pho-king great

This makes amazing bone marrow on top of a delicious soup.

2 beef cross cut shins
1/2 of a medium-large apple
1 large yellow onion
2 ounces fresh ginger
2 ½ pieces star anise
1 3-inch cinnamon stick
3 whole cloves
2 ½ teaspoons fine sea salt
1 ½ to 2 tablespoons fish sauce
Sugar, if desired
12 ounces dried narrow rice sticks or pad Thai-style noodles
1 green onions
¼ cup chopped cilantro leaves
Black pepper
Thai basil
lime wedges

Rinse the bones and boneless beef. Peel and cut apple into chunks. Halve the large onion and cut into thick slices. Peel ginger, halve it lengthwise, cut into chunks, then smash each piece with the side of a knife.

Put the star anise, cinnamon and cloves in the Instant Pot. Using the sauté function, toast for several minutes, stirring frequently, until fragrant. Add the onion and ginger. Stir and cook for a minute or two. A little browning is O.K. Add 8 cups water.

Add the bones, beef, apple and salt. Lock the lid. Set timer for 30 minutes. After cooking, allow pressure to decrease naturally, about 15 to 20 minutes. When that is done, finish venting and carefully remove lid.

Strain the broth into a pot through a mesh strainer lined with cheesecloth or muslin. Discard the remaining solids. (At this point, the broth and beef can be cooled and refrigerated for up to 3 days.) Skim all but about 3 tablespoons of fat from the broth.

Add fish sauce and more salt, if needed. Add a few pinches of sugar and more fish sauce so the broth has a rounded, intense finish that is slightly salty and slightly sweet.

Freeze the raw beef, if using, for 15 to 20 minutes, then slice very thinly across the grain. Cut cooked beef across the grain into very thin slices. Set aside.

Cover the dried noodles in hot tap water and soak for 15 to 20 minutes, or until pliable and opaque. Drain, then rinse to remove starch.

Thinly slice the small onion and soak in water 10 minutes. Slice green onions into thin rings and set aside with chopped cilantro. Arrange any optional add-ins on a plate.

Bring the broth to a simmer over medium heat. At the same time, fill a pot with water and bring to a rolling boil. Dunk the noodles into the boiling water, using a noodle strainer or a mesh sieve, for about 15 to 20 seconds. Remove from water and divide noodles among 4 bowls.

Top each bowl of noodles with cooked and raw beef, arranging the slices flat. Place a mound of onion in the center, then shower with green onion and cilantro. Finish with a sprinkle of black pepper. Give the boiling broth a final taste for seasoning. Ladle about 2 cups broth into each bowl, distributing the hot liquid evenly to warm all the ingredients.

Original recipe from the NY Times

lamb shoulder braise two-ways

Lamb shoulder is a tough cut – and it keeps showing up in my farm share. Fortunately a low and slow cook does wonders.

Red Wine Braised Lamb

1 tablespoon olive oil
2 pounds lamb shoulder chops, or more to taste
salt and ground black pepper to taste
1 small yellow onion, sliced
4 cloves garlic, minced
half a bag of baby carrots
2 medium potatoes
2 sprigs of oregano
1.5 cups beef broth
1.5 cups red wine
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 cup water
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

Heat olive oil in a dutch over over medium-high heat. Salt and pepper lamb chops. Sear lamb in hot oil until browned, 1 to 2 minutes per side. Remove chops to a plate to drain, reserving drippings in the skillet.

Saute onion and garlic in reserved drippings until tender, about 4 minutes. Add carrots and potatoes and saute another few minutes.

Add lamb chops and drippings to the dutch oven. Add oregano sprigs on top of lamb. Pour beef broth and red wine over the lamb. Cover dish.

Bake for 3 hours.

Remove lamb to a serving platter.

Did not have enough liquid the first time to do this part: Carefully drain liquid from baking dish into a saucepan and place over medium heat. Beat cornstarch and water together in a bowl using a whisk to assure no lumps remain; stir into the liquid in the saucepan. Add Worcestershire sauce and cook until the liquid thickens into a gravy, about 5 minutes.

Adapted from AllRecipes.com

Saba Braised Lamb

4 lamb shanks
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
1 large onion, sliced
6 cloves garlic, crushed
1 cup chicken broth
1/3 cup saba
1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Place lamb shanks into a large bowl; drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt, black pepper, smoked paprika, cinnamon, and rosemary. Toss the lamb shanks to spread oil and seasonings over the meat.

Spread onion slices and garlic cloves into the bottom of a heavy 9x12-inch baking dish. Lay lamb shanks over onions and garlic.

Bake lamb in preheated oven for 30 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 200 degrees.

Combine chicken broth and saba in a bowl. Pour mixture over the lamb shanks. Cover baking dish tightly with foil and place baking dish on a baking sheet.

Bake lamb in the oven until a knife pierces the meat easily, 2 1/2 to 3 hours. The meat will be tender but not falling off the bone. Use tongs to turn the shanks over in the pan sauce. Increase temperature to 350 degrees.

Return shanks to oven and bake, uncovered, until meat is fork-tender and the sauce has thickened slightly, 10 to 15 minutes. Turn shanks over in the sauce after 10 minutes and check for tenderness; if still not tender enough, return to oven for 10 to 15 more minutes and test again.

Transfer lamb shanks to a bowl and keep warm. Strain pan juices into a saucepan and place over medium heat. Bring to a boil and cook, stirring often, until thickened, about 5 minutes. Skim any excess grease from top of sauce. Taste and season with salt; stir in fresh rosemary. Serve sauce drizzled over lamb shanks.

From AllRecipes.com

ez coconut "ice cream"

Dairy free and delicious. There are a bunch of ways to make this depending on what you're in the mood for: chunky, smooth, or different types of herbs.

1/2 can of full fat coconut milk
1 cup of chopped fruit
a handful of fresh herbs
1 spoonful of sugar

Strawberry & Mint (or Basil)

For chunky:
Slice 1 container of strawberries. Slice mint leaves. Stir both, along with the sugar, in a bowl with the coconut milk.

For smooth:
Cut up 1 container of strawberries. Toss strawberries with mint leaves into single serving blender, along with the sugar and coconut milk. Blend until smooth.

Mango
For smooth:
Cut up 2 mangoes. Toss with coconut milk into single serving blender. Blend until smooth.

bun bowl

The most delicious accident came together from pieces of other recipes and it tasted exactly like a Vietnamese rice bowl. So great!

1 skirt steak
1 cucumber
1 package of bean thread noodles or rice noodles
a handful of peanuts
soy sauce
lime juice
sesame oil
chili garlic sauce
rice vinegar

Make marinade for steak: combine soy sauce, sesame oil and half a teaspoon of chili garlic sauce and add steak. Let steak rest in the marinade for 15-20 minutes.

Slice cucumber thinly, put into bowl. Pour a couple of tablespoons of rice vinegar and lime juice over the cucumber slices and mix to combine. Let rest for 15 minutes.

Boil water and then soak noodles for 20 minutes.

Cook steak: heat oven to 500 degrees with cast iron pan in the oven. Cook steak in cast iron on stove top on high heat 2 minutes per side. Lower temperature in oven to 400. Place cast iron pan in the oven for 2 minutes. Once cooked let steak rest for 10 minutes.

With a mortar and pestle smash peanuts. Add a half tablespoon of chili garlic sauce to the peanuts along with a 1-2 tablespoons of lime and smash further until well combined.

Rinse noodles and cut into smaller pieces and add to bowl. Slice steak and add to bowl. Cut cucumber slices into smaller bites and add to bowl. Top with peanut sauce. Stir to combine.

the very best stuffing

No one makes Thanksgiving stuffing like mom. I always make it using an entire loaf of bread and love it when no one else eats any: more for me! Easy to make the day before and toss in the over right before the meal.

1 loaf gluten free bread (I use Canyon Bread), cut into cubes
3 tablespoons butter
2 medium onions, cut into small dice
4 large stalks celery, cut into small dice
2 tablespoons of Bell's Seasoning
2 large eggs, beaten
2 cups homemade chicken stock
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Make the stock if there isn't any on hand.

Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Spread the bread cubes on a large baking sheet in an even layer and bake until quite crisp, about 60 minutes.

Melt 4 tablespoons of the butter in a large skillet set over medium-high heat. Add the onions and celery and cook, stirring frequently, for 10 minutes or the vegetables are very soft. Add the Bell's Seasoning and cook for 2 more minutes.

In a large bowl, fold together the toasted bread cubes with the cooked onions and celery.

Beat the eggs in a medium bowl with the broth, salt, and a generous quantity of fresh black pepper. Pour in the bowl and stir into the bread.

Grease baking dish with butter or olive oil. Spread bread mixture in the baking dish.

Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Cool the dressing for 10 minutes before serving.

– Adapted from The Kitchn and my mom

ez cranberry curd

Thanksgiving always brings a new dessert challenge, and this year's was a hit. And it can be made in one pot. Other options we came up with include:
cranberry lime
strawberry rhubarb
raspberry lemon

12 ounces cranberries
1 cup sugar
 About 1/2 cup juice and peel (orange part only) of 1 orange
1 stick softened butter
2 eggs plus 2 egg yolks

Use vegetable peeler to remove slices of peel from orange. Heat cranberries, sugar, orange juice and peel in a saucepan over medium heat. Simmer until cranberries have popped and softened, about 10-15 minutes.

Remove peels from cranberries. Use immersion blender to break down cranberries as much as possible. (For smooth curd press cooking liquid through medium mesh sieve into a bowl.)

Whisk the butter into the warm liquid in the pot.

Put eggs and egg yolks into a bowl and beat lightly. Slowly whisk a cup of warm cranberry liquid into the eggs to temper, then add the tempered mix back to the pot and whisk together. Cook over low heat until nearly bubbling and thickened, about 10 minutes. Pour into overproof dish. If using immediately, let cool to room temperature. If working ahead, cool to room temperature, cover with plastic wrap (press wrap against curd) and refrigerate. (Curd may be cooked up to 1 day ahead.)

When ready to eat, bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes to set curd.

– Adapted from NYT Cooking

shiny asian veggies over crispy tofu

I think the delicious flavors in this come from the combo of the shiitake mushrooms, ginger, soy sauce and sesame seed oil.

5 turnips
1 eggplant
1 container of shiitake mushrooms
5 scallions
1 extra firm tofu
1 inch of ginger
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
1 teaspoon garlic chili paste
1 glug sesame seed oil
olive oil
cornstarch

Chop turnips into small pieces, and toss in sesame seed oil. Heat pan on high with olive oil and begin sauteing until brown. Roughly chop ginger into smallish pieces. Chop eggplant and mushrooms and coat in sesame seed oil. Chop scallions into small pieces.

Add ginger to the pan, then the mushrooms and eggplant. And cook until the eggplant is cooked.

Combine soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, chili paste, and a tablespoon of cornstarch, and stir into the vegetables.

Drain and squeeze out extra water from tofu. Slice along the short side for 6 half inch thick slices. Pat cornstarch onto both sides of each slice. Heat a non-stick pan with olive oil and sesame seed oil and fry the tofu slices until lightly browned and crispy on each side.

Serve the vegetables over the tofu slices.

greeny curry soup

This soup is delicious and uses a bunch of farm share veggies. We threw garlic scapes in the first batch and they added additional depth to the flavor.

1/3 cup store-bought green curry paste
1 (13.5-ounce) can coconut milk
3 cups water
Sea salt and cracked black pepper
1 pound broccoli florets, chopped
2 cups spinach leaves
1 cup cilantro leaves
15 or so garlic scapes (optional)
3 scallions, chopped

Place the curry paste in a medium saucepan over medium heat and cook, stirring, for 1 minute or until fragrant. Add the coconut milk, water, salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Add the broccoli, cover and cook for 10 minutes or until the broccoli is tender.

Remove from the heat and add the spinach leaves and half the cilantro.

Using an immersion blender, blend the soup until as smooth as possible (will still be a bit chunky). Divide among serving bowls and top with the remaining cilantro and scallions, as well as some finishing salt.

Adapted from Epicurious.com

rainbow lentils

This had both the taste and color of the rainbow: beautiful oranges, greens and yellows and tasted like the Caribbean, India, Africa, and Asia all rolled into one. We get a ton of mustard greens from our CSA every week, so this is a great way to use a bunch up.

1 bunch mustard greens
1 cup red lentils
1 large sweet potato
4 cups water, vegetable or chicken stock
1 onion
2 cloves garlic
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger or 1/2 tsp dried ginger
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon Jamaican curry powder
1 teaspoon turmeric
salt and white pepper to taste
1 squeeze fresh lime juice

Wash greens and remove stems. Chop onion and mince garlic and ginger. Chop sweet potato into 1 inch pieces.

Heat olive oil over medium low heat. Saute onions, garlic, and ginger until onion is softened and translucent. Add dry spices, mix, then add water or stock, stirring to get any bits off the bottom of the pan. Add lentils and sweet potatoes, bring to a boil, then simmer over low heat for 20 minutes. Stir in greens, and cook for an additional 10 minutes.

Season to taste with salt, pepper, and lime juice.

Adapted from Early Morning Farm

slow cooker chicken enchilada dip

So easy! So delicious!

3 blocks cream cheese
2-3 c. rotisserie chicken
1 can chopped/diced green chiles
1 1/2 c. shredded Monterey Jack cheese (1 and a 1/2 bags)
1 1/2 c. salsa verde (we used Whole Foods brand)
1-2 tbsp. chopped green onions
1 tomato, diced

Shred chicken. Combine all ingredients, except green onions and tomato, in a slow cooker. Cook on low for 1 1/2 hours, or until everything’s melted. Stir. If cheese browns against side of slow cooker, scrape down and stir in. May need to cook a little longer if cream cheese is not fully melted. Once cheese is completely melted turn slow cooker to warm and cover dip with green onions and diced tomatoes. Serve directly from slow cooker to keep warm.

coffee coffee coffee...kahlua

Most coffee liquor isn't gluten free, so we decided to make our own. It's amazing!

3 cups strong cold brewed coffee
1 vanilla bean
2 cups vodka (we used Tito's)
1/2 cup agave nectar
1/2 cup maple syrup

Make strong cold brew first:

3 cups water
1 1/2 cups ground dark coffee (we used The Roasterie's Kansas City Dark Roast)

Combine water and coffee grounds and let sit in the refrigerator for 24 hours. Then strain out grounds using a fine sieve.

Meanwhile, put whole vanilla bean in the vodka for 24 hours. One small Tito's bottle is exactly two cups of vodka, so you can put the vanilla bean directly in.

Combine coffee, vodka, agave, and maple syrup and stir. You can also leave the vanilla bean in the mixture. Let sit for at least 4 hours.

Drink!