Ramp Crostini

Ramp recipe #2! This is also super simple and great for hors d'oeuvres in spring.

Chilled Cucumber Ramp Soup

If you're in New York City, you might have heard that it's ramp season. Ramps are wild leeks that come out in April and May. Some people think they're overrated, but I love them. I bought a big bunch from the farmers market and played around with some new recipes this weekend. More to come this week, but I'll start off with the super simple, slightly spicy, very refreshing cucumber soup. (If you can't get ramps, you can use garlic and/or shallots, or scallions.) There are just 6 ingredients and it takes all of 2 minutes to make.

Smoked Cornish Game Hen/How to Make a Stovetop Smoker

I wanted to do something interesting for dinner instead of just roasting a Cornish Game Hen, so I tried smoking it. It can get a little smokey (especially if you don't have a good vent fan above the stove) but it adds a really great flavor. Next I want to try it with ribs. This method gives you a smokey flavor in a short amount of time, so it's great if you want to smoke something but don't have a big green egg or some sort of serious smoker. This was super juicy inside, but the smokiness can make it seem a little dry, so I'd recommend serving it with a sauce, maybe BBQ.

Serves 2

Ingredients:

1 Cornish Game Hen (1-2 lb)

1/4 cup salt

1/4 cup sugar

salt and pepper

3 tbsp wood chips (I used hickory)

2 bay leaves

spices (your choice - I used thyme and garlic powder)

Garden - Week 6, April 20

The garden is coming along! The snap peas, peas, radishes, and lettuces were all sprouting. The chard was coming up a little bit, but not as quick as the others. It's so satisfying to see!

Happy Easter Weekend!

I cannot wait to take my little monster to the beach for the first time this weekend.

She's quite a city girl, but I know she's going to love all the smells and all the space to run around at the beach. I can't wait to see what she thinks of waves. Hopefully it'll warm up a bit!

Pea Hummus

This is so fresh and bright and such a fun change from regular hummus. I saw this recipe on Cup of Jo and wanted to try it out. I didn't follow the directions exactly, but made it just like I usually make hummus - a little of this and a little of that. It was delicious. Jamie, my pea lover, adored it.

Ingredients:

1 box frozen peas

juice of 1/2 a lime

big handful fresh cilantro, rinced

1 large clove garlic

2 big tsp tahini

1 1/2 tbsp olive oil

a little water

salt and pepper

1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

1/2 tsp cumin

Directions:

Cook the peas until soft and thawed - a couple minutes in a sauce pan with some water. Drain and run under cold water until cool.

Garden Plan

Yay warm weather and springtime! We're going out to Long Island this weekend and I'll finally be able to check on the snap peas, peas, lettuces, swiss chard, and radishes we planted a few weeks ago. Hope they're alive!

Every year, I make a garden plan - some years better documented than others. The garden is a little bigger as we plan to build a fence (more on that to come) so it opens up room to plant some news things, like strawberries, beans, and radishes, and give everything some space. Up there are all the major plants, but the blank spaces will be filled in with some herbs (basil, tarragon, parsley, etc) and some flowers (marigolds, nasturtiums, and zinnias). I can't wait!

Fried Rice-Style Quinoa

I was marinating flank steak the other night and asked Jamie what he wanted as a side. He requested peas. The flank steak was marinating in soy sauce, ginger, garlic, etc (Asian-style), so I was trying to think of an Asiany way to make peas - fried rice! I had just bought a bag of quinoa, so I figured I'd make it as if it were fried rice. It was delicious (and cheap and easy). Jamie loved it, and it even tasted great the next day.

Spicy Tomato Soup

This is a nice and cheap soup, and really easy. Great novice soup recipe (I'm looking at you, Alice!) I love Barbara Lynch and saw the recipe on Food52 and had to try it. Yum! It's very simple but really nice, especially with a gooey grilled cheese.

Ingredients:

2 tbsp olive oil

1 yellow onion, thinly sliced

1 big tsp red pepper flakes (or more or less, depending how spicy you want it)

1 1/2 cups water

2 28oz cans whole tomatoes with their juices

salt and pepper

big handfull of basil

One-Eyed Connolly

There are a lot of names for this - One-Eyed Connolly, Egg in a Basket, Egg in a Hole... We always called it a One-Eyed Connolly. I made one the other day and decided to spruce it up a little. We didn't have much in the fridge that morning, but we did have some cream cheese and we always have spices. I split the bread in half (there's an easy trick to that) and spread a thin layer of cream cheese and spices and put it back together. It was so tasty and really added something extra. Mmm. I also always love having a little salad with my eggs.

Serves 2

Ingredients:

2 pieces of bread (I used whole wheat, but whatever you want/have on hand)

2 eggs

butter

cream cheese

mix of cumin, paprika, cayenne, and salt

Decadent Salad Topper

I wanted to make a special dinner for Jamie the other night and thought of this yummy puff pastry, brie-en-croute confection I'd made once in college. I tried it again - wow! I need to do this next time I have people over for dinner. Puff pastry makes everything better. This is so easy, and the warm melty cheese along with the flaky and buttery crust goes perfectly with the acidity of balsamic dressing. I made the salad look all fancy here, but you can put this on top of any green salad and it makes it special and fancy. 

Welcome Petunia!

The Pool family just got bigger! Introducing our adorable, fabulous, little Petunia! She's a Brussels Griffon. My parents have one and my sister has one, so it was just a matter of time until I convinced Jamie that we needed one. I finally won him over, so now we are the proud owners of a puppy. Maybe there will be some doggy recipes posted in the future. (There are a few in Homemade by Yvette Van Boven.)