Carrot macaroni and cheese recipe

I've been in denial for the last few weeks, but I'm finally starting to accept the fact that I'm moving across the country in less than a week.  Don't get me wrong, I'm beyond excited, but I always turn into a mess before I move.  When I left for college, I cried for the entire 5 hour drive, and as I was moving out after college, I broke down in the food court on campus and cried like a baby (luckily this was the food court right next to the hospital, so crying was a common occurrence).  Of course I'll miss my friends more than anything, but it's also hard to say goodbye to all of my food-related loves in Michigan (particularly my farmers' market, my CSA farm, and Zingerman's).  And I'll miss the kitchen where I really fell in love with cooking.  I packed up the kitchen yesterday (how did I have so much stuff in there??), and it's weird seeing it so empty.  I still have a few things that I'm taking in my car because I can't survive without the ability to at least cook the basics while the rest of my belongings are in limbo on a moving truck, but it's not the same.  I'm excited to create new food memories in my new kitchen, but I'll always have fond memories of this one.  So, it's only fitting that I share one of the last things I made in Michigan, carrot mac and cheese.

It should be no surprise to you that I crammed vegetables into mac and cheese, and this worked wonderfully.  I really liked the way that the carrot blended with the cheese to make a hearty sauce that wasn't too heavy.  It was sweeter than your typical version, but it wasn't too much, and I thought it was a nice change.  However, unlike normal mac and cheese, I didn't enjoy the leftovers cold (I know I'm weird...), so make sure you warm it up.

Carrot macaroni and cheese (adapted from Food & Wine)
(Printable version)

12 oz. carrots, sliced thinly
1 large orange, zested and juiced
1/2 cup water
salt and pepper to taste
8 oz. chunky brown rice pasta (penne, fusilli, etc.)
3 oz. sharp cheddar cheese

Combine carrots, orange zest and juice, and water in a small saucepan, cover, and let simmer over medium heat until carrots are tender (about 30 min).  Let the carrots cool for a few minutes, and then puree them in a blender with salt and pepper (you may need a little bit more water to make a thick puree).

Cook the pasta according to package directions (make sure to stop when it's al dente), and reserve about a cup of the water before draining the pasta.  Add the pasta back to it's cooking pot, stir in the carrot and reserved pasta water, and let cook over medium heat for 5 min.  Then add 2/3 of the cheese and stir well.  Spread pasta out in a 8x8" baking pan and top with remaining cheese.  Bake at 350 for 20 min.  Serves 4.

CSA round-up weeks 9 and 10

I realize that last time I did a CSA round-up, it sounded like it was my final share.  I really meant 'last' as in previous, not final.  But, this post does wrap up the end of my CSA.  Several weeks ago I picked up share #9, and selected corn, spinach, potatoes, green peppers, tomatoes, dino kale, leeks, and cabbage.  It's so strange seeing tomatoes and corn right now, and hard to believe that I was enjoying them just a few weeks ago.

 The corn, tomatoes, and kale went into a spaghetti squash recipe:

 

I used the leeks, potatoes, and cabbage to make another batch of cabbage, potato, and sausage soup (I told you I loved it).  I ate the spinach and green peppers in several salads.

I received my final share early because of my trip to Chicago last week, and came home with sweet potatoes, eggplant, peppers, carrots, broccoli, leeks, brussels sprouts, and cabbage.  I ate the carrots for a snack, roasted the brussels sprouts, and sauteed the eggplant with a bunch of other veggies.

I used the cabbage to make one of my favorite (and perhaps the simplest) veggie dish: roasted cabbage

The sweet potatoes, which were some of the best that I've ever eaten, were roasted with white potatoes and butternut squash:

And finally, I baked a few chicken breasts with leeks and peppers:

It's really sad that my experience with Titus Farms is over.  If I were planning to live in Michigan next year, I would sign up again in a heartbeat.  They are planning to have a winter CSA next year, and I'm jealous of everyone who will be able to enjoy even more of their delicious produce.  I just hope that I'll have good CSA options wherever I end up next year.  Did anyone else have a great first CSA experience?

Crock pot applesauce recipe

Last week I decided that I needed to plan something fun during the weekend so that I would be able to keep myself motivated.  I don't know that most people would think that apple picking is the ultimate reward for working yourself to death, but I'm not your typical person.  This is my last fall in Michigan, and I have to take advantage of one of the best parts of living in this state.  I found an apple picking buddy, too, so apparently I'm not the only "different" one :).

I took the parents picking in August, but there weren't many varieties available that early in the season.  This time they had gala (pictured above), empire, courtland, and jonathan varieties, and I came home with a mix of all of them (and quite a few in my stomach).  Before we even arrived at the orchard, I knew that I wanted to make applesauce. 

Applesauce isn't very difficult to make on the stove, but I love the crock pot method because it allows me to throw the apples in the crock, go for a run, eat dinner, work on applications, and then have an amazing dessert ready at the end of the evening.  A few weeks ago I had some applesauce at Zingerman's, and it was fantastic.  By pure coincidence, this tasted almost exactly the same.  I guess that's what happens when you rely solely on the unadulterated apple flavors.  This is so simple, yet perfect.  I prefer leaving the peel on, too, because it gives the sauce a fabulous color and provides a little bit of texture.  I enjoyed it warm, but it's also good cold.  You could throw cinnamon or honey in if you want, but I'm having trouble adding anything else because it's so good by itself.  I'm already planning to make more of this to freeze, and I also want to make more with different varieties as they come into season.  Hmmm... I wonder how many times I can go picking this year.  I'm submitting this dish to Weekend Herb Blogging, which is organized by Haalo from Cook (almost) Anything At Least Once, and is hosted by Graziana from Erbe in cucina this week.

Crock pot applesauce (adapted from "Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker Cookbook" by Beth Hensperger and Julie Kaufmann)
(Printable version)

20 small to medium apples (ideally use a variety), cored and quartered
juice of half lemon

Toss apples in lemon juice in a large crock pot (I used a 5 1/2 qt one).  Cook on low for 5 to 6 hours.  Mash apples with a potato masher or ricer and try not to eat the entire crock of applesauce.  Makes about 6 cups.

My blogging mentor (Julia from Grow. Cook. Eat.), flowers, and farmers

It's been fun trying to figure out the whole blogging thing, but I know that I still have a lot to learn and can make the process more enjoyable for my faithful readers (thanks to those of you who keep up with my adventures!).  I was excited to read that Kristen at Dine & Dish was putting together a third round of Adopt-a-Blogger, a program in which she pairs experienced food bloggers with newbies like me.  I was very excited to be paired with Julia from Grow. Cook. Eat.  Julia has a lot of professional cooking experience and is now a food consultant.  She also creates cookbooks for CSAs that highlight the produce specific to that farm.  Her blog is somewhat different from most food blogs because she manages to include fabulous recipes, updates from her garden, and interesting tidbits on food and wine.  I'm very excited to have her as my mentor because she has a great blog and an immense amount of experience in the food world, and I'm sure that I can learn a lot from her.  Because I don't have room for a garden of my own (other than the tomato plants that I'm hoping to grow in containers on my patio), I'm looking forward to reading her garden updates this summer and learning more about the whole experience for when I can finally have one of my own. I highly recommend that you check out her blog!

Speaking of growing things, I'm happy to report that flowers are finally blooming in Michigan!  These are tulips right outside of my apartment, and there are enormous beds of them next to my building on campus.  I don't remember there being so many around the city in previous springs, but perhaps I'm paying more attention after the severe winter that we had to endure.  I doubt that I'll be able to make it to Holland, MI this year for the tulip festival, but it looks like we're having one of our own in Lansing :).

As my excitement about flowers was building, I also knew that this meant that my wait would soon be over.  Today was the opening day for the Meridian Township Farmers' Market, and I've been patiently awaiting this day since it closed in late October.  This market is less than 2 miles from my apartment and is the best one in the Lansing area.  Unfortunately, I couldn't get much today because I was heading straight to campus to help with the Michigan Science Olympiad, and knew that I could only buy produce that could withstand sitting in the car for 9 hours.  That ruled out the strawberries - they looked amazing but incredibly fragile - so they will have to wait until next week.  I did get asparagus and spinach, and just ate the best spinach salad I've had in a long time.  I also got good info about tomato plants, which I hope to buy from one of the vendors in the next couple of weeks.  More than anything, it was great to see everyone (both vendors and patrons) excited about being back at the market.  I missed the sense of community that I feel every Saturday during the summer and fall, and I'm so happy that I have it back!

My perfect day and a stocked pantry

Sometimes you don't realize how miserable you were until the fog clears and you can frolic around in your happiness.  This winter was rough for me.  I'm pretty sure it was rough for everyone (apparently Michigan's coldest winter since the 1920's), but it didn't help that I was already anxious to move before it started.  And it has been especially cloudy and dreary this year.  It definitely encouraged me to spend more time cooking because all I wanted to do was rush home and hibernate in my apartment (and cooking definitely made it warmer!).

Over the past couple of weeks, I finally saw the sun and it was miraculous.  Even on days when it's  still below freezing, I find myself whistling, laughing, and smiling for the first time since... well, October.  I feel like a completely different person, and I'm loving it.  Bye bye, seasonal affective disorder!

Anyway, after an extremely productive week (it's amazing how much I can get done when everyone else is off enjoying spring break), I decided to treat myself to a day in Ann Arbor.  AA has much more character than Lansing and I love spending time there.  They have great concerts (and one of my favorite venues - the Ark), great restaurants, and a fabulous farmers' market.  And unlike the good markets in Lansing, theirs is open year-round.  So, this morning I lugged my cooler to the car and headed off for an adventure.

I had only been to the AA farmers' market once before and that was quite a while ago (before I truly appreciated them).  I wasn't expecting much because it is early March... and this is Michigan, after all.  But, I was pleasantly surprised by the variety of non-produce items and ended up coming home with a peck of apples, eggs, ground buffalo and grass-fed beef, and a piece of lamb (that will soon become my St. Patty's day dinner).  I'm happy about my finds, but more than anything it felt great to be at the market, among people that I immensely respect, and part of a community (even though I was only visiting).  

I also went across the street to Zingerman's and the Spice Merchants to look around.  I made myself promise that I wouldn't spend much money, so I was very proud that I didn't buy anything at either place, but it was definitely tempting.  The Spice Market is amazing - it's the epitome of organization and everything is beautiful.  You can tell that these are high quality spices... but you pay for it.  Luckily I'm pretty well stocked as far as spices go.  Zingerman's was even more enticing.  I really wanted some pancetta to have on hand, but luckily the line was too long.  And then they had to put out their olive oils, vinegars, and bread.  I've never owned a really nice bottle of oil and I always wondered if they are worth it.  I found out today.  I've never before wanted to drink a bottle of olive oil.  I managed to restrain myself, and instead moved on to the delicious vinegars (these were amazing too!).

After a trek over to Trader Joe's and Whole Foods (where I managed to make a lunch out of their free samples), I checked out a few used bookstores before heading home.  It was warm enough to walk around for a bit, and it was so nice to be outside in the sunshine.  I bought so much that I had to completely rearrange my pantry when I got home (and even found some things hidden in there that I didn't know I had!).

And all of this made me think about my cooking philosophy.  I just started reading "Alone in the Kitchen with an Eggplant: Confessions of Cooking for One and Dining Alone" (edited by Jenni Ferrari-Adler, who just happened to conceive of the book while living in Ann Arbor).  It's a book of essays written by chefs about their experiences cooking/dining alone, and I can't recommend it more.  In the intro, the editor talks about how her approach to cooking is completely different when she's cooking for only herself.  I completely relate, and began thinking about why I've fallen in love with cooking lately.  Honestly, it's not about eating.  It's about the process - the challenge of cooking with new and different ingredients.  It's also a peaceful experience for me, and the best form of stress relief.  Sure, it's nice when the food tastes good, but somehow the process makes it taste good.  As Carla from Top Chef would say, I can taste the love.  But when I cook for other people it's different.  I still enjoy it, but I go about it in a different way.  Taste becomes much more important and I'm far more concerned about the final product than the process.  I suppose it's nice to have both.

I've been slacking on the recipes, but I promise that I'll post more tonight or tomorrow.  This was much more important...

Yogurt, Flax, and Berries

This is one of the simplest things to make, but it's one of my favorite post-workout snacks/desserts. I eat this quite often and am still not tired of it, so I figured I should share.

Yogurt, Flax, and Berries

1/2 - 1 cup plain yogurt

2 Tbsp flax meal

handful of berries or grapes, fresh or frozen

Mix flax with yogurt. Add fruit.

How to you make yogurt even tastier? Add flax and fruit. I love flax seeds and meal, and I eat a ton of it. It's loaded with Omega-3s, but I mainly care about the fact that it has a delicious nutty flavor. I've used several types of fruit in this - mostly blueberries and grapes - and all are good, but different. My favorite is probably frozen grapes, although frozen blueberries (especially my quickly depleting stash from the summer farmers' market) are great too. This week blackberries were on sale (I still can't figure that one out...), so I decided to have a nice treat.

I had to teach myself to like plain yogurt, but it became easier once I discovered how much better organic yogurt tastes than regular. I typically buy either Stonyfield Farm or Brown Cow, and both are delicious. I'm still searching for a local yogurt source. I've been buying all of my milk and butter from Calder Dairy in Carleton, MI (and it's amazing!), but they don't make yogurt. Hopefully I'll be able to find something soon.

Titus Farms CSA

Community Supported Agriculture has become more and more available, and I just signed up for a share for next summer and fall!  The basic premise is that you buy a share of a farm's output in advance and then you get a box of food every week (or in my case every other week).  There's a slight risk because you can't count on getting specific crops because the weather may screw things up, but most farms grow such a wide variety of veggies, fruits, and herbs that it's very likely that you'll get a whole lot of things even if they lose a few.  And they're usually very affordable; although it seems like a lot of money when you pay it at once, it's far less than you would pay for veggies at the grocery store.  Plus you get to support a local farm!

I chose to sign up for the Titus Farms CSA mainly because you can by a half share every other week.  I definitely can't use everything that comes in a whole share, and even a half share every week might be too much some weeks.  This way I won't feel overwhelmed with produce and can still make my weekly trips to the market to supplement my box with a few items that Titus may not grow.  I got to know the people at Titus this year, and they seem to be really nice people and have quality produce (I know that I've had their cabbage, potatoes, leeks, and peppers, and all were quite good).  Oh, and the other good thing about Titus is that you get to pick what's in your box each week.  So, if they have 15 kinds of things one week, you get to pick a certain amount of things so that you get what you want, while still getting to try new things.  I can't wait for June!

Afternoon apple adventures

There are two things that I'll miss about Michigan when I move.  One is the fall colors.  This place is beautiful in the fall - I've never seen such vibrant colors.  Unfortunately you can blink and miss it because it usually goes from colorful and crisp outside to brown and bone-chillingly cold in about two weeks.  Right now there are a few trees that still have leaves, but even they are mostly brown and dingy.

The other thing is apples.  I never liked apples growing up, but that's because everyone seems to think that Red Delicious apples are the only kind that exist.  News flash: they lie (they are indeed red, but not delicious... or even edible).  Luckily my apple horizons expanded once I moved up here.  There are about 20 varieties of apples readily available in the fall (both at the markets and at grocery stores).  When I first discovered Honeycrisps, I don't think I ate any other kind of fruit for a few weeks.  And lately I've fallen in love with Jonagolds (they have a very similar taste and texture to Honeycrisps, but are much cheaper).  

I've been meaning to pick some apples again, but haven't been able to find the time for the last few weeks.  Today I had a free afternoon (and it warmed up to 55!), so I headed out for an apple adventure.  There's an orchard a few miles away (one of the benefits to living outside of the city), so I decided to check it out instead of going to the one that's way across town that I've been to before.  This one is a much smaller scale - they have a stand set up with pre-picked apples, bags for picking your own, and gourds (and they also have peaches when they're in season), and a self-pay box.  I picked up my 1/2 bushel bag and headed out to the orchard.  Unfortunately, many of the varieties aren't available this late in the season, but they had Mutsu, Northern Spy, Golden Delicious, and Ida Reds left.  The great thing about picking your own is that you can see what you like.  The Mutsu (aka Crispin) are good - quite crunchy with a somewhat sweet, somewhat tart flavor.  I also really liked the Northern Spy, so I got as many of those as I could find.  And I got a few Golden Delicious (they're not my favorite, but far better than the Red variety).  I'm not a fan of the Ida Reds because they're not crisp, so I passed on those rows.  

It was an adventure to pick because the trees were picked over and I had to climb into the tree to get to them.  It was worth it, though.  I got several months worth of apples for $12, and had a really good time getting them.  The place I've gone in the past is busy (it's also a cider mill and bakery), but this was an entirely different experience.  I only saw 2 people while I was there, and it was really nice to be out in the middle of nowhere and really enjoy the beautiful day without much interruption.  Now the only downside is that I won't be able to put anything else in my crisper drawer for a few months :)

Lesson #1: You can never have too many veggies

Shopping at the farmers' market has been a learning experience... but a good one.  I never know how much to get.  I usually think about how much I'll need, and then walk around and buy the stuff that looks really good (unless I need something specific).  Unfortunately that backfired this Saturday.  I already had a lot of veggies, so I decided that I shouldn't buy too much.  I failed to consider the fact that I've been eating 6 or 7 large servings of veggies a day.  So by Monday I was almost out, and had to resort to the grocery store for some back-up supplies.  So now I've learned that I can basically buy unlimited veggies and I'll end up eating them all.  Luckily my grocery store veggies lasted me until today, when I went to the Select Michigan festival on the steps of the capitol.  There was a ton of local produce, honey, maple syrup, cheese, oils, yarns, pickles, etc.  I picked up some olive oil from a local family that has a farm in Lebanon (run by their daughter, an MSU grad), my first honeycrisp apples of the season, more peaches, and some winter squash (a spaghetti and a delicata).  Along with my leftovers, I should be able to last until Saturday morning.

After eating a lot of leftovers from the weekend, I was definitely in the mood to cook tonight, and I ended up making one of the most delicious (and easiest!) dinners I've had in a while.  I finally got around to cooking some of the salmon that I got while Mom was here.  I spritzed it with oil and sprinkled a little bit of salt and pepper on top, then baked it, and it turned out perfectly.  I'm glad I have a freezer full of salmon to enjoy :).  I also made a super easy version of creamed spinach.  You make a little bit of bechamel sauce, boil spinach for about 30 sec., then drain it and add it to the sauce.  It was amazing.  And finally, I tried my delicata squash.  I had never had one of these before, but everyone at the festival was raving about how sweet they are.  I baked it whole and took it out when it was really tender, but I think it could have cooked a little longer.  I added a little butter and some cinnamon, and it was definitely tasty.  I'm looking forward to cooking the spaghetti one this weekend.

Mmmm... milk

While I'm thinking about it, I want to mention a few things I've discovered lately.  After reading several books (which I'll make a post about soon), my thoughts about food and eating have changed drastically.  One of the many changes I've made is buying milk from grass-fed cows and eggs from free-range chickens (with neither being given hormones or antibiotics).  It's a little bit more expensive (although not much, because I'm buying from local dairies/farms), but the difference is AMAZING.  I've never tasted milk this delicious.  It's skim, and it has the consistency of skim, but it's so much creamier.  And the eggs taste better, have much harder shells, and they don't have to dye the yolks to get them yellow!  There are some times when I think it may not be worth the extra money to buy organically grown/raised products, but theses two definitely don't fit in that category.  And on top of that, I'm supporting local farmers and eating food that's better for me.  How does life get any better?