, salt and cloves in a bowl and mix well. 

2. Beat butter and sugar with electric mixer, around 3 minutes, until light and fluffy

3. Add egg and molasses. Mix to combine well. Stir in dry ingredients. Stir in candied ginger. Refrigerate batter 45 min

4. Preheat oven to 375 F. Roll dough into ~1" balls. Roll balls in granulated sugar. Arrange on baking sheets lined with parchment paper and gently flatten. Bake 10 min and let cool. 

Photos © Rex Waters

As far as that Christmas tree...after some research we realized that cutting one down was maybe just a little more than 2 (very) urban dwellers had bargained for. Instead we landed on buying a small 'christmas' plant that will live past the season and can hold the three ornaments we currently have...in the meantime, we'll be relying on Charlie Brown to keep it festive. 

ulterior motives

I would happily live a life of hermit-tude (you're never alone when you have a dog), but lately it seems a rarity to have a night in. Last saturday I totally wanted to chill and make this recipe from Food52 (an amazing culinary resource), but needed to get Brian on board first.

The conversation went something like this:

Rachel- What do you want to do tonight?
Brian - Not sure, what are you thinking?
R - Ummm, I'm open to whatever. (in my head I'm a very flexible person)
B - Uh huh. What do you really want to do?
R - Hmmm. Well......I was thinking staying in sounded fun.
B - .......
R - Also...how does Cauliflower Soup sound? Or anything else? (flexible x 2).
B - Rachel. You're not fooling anyone. 

And off to Whole Foods I went :) 

Photo © Rex Waters

Roasted Cauliflower Soup w/Chimichurri Sauce
(I followed the recipe pretty closely, and would tweak a few things if I made it again, including eliminating the creme fresh...here is my version)

1 head cauliflower, sliced, including core
1 1/2 tbsp unsalted butter
2 tbsp olive oil
1 yellow onion, diced
1 leek, light green parts only, diced
2 cloves garlic, chopped
3 ribs celery, diced
1 tsp salt
2 cup broth of choice
2 cup water
2 tbsp parmesan cheese

Chimichurri Sauce
2 serrano chilis, seeded (if you like a kick, leave some seeds in), coarsly chopped
1 garlic cloves, smashed (if you love the taste of garlic, do 2)
2 cups parsley leaves
6 tbsp olive oil
juice of one lemon
1/2 tsp kosher salt

1. Place all chimichurri sauce ingredients in a blender and process until finely chopped. Set aside.

2. Preheat oven to 350F. Place cauliflower on a dry cookie sheet and roast until tender, about 20 minutes.

3. In a large heavy pot, heat the butter and oil until hot. Saute the onion, garlic, and celery in the mixture until soft and very aromatic. Add salt & roasted cauliflower and toss with a spoon until caulflower is covered.
Cook another 2 minutes.

4. Add the broth and water. Bring to a boil and simmer for 5 - 7 minutes. Puree in a blender or with an immersion blender (I like my soups with texture so blend with caution). Pour back into pot and reheat to a simmer. Add parmesan cheese & chimichurri sauce until well incorporated.

image © Pixar Animation Studios

The soup is really delicious, it tastes creamy because of the cauliflower & the chimichurri sauce brings an unexpected quality to it. With soup in hand and Sophie at our feet, we watched Up, a movie I somehow hadn't seen which has subsequently become a new favorite. In the end, this quote says it best:

"That might sound boring, but I think the boring stuff is the stuff I remember the most"  - Russell (Up)

Also, many thanks to Daily Candy Chicago for featuring me in their 'Woman Behind the Blog' series...check out the post (and peruse the rest of their fabulous site) HERE.