Vino

You will often find a bag of these scones in our freezer, ready to be baked for a delicious breakfast. If you do plan to freeze the scone dough, I recommend using them within two or three weeks or it will not be as moist on the inside.

Source: mrslarkin on Food52

Servings: 8

Ingredients:

2 cups (about 9 oz. or 255 grams) all-purpose unbleached flour

6 tablespoons granulated sugar, plus more for sprinkling on top of scones

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg

Scant ¼ teaspoon ground cloves

Scant ¼ teaspoon ground ginger (optional)

2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh sage, plus 8 small whole sage leaves

6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes

1/2 cup butternut squash, pureed (see below for directions)

1/3 cup heavy cream, plus more for brushing on top of scones

1 large egg

Method:

For the butternut squash puree: Pierce a medium butternut squash all over with a fork or tip of a knife. Place on microwave-safe dish and cook on high for about ½ hour, turning every ten minutes or so, until soft and mushy. Cut squash down the middle. If it’s still hard in the middle, nuke it a little more. Scoop out seeds and pulp. Scoop out the soft squash, mash it a bit, and place in a mesh strainer over a bowl. Let drain for a couple hours, or overnight. You only need  ½ cup of the puree for this recipe so you can use the rest to make soup or you can double the scone recipe.

In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the chopping blade, place the dry ingredients and the chopped sage, and pulse to combine.

Add the butter, and pulse about 10 or so times making sure to retain some small pieces of butter. Transfer the flour mixture to a large mixing bowl. If you find that there are some really large butter lumps, simply mash them with the back of a fork.

In a large measuring cup, place the squash, egg and heavy cream. Mix well. Pour into flour mixture. Use a spatula or fork to fold the wet into the dry as you gradually turn the bowl. Keep up the folding motion till the dough begins to gather, use a plastic bowl scraper to gently knead the dough into a ball shape.

Transfer the dough ball to a floured board. Gently pat into a 6” circle. With a pastry scraper or large chef’s knife, cut into 8 triangles.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Place scones on a parchment-lined sheet pan, about 1 inch apart. Brush with cream. Take the whole sage leaves, brush front and back with cream and place on tops of scones. Sprinkle tops of scones with sugar.

Bake for about 20 – 25 minutes, turning pan halfway through. They are done when a wooden skewer comes out clean. Eat them warm or let them cool before serving.

If you want to store them for later, instead of baking the scones place them on a wax paper-lined sheet pan after they are cut into pieces and freeze until solid. Once they are frozen, you can store them in a plastic freezer bag.

Not too long ago we had half a bunch of limp arugula in the fridge and were wondering how to use it wisely to make a weekend lunch. Well, Food52 came to our rescue with this very yummy salad.

Source: Merrill Stubbs on Food52

Servings: 3 to 4 (as a side dish)

Ingredients:

1/4 small red onion, finely chopped

1 pound small red potatoes (cut into bite-sized pieces if they are not small enough)

Salt

1/2 tablespoon rice vinegar

Black pepper, freshly ground

2 tablespoons chives, chopped finely

1 1/2 to 2 cups arugula, stems removed, washed and dried and very roughly chopped

1 tablespoons red wine vinegar

1/2 tablespoon Dijon mustard

2 to 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Method:

Put the potatoes in a large pot of generously salted water. Bring to a boil over high heat.

Lower the heat so the water is barely simmering and cook for about 10 minutes, until you can pierce the potatoes with the tip of a sharp knife and it slips out easily. Drain the potatoes well and pour them into a large bowl.

Toss the warm potatoes with the rice vinegar, 1/8 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Add the chives, arugula and red onion and stir through.

Whisk together the red wine vinegar, mustard and olive oil in a small bowl. Add salt and pepper to taste. Pour over the potato mixture and toss to combine.

This salad can be served warm or kept covered at room temperature for up to an hour before serving.

Thank you Martha Rose Shulman and your Recipes for Health column in NYT for another recipe that is a keeper. This one is a healthy alternative to traditional stir fry or fried rice. Feel free to play around with the vegetables you would like to add, but Shulman mentions that brown rice brings a certain earthiness to vegetarian stir fry… I agree!

Serving Time: 40 minutes

Yields: 2 to 3 servings

Ingredients:

2 poblano chiles

2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon peanut or canola oil

2 large eggs, beaten

Salt to taste

1 tablespoon minced ginger

3/4 tablespoon minced garlic

1/4 cup chopped scallions

1 cup uncooked brown rice

3/4 cup fresh or thawed frozen edamame

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

1 to 2 tablespoons soy sauce (to taste)

1/8 teaspoon ground white pepper

1.Cook brown rice using your preferred method. We makes ours in the rice cooker. You should have about 2 cups of cooked brown rice. It is preferable to cook the rice the previous day, or at least in the morning for an evening meal so that you have time to refrigerate it. Cold rice is always preferable for such dishes because it does not get lumpy.

2. Coat the poblano chiles with a little oil and broil them for about 12 minutes (may be a little bit longer depending on your range.) Turn the chilies and broil for 3 to 3 more minutes., until uniformly charred. Remove from the broiler and allow to cool. Remove the charred skins, cut in half, remove seeds and membranes, and cut into 2-inch strips. Set aside.

3. Beat the eggs in a bowl, and season to taste with salt. Heat a large flat-bottomed wok over high heat. Once heated, add 2 teaspoons of the oil to the sides of the pan and tilt the pan to distribute. Making sure that the bottom of the wok is covered with oil, carefully pour in the eggs. Cook for about 30 seconds or until the eggs set, tilting the pan so that the eggs spread out into a thin pancake. Once the pancake is set and beginning to color, flip it over with a metal spatula and allow to cook for five seconds. Remove to a cutting board, and roll up the pancake. Cut into thin strips, and set aside. Don’t worry if you can’t do this perfectly. As long as you are able to cut the egg into strips you should be fine.

4. Add the remaining oil to the wok, and then the ginger, garlic and scallions. Stir-fry 10 seconds. Add the rice, roasted poblano strips and edamame. Stir-fry for two minutes, scooping up and breaking up the rice, then pressing it into the pan and scooping it up again. Alternately, you can break up the rice with your hands before you put it in the wok. Add the egg strips, cilantro, soy sauce, salt to taste and pepper. Stir-fry another 30 seconds to combine. Remove from the heat and serve.

This is adapted from one of Martha Rose Shulman’s Recipes for Health post (original recipe is here.) Since escarole is not easily available at our farmers’ market, I used kale. You could also use spinach, chard or any other leafy green but you may need to adjust when you add them to achieve the right consistency- you want it to be well cooked but not disintegrated. We found that the soup tasted better the next day as the flavors deepened, so perhaps it is a good idea to cook it over the weekend for a ready to serve weekday meal.

Serving: 4 to 5 (as main dish with some bread)

Time: Approximately 45 to 50 minutes

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 small onion, finely chopped

2 small carrots, diced

3 to 4 garlic cloves, minced

1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

3/4 pound tomatoes, grated (you need to cut them along the equator to grate them) or a 14 ounce can of chopped tomatoes

1 cup lentils, washed (you could use green or brown)

A bouquet garni made with a bay leaf, a few sprigs each thyme and parsley, and a Parmesan rind (you may add any other spice if you would like)

6 cups water

Salt and freshly ground pepper

half a bunch of kale, washed and roughly chopped (about 6 cups)

Preparation:

1. Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil over medium heat in a large soup pot or Dutch oven. Add the onion and carrots. Cook, stirring often, until the onion is tender, about five minutes. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes. Cook, stirring, until the garlic is fragrant, 30 seconds to a minute. Stir in the tomatoes. Bring to a simmer, and cook, stirring, until the tomatoes have cooked down slightly and smell fragrant, five to 10 minutes. Add the lentils and simmer with the tomato mixture for a few minutes, then add the bouquet garni and the water. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and add salt to taste (1 to 2 teaspoons). Cover and simmer 30 minutes.

2. Add the kale, and bring back to a simmer. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes until the escarole and the lentils are tender. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Remove the bouquet garni.

3. Ladle the soup into the bowl and add a drop of hot sauce if you would like. Toast slices of some crusty bread you like and serve on the side.

P.S. I used jalapenos instead of crushed red pepper flakes but you could add both or neither depending on your spice tolerance.