What To Do With All These Eggy Weggs

I found myself with 4 dozen eggs in my fridge. I get eggs every week with my CSA and I just fell behind. I took to Google, searching for "too many eggs," and lo, I'm not the only one. I came across a recipe for Swedish egg cake, which sounded so strange I had to try it. There's no sugar in it! I did multiple searches to make sure it wasn't a mistake. I made mine with a blueberry topping and homemade whipped cream. The next time, I think I'll add some cinnamon and nutmeg to the cake to make it more of a fall/winter dessert. Perhaps with pomegranate.

I wasn't sure what to expect. It's got an interesting soft and dense texture. I tried it when it was still warm and it wasn't very good. It was way too eggy. The next day, cold and set, it was super yummy. Then it tasted less like a bunch of eggs and more like a solid custard. I decided I didn't want to take it to work to share after all.

It's a very simple recipe and came together quickly. 

Swedish Egg Cake

1 & 1/3 cup flour

½ teaspoon salt

4 cups milk

10 eggs

3 tablespoons butter, melted

1 cup heavy whipping cream

1 tablespoon sugar

½ teaspoon vanilla

3 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen (or any fruit you want)

¼ – ½ cup of honey (or sugar)

1 tablespoon cornstarch

Preheat oven to 375. Whisk together 2 cups of milk and 1 1/3 cups of flour and ½ tsp of salt. I used 2% milk and kosher salt.

 Beat together 10 eggs and 2 cups of milk. Here, I took out the electric mixer because my little plastic whisk wasn't strong enough to beat this well. Add the flour mixture and beat until smooth.

I had a tough time making it smooth! Then I still had lumps left. The cake still turned out!

Melt 3 tablespoons of butter and pour it in the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish. Add the cake batter and bake for about 45 minutes until it is golden brown and poofy. It will deflate as it cools.

While it cools, make some whipped cream and blueberry topping. 

Whipped cream

In a cold bowl, beat together 1 cup of heavy whipping cream, 1 tablespoon of sugar and ½ teaspoon of vanilla until it makes peaks.

Blueberry topping:

Simmer together 3 cups of fresh or frozen berries with ¼ – ½ a cup of honey and a heaping tablespoon of cornstarch.

I think the topping was my favorite part.

Bacon Makes Parties Better

Every year my boyfriend has a summer party he calls 'Merica Day. He fires up the grill and this year the smoker and cooks meat for all his friends and family. The invitees bring whatever we'd like. Invariably, there is lots of stuff with bacon. My go-to potluck dish for summer parties is bacon wrapped jalapenos. This year, I decided to make a bacon dessert, too. I was very skeptical about this Bacon Blondie recipe I found on buzzfeed.com, but I do love sweet and savory, and bacon and peanut butter work well together, so why not?

For the bacon-wrapped jalapenos, keep in mind that the smaller the pepper, the hotter it is. Since I'm unsure of people's heat tolerance, I buy the biggest jalapenos I can find. Making sure you remove all of the seeds and the membrane inside the peppers cuts down on the heat as well. Occasionally, you'll still get burned but the cream cheese cools it off pretty well.

Bacon Wrapped Jalapenos

1 package of bacon

15-20 jalapenos (1 for each slice of bacon)

2 bricks of cream cheese, softened at room temperature

tooth picks

Preheat your oven to 350. Set a rack inside a baking sheet to allow the peppers to drip. Or use your broiler pan!

It might be a good idea to wear latex gloves to prep the peppers. Slice your jalapenos in half lengthwise, scrape out all of the seeds and the membrane. (Feel free to leave some behind if you like them spicier.) Cut your pack of bacon in half. Fill each pepper half with cream cheese, wrap with half a slice of bacon and secure with a toothpick.

Bake for about 20 minutes or so, until the bacon is cooked and crispy and the jalapenos have softened. Try to save some for your guests.

We cooked them on the grill for the party and that works quite well, too. I neglected to get photos after cooking. Here's the before shot. I made 50 of them!

Bacon Blondies with Peanut Butter Frosting

Blondies:

2 sticks of butter (1 cup), melted

2 cups of brown sugar

2 eggs

2 tsp vanilla

1 tsp baking powder

¼ tsp baking soda

pinch of salt

2 cups all purpose flour

7 slices of bacon, cooked and crumbled

9x13 inch pan

Preheat the oven to 350. In a large bowl, whisk the butter and the brown sugar together until it's smooth. Add the eggs and the vanilla.

Combine the dry ingredients in a separate bowl and whisk into the sugar/butter mixture a little at a time. Fold in the bacon.

Spread into your baking dish and bake 30-35 minutes until done and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Peanut Butter Frosting

1 stick of butter, softened

1 cup of creamy peanut butter (I used an unsweetened, just peanuts and a touch of salt variety)

3 cups of powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla

Milk

7 slices of bacon, fried and crumbled

Cream together the butter and peanut butter. Add the sugar in a bit at a time, then add the vanilla. Add some milk, 1 tablespoon at a time until the frosting reaches your desired consistency. Spread on cooled blondies and sprinkle with crumbled bacon.

Taste and marvel!

Easy Braised Chicken

I brought leftovers of this into work and my coworkers oohed and ahhed about my “gourmet” cooking. One of them had chicken and white rice for his lunch and commented that he was embarrassed to eat it next to me and my fancy dinner. Really, my dish was probably easier than his since everything is just thrown into one pot!

My mom used to make this for us when we were kids. She would throw chicken legs and chunks of potatoes, onions and ton of fresh herbs together for a quick, easy dinner. She didn't even brown the chicken first! She'd slosh some olive oil in a cold pot with a pat of butter and put everything else in on top of that and simmer it. I like to brown my chicken and add a little more liquid to mine than she did, and I'll sub out the potatoes for other root veggies that look good. This week, I used some cute little golden beets I picked up at the farmer's market. I also really like onions, so I probably add more than is strictly necessary. I'll slice an onion and saute it and eat it as a side dish, so I may be a little extreme with the onion love. I'm also a big fan of carrot greens. They taste like if parsley and carrots made a baby and worked really well in this dish. The only reason I didn't also add the carrots was I thought it might be too sweet with the beets. If I'd used potatoes, I would have cut up and added the carrots in there, too.

When I asked my mom about this dish the first time I decided to make it, she said the key was to use “a ton” of fresh herbs. “Like more than you think you should use.” As with most family recipes, there aren't exact measures, so put in what you have and what you like.

Look how pretty those beets are! I kept a part of the stem attached because beet greens are also delicious.

Easy Braised Chicken and Vegetables

1 chicken cut into leg quarters and breast. Save the wings and back for stock

1 bunch of beets peeled and cut in half or quartered, depending on size (you can also use 4-6 small potatoes, quartered)

Greens from the beets, coarsely chopped

1 large onion, sliced (I like irregular slices so some melts into the sauce and others still have some texture)

2 or 3 cloves of garlic, minced

½ a bunch of parsley leaves, coarsely chopped

tops from 2 carrots, coarsely chopped

handful of fresh sage

several sprigs of thyme

1 sprig of rosemary (I'm not a huge rosemary fan, so I used maybe half a sprig, add more if you like it.)

1 cup of beer, tomato juice or sauce, chicken stock or white wine

If you're not using tomato juice, you'll want to add a tablespoon or so of tomato paste.

Season the chicken with salt and pepper and brown over medium heat. Remove chicken from pan and set aside. 

If you're using tomato paste, add it to the skillet and let it cook for a 30 seconds or so. Add in the onions, garlic, beets. Nestle the chicken into the onions. Top with your parsley and herbs and cooking liquid. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer. Cover but leave it vented so the liquid can reduce. Simmer for 20-30 minutes, until chicken registers 165 on a cooking thermometer, or until the juices run clear. In the last 5 minutes of cooking, stir in your beet greens. Enjoy!

Excessive Lettuce Soup

I found myself with an absurd about of lettuce and greens recently. I had a gallon sized zipper bag stuffed full with mixed young green and red leaf lettuces. A 14 cup tupperware container filled with spinach. Half of a head of romaine. A half of a bunch of Swiss chard. A half of a bunch of dinosaur kale. A couple of leaves of butter lettuce. Basil. Parsley.

One of the biggest complaints I'd heard about participating in a CSA was that you get too much lettuce. I scoffed. I love salads. I'll make lettuce wraps! It's fine.

Holy fuck, I had a lot of lettuce. I have a giant salad nearly every day for lunch and sometimes for dinner as well. I make really good salads, too, with every vegetable in my fridge! However, one can only eat so many salads before the sight of salad makes one want to scream. So, I Googled too much lettuce and found a lot of suggestions for lettuce soup. I admit, that didn't sound particularly appetizing, but people on all of these websites were saying how amazing it was. I cobbled together a recipe and figured if it wasn't good, I'd toss it. It was amazing.

Lettuce takes on a much different texture while it cooks. It wilts down, but doesn't get soggy. It seems to take on some of the cooking liquid and develops a soft, toothy crunch. It made what seemed like a relatively bland recipe into a hearty, flavorful bowl of soup.

The key is a good, rick stock. I am so terrible at making stock but I'm trying. I cheated and used store bought stuff. In one serving, I drizzled olive oil and sprinkled Parmesan cheese. In another, I added slices of smoked beef roast I had left over from one of the boy's smoking sessions. Another time, I stirred in some beaten egg while it simmered. All of these meals were lovely.

The great thing is that it doesn't have to be a set recipe. Use whatever greens are hanging out in your fridge getting yellow or wilting. Use more or less broth depending on how much foliage you have. If I'd had celery, I would have added some stalks with its leaves. If your carrots have tops, throw those in there, too!

Excessive Lettuce Soup

8 cups of a luscious stock, veggie or chicken

1 small to medium onion, diced

2 cloves of garlic

2 carrots, shredded

A handful of fresh parsley, coarsely chopped.

A handful of fresh basil, sliced into ribbons

Fresh thyme, pulled from two or three sprigs

What seems like too much green, leafy vegetables (I added all of the stuff that I listed at the beginning.) Chop them coarsely.

Sweat the garlic, carrots and onion. Add the stock and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer. Add the greens that take longer to cook first. I added the kale and chard and let it simmer for two or three minutes, then I added the spinach and thyme for a minute or two, then all of the more tender lettuces along with the parley and basil. Simmer it for about 5 – 10 minutes, until it reaches a consistency you like.

Some people suggest pureeing it with a little cream. I thought it was great as is, but I may try the creamed suggestion one day. Should you one day find yourself with too much lettuce, you should give a soup a try.

Memorial Day Weekend

We get our CSA from Living Off The Fat of the Land Community Farms. If you're unfamiliar, a CSA is simply a program where you can purchase shares from a given farm. You'll receive a number of deliveries of whatever is harvested for a reasonable fee. The farm we signed up for will deliver goodies once a week. We purchased the biggest share they had available along with chicken and eggs plus bridge shares to extend the season for a couple of weeks in the spring and late fall. Split three ways, that will cost us each only $64 a month! I asked at my local organic grocer and was directed to the Local Harvest website to help find one that suited my friends and I.

Our first share arrived the Thursday of Memorial Day weekend. Since we'd been invited to multiple barbecues, I figured the best way to use our haul was to make appetizers to share with friends. We got a  bundle of the fattest asparagus I've ever seen, a bunch of spinach, butter lettuce, Hakurei turnips, sorrrel, green onions and a tomato plant. Bob the Cat ate the tomato plant so now I don't have to figure out where it will be planted.

Sorrel is a green leafy herb with a sharp almost citrus-like flavor. I tasted a leaf and my first thought was to make a pesto to top our asparagus. I did some research online and discovered that it was common in classic French cooking and used to make a cream sauce to top fish. I combined those ideas to make my Sorrel cream sauce. I think now that the asparagus' flavor was too bold and overpowered what turned out to be a very delicate sauce. I think next time, I'll use half of the liquid and a milder vegetable or fish as the vessel.

 I made a salad out of the turnips using a recipe I found online. We also threw a couple of them on the grill and they were fantastic that way. They're mild, almost like white radishes without the spice and instead have a bit of sweetness. The greens are intense and a bit bitter.

All that was left was the lettuce and the spinach. I brainstormed with my friend Sarah and she suggested lettuce wraps. I was worried that I wouldn't be able to feed enough people at a party with the relatively small head of lettuce and sort of blew that idea off, settling on a boring salad. Then she said, "I want those sweet potato tacos you made for us again." And there was my inspiration. Here is the original recipe and the modification I made is listed below.


Sorrel Cream Sauce

1 bunch of sorrel (I had probably about 30 leaves), stems and ribs removed
1 clove of garlic, minced
2 green onions, roughly diced
1 tblsp butter
1 cup of chicken stock or white wine
1 cup of heavy cream

Melt butter in a skillet and add the garlic, onion and sorrel. Sautee over medium heat The sorrel will begin to melt and does turn a brownish green. Once it's all softened, add the chicken stock and simmer for a few minutes, add the cream and turn down the heat. Let it cook gently at barely a simmer for five minutes or so, until it starts to thicken. Turn off the heat and let it cool. Dump it in your blender and puree. Season with salt and pepper if you need to. Top other goodies with it!


Hakurei Turnip Salad

2 or 3 tblsp of sesame oil
8 Hakurei turnips and their greens
2 cloves of garlic, minced
3 green onions chopped fine
Salt & pepper
Sesame seeds

Cut the ends of the turnips off. You don't need to peel them, just slice them thinly. Chop up the greens.

Heat the oil until it's very hot over medium high heat. Add the turnips and the garlic and sautee for 2-3 minutes.  Add the greens and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Sautee another minute or two until the greens are wilted and the turnips are tender. Sprinkle the sesame seeds on top. Enjoy!


Sweet Potato, Black Bean and Spinach Pesto Stuffed Lettuce Leaves

Preheat your oven to 400. (this recipe can easily be halved or quartered.)

4 sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
4 tsp cumin
4 tsp chili powder
2 or 3 Tblsp olive oil
salt
1 can of black beans, rinsed and drained
garlic salt
1 head of butter lettuce (I bet endive would be awesome, too)
1 lime

The original recipe called for Swiss chard pesto which was so much better than spinach pesto. But, the recipe is similar, take your greens of choice and throw them in a food processor or blender with a couple of garlic cloves and nuts of your choice. (Swiss chard and pepitas, Spinach and sunflower seed kernels, basil and pine nuts, kale and walnuts - experiment!) Process it, adding olive oil a little at a time until it comes together in a paste. Stir in the juice of half a lime. 

Toss the sweet potatoes with cumin, chili powder, olive oil and salt to taste. Roast in the oven for 20-30 minutes until they are tender.

Season the beans with garlic salt.

Mash the potatoes with some beans, the juice from the other half of your lime, some beans and some pesto. I added a little of the beans and pesto at a time until I got the flavor I was looking for.

Separate the head of lettuce into leaves. Rinse and dry well. Remove the ribs from the lettuce leaves. If your lettuce leaves are big, you'll want to cut them into smaller pieces to make bite-sized appetizers. Plop some of your mashed potatoes in the middle, fold them closed and secure with a toothpick. 

It's a little more work, but the party-goers really seemed to enjoy them.

Buon appetito!

By Way of Introduction

Hi folks. I'm Jess. I'm a diabetic food snob and I want to eat delicious things without dying or getting fat again. This blog will not be about dieting, though. I learned in 7^th grade that diets are dumb. It's going to be about me making yummy things for myself and the people I care about. It'll be about food and whatever else I feel like writing about. My brother also loves cooking so he'll chime in from time to time as well. 

Managing my weight and controlling my diabetes required a lifestyle change. It wasn't easy and it's still a work in process. I eat clean. I avoid processed foods and don't eat artificial foods. I joined a CSA with my boyfriend and a friend, so we'll hopefully have a ridiculous number of vegetables. My boyfriend built a smoker so there will definitely be more meat than is necessary. Is that hypocritical? Not really sure. Don't really care. My boyfriend built a smoker, you guys, I'm not passing that up. 

It's really all about moderation. Occasional excess can be countered by regular exercise, so I'm not super worried about it. Any changes that I make need to be sustainable for the rest of my life. I can eat clean forever with the occasional treat from time to time. I'm Italian and we still make traditional pasta based meals, that will never stop. I also don't think I could give up meat forever. Call me weak, I don't care. I told you I was a food snob and meat is goddamn delicious. When the farm will deliver a pig to your door and you can throw it on a smoker you watched your boyfriend and stepfather weld you have to eat it. Otherwise, you are dumb.

I'm not a chef or a nutritionist. I suck at taking photos and usually only have my phone so don't expect Bon Appetit level photography. I don't want to be that anyway. That often seems inaccessible and overly complicated. I'm just a woman who likes to cook and write and decided to share some recipes. I hope you like them.