In my family, we always knew it was a special occasion by the telltale aroma of lasagna baking in the oven.  Neither my grandmother nor my mother made it often.  A traditional lasagna is a labor intensive dish that takes several hours to prepare – even longer if you make your own pasta.  So, it was usually reserved for  holidays and the occasional birthday, christening or graduation party.  Maybe that’s why this classic Italian combination of layers of tender sheets of pasta filled with meat, veggies and ooey, gooey cheese tasted so wonderful to me.  Or, maybe it was because lasagna is just plain wonderful.

The thing is, that with a little advance planning and a few teensy shortcuts, you can make a perfectly scrumptious lasagna in a lot less time than you may think. And, if you prepare it in the form of these luscious, self-contained lasagna rolls, you can easily make enough to stash a batch or two in the freezer for later. How about that! You can enjoy lasagna any old time you feel like it! What a concept!

So, grab an apron and let’s make some lasagna rolls! 

Remember those teensy shortcuts I mentioned?  Well, the first one is using marinara sauce from a jar.  Oh yes, I really did just say that.  I know that cooking a marinara from scratch is preferable, but I’m trying to save you some time here.  And, unless you already have a vat of homemade marinara sauce in your freezer, it’s going to take an extra hour to make some.  Besides, there are some really excellent jar sauces out there made with San Marzano tomatoes, olive oil and other quality ingredients.  So, don’t be a sauce snob.  Embrace the convenience!

Another shortcut I take is using pre-shredded mozzarella.  Sargento makes a very good one, as does Sorrento.  There is no shame in not shredding your own cheese.  Even my mother does it.  I swear.

When I make this dish, I start preparing my filling at the same time I put a big pot of water on to boil for the lasagna sheets.  By the time the pasta is cooked, my filling is all ready to go.

Roll, baby, roll!

Cook your lasagna sheets just to the shy side of al dente.  They will be drenched in sauce and baking for a while.  This will help keep them from falling apart.  Also, be careful not to put too much filling into each roll.  A couple of tablespoons is enough.  If you overdo it, the filling will ooze out during baking.  It will still taste good, but it will look kind of yucky.  Yucky is not a good look for lasagna.

Snugly fit your rolls together in a baking dish and smother them with sauce and cheese.  See!  It looks just like a traditional lasagna, except that it will be a lot easier to serve.

These lasagna rolls can be prepped the night before and will be ready to bake when you get home from work the next day.  They can also be made ahead and frozen in one of two ways.  You can prepare them and freeze either before baking or after.  I prefer to freeze before baking.   If do you freeze them, you’ll need to either thaw them out first, or add at least an extra half hour or so to the baking time.  This is no big deal, as your prep work is already done.

So, don’t wait for a special occasion to treat yourself to these cheesy, meaty, yummy lasagna rolls.  Every day should be a celebration!

Let me just come right out and say it.  These Swedish meatballs are the bomb!  Seriously.  They. Are. Awesome.  IKEA had better watch out. I’m just sayin’.

Swedish meatballs are a perennial favorite among the smörgåsbord set, which is why I had to include them in my Meatball Week series.   These plump and moist little nuggets of meat are delicately seasoned with fragrant spices like cardamom, allspice and nutmeg before being bathed in a rich and velvety cream sauce.  As with most traditional ethnic dishes, you’ll find as many different recipes for Swedish meatballs as there are cooks who make them.  I’ve tried many different versions, and I think this one is the best I’ve tasted.

The basic recipe for my meatballs came from Marcus Samuelsson, who got it from his Swedish grandma.  When a recipe comes from a famous chef’s grandma, you just know it has to be good.   With ingredients like honey and pickle juice, it’s unlike any I’ve seen before.    I did deviate quite a bit from the original, but that’s just how I roll.  That’s the great thing about recipes like this.  There’s lots of room to improvise.

The meatballs themselves are made with a mixture of beef, pork and veal.  I’ve always been a fan of using veal in meatballs.  I think it gives them a lighter texture and better flavor.

Let’s get started! 

To make the meatballs, you first sauté some finely diced onions in olive oil.  Set them aside to cool while you gather up the rest of the meatball ingredients.

Toss the sautéed onions in with the other ingredients and mix them all up together in a big bowl.   Form as many golf ball sized meatballs as you can get.  I got a ton.  Then, brown them in a skillet.  But, don’t cook them all the way through.

Yes, that is butter that those meatballs are frying in – big, fat, voluptuous butter.  But, it’s okay.  I don’t do this every day.  And, I don’t have an endorsement deal with any big drug companies.

Next, whip up that fabulous Swedish meatball sauce.   You start by making a roux, which is used as a thickening base for all kinds of sauces, gravies, soups and stews.  A roux a mixture of butter and flour that is cooked together until it reaches varying shades of brown, depending on what it’s being used for. Cooking the flour allows it to thicken the sauce without giving it a “raw”, starchy taste.  The roux for this dish should be on the lighter side – sort of like a café au lait color.  Marcus’s grandma’s recipe doesn’t call for a roux.  But, I wanted a sauce with more body, so I made one.

When the roux is ready, add some stock, a little at a time so that it doesn’t sputter up and splash you in the face. Trust me, that is not pleasant!

Then, add some heavy cream, lingonberry preserves and pickle juice.   No, that’s not a typo.  I thought the pickle juice was weird too.  Just do it, though.  You’ll thank me later.

When the sauce starts to bubble,  gently plop the meatballs in.   Then, simmer them in that glorious sauce until they’re cooked through.  Honestly, it took almost all of my self-control not to just slurp that sauce up with a big, fat, giant spoon!

Serve them with more lingonberry preserves and some pickled cucumber slices -  and watch your guests drool.

TOUCHDOWN!

If you missed the first two Meatball Week installments, you can find them here:

• Scallion Meatballs with Soy-Ginger Glaze
• Kefta Meatballs in Moroccan-Spiced Tomato Sauce

Coriander, cumin, paprika and cinnamon are but just a few of the staple ingredients you’ll find in the Moroccan dada’s  pantry.   The cuisine is earthy, fragrant and complex, redolent of rich spices, chiles, onions and garlic -  punctuated with  bright bursts of citrus, cilantro and mint.    To me, it is both straightforward and mysterious at the same time.  I think that’s what I love most about it.  And, that’s why I decided to make the second quarter of my Meatball Week all about Kefta Meatballs in Moroccan-Spiced Tomato Sauce.

My source for this dish came from Paula Wolfert’s The Food of Morocco, considered by many to be the definitive work on Moroccan cuisine.  With a lifetime spent immersed in Moroccan food and culture, Wolfert’s name has become synonymous with it.  And, luckily for the rest of us, she loves to share her enthusiasm.

The original dish is a tagine, which is a slow-cooked stew named for the pot that it is traditionally cooked in.   Wolfert’s kefta tagine features little lamb meatballs simmered in a cumin and paprika-laced tomato sauce.  Before serving, eggs are draped on top of the stew and poached.  Oh my!  I had to fight myself not to chuck the whole meatball plan and just make the recipe as written!  But, I’m hopelessly devoted to you, dear readers, and I could not leave you “meatball-less”.    So, here we go… 

The first thing you need to do is make your meatballs.  Wolfert says to use either lamb or beef, and I chose the more traditional lamb.  Onions, spices, garlic and crème fraiche are added to the lamb.  Crème fraiche!?!?  Yeah.  I had the same reaction, but it works.  The meatballs turn out kind of light and fluffy and have a subtle, pleasant tang to them.

Here we have the “Offensive Line” ready to cross the line of scrimmage.

Next, we start to make the line of scrimmage, er….um… I mean the tomato sauce.

Sauté finely chopped red onions in olive oil, then whisk in tomato paste.

Mix in the tomatoes and spices, and let it come to a bubble.   Wait a few minutes and then, breathe deeply.  It will smell heavenly.

Finally, add the kefta balls to the sauce and gently poach them for about half an hour.  Resist the urge to crack a few eggs in there.

Aaah!  Mmmmeatballs!

It’s meatball week here at Chez SGCC.  That’s because we love meatballs and think they make the perfect Super Bowl nosh.   They’re compact, easy to eat and can be made a zillion different ways.  So, as we count down to the big game, I’ll be sharing some different and delicious meatball recipes for you all to try out.

Let’s kick off with these yummy Asian-style Scallion Meatballs with a Soy-Ginger Glaze.

The original recipe for these tasty little morsels, from Canal House Cooking, calls for ground turkey.  I decided to make them with a combination of ground chicken and pork.    You can use whatever you want.  Turkey is perfectly fine.   I just think that Asian meatballs should be made with chicken and pork.   I also put a splash of fish sauce in my meatballs.  Don’t ask me why.  I’m just crazy like that.  I think it ups the umami quotient. 

I like to pulse the meat up a few times in the food processor before I mix in the rest of the ingredients.  You don’t have to do this either.  I find it gives the meatballs a finer texture, though.

There are no bread crumbs or other thickeners in the original recipe either.  I found the meatball mixture to be a little too wet for the balls to hold their shape, so I added a little cornstarch to it.  It worked great!

I love these gratuitous frying pan shots, don’t you?  The bubbles make me giddy!

Once your meatballs are all cooked, serve them with a drizzle of soy-ginger glaze.  They taste even better if you eat them with cute little curly-topped bamboo toothpicks like these.

Every year my mother makes a prime rib roast for Christmas dinner.  It’s tradition.  And, every year that prime rib causes some kind of drama.  That’s tradition too.  Apparently, prime rib is fickle.  There’s something about it that just seems to defy consistency.   My mother always prepares it the same way, and while it often turns out great,  sometimes it’s overdone, and other times it just doesn’t seem to want to cook at all.  The rest of the family has started an annual “prime rib pool”, taking bets each year on which way the prime rib will sway.  Let me tell you, having a prime rib roast that misbehaves on Christmas doesn’t make for pleasant dinner conversation – especially at my mother’s table.  The rest of us couldn’t care less. Overdone or underdone, it always still tastes good.  But, Mom spends the rest of the meal obsessing over it and analyzing every little thing that could have gone wrong.   That’s how she rolls.  And, that’s why I’ve never attempted a prime rib – until now. 

The supermarket where I shop has one of those butcher display cases.  This is where you’ll find the organic, grass-fed, dry-aged and generally “fancier” cuts of meat.  A real live meat guy works the counter, and you can ask him for special cuts or just bombard him with meat-related questions.  Last week as I was strolling by, I saw some standing rib roasts in the case. This was a rarity.  Usually, these have to be ordered in advance.  You almost never just find them like that.  They were gorgeous, too!  Plus, they were were the perfect size for a small family – about three or four ribs each.  Those fleshy, beautifully-marbled slabs of beef were were strutting their stuff, begging be taken home -  daring me to break the prime rib curse that had plagued my family for years!

Never one to shy away from a challenge, I bought a five pound roast and went on my merry way.  Now, all I had to do was figure out the best way to cook it.

While doing some research, I found a rather lengthy and detailed treatise on cooking a perfect prime rib at Serious Eats.  Usually, I pass those types of articles right on by.  I mean, who has the time to even read one, much less follow all of the numerous painstaking  steps involved?  But, we were talking about prime rib here.  PRIME. RIB.  With the holidays looming, I owed it to my family to conquer that sucker.   Besides, if I pulled it off I would be a hero -  a cooking ninja – a kitchen goddess!   Instead of visions of sugar plums dancing in my head, I saw accolades.

The SE article promised a deep brown, crispy, crackly crust on the outside, with a consistently juicy, deeply pink,  medium-rare interior.  It eschewed searing and embraced a “low and slow” method of roasting, followed by a blisteringly hot blast at the end.  Hmmm.  Interesting.  I didn’t have anything to lose, except a ridiculously expensive piece of meat, so I decided to give it a try.

As recommended, I let my roast “air dry” uncovered in the fridge overnight.   I seasoned it very simply with salt, pepper and some dry mustard.  Then, I set it in a 200 F. degree oven and went shopping with Mini SGCC for about four hours.  When I came home, the roast’s internal temperature was 125 F. – exactly where I wanted it to be.  I removed the meat and let it “rest” for half an hour while I let the oven fire up to to a toasty 550 F., and prepared the rest of the meal.  The final step towards prime rib nirvana involved sticking the roast back into that oven inferno and praying that it didn’t incinerate.

So, what do you think?  Looks pretty close to perfect to me.   And, it was so tender that you could almost cut it with a fork!  Like buttah!

I’m volunteering to make the prime rib for dinner this Christmas.   I just hope that Mom doesn’t feel too badly when I knock everyone’s socks off. 

Now, if I could only come up with a way to deal with all of that icky fruitcake we end up with every year!

Sometimes I have to sniff out my inspiration for recipes like a bloodhound.  Other times, it just falls effortlessly right into my lap – like the idea for this fabulous and fun take on traditional meatloaf.  These are meatloaf cupcakes.  Yes, that’s right.  MEATLOAF CUPCAKES! Succulent and flavorful little “cakes” of meat with a rich and buttery mashed potato “icing” piped on top.  Are they not adorable?  Are they not brilliant?  They are!  They are!  Now, let me tell you how they came to be.

A few nights ago, I was hanging out on Facebook.  I’ve told you before how much I love, love, love Facebook.  I even love it more than Twitter, because it doesn’t give me eyestrain while trying to read constantly moving, teeny, tiny text or have little boxes popping up in my face every two seconds, distracting me when I’m trying to work.  And Facebook also has a “Like” button, so when I want to acknowledge something one of my friends has posted, I can just “Like” it with one click instead of having to actually type something.  I know.  Sometimes, I can be a lazy sack of you-know-what.

Anyway, as I said, I was hanging out on Facebook when a caterer friend of mine wrote on my wall asking if I had a good recipe for meatloaf cupcakes.  Huh?  Did she mean cupcakes decorated to look like meatloaf, or meatloaf made to look like cupcakes?  So, I asked her.  She told me that it was a new catering trend to make individual meatloaves in cupcake tins topped with mashed potatoes.  “Hah!” I thought, “What a great idea!” I immediately informed her that I was stealing it for the blog.

Creating these meatloaf cupcakes is pretty straightforward and doesn’t require any special tricks or tips.  Just prepare your favorite meatloaf recipe as you normally would, and bake it in a cupcake/muffin tin instead of a loaf pan.  The only thing I would suggest is to whip your potatoes with an electric mixer until they are very smooth.  This will make piping them onto the meat much easier and will give them the look of real “icing”.  I added an egg yolk to my potatoes to give them a little extra richness and smoothness, but that’s totally up to you.

There are many beautiful things about this dish, the first being that it will work with any meatloaf recipe that you happen to love.  I have a couple that I am very partial to, and I used one of those.  Also, since the meatloaf is baked in individual portions, it takes substantially less time to cook and is easier to serve.  I’m thinking that this would be a wonderful addition to any buffet table – like maybe for a Super Bowl party or a child’s birthday party.  The cuteness factor is bound to make these “cupcakes” a big hit with the kids.

My meatloaf cupcakes were so popular here at Chez SGCC that I’m already itching to try them again with some tweaks, like perhaps a Moroccan-spiced lamb version.  Or, how about taco meatloaf cupcakes?  Or, Italian sausage meatloaf cupcakes?  The possibilities are deliciously endless!  Hmmm.  D‘ya think I might be getting just a tad obsessed with these?

Enjoy!

My first introduction to shepherd’s pie was in the lunch line at my high school cafeteria.  That was many more moons ago than I’d care to share.  But, not so long ago that I don’t still remember.  I’d never heard of it before and had no idea what it was.  All I knew was that it was some kind of meat covered with mounds of mashed potatoes.  That was enough for me to give it a try.  And, I liked it, which was more than I can say about the rest of the so called food they served in that cafeteria.  It may have been mystery meat, but it was pretty darn tasty mystery meat.

I never thought much about shepherd’s pie after high school, and spent many years contentedly living my life without it.  It wasn’t until about four years ago, when I found myself in Scotland, that shepherd’s pie and I were reacquainted – and became BFFs.

The exact origin of shepherd’s pie is a bit sketchy.  By some accounts, it is a British dish.  By others, it’s an Irish one.  Still others, swear that the dish’s roots are Scottish.  The only thing that most will agree on is that it came from somewhere over the pond.  I say, who cares?  I’ve enjoyed it in all three countries and have never tasted a version that I didn’t love. 

Shepherd’s pie  is a savory dish made with a meat base – usually ground lamb, beef or a combination of the two -  that is simmered in a brown sauce with vegetables, topped with potatoes and baked to burnished perfection. From what I gather, the dish was created by resourceful housewives as a way to use up leftovers. It makes sense.  Take a little of this and a bit of that, bake it all together in a pie and voilà!  It’s not leftovers anymore.  It’s a whole new and delicious dinner.  I don’t think there is one right way to make it either, as I’ve seen and heard of it done many different ways with an assortment of ingredients.

It’s been a little gray and dreary lately here in SGCC Land!  We’re not getting slammed by the same bitter cold, icy blast  that many of my blog brethren are, but it’s still pretty miserable just the same.   The wind is howling and blowing something fierce outside.  I’m just praying that none of those low-lying branches perched over my roof decide to break loose and fall on my house!  When the weather gets like this my body craves hearty, rustic comfort foods that warm from the inside out.  A shepherd’s pie is the perfect thing.

Making a shepherd’s pie is pretty easy peasy.  For my pie, I used a mixture of ground lamb and beef.  I also added some onions, carrots, peas and corn.  I don’t know about you, but I just can’t eat mashed potatoes without corn.  It must be some kind of personality defect.

The first thing you need to do is sauté your onions and carrots in a frying pan.  Then, add the meat, seasonings and some stock, and let it all simmer for a while.

I thicken the mixture with a little flour, but you don’t really have to if you don’t want to.  I just think it gives a little more body to the sauce.  I also use frozen peas and corn, but if you’re a perfectionist and have loads of extra time on your hands, by all means, use fresh.   But, I’m here to tell you that, in this dish, it really doesn’t make a difference.

Once your meat and veggies are happily bubbling away in their sauce, it’s time to top the pie with some potatoes.  Most people use mashed potatoes for shepherd’s pie, but I’ve seen it done before with sliced potatoes and even hash browns.  I may try it that way one day, but for now, I’m going with mashed.

I like to use my biggest cast iron skillet to make shepherd’s pie.  Doing all of the sautéing, simmering and baking  in one pan, makes things that much easier.  If you love washing extra dishes, you can certainly use a separate casserole dish to bake your pie.  Far be it from me to rain on anyone’s parade.   One thing I do recommend, though, is setting your pie on a baking sheet in the oven.  That sucker bubbles like crazy and tends to drip all over.

AHHH! Now, doesn’t just looking at this shepherd’s pie make you feel all warm and cozy?

Enjoy!

The tide has definitely started to turn, weather-wise, for us down here in the Sunshine State.  The temperatures this past week have actually dipped down into the 50’s a few times.  From April through October, I long for this respite from our oppressive heat and grueling humidity, however short-lived it may be.  I revel in the cool, crisp air and bright, clear skies!   This nippy weather also makes turning on the oven for long periods of time a lot more inviting.  It begs for some comfort food to be made.  I’m only too happy to oblige.

The first and only time that I ever saw this pot roast recipe presented was about twenty years ago on a local TV morning show in Mr. SGCC’s hometown in western Pennsylvania.  It was also the only time I was ever in western Pennsylvania.  Not that there is anything wrong with western Pennsylvania (there isn’t).   Just sayin’.

Anyway, I was sitting with my coffee in Mr. SGCC’s Aunt Annie’s cheery, little farmhouse kitchen and a cooking segment came on.  (Aunt Annie was such a gem!  So much so that she really deserves a whole post of her own.  Remind me to do this soon.)  I watched in horror as some local yokel dumped a packet of onion soup mix, a can of Coke and a bottle (yes, a whole bottle) of chili sauce on top of a big slab of beef and stuck it in the oven. He didn’t even mix the ingredients together first!  I was aghast, yet I couldn’t look away – like when you drive by an accident on the interstate.  You know you shouldn’t gawk, but you can’t help yourself. 

Through the magic of television, the dish was finished after the next commercial break and it was a sight to behold.  The meat looked so tender that it appeared to melt away after making contact with a fork.  And, those modest (and highly processed) blue collar ingredients had apparently reinvented themselves as a smooth, rich and zesty sauce.  I was impressed.  And, also a little ashamed of my initial “elitist foodie” reaction.

For the rest of our trip, I kept thinking about that pot roast and how absolutely wonderful it looked.  And, it was so simple!  After seeing it prepared one time, the recipe was already imprinted in my brain.   I knew that once I got back home, it was only a matter of time before I tried it for myself.

I did try it for myself – in the dead of August.  I couldn’t even wait for the weather to turn cool.  But, it was worth the frizzy hair and a little extra sweat.  That pot roast was amazing!   The meat just fell apart and melted in our mouths.  And the sauce was to die for.  It was deep and complex, with the whole spicy/salty/sweet thing going on.  Who’d have thunk it?  Certainly, not me.  Mr. SGCC was a very happy man!

Since then, I have made this pot roast recipe many, many times.  In fact, it is my favorite way to make pot roast.  I’ve tried other recipes – and they’re good – but I always come back to this one.  I’ve tweaked a few things along the way, like browning the meat first.  I also mix the sauce ingredients together before adding them to the meat.  And, I often add onions, carrots and potatoes as well.  Sometimes, I’ll even throw a few turnips , parsnips or rutabaga into the pot.  I’ve also tinkered with the sauce at times, adding a little Worcestershire, soy or hot sauce.  Once, I even added a splash of sriracha.    It’s all good.

The first thing you need to do is salt and pepper your meat.  Don’t be stingy!

Then, make up the braising liquid.  Just whisk together a can of Coke, a packet of onion soup mix and a bottle of chili sauce.

Next, you need to sear the meat a little to seal in the juices.  After that, pour in the braising liquid, cover and slide it in the oven.

While the pot roast is cooking, chop up some carrots, onions and any other veggies that you want to use.  You’ll add them in after an hour or so.  Then, go find something fun to do for a few hours.  Or, go clean out your closets.  It’s up to you, but I’m voting for the fun thing.

When you’re done, you will have the tenderest, succulent, most meltingly delicious hunk of beef that you ever tasted.

So, why do I call this dish Trailer Trash Pot Roast?  Well, it ain’t Bœuf Bourguignon, my friends.  Seriously though, it’s just a snarky little jab at my snobbish original reaction.    It’s meant to be tongue in cheek, so don’t get your panties all in a twist about it.    Still, with ingredients like packaged soup mix, bottled chili sauce and Coca Cola, the moniker seems fitting.  It got your attention, didn’t it?

Enjoy!

I was recently the recipient of two gorgeous bunches of organic Lacinato kale from SunCoast Organics.  You might know it as dinosaur kale, Tuscan kale or cavolo nero.  It’s the kind that has long, dark, embossed, plume-like leaves as opposed to its curly-leafed cousins.  Lacinato kale has a slightly sweeter and more delicate taste than curly kale, and is lovely in soups, stews or even salads.

One of my favorite ways to enjoy kale is in Caldo Verde, a Portuguese soup made with greens, potatoes and smoky chouriço sausage.  It’s a hearty, rustic dish that I make often.  But for this kale, I wanted to try something new.  I found the perfect recipe on Molly’s site, and I ran with it.

Boiled Kale with a Fried Egg and Toast is the simplest of simple dishes, yet it is so incredibly delicious.  It’s just kale, simmered in chicken stock with onions, and served on toast with a luscious, gooey, runny fried egg on top. If you’re feeling really daring like I was, you can also fry up some bacon to toss in the mix.  No fancy bells and whistles here.  Yet, once I began thinking about this guileless little dish, I couldn’t stop!

The first thing you have to do is prepare the kale, by trimming off the tough stems, rinsing it like crazy and cutting it into ribbons.

Next, you sauté some onions and wilt the kale.   Then, add chicken or vegetable stock and simmer it all, slowly, until the kale is soft and tender.  I forgot to take a picture of this part.  I guess I was too excited about the impending bacon fry.

Everything’s better with bacon – especially fried eggs.  They’ve been going steady for years.

Where there’s bacon, there’s bacon fat.  Slide a few farm fresh eggs right down into some.  If you don’t use bacon, just fry the eggs in good old olive oil.

Plop a nice, thick slice of toasted bread in a bowl, ladle on some kale, toss on a little bacon and top with one of those pretty fried eggs – or two.  I sprinkled some shredded Parmesan on top of mine too.

Oh, baby! It just doesn’t get much better than this, people!  Come on – be honest. Could you resist this?

Enjoy!

Happy day! After resisting for years, I finally broke down and joined a CSA.  Well, not a true CSA exactly, but close.  To be honest, I was never really sold on the idea of getting a big mystery box of produce each week and then having to figure out what to do with it.  I kind of like to choose what ingredients I cook with, and plan my meals based on what inspires me.  Plus, I wasn’t crazy about the fact that I had to prepay for the season and was locked in every week, whether I was able to use the stuff or not.  Still, I loved the idea of having access to all of those lovely fresh fruits and veggies, because lord knows, I can rarely  find them at my local market! Enter Suncoast Organics and the perfect solution to my produce dilemma.

Suncoast Organics is a new business in my area that delivers – yes, DELIVERS – just picked, farm fresh, organic produce each week directly to my doorstep.  It’s similar to a CSA in that there is a membership fee, but it’s a small one and you don’t have to pay it all up front.  Also, I get to choose exactly what products I want and how much of each I want.  So, each week, I just click on Suncoast Organics’ web site, check out what’s available for that week, order what I want and pay as I go.  Brilliant, right?  If I’m going out of town or I just don’t feel like ordering one week, I don’t have to.  No wasteful spending and no wasted produce!  I still have to pay the $10.00 membership fee, but I can live with that. If I decide to discontinue the service, all I have to do is email Julie and Jim and let them know.  It’s a great compromise between a traditional CSA and buying my produce somewhere like Whole Foods.  Plus, it’s cheaper than you know where.

Last week I got some interesting things in my veggie basket, including yardlong beans, or Chinese long beans.  I have never, ever seen them before at the market, and I’m pretty sure I’d never eaten them before either.  I was psyched! 

Look how pretty they are!

I also got a bag of these gorgeous shiitake mushrooms.  Need I say more?

I put my Asian food thinking cap on and decided to combine them in a stir fry with ground pork, garlic, ginger and black bean sauce. I hunted around the web for some inspiration and found lots of great ideas.  In fact, I found too many great ideas!  So, I took a pinch of this and a smidge of that, and came up with my own version of Chinese Long Beans with Shiitake Mushrooms and Pork in Black Bean Sauce.

I heated up some grapeseed oil in my cast iron wok that I got last year at The Wok Shop. I love that wok!  I love The Wok Shop too!

Then, I cooked my garlic, ginger and ground pork. Next, I added the long beans that weren’t so long anymore after I cut them up, and stir fried them until they started to get tender.  Once the beans were on their way to delicious tenderness, I added in the shiitake mushrooms and cooked it all a little bit more.  Finally, I poured in the black bean sauce and simmered it for another several minutes and I was done.

There are lots of good recipes for homemade black bean sauce, but I decided to save some time by using a pre-made sauce from the Asian market.   There are a few good ones around, but the best one I’ve tried is from Lee Kum Kee.  I use it to make a similar dish with chicken and eggplant, as well as those tasty little steamed spareribs you see a lot on dim sum menus.

My verdict on the long beans?  I really liked them.  They were a lot like regular green beans, but chewier and a little saltier.  They played very nicely with the shiitake mushrooms, as those also tend to be a little chewy.  In fact, I would definitely consider the whole dish to be a success.

I’m looking forward to getting my hands on more long beans as soon as I can.  Next time, I’d love to try them stewed, Italian-style, with fresh tomatoes and potatoes.  Until then, I’m looking forward to my next bag of goodies from Suncoast Organics.

Chinese Long Beans with Shiitake Mushrooms and Pork in Black Bean Sauce

Ingredients:

1 pound long beans
1 pound ground pork
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon fish sauce
2 teaspoons sesame oil, divided
Pinch of salt and pepper
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1-2 tablespoons unflavored oil, such as vegetable, canola or grapeseed
3 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 teaspoon finely minced ginger
1/2 pound shiitake mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
3 tablespoons prepared black bean sauce
1 tablespoon Chinese rice wine
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1/2 -1 cup water

Preparation:

Rinse and cut the long beans into 3-inch lengths. Set aside.

Combine the pork, soy sauce, fish sauce, 1 teaspoon sesame oil, salt, pepper and cornstarch together in a medium bowl.   Mix well with a fork or your fingers until thoroughly combined.  Let it sit for about 5-10 minutes.

In a wok or large skillet, heat the unflavored oil on high heat until smoking, then add the garlic and ginger. Stirring constantly, fry for about 10-20 seconds until fragrant. Be careful not to burn it.  Add the pork and cook until it almost no pink remains, breaking up the chunks as you go. This should take about 2-3 minutes if your wok is really hot.

Add the long beans to the wok and continue to cook for about 4-5 minutes, or until no pink remains in the pork and the beans begin to get tender.   Add the mushrooms and cook about 2 minutes.  Remember to keep all of the ingredients moving so that nothing burns.

Whisk the black bean sauce, rice wine, brown sugar and 1/2 cup water together in a small bowl.

Reduce the heat to medium, and stir in the black bean mixture.  Taste it and if the sauce is too strong for you, add the rest of the water.  Continue to simmer and stir for another 5-8 minutes, or until the beans are cooked through and tender.

Remove the wok from the heat and mix in the remaining teaspoon of sesame oil.  Adjust the seasonings if necessary.

Serve as is, or with some steamed rice or noodles.

Serves 4.

Enjoy!