This crazy combination by Deb from Smitten Kitchen is SO good that I cannot say enough about it. I am not going to reproduce it here, as Deb's pictures and explanations are beautiful. Just trust me, if you like watermelon and salad, you should make this!
Smitten Kitchen's Cucumber, Tomato, Feta and Watermelon Summer Salad
PS This article goes over the difference between an English and a regular American cucumber, and I have to say that it was totally worth it to find the English variety. It was not bitter, very crunchy and the seeds were nominal. Win!
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Shepherd's Pie + Rhubarb Crumble
Made a shepherd's pie today, based off of a Moosewood recipe, and then as I seemed in an English mood, I made a rhubarb crumble for dessert!
For the rhubarb crumble, you can simply halve Nigella Lawson's.
The Moosewood recipe for shepherd's pie has three parts: a tofu saute, a mushroom gravy and a mashed potato topping. Tonight, I wanted a more traditional pie so I used the Moosewood recipe as a base but substituted lean, organic beef for tofu, added carrots and celery, and beef broth to the gravy. It turned out pretty well :) if I do say so myself.
Ingredients for the saute:
vegetable or olive oil
1 lb lean ground beef
2 carrots, peeled
2 celery stalks
1 white onion
1/4 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp ground coriander
S&P
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
Ingredients for mashed potato topping:
4 large potatoes
3 tbsp butter or margarine
1/2 cup milk
salt to taste
Ingredients for the mushroom gravy:
4 oz sliced mushrooms, the regular kind you get in the grocery store
6 oz baby bella sliced mushrooms
3 tbsp tamari soy sauce
pinch of ground black pepper
1 cup beef stock
2 cups water
2 tbsp corn starch dissolved in 1/2 cup of water
While putting this together today, I made the potatoes and the saute at the same time, followed up by the gravy. If you have help in the kitchen and enough burners you can probably accomplish it all simultaneously and save yourself some time!
First, the saute. Chop your onion, carrots and celery finely. Heat some oil in a large pot or dutch oven. Add in your chopped vegetables, along with the thyme, coriander and pepper; stor well. Saute until the onions are translucent. Add in the minced beef, and break up into the smallest pieces possible. Stir the saute occasionally, and keep cooking until the beef isn't pink. About 10 mins after you add the beef, add in the walnuts. Add S&P. Once your meat is cooked, put evenly in glass casserole dish and set aside. Keep your pan handy and don't clean it out.
Start your potatoes. Peel thoroughly and chop into roughly 6 pieces each. Add to salted water and bring to a boil. Boil gently until potatoes are soft enough to put a fork in (15-20 minutes). Drain the soft potatoes and put back in the pan. Off the heat, mash the potatoes adding in the milk and butter. Taste and add extra milk and salt as needed. Set mashed potatoes aside.
Now it's time for the gravy (the best part!). In the meat saute pan add some oil and heat on medium. Add in your mushrooms, tamari soy sauce and pepper. Stir and saute mushrooms until they're tender. Add in beef broth, water and bring to a boil. Slowly stir in the water/cornstarch mixture and cook at a low boil until the mixture is thick.
Putting it all together: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Ladle mushroom gravy over your beef saute. Top with the mashed potatoes and dot those with butter. Once oven has heated to temp, put the casserole dish on a baking pan and place on a rack in the middle of the oven. Bake for 20 minutes or until the potatoes are golden.
Serve and enjoy, but leave room for dessert!
For the rhubarb crumble, you can simply halve Nigella Lawson's.
The Moosewood recipe for shepherd's pie has three parts: a tofu saute, a mushroom gravy and a mashed potato topping. Tonight, I wanted a more traditional pie so I used the Moosewood recipe as a base but substituted lean, organic beef for tofu, added carrots and celery, and beef broth to the gravy. It turned out pretty well :) if I do say so myself.
Ingredients for the saute:
vegetable or olive oil
1 lb lean ground beef
2 carrots, peeled
2 celery stalks
1 white onion
1/4 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp ground coriander
S&P
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
Ingredients for mashed potato topping:
4 large potatoes
3 tbsp butter or margarine
1/2 cup milk
salt to taste
Ingredients for the mushroom gravy:
4 oz sliced mushrooms, the regular kind you get in the grocery store
6 oz baby bella sliced mushrooms
3 tbsp tamari soy sauce
pinch of ground black pepper
1 cup beef stock
2 cups water
2 tbsp corn starch dissolved in 1/2 cup of water
While putting this together today, I made the potatoes and the saute at the same time, followed up by the gravy. If you have help in the kitchen and enough burners you can probably accomplish it all simultaneously and save yourself some time!
First, the saute. Chop your onion, carrots and celery finely. Heat some oil in a large pot or dutch oven. Add in your chopped vegetables, along with the thyme, coriander and pepper; stor well. Saute until the onions are translucent. Add in the minced beef, and break up into the smallest pieces possible. Stir the saute occasionally, and keep cooking until the beef isn't pink. About 10 mins after you add the beef, add in the walnuts. Add S&P. Once your meat is cooked, put evenly in glass casserole dish and set aside. Keep your pan handy and don't clean it out.
Start your potatoes. Peel thoroughly and chop into roughly 6 pieces each. Add to salted water and bring to a boil. Boil gently until potatoes are soft enough to put a fork in (15-20 minutes). Drain the soft potatoes and put back in the pan. Off the heat, mash the potatoes adding in the milk and butter. Taste and add extra milk and salt as needed. Set mashed potatoes aside.
Now it's time for the gravy (the best part!). In the meat saute pan add some oil and heat on medium. Add in your mushrooms, tamari soy sauce and pepper. Stir and saute mushrooms until they're tender. Add in beef broth, water and bring to a boil. Slowly stir in the water/cornstarch mixture and cook at a low boil until the mixture is thick.
Putting it all together: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Ladle mushroom gravy over your beef saute. Top with the mashed potatoes and dot those with butter. Once oven has heated to temp, put the casserole dish on a baking pan and place on a rack in the middle of the oven. Bake for 20 minutes or until the potatoes are golden.
Serve and enjoy, but leave room for dessert!
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