Spring has sprung and I am all for it. Popped into Whole Foods yesterday to pick up some bread and walked out with all this beautiful produce. So I got all excited and whipped up some lovely risotto.

1st I boiled my fresh fava beans in some salted water for a couple of minutes to make them easier to peel or shuck or whatever the heck you call getting the beans out. They look like this after you boil them:

Then you get the little guys out and you have to peel them again:

So I peeled a bunch of fava beans and those were good to go. While I the beans were boiling I chopped up some mushrooms. I like to leave them kinda big and chunky. I used shitake and baby bellas:

Also sliced up some gorgeous spring onions:

Next I turned on my small oven to 450. While that was preheating I sauteed the spring onions in my pot with some butter, olive oil and salt. Then I added the mushrooms to the pot. I don’t really stir the mushrooms that often. I just let them sit there and get brown and then stir maybe once or twice.  Then I took the vegetables out of the pot and deglazed the bottom of the pot with some warm broth and poured that delicious juice over the veggies and let them sit there in a bowl on the counter.

Next I roasted some asparagus and then squeezed a lot of lemon juice on it and S&P.

After that I chopped up the asparagus and added them to the other veggies.

Next I added some more butter and olive oil to my risotto pot then added my arborio rice. I let the rice absorb all of the butter and oil while stirring constantly then added about 1 cup of chardonnay. Let the rice absorb all of your wine then start adding your warmed broth all the while stirring and letting the rice absorb all of the broth before adding more. You can use any kind of broth that you want, veggie, beef or chicken.

Keep up this process for about 20 minutes. Then add in all of your veggies and a good amount of grated parmesan cheese and some salt and pepper. At this point I also added a couple of handfuls of  Northern Cal arugula which I love. I did not cook it first just threw it in with the other veggies. Also some small green peas. Add a chunk of butter and turn off the heat and let it sit for a few minutes so all of the flavors can meld.

When you are ready to eat you can serve it up and add some more parmesan if you want and if it needs it a little S&P.

It turned out really good.

You can use any spring veggies you want but here is what I used:

• Fresh fava beans
• Petite green peas
• Shitake mushrooms
• Baby bella mushrooms
• Asparagus
• Arugula
• Spring onions

This has been a challenging year. Back in school, which I love, studying hard to become a teacher.  It has been fun and trying. I attend a college in Sonoma. Of course the dorms are named after “grapes”.

Never forget that greasy college pizza experience. Even the 2nd time around it is such a good thing:

I realize I have not shared any new wonderful recipe ideas. But sometimes ya just gotta give in and get greasy bad for you, not thin crust, downright pizza-y pizza!

So last night was the last debate. Enough about that.

The thing is I needed food. So I whipped up a yummy, easy vegetarian meal that didn’t require too much actual cooking. I put on a little Shooter Jennings and set to work in the kitchen.

1st, make a little tomato sauce. I sauteed 3 cloves of thinly sliced garlic (cuz I like garlic) in about 1 tbs olive oil then I added 1 can of whole peeled San Marzano tomatoes and mashed them with a wooden spoon until they were crushed. Add salt and pepper, bring to a boil and simmer while you do the rest.

Pre heat oven to 350.

Butter an 8 inch glass pan. Heat up a 4 cups of chicken broth. Pour that into the pan (use water if you are a real vegetarian) add 1 cup polenta, 1 tsp butter or more if you like, salt and pepper. Stir it around.

Put this in the oven for 50 minutes uncovered. Check back and stir every once in a while and add more liquid as needed.

Remove the stem and clean out the inside or your portobello mushroom. Put olive oil on both sides and salt and pepper. Heat up a grill. If you don’t have a grill pan or a grill handy you can stick it in the oven with the polenta. I did mine on a grill.

Once your polenta is done remove from the oven and add a whole bunch of shaved parmesan cheese and some more S & P. Stir it around. If it seems dry add some more liquid. Cover and place back in the oven for 10 minutes.

Remove cover. It should be creamy and smooth.

Meanwhile either remove your mushroom from the oven or grill it until it emits some juices and gets nice grill marks.

Then assemble your dish:

Put a scoop of polenta on a plate, top with mushroom and then sauce. Add more cheese if you like. I did.

Turn off Shooter and watch the debate. Or not:-)

It’s fall again already! Where does the time go?

Came home on a Sunday night after a week packed with a month’s worth of events and realized I hadn’t thought about dinner. A quick check of the fridge yielded some fresh baby greens that needed to be used, mushrooms and peppers. I also had onions, garlic, tomato paste, chicken broth and farro pasta. Ok that works. Fall farro pasta was born.

1st I thinly sliced some onions:

Next chop up some mushrooms and peppers, any color peppers are fine. There happened to be orange chopped peppers in my fridge which needed usin, so that’s what I cooked:

Chop your garlic relatively large. I wanted a sweet garlic taste not sharp so I made large chunks:

Then you want to add your greens and saute until just wilted. I had a mix of baby kale, spinach and arugula. Beautiful.

Then I did not have fresh tomatoes so I carmelized a little tomato paste, about 3 TBS:

Then add about 1 cup of chicken broth or water and bring to a boil and then simmer until reduced all the way down. Also add a tsp of sugar (optional) and some S&P:

Add 1/4 cup (about) of pasta water, some grated parmesan and your pasta back to the pan. Coat with sauce. Top with shaved parmesan. Enjoy fall

So last week-end I was really in the mood for chicken tacos. Usually I just throw some chicken on the grill and then assemble in a corn tortilla with some avocado and onion. But this time I was in the mood for something a little more authentic.

I decided to braise my chicken similar to the way I cook pork. I really wanted this chicken to have a deep layered flavor so I thought the best way to achieve this would be to do a dry rub of sorts and let the chicken sit in the fridge overnight and absorb the flavor of the spices.

I threw together a spice mixture containing Smoky Paprika from Spain which has a great flavor, along with some chili pepper, cumin, coriander, a pinch of cayenne, S & P and brown sugar.  I rubbed this mixture all over my chicken breasts and then drizzled a little olive oil in there just for good measure.

Into the fridge those babies went to party all night long with their spices.

The next morning I took out my dutch oven ( I love my dutch oven!) and added a couple of glugs of olive/canola oil mix and then a large sliced sweet onion and a couple of cloves of garlic. I let those saute for a couple of minutes and then I added the chicken breasts and turned the heat up to high so they could brown. With the heat still on high, I added about 1 cup of white wine. When the wine is cooked off you add about 3 cups of chicken stock and some tomatoes or salsa. I didn’t have salsa but I had cherry tomatoes so I added those and it turned out fine. Place this mixture covered in your oven at 300 degrees. Your going to cook this for several hours, at least 4, and then check. The chicken should be really easy to shred at this point.

Now you are ready to serve your tacos. I used corn tortillas and topped my tacos with a little shredded lettuce, onions & Cotija cheese. But you could add Avocados, Cilantro or whatever you want. I served with black-eyed peas.

If you want good drinks to go with these I suggest a watermelon margarita type drink that I just read about in the NYT. I tried these and they are amazing!

Tequila Watermelon Punch

Or you could always just go with a Rose or White Wine Sangria.

Braised Chicken Tacos:

• 4 large boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 4 tbs smoky paprika
• 2tbs coriander
• 1tbs cumin
• 1tbs chili powder
• pinch of cayenne
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp pepper
• 2 tbs brown sugar
• 1 large sweet onion
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 cup salsa or tomatoes
• 3 cups chicken broth
• 1 cup dry white wine
• Corn tortillas
• Cotija cheese
• Diced onion for topping
• Shredded lettuce
• Olive oil/Canola Oil mix

1. Combine all your spices together and rub on chicken breasts. Drizzle with a couple of tablespoons of oil and place in refrigerator overnight.
2. Heat 2 tbs oil in a large oven proof pot or dutch oven. Added onions and garlic and saute for a couple of minutes until sweating.
3. Turn heat up to high and add chicken breasts and brown on all sides.
4. With heat still on high add white wine and cook off.
5. Add chicken broth and salsa and cover.
6. Place into 300 degree oven and cook for 4 hours. Check after 2 hrs and if needed add more liquid. Water is ok.
7. After 4 hours remove from oven and shred chicken with a fork. The mixture will be really juicy, make sure to include the juices when making your tacos.

It’s been a long sweet summer so far. Just back from 3 great weeks in the mountains of North Carolina, time spent with good friends & family and more great memories for Wyatt.

Back in California one the first things to catch my eye at the local market are the heirloom tomatoes. It’s prime tomato time and these beauty’s are one of my favorite things about summer. I make tarts & soups and salads but one of the most satisfying things for me is the simple but perfect summer tomato sandwich. I usually keep it simple with just tomatoes, white bread, mayo & salt & pepper.

I mixed it up this time though because I’m going to an event where I am bringing sandwiches and I was making an herb mayo for those sandwiches and I just used that & threw these sandwiches together. I was not disappointed. I added some sharp smoky cheddar and a new favorite sandwich was born.

The only sad thing was that I did not have Duke’s Mayonnaise to make this sandwich with

Herb Mayo

• 1 cup of your best Mayo-make homemade if you are so inclined. I cheated and used store bought.
• a handful of Arugula-chopped
• about 1 tbs parsley-chopped
• 1 shallot or scallion-chopped
• zest of 1 lemon
• S&P

Mix all ingredients and season to taste.

Assemble your sandwich:
Pour yourself a nice glass of lemonade or tea, turn on the olympics and enjoy!

I love the combination of eggs, greens & tomatoes. In the summer especially this is a sandwich that I make endless variations of. It’s a great way to start your day and it’s also just as good for a quick lunch or dinner.

Basically I just toast a whole wheat english muffin and spread it liberally with tomato jam, or if there is no tomato jam on hand some thick slices of heirloom tomatoes for that summery touch. Fry an egg and the  top with avocado, sprouts and thin slices of red onion. Add some S&P and you have the perfect summer breakfast sandwich.