The new chestnut is that everything's better with bacon, but obviously that's not going to work for Passover. But the old chestnut that everything's better with chocolate? That's a go.

It turns out that matzah is better -- way better -- with chocolate ... and toasted almonds ... and copious amounts of butter and sugar ... and a sprinkling of sea salt.

At our office holiday party last year, one of my coworkers brought brickle, basically sugar and butter and chocolate over saltines. Sounds weird, but it was a huge favorite, very addictive, and disappeared fast. I mentioned it to my husband, and he made some, too. At some point we were talking about what else you could use besides saltines, and it dawned on us: matzah! We were scarcely the only people to have that revelation -- plus, people have been making this stuff for a while. But after chancing across a couple of mentions of toffee matzah last week, I decided to give it a try.

The matzah isn't quite as absorbent as the saltines, but it's still good. And a vast improvement. Salty. Sweet. Chocolate. Unleavened. Bring it on. If saltine brickle can have a renaissance, surely this can, too.

Continue reading "Passover recipe: Matzah Brickle" »

Posted by Sarah Kickler Kelber at 11:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Recipes
        

I was still trying to figure out what to do with my asparagus earlier this week when Richard posted a link to this recipe on Facebook, Asparagus and Bacon on Toast.

It amuses me that the link gives credit to someone for "inventing" the sandwich's recipe. Can a sandwich really be invented? Well, either way, hooray for "Marion Zuchowski, the mother of a longtime asparagus farmer in western Massachusetts," because this was a great dinner. (I have a real photo I'll replace this one with once I get back to my camera card.)

Continue reading "Living in the CSA: Asparagus and bacon on toast" »

Posted by Sarah Kickler Kelber at 11:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)
Categories: CSA, Living in the CSA, Recipes
        

After a bit of a delay, I'm back with another CSA report. Last week, we were so busy for the weekend that I didn't get to do much experimenting at all. We ended up making a massive batch of vegetable soup with much of it.

I did make this yummy (albeit not that pretty in this iPhone picture) spaghetti squash dish, based on this recipe from Emeril Lagasse but adapted with what I had in my kitchen. The recipe follows after the jump. I'd had spaghetti squash quite a few times -- my stepdad used to make it for dinner when I was in high school -- but I'd never cooked with it. The hardest part was cutting the raw squash in half. I thought I was going to lose a finger there for a bit. After that, it was ridiculously easy.

Today, we'll be getting golden beets, sugar snap peas, green beans, spinach, mushrooms, yellow onions, blood oranges, apples, eggs and bread.

The only thing new to me this time will be the golden beets. Any suggestions?

Continue reading "Living in the CSA: Spaghetti squash with herbs and butter" »

Posted by Sarah Kickler Kelber at 2:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)
Categories: CSA, Living in the CSA, Recipes
        

On a rare day off yesterday, I actually go to go to the farm myself to pick up this week's CSA haul.

I didn't have much to report this past week because of the pine mouth situation (which is thankfully just about gone) and since we had a lot of familiar foods (green beans, carrots, apples) that we prepared in familiar ways.

As Richard noted in Table Talk this week, asparagus has one of the earliest seasons, and that was in our haul this week. I'm definitely interested to hear some favorite approaches to this veggie.

Less familiar was kohlrabi, but I got to try a sample of it roasted, which was described as "like broccoli, but milder." I'd agree with that. It was tasty cooked up with olive oil and sea salt. We'll probably try that with this batch, unless anyone has any other suggestions.

I was beyond excited to see we also got a spaghetti squash. I haven't had any in a while, but my stepdad used to roast them for dinner every so often, and I'm looking forward to revisiting that. 

Now that the markets are starting to open up, anything you are looking forward to eating?

(Photo by Jed Kirschbaum, The Baltimore Sun)

Posted by Sarah Kickler Kelber at 3:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (12)
Categories: CSA, Living in the CSA, Recipes
        

I have no CSA recipes to report so far this week. I'm still struggling with pine mouth, so I wasn't feeling particularly like experimenting this weekend.

But I did stumble across this recipe, and before I knew what I was doing, I impulse-bought a box of brownie mix and some Peeps to try to make these Peep-Stuffed Brownies. 

Calling this a "recipe" is really an overstatement. It's basically a gimmick, but it's funny, and it's sugary, and it's chocolate and marshmallow, so how can you go wrong?

The original recipe cut the Peeps in half and used only three. I had a ton, so I put in six un-beheaded Peeps. In the oven, they puffed up, as seen above, giving the pan a "zombie Peeps arising from a chocolaty grave" kind of look. 

After they were removed from the oven, the Peeps deflated, and the marshmallow spread out. These were no longer cute; the Peeps no longer identifiable. But they were yummy, in an Easter-basket sugar-coma sort of way. 

Continue reading "Recipe: Peep-Stuffed Brownies" »

Posted by Sarah Kickler Kelber at 1:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (10)
Categories: Recipes
        

Thanks for all the tips last week about what to do with turnips. We ended up doing a potato and turnip mash, and it was SO good. I'm looking forward to the next batch of turnips so we can try some of your other recommendations.

I experimented with the red chard and made this really yummy recipe below -- a mixture of chard, onions and golden raisins topped with pine nuts. (They were supposed to be toasted, but I ran out of time/patience and just ate them plain.)

I had a huge serving of leftovers for lunch yesterday, and late last night I started to notice that my mouth tasted foul. I was worried I was getting sick, and then I remembered a story I edited a couple of years ago about pine mouth. It's a weird, temporary condition, thought to be caused by some varieties of non-domestic pine nuts, in which your mouth develops this weird, bitter taste, and most foods taste awful. I thought I'd been so smart and checked and saw a U.S. address on the package of pine nuts when I bought them. What I failed to notice: "Product of China."

This morning, the flavor persists. One of my coworkers who experienced this before had a couple of suggestions: Artificial sweeteners seem to taste OK. Sugars and starches seem to taste the worst. A dose of Maalox that I took when I thought I was feeling ill last night tasted like the worst thing ever. Mint toothpaste was pretty awful too. 

So ... this is going to be fun. 

Anyway, if you make the recipe below, check your pine nuts carefully! It tasted great before the dreaded pine mouth.

Continue reading "Living in the CSA: Mmm, chard. Ewww, pine mouth" »

Posted by Sarah Kickler Kelber at 1:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)
Categories: CSA, Living in the CSA, Recipes
        

Got the newest produce box from the CSA: some familiar favorites (butternut squash, oranges, eggs, apples) and a couple of new challenges: turnips and chard. But that's why we decided to do this in the first place.

A friend facing the same turnip challenge, albeit on the West Coast, found this link for turnip recipes, but if anyone has any favorites or suggestions, I'm all ears. For the chard, I'm thinking about this chard with pine nuts and golden raisins recipe.

Posted by Sarah Kickler Kelber at 3:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (14)
Categories: CSA, Living in the CSA, Recipes
        

After reading my post last week wondering what to do with beets, Liz from Consuming Interests suggested this recipe, from Dishing Up Maryland (which is an absolutely gorgeous cookbook, by the way), as adapted by the Washington Post. The cookbook author got the original recipe from One Straw Farm in Baltimore.

I definitely hadn't cooked with beets before, and honestly, I'm not sure I had even had beets before. (No, I'm not exactly sure how that happened.)

As Liz said, this soup would convert even beet haters. It's smooth and earthy and, as the title mentions, sweet and savory. Great combination.

Continue reading "Living in the CSA: Beet and orange soup recipe" »

Posted by Sarah Kickler Kelber at 12:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: CSA, Living in the CSA, Recipes
        

It's SarahKK, back with today's cooking-the-CSA report. I'll note again that I'm taking part in an early-bird CSA that does exchanges with other East Coast farms during this part of the year, which is why today's ingredient, blood oranges, isn't exactly local.

But if you make this cake, you won't care. It's another one from Smitten Kitchen, and boy does she know her baked goods. This butter-free loaf cake is moist and not overly sweet (not that I have anything against sweet, but the flavor is refreshing).

Check it out:

Continue reading "Living in the CSA: Blood orange olive oil cake recipe" »

Posted by Sarah Kickler Kelber at 11:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: CSA, Living in the CSA, Recipes
        

We are getting a dozen eggs a week through the CSA, and for our family of two adults and a toddler, that's a lot. For our first dozen, I made a modified version of this BLT Frittata, which my husband has made a bunch of times, but I'd never attempted.

Continue reading "Living in the CSA: BLT frittata recipe" »

Posted by Sarah Kickler Kelber at 12:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (7)
Categories: CSA, Living in the CSA, Recipes
        

It's SarahKK, back again to report on Living in the CSA. The family picked up our second haul from the early-bird CSA we're taking part in. This week, we got: potatoes, onions, kale, apples, blood oranges, honey tangerines, beets, parsnips, eggs (beautiful eggs!) and apple crumb bread.

We still had quite a lot of leftovers from last week, despite my cooking whirlwind this weekend, so my husband whipped up a quick soup from the last of the carrots, potatoes and apples, with a hefty dose of curry. Yum. This morning, I broiled a grapefruit, and I'm going to poach one, as suggested, as well.

Continue reading "Living in the CSA: This week's haul, and what to do with it?" »

Posted by Sarah Kickler Kelber at 12:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)
Categories: CSA, Living in the CSA, Recipes
        

I just ate the last of these muffins a bit ago, and I miss them. Thankfully, they were very easy and I still have plenty of apples to work with. I could make two more batches if I wanted!

Continue reading "Living in the CSA: Hearty apple muffin recipe" »

Posted by Sarah Kickler Kelber at 11:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)
Categories: CSA, Living in the CSA, Recipes
        

This is not exactly a pretty recipe, to say the least. I'd say that most casseroles aren't. But it's tasty and filling -- and it definitely made the "keeper" list in our house. Plus you could easily swap out the squash for some other vegetable in a pinch.

Continue reading "Living in the CSA: Cheesy butternut squash and quinoa casserole recipe" »

Posted by Sarah Kickler Kelber at 11:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (16)
Categories: CSA, Living in the CSA, Recipes
        

Baltimore Sun's food editor and Reality TV blogger Sarah Kickler Kelber has recently embarked on a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) journey. (Read the introduction here.) Every Wednesday or Thursday, SKK will be posting about her latest CSA haul and you'll be able to give her some tips and guidance. From time to time, we'll invite a local chef to create a CSA-inspired recipe, too. And, every day, around lunchtime, look for the results of SKK's CSA experiments. -- RLG

I got started on my CSA cooking adventures this weekend, and while it was fun, it also felt at times like a part-time job. I got into this frenzy about cooking things up before they went bad. But it was a productive frenzy. I made two batches of spinach soup (recipe follows after the jump), some apple muffins, a butternut squash and quinoa casserole, and a BLT frittata. Whew. We've still got plenty to work with, and I think a curried carrot soup and a grapefruit vinaigrette are on the agenda.

I'll be sharing roughly a recipe a day, right around lunch time -- and of course asking for suggestions when we get this week's haul.

Continue reading "Living in the CSA: Spinach soup recipe" »

Posted by Sarah Kickler Kelber at 11:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)
        

Hey, folks. It's SarahKK, your friendly area food editor, commandeering the blog for a bit. We've been talking on and off about starting a recipe blog, but it hasn't yet come to pass. So for now, we are doing occasional guest posts here with recipes. So, hi!

I'm a newbie to the whole CSA (that's Community-Supported Agriculture) situation and looking for some suggestions. My house is signed up for one with an early-bird program (in which it trades with some farms up and down the East Coast for some out-of-area items and includes some from cold storage), and we picked up our first share last night.

Continue reading "CSA bounty: Help a newbie out" »

Posted by Sarah Kickler Kelber at 12:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (11)
Categories: CSA, Living in the CSA, Recipes
        

Maybe you're totally sick of sugar and ready to start eating better in 2011. I'm definitely the latter, and trying to be the former.

As part of my attempts to eat better next year, we're taking part in a CSA, which, of course, won't start for several months, but I was thinking ahead about how to get more veggies in my diet. A few weeks ago, I made some kale chips at home, which were pretty good, but I wanted to try some other leafy greens that way too.

So today, aside from the fudge, I also made spinach chips.

Super-easy "recipe": Heat the oven to 350, wash and dry the greens, drizzle and toss with olive oil and whatever seasonings you like, spread them out in a single layer on a cookie sheet, cook for about 10 minutes, or until crispy.

I ended up making three batches to use up the spinach languishing in our fridge: one with lemon olive oil and black sea salt, one with regular olive oil and italian herbs and one with lemon olive oil and regular flake sea salt. The last batch, I kind of threw together, and where the leaves overlapped, the result wasn't as good, so that really is an important step.

They turn out very delicate and crispy, bringing out the best flavors of the spinach.

Do you have any food resolutions for the new year?

(Photo by me)

Posted by Sarah Kickler Kelber at 2:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (10)
Categories: Recipes
        

Hi, folks. It's SarahKK again, commandeering the blog for a post or two. I meant to share this recipe before the holidays, but just in case you are looking for a really easy treat to bring to some New Year's Eve festivities, I've got you covered. Until this year's Icebox Cake, this fudge was what I had brought to every newsroom potluck since 1999.

It's my stepmom Maureen's interpretation of the recipe that used to be on the Jet-Puffed Marshmallow Creme jar, and it has tons of potential variations. First, the basic recipe:

Maureen's No-Fail Fudge

Prep time: 10 minutes plus cooling
Top of stove cooking time: 15 minutes

3/4 cup (1.5 sticks) butter
3 cups sugar
2/3 cup evaporated milk (NOT condensed; there is enough sugar here already)
1 (12-ounce or so) package milk chocolate chips
1 (7-ounce) jar marshmallow cream
1 teaspoon vanilla

Lightly grease 13x9 inch pan. Melt butter in a 2.5-3 quart saucepan and let it coat the bottom. (This will prevent the fudge mixture from sticking to the pan at the end.) Mix in sugar and milk; bring to a full rolling boil on medium heat, stirring constantly.

Continue boiling for 5 minutes on medium heat or until candy thermometer reaches 234 degrees (I've never used a thermometer and never had any problems), stirring constantly to prevent scorching. Remove from heat.

Gradually stir in chips until melted. Add vanilla and marshmallow cream. Mix well. Pour into prepared pan and cool at room temperature. Cut into squares.

Variations: Change it up by switching the kind of chips and extract. I've made peanut butter and chocolate, mint chocolate, dreamsicle (white chocolate and orange extract), lemon drop (white chocolate and lemon extract), chocolate raspberry (semisweet chocolate and freeze-dried raspberries that I happened to have on hand).

Every year, I think about learning to make some other kind of candy, but once I make this, it's all we eat.

And if this is too much indulgence after all the holiday eating, I have a healthier recipe coming later, too.

(Photo by me)

Posted by Sarah Kickler Kelber at 2:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Recipes