Thursday, February 22, 2007

Collard Greens Got Nothing On Me

Wednesday night was a fine night indeed, for it marked our third Pioneer Organics delivery. A new bin full of organic produce had been placed on our porch (perhaps by magic farm elves) while we were at work. The Friday before, I was looking at the list of food that Pioneer Organics had emailed to me with my studying-to-be-a-dietitian-friend Kathryn. The company sends a list of what they could deliver and the collard greens where intimidating me a little. I was considering striking them from the list and replacing them with the familiar spinach when Kathryn stepped up and encouraged me to try them. I believe her words were something like, "They're quite good!" Well it doesn't take much to sway me and I do like to try new things, so collard greens made the journey to our porch. But I didn't have a plan for them. Luckily Pioneer Organics supplies a few suggested recipes with each order. I made Greens with Roast Potatoes as a side dish to go with Oven Fried Chicken. Oh, the Parmesan and potatoes and collard greens smelled and tasted so wonderful together. Roasting really brings out flavors like no other technique.

Greens with Roast Potatoes


from Pioneer Organics
Servings: 4
Time: 1 hour
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
½ onion, sliced into half moons
1 bunch collard greens, stems removed and cut into thin ribbons
water or vegetable stock
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 pound Yukon gold potatoes, or red potatoes, cut into cubes
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tomatoes,
diced red pepper flakes or cayenne pepper
½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, or more (optional)

Preheat oven to 425°F. In a large shallow saucepan, heat olive oil over medium high heat. Add onion and cook until it begins to soften. Add collard greens, water or vegetable stock--enough to come ½” up the side of the pan. Add a pinch of salt and black pepper. Stir, turn the heat down, and cover. Check periodically to make sure nothing is sticking, and that there is still a small amount of liquid in the pan. Cook for about 5 minutes. Place the potatoes in a roasting pan and drizzle with a light coating of olive oil and a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Cook in oven for 25 to 40 minutes, until almost soft. Remove potatoes from oven, and add cooked greens, garlic and tomatoes. Add red pepper flakes or cayenne pepper, if using. Toss to combine. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese over the top, if using. Turn oven down to 400°F. Return pan to oven and cook until cheese is melted and brown around the edges.
I'm going to publish the Oven Fried Chicken recipe too. As far as I can tell, it's legal as long as credit is given. This has become a standard in our household and it's just too good not to share.

Oven-Fried Chicken
From Cooking Light

1 cup low-fat buttermilk
2 large egg whites, beaten
1 cup all-purpose flour (about 4 1/2 ounces)
1/3 cup cornmeal
1 teaspoon salt, divided
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
2 chicken breast halves, skinned (about 1 pound)
2 chicken thighs, skinned (about 1/2 pound)
2 chicken drumsticks, skinned (about 1/2 pound)
2 tablespoons canola oil
Cooking spray

Preheat oven to 425°.

Cover a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Combine buttermilk and egg whites in a shallow dish; stir well with a whisk. Combine flour, cornmeal, 1/2 teaspoon salt, black pepper, and red pepper in a separate shallow dish; stir well. Sprinkle chicken evenly with remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt. Dip chicken in buttermilk mixture; dredge in flour mixture.

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken to pan; cook 4 minutes on each side or until lightly browned. Place chicken on prepared baking sheet; lightly coat chicken with cooking spray. Bake at 425° for 30 minutes or until chicken is done.

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 chicken breast half or 1 drumstick and 1 thigh)

NUTRITION PER SERVING
CALORIES 450(28% from fat); FAT 13.8g (sat 2.5g,mono 6.1g,poly 3.6g); PROTEIN 43.5g; CHOLESTEROL 109mg; CALCIUM 88mg; SODIUM 803mg; FIBER 1.7g; IRON 3.2mg; CARBOHYDRATE 35.3g

In non-related news, I spent my 30th Birthday at the Northwest Flower and Garden Show. It was super-fantastic! In the interest of comfortable gardening footwear I bought a pair of crocs. Jack made me promise to never wear them in public. Not a problem. They're great for all the standing that cooking requires. The photo features my favorite comfy P.J.s. (Thanks mom)

Tuesday, February 06, 2007

Picture Post

I have not done any noteworthy cooking this past week, but I do have a handful of fun pictures from the past few months. I made some treats for Annabelle from, "The Ultimate Dog Treat Cookbook" by Liz Palika. Annabelle scafed down the Crispy Cheese Circles from page 38.


Sometime in December, I made my first yeast bread. It was a rustic loaf of rosemary focaccia. I took the opportunity to tame a tiny section of our rosemary bush from the front garden. I should look up more recipes that use rosemary, my supply is quite healthy. Jack and I enjoyed the bread with sun-dried tomato olive oil. (Red wine too.) The saltiness on top of the bread is wonderful!