October 1-7 2023
I was feeling ambitious this week for two reasons. Number one, I hit the Hollywood Farmers Market on Saturday and it was an absolute cornucopia of food. I don’t care much for diamonds and champagne but get me some earthy deep purple potatoes in a wooden bin and an overflow of red, yellow, and green peppers of all shapes and sizes cascading across a picnic tablecloth and I get excited about life. I am also feeling the change in the weather-cool at night and crisp yet warm with a bright sun during the day. This is the winding down of summer with fleeting moments of relaxation and excitement.
On Sundays, my grandma Carlson would cook a roast with little potatoes and carrots and it would always melt in my mouth when I would get to go over to Sunday dinners. Since my mom was single and working full time she did not get much time to cook so going to a dinner with my grandparents meant I got some really yummy home-cooked meals rather than something pulled from the freezer.
I decided to try cooking a roast and read about a lower temperature to cook it in Amy Thielan’s book “The New Midwestern Table.” She mentions to slow cook the roast at 285 degrees because this way the roast will remain soft and the meat with not overcook. When I do a roast in the slow cooker it is nice and easy however often I have parts of the meat that are tough because they are not fully submerged in the liquid and I am working all day so I cannot turn the roast before the meat starts getting hard. I think I like this method-though it did require me to be home for the majority of the day. I’ll probably save it for days that I have that luxury.
Rowan’s new favorite is these chocolate zucchini muffins so I am making these again. Michelle Tam from “Nom Nom Paleo” really always seems to hit the baking nail on the head. Sometimes paleo baking can be too coconutty or too dry and these stay an excellent chocolatey moistness for the week.
I also decided to make Love and Lemon’s Baba Ganoush Recipe because well, the eggplants at the farmer’s market were looking as bright and shiny as a new car and I realized….. this freshness of flavor simply doesn’t get much better than right now. So I cradled one of those white and purple eggplants in my basket until it could get it home for roasting. I always need a little something else for lunches. This Baba is excellent with a sprinkle of paprika and some almond crackers and a salad on the side.
It is simply a 2 dessert week because one of the things I found at the farmers market was 4 small radish red stalks of rhubarb which is only usually sold in the spring so I had to make my favorite strawberry rhubarb crisp. My husband and kids usually scoff at this crisp and wonder why anyone in the world would ever want to bake with rhubarb. Yet, they don’t seem to mind enjoying it with me after I pull it bubbling from the oven. I don’t think you can hate rhubarb that much and also eat this crisp so I tend to ignore their comments about it.
Classic Beef Pot Roast from Amy Thielsen
Ingredients
1 (4-pound) beef chuck roast, the more marbled the better
Fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon canola oil
2 tablespoons salted butter
3 stalks celery, cut into thirds
3 large carrots, quartered
2 medium turnips, quartered
3/4 cup dry red wine
2 cups beef stock, low-sodium store-bought or homemade
2 large Vidalia onions, cut into eighths
11 cloves garlic: 10 whole, 1 minced
4 dried bay leaves
1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary
1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme
1 cup cherry tomatoes
1/4 cup shelled salted pistachios, chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
Directions
Season the roast liberally with salt and pepper. Heat your largest high-sided skillet over high heat, add the oil, and then add the roast. Sear it quickly until dark brown on all sides, about 8 minutes. Set the roast aside, pour off and discard the excess fat from the skillet, and let the skillet cool a bit. Then add the butter, celery, carrots, turnips, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 3/4 teaspoon pepper. Cook over medium heat, tossing, until the vegetables begin to soften at the edges, about 5 minutes. Transfer them to a wide bowl and reserve.
Preheat the oven to 300°F.
Add the wine to the skillet, bring to a boil, and cook until slightly reduced, about 3 minutes. Add the beef stock, and bring to a simmer.
Arrange the onions in the bottom of a large covered roasting pan and set the beef on top of them. Scatter the whole garlic cloves, bay leaves, rosemary, and thyme over and around the roast. Pour the beef stock mixture over the meat and cover the pan tightly. Braise for 1 hour.
Reduce the oven temperature to 285°F, and continue to braise for 2 hours.
Uncover the pan, skim off the fat around the edges with a small ladle, and discard it. With two large forks, carefully turn the meat over and ladle some juice over the top. Add the reserved sautéed vegetables, arranging them around the perimeter of the meat. Cover the pan and braise for 1 more hour.
Skim the fat again with a small ladle, baste the top of the meat again, and then scatter the cherry tomatoes across the top, some dropping onto the meat, some onto the vegetables. Don’t stir again. Braise, uncovered this time to allow the tomatoes to split and shrink and the top of the meat to brown, until the meat feels extremely tender at the touch of a fork, 30 minutes to 1 hour. Discard the bay leaves.
For the pistachio salt, combine the pistachios, parsley, minced garlic, and 1/4 teaspoon each of salt and pepper in a small bowl.
Before serving, dust the pistachio salt evenly over the roast (reserve any extra for passing at the table). Serve the pot roast right from the pan, pulling apart the meat with two forks for most of it, and gently carving the marbled top end of the chuck into thick slices.
Baba Ganoush
Ingredients
2 medium eggplant
¼ cup tahini
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, more for serving
½ teaspoon sea salt
Finely chopped parsley, for garnish
Pinch of smoked paprika
Pinch of red pepper flakes, optional
Pita and veggies, for serving
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 400°F and wrap the eggplant in foil. Roast the eggplant for 50 to 60 minutes, or until it is soft and collapses to the touch. Remove from the oven and set aside.
Once cool to the touch, peel the skin from the eggplant, removing any big clumps of seeds. Place the flesh in a strainer over a bowl and let stand for 20 minutes to remove excess water.
Place the eggplant flesh, tahini, lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, and salt in a food processor and pulse until smooth. Transfer to a serving dish, sprinkle with chopped parsley, smoked paprika, and red pepper flakes, if using. Serve with pita and veggies.
Notes
Note: For a more traditional, smokier baba ganoush, cook the eggplant on the grill (no foil), until the eggplant is very soft and charred all over. Remove the charred skin and continue with the recipe instructions.
Cashew Chicken Sheet Pan Supper from Nom Nom Paleo
1½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut bite-sized pieces (½” by 1½”)
2 tablespoons avocado oil, divided, plus more for greasing the pan
4 teaspoons arrowroot powder, divided
¾ teaspoon Umami Stir Fry Powder or Diamond Crystal kosher salt
1 cup sliced carrots, ¼-inch thick
1 cup sliced celery, ¾-inch thick
2 cups sugar snap peas, strings removed
½ cup roasted unsalted whole cashews
2 scallions, thinly sliced (optional garnish)
INSTRUCTIONS
Heat the oven to 425°F on convection roast or 450°F on conventional mode with the rack in the upper middle position. Grab a large rimmed baking sheet and lightly coat it with avocado oil or avocado oil spray.
In a large bowl, season the cut up chicken with 1 tablespoon of arrowroot powder, Umami Stir Fry Powder or Diamond Crystal kosher salt, and 1 tablespoon of avocado oil. Toss well to combine and transfer to the greased sheet pan.
In the now empty bowl, toss the carrots and celery with 1½ teaspoons of avocado oil.
Transfer the seasoned carrots and celery to the pan and arrange the chicken and veggies in a single layer.
Pop the tray in the hot oven and bake for 10 minutes.
While the sheet pan is baking, toss the sugar snap peas in the empty bowl with 1½ teaspoons of avocado oil.
Next, whisk together All-Purpose Stir-Fry Sauce and 1 teaspoon of arrowroot powder.
When the cooking time is up, the chicken, celery, and carrots should be mostly cooked through.
Take the pan out of the oven and turn on the broiler on high. Add the sugar snap peas and cashews to the pan. Then, pour the sauce on top of the sheet pan and toss everything well.
Rearrange the chicken and vegetables to be in a single layer again and place the sheet pan back in the oven. Broil on high for 3 to 5 minutes. This sheet pan dinner is ready when the sauce thickens slightly, the chicken is fully cooked and the sugar snap peas are tender-crisp.
Take the pan out of the oven and toss the ingredients to make sure they’re coated with the sauce. Sprinkle on the sliced green onions / scallions, if desired, and serve immediately.
Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp
INGREDIENTS
FOR THE FILLING
1 pound rhubarb stalks, trimmed and sliced ½-inch thick
½ pound strawberries, hulled and quartered
½ cup granulated sugar
1½ tablespoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
FOR THE TOPPING
¾ cup all-purpose flour, spooned into measuring cup and leveled-off with a knife
½ cup packed light brown sugar
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch cubes
¾ cup old fashioned rolled oats
½ cup chopped pecans
Lightly sweetened whipped cream or vanilla ice cream, for serving (optional)
INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
In a large bowl, combine the rhubarb, strawberries, sugar, cornstarch, and vanilla. Stir until the fruit is evenly coated with the sugar mixture, and the sugar mixture is no longer white.
Transfer the fruit mixture to a 2-quart or 8-inch baking dish (no need to butter it) and set aside while you prepare the topping.
In the bowl of a food processor, combine the flour, brown sugar, granulated sugar and salt. Process until well combined, about 30 seconds. Add the cold butter and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs, with a few pea-sized clumps of butter within. Transfer to a medium bowl and stir in the oats and chopped pecans.
Spoon the topping evenly over the fruit without packing down. Bake for 45-55 minutes, until the fruit is bubbling around the edges and the topping is golden brown. Cool for 20 minutes before serving. Spoon into shallow bowls and serve with vanilla ice cream.
Broccoli Crunch Salad from Danielle Walker
INGREDIENTS
6 cups broccoli, florets and stalks chopped
½ cup chopped cooked bacon
½ cup raisins
¼ cup chopped dry roasted cashews
¼ cup sprouted sunflower seeds
½ red onion, minced
¾ cup avocado oil mayonnaise
2 to 3 tbsp apple cider or red wine vinegar (use less if your mayo is on the more sour side)
2 teaspoons date syrup
½ teaspoon Burnt Broccoli Seasoning (optional, but so delicious)
Sea salt and pepper, to taste
Mix together the broccoli, bacon, raisins, cashews, sunflower seeds, and onion.
Whisk together the mayonnaise, vinegar, date syrup, Burnt Broccoli seasoning, salt and pepper.
Drizzle over the salad and mix to combine.
Burnt Broccoli Seasoning recipe
3/4 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground coriander
1/8 tsp ground pepper
Chocolate Zucchini Muffins from Nom Nom Paleo
INGREDIENTS
2½ cups finely ground almond flour
⅓ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon cream of tartar
¼ teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt
1 cup coconut sugar
4 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1¾ cup shredded raw zucchini (use the large holes on a box grater)
½ cup dark chocolate chips
INSTRUCTIONS
Heat oven to 350°F with the rack in the middle position. While the oven is heating up, line a 12-cup muffin tin with parchment muffin liners or grease well with ghee or coconut oil.
In a medium bowl, combine the almond flour, unsweetened cocoa powder, baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt. Whisk well.
In a separate large bowl, add the coconut sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Use a hand mixer on medium high to blend together until the sugar is fully incorporated and the liquid lightens in color to a lighter brown, about 2 to 3 minutes.
Stir the grated zucchini into the bowl of wet ingredients.
Next, add the dry almond flour ingredients to the bowl of wet ingredients and use a silicone spatula or wooden spoon to mix everything until combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.
Divide the batter evenly into each muffin liner. Fill each muffin cup until the batter reaches about ¼ inch from the top. If desired, dot the top with additional chocolate chips.
Bake the muffins in the oven at 350°F for 25 to 30 minutes, rotating the muffin tray at the halfway mark. The muffins are done cooking when the tops are golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.
Remove the muffins from the oven and transfer the muffins to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.