Sweet Orange Crepes

What a delight to get eggs today! Eggs are so delicious, nutritious, and versatile. It seems fitting to highlight one of nature's most perfect foods in today's recipe.

Crepes are one of the easiest pancakes to make. They can be used in sweet dishes, like this recipe, or savory ones. Eat them plain, rolled, and dusted with powdered sugar; or fill them with ham and cheese or sauteed spinach and mushrooms, and fold them in half or in quarters. Dress them up with a little hollandaise or cream sauce.

Crepes make a lovely dish for breakfast, lunch, or supper. And they can turn a simple dessert, such as strawberries and whipped cream, into something elegant and special.

This recipe calls for mixing all the ingredients in a blender. Let the batter rest in the fridge for a minimum of 40 minutes. Then cook them up.

You can cook the crepes right before you use them, or in advance if you prefer. Store them in a stack, wrapped in plastic, in the fridge for a day or two. Be careful when separating stored crepes, as they are delicate and prone to tearing.

Basic Crepe Recipe:

1 C milk, preferably whole
3/4 C flour
2 eggs
2 T melted butter
1/4 t salt
additional melted butter or oil for frying

1. Place all of the ingredients (except the additional butter or oil for frying) in a blender. Cover and blend for 30-60 seconds, until well combined.

2. Refrigerate for at least 40 minutes. Batter can be kept in the fridge for up to 24 hours.

3. Heat a well-seasoned 9-inch or 10-inch skillet over medium heat. Brush a little melted butter or oil on the heating skillet. When the pan is hot, pour 1/4 C crepe batter into the center. Working quickly, lift the pan over the heat and rotate the pan until the batter has spread evenly over the bottom.

4. Return the pan to the heat and cook the crepe until it is lightly brown on the bottom. The edges should pull away from the sides of the pan. Using a spatula, flip the crepe over and cook lightly on the other side before turning out onto a plate.

5. Repeat with the remaining batter, stacking the cooked crepes on top of one another until you've used up all the batter (or until you've made as many crepes as you need).

As the pan continues to heat up, the handle may get very hot if it's made of metal. Be sure to use an oven mitt when holding and rotating the pan.

This recipe will make approximately 10, 10-inch crepes. Make your crepes smaller if you wish. Use a little less batter per crepe if you use a smaller pan.

For Sweet Orange Crepes:

I used 1 rounded Tablespoon of my homemade Satsuma Mandarin Marmalade (see recipe for January 6, 2012) per crepe. If you don't have any Satsuma Mandarin Marmalade, you can use your favorite orange marmalade or any other tasty jam.

Spread the marmalade or jam on the inside of the crepe. Roll up or fold in quarters. Garnish with orange zest and powdered sugar.

Five Farms provided this week's bounty:

From Underwood Family Farms: Broccoli, cauliflower, fennel, orange carrots, kale, bok choy, Easter radishes, escarole, iceberg lettuce, and parsley;

From Weiser Family Farms: Red Thumb potatoes and watermelon radishes;

From Sage Mountain Farm: Golden beet greens, Shiraz beets, mustard greens, and spinach;


From Jaime Farms: Hot-house Tomatoes, Persian cucumbers, yellow bell peppers; thyme, rosemary, green onions, red and brown onions, and happy eggs;

From Rancho Santa Cecilia: Satsuma mandarins.

Enjoy!

Shelley

Kati's Frittata

Missing Shelley's Friday recipes?

Shelley is traveling around South East Asia (lucky lady) so the wonderful Kati Stazer sent us this recipe.

Kati, an LAUSD schoolteacher, was one of my first customers at the Silverlake farmers' market. She loves sweet pea flowers. Thank you so much Kati for all your support and encouragement over the years. You are an amazing lady.

Here is Kati's recipe:

Hi Tara,

Here's a recipe for a thick Italian omelet using chard or kale, full of vegetables, herbs and cheese. Unlike many other egg dishes, frittatas can be made ahead and reheated or served cold or at room temperature. This dish reheats in the microwave and can keep in the refrigerator, in a tightly sealed container, for up to one week. By cutting back on the amount of cheese used, you have a lower-fat version.

2 Tbs. olive oil
1 Tbs. butter or butter substitute
1 medium-sized onion, peeled
1 tsp. salt
2 or more large stalks of ruby chard or kale
2 medium-sized potatoes, scrubbed, unpeeled and thinly sliced
1-2 tsp. dried rosemary crumbled
1/2 tsp. dried sage
2 tsp. fresh minced garlic
8 large eggs
freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 cup finely diced Gruyere cheese

1. Remove and mince chard or kale leaves and cut stems in 1/2 inch long pieces. Place leaves and stems in separate containers and set aside.

2. Heat 1 tsp. olive oil in a 10 inch skillet over medium heat. Add butter, and when melted, toss in onions. Cook, stirring frequently over medium heat until they just begin to brown, at least 5 minutes. Then reduce the heat to low, add 1/2 tsp. salt and cover skillet. Cook about 15 minutes more, or until onions are soft.

3. Stir in potatoes and herbs. Cover and cook about 10 minutes, stirring intermittently, or until potato slices are tender.

4. Add chard or kale stems and saute about 2 minutes more. Stir in chard or kale leaves and garlic and cook another minute, or until leaves are wilted but still bright green. Remove pan from heat.

5. Break eggs into large bowl, add remaining 1/2 tsp. salt, and beat well with a whisk. Add vegetables, black pepper to taste and cheese. Stir until evenly distributed. Clean and dry skillet and return to burner over medium heat. Preheat broiler.

6. When skillet is hot again, add remaining olive oil, wait about 30 seconds, and swirl to cover pan. Pour in vegetable-egg mixture and cook undisturbed over medium heat, 3 to 4 minutes, or until bottom of eggs have firmed.

7. Transfer skillet to broiler, and broil about 3 minutes, or until frittata is firm in center. Remove from broiler, and run knife around edges to loosen frittata. Slide or invert onto large, round plate, and serve hot, warm or at room temperature cut into wedges.

Here is the bounty list from 2/10:

From Sage Mountain Farm: loose leaf greens such as Red Russian Kale, spinach, mustard greens.

From Rancho Santa Cecilia: Bacon avocados, Satsuma Mandarins

Japanese Turnips, Golden Beets, Napa Cabbage, Navel oranges, Round Carrots, Purple Kale, Red Leaf Lettuce, Escarole, Butternut squash, Brussels Sprouts, Arugula and Mizuna from Underwood Family Farms.

And from Weiser Family Farms: Watermelon radishes, parsnips, Red Thumb potatoes, Purple Sprouting Broccoli, DeCicco Broccoli.

Enjoy!

Parslied Potato Salad

Potatoes love parsley. One of the simplest ways to prepare potatoes is to boil them until tender, slice, dot with butter, and spinkle on a little salt and chopped fresh parsley. Parsley's bright green color and flavor are perfect complements to the slightly sweet starchiness of potatoes.

Parslied potato salad involves just slightly more preparation than boiled potatoes with parsley and butter. You can serve this potato salad warm immediately after you mix it up; or you can let it sit in the fridge for a few hours or overnight and the flavors will meld together nicely. It'll keep for several days in the fridge, so make extra to serve with another meal later in the week.

For 4 side dish servings:

4 medium potatoes (approx 1 #)
2-3 green onions, finely chopped
2-3 T finely chopped red onion
3-4 T finely chopped celery
3-4 T finely chopped fresh parsley
juice of 1 lemon, or more to taste
A pinch of fresh lemon zest, or to taste
3 T olive oil, or more to taste
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Place the unpeeled potatoes in a pot and cover with cold water. Add 1/2 t salt to the water, if desired. Bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, and cook potatoes until just tender, about 10 minutes for medium potatoes, but cooking times will vary depending on the size of the potatoes.

2. When the potatoes are cool enough to handle, you can remove the peels if you like (I prefer to keep them in their jackets). Dice the potatoes in approximately 1/3 to 1/2 inch dice. Place in a large bowl.

3. Add the chopped onions, celery, and parsley. Stir well. Add the lemon juice, zest, and olive oil. Stir to coat. Season with salt and pepper. Taste and add a little olive oil, lemon juice, zest, salt, and/or pepper to your taste.

4. Serve warm or refrigerate until ready to serve.

Today's bounty included produce from four farms:

From Underwood Family Farms: Napa cabbage, lettuce, broccoli, Japanese turnips, fennel, celery, orange carrots, tatsoi, Hass avocados, and parsley;

From Weiser Family Farms: French fingerling potatoes, butternut squash, parsnips, and Rustic Nantes cooking carrots;

From Sage Mountain Farms: radishes, spicy salad greens mix, and green Russian kale;

From Rancho Santa Cecilia: Bacon avocados, pomelos, and Satsuma mandarins.

Enjoy!

Shelley

Two Deliciously Simple Brussels Sprouts Sides Dishes

Brussels sprouts have a delicate and slightly nutty flavor that's wonderful in many different preparations. Today's recipes, two of them, highlight Brussel sprouts' versatility. Best of all, they're both a cinch to make.

Oven Roasted Brussels Sprouts

2 C Brussels sprouts
1-2 T finely chopped onion
1-2 T olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

1. Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees F.

2. Trim the ends off the Brussels sprouts and remove any yellowed leaves. Compost the trimmings. Cut the sprouts in half and place in a medium bowl.

3. Add the chopped onion, olive oil, and salt and pepper to taste. Stir to coat.

4. Pour onto a baking sheet in a single layer and roast in a 375 degree F oven until tender and lightly browned, about 20 minutes.

Makes 2 generous side dish servings.


Mashed Brussels Sprouts with Parmesan Cheese

2 C Brussels sprouts
2 T butter
1/4 C finely grated parmesan cheese, or more to taste
salt and pepper to taste



1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.

2. While the water is coming to a boil, trim the ends and any yellow leaves off the Brussels sprouts. Compost the trimmings.

3. When the water comes to a boil, add the Brussels sprouts and cook until fork tender, about 10 minutes.

4. Drain the Brussels sprouts. Place them in a bowl with the butter and the parmesan cheese, and mash it all together with a fork. Add a little more butter or cheese, if desired.

5. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Makes 2 generous side dish servings.

Both of these dishes would be lovely with some toasted nuts, such as walnuts or almonds.

Today's bounty included produce from five different farms:

From Underwood Family Farms: bok choy, tatsoi, romaine, rainbow chard, Brussels sprouts, butternut squash, fennel, celery root, Hass avocados, and navel oranges;

From Sage Mountain Farm: collards, radishes and yellowstone carrots;

From Weiser Family Farms: Ruby Crescent potatoes and Chioggia beets;

From Rancho Santa Cecilia: Satsuma mandarins; and

From urban farmer Russel Wightman/LA Farmhands: Fuerte avocados.

And from Jill and Patrick Dempsey: lemongrass, chard and lemons

Enjoy!

Shelley

Oven Roasted Winter Vegetable Hash

Making hash is a great way to used up little odds and ends in your fridge, but it can be even better when you design a combination of complementary ingredients and flavors as in this delicious roasted winter vegetable hash.

This recipe, which combines winter squash, onions, potatoes, carrots, and parsnips, has a perfect balance of sweet and savory elements. Best of all, it's a cinch to make - just a little peeling, chopping, and roasting.

I like to cut the vegetables into relatively small dice - about 1/4 inch or smaller - but you can use larger dice if you prefer. You may have to roast the vegetables a little longer if you cut them into bigger pieces. I use a hot oven, about 425 degrees F, so the edges of the veggies get nice and browned and carmelized.

Oven Roasted Winter Vegetables

1/4 to 1/2 butternut or acorn squash
2-3 medium to large carrots
1-2 medium to large parsnips
1-2 small to medium potatoes
1/2 medium onion
1 pinch nutmeg
2 pinches ground sage
salt and pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

2. Peel all the vegetables and cut into 1/4 inch dice. Put the diced veggies in a large bowl. You should have about 4-5 C of diced veggies. Compost the peels.

3. Add the olive oil to the veggies and stir to coat. Stir in the nutmeg, sage, salt and pepper.

4. Pour out the veggies onto a baking sheet and bake for 10-15 minutes. Remove the sheet from the oven. Gently stir the veggies and return to the oven for another 10-15 minutes or until the vegetables are cooked through and lightly carmelized.

Serve this hash with poached eggs for brunch or supper, or as a side dish without eggs if you prefer. Try it on toast with melted cheese on top; or dress it up with hollandaise sauce for a special treat.

This week's box included bounty from six farms!

From Underwood Family Farms: butter lettuce, Japanese turnips, purple kale, rainbow chard, white cauliflower, candy beets, Pinkerton avocados, spinach, black kale, broccoli, and navel oranges;

From Weiser Family Farms: parsnips, celery root, Romanesco, and Russian Banana potatoes;

From Sage Mountain Farm: spicy salad greens, arugula, and baby carrots;

From Rancho Santa Cecilia: Satsuma mandarins;

From Drake Family Farms: Chevre;

And from urban farmer, Russell Wightman: avocados and sapote.

Plus bonus citrus from Sallie Hernandez in Eagle Rock: Meyer lemons and super juicy little oranges.

Enjoy!

Shelley

Satsuma Mandarin Marmalade

Citrus fruit is abundant right now. Trees all over the neighborhood are heavy with ripe oranges, grapefruit, lemons and limes, as well as some of the more exotic varieties such as blood oranges, Meyer lemons, kumquats, and yuzus.

Now is the perfect time to preserve the season's bright citrus flavors by making marmalade. Marmalade is usually a softly jelled spread with pieces of peel and fruit suspended in a transparent jelly.

You can make marmalade from just about any citrus fruit and your marmalade will keep in the fridge for weeks, if not months, without canning. If you can it using a hot water bath canner, you can make a shelf-stable product that will keep for at least a year, if it doesn't get eaten up before then.

Making marmalade doesn't take long. There are just three basic steps: chopping the fruit, cooking it briefly to soften the peel, and adding the sugar and cooking it until it's done. If you don't have time to do this all at once, you can spread out the work over two or even three days.

Our Satsumas make a delicious marmalade with just three ingredients: fruit, water, and sugar. Added commercial pectin is not necessary because most citrus peels, pith, membranes, and seeds are high in pectin.

When you make your own marmalade, you can choose to cut the rind thick or thin and you can opt for a slightly higher or lower fruit to jelly ratio depending on your taste. You can make flavor combinations that you might not find at your local market. You can even add dried herbs such as rosemary, lavender, or lemon verbena.

I use a basic recipe that's essentially a 1:1:1 ratio of fruit to water to sugar. There's room for a little variation, such as reducing the sugar slightly or adding a little more liquid, but reducing the sugar too much will result in a product that will not jell.

Step 1, Chopping the Fruit: I like to leave the fruit on the peel. I simply quarter the fruit lengthwise, trim the ends and a little of the membrane from the center, and slice each quarter crosswise, capturing as much of the juice as possible. Put it all in a bowl, or better yet, a large measuring cup, if you have one.

I save the ends, center membranes, and any seeds for their juice and to put into a pectin bag (pictured below), which simply involves wrapping them in cheesecloth. The pectin bag goes into the pot during the peel-softening stage.



You can separate the pulp from the peel if you like, but that adds another step - chopping the pulp; and most of the pulp gets cooked off the peel anyway. Besides, I like the look of the fruit on the peel suspended in the jelly when I get that effect.

Once the fruit is chopped, squeeze the juice out of the saved ends and membranes before wrapping them in cheesecloth.

For a nice small batch of marmalade, chop up about 3-4 C of loosely packed fruit and juice.

Step 2, Softening the Peel: I find that Satsuma mandarin peels are pretty soft to begin with, so they don't require much softening. [This is not true of all citrus. Some will require longer cooking and perhaps even an overnight soak.] Still, I cook the Satsumas in water for about 20 minutes with the pectin bag.



Measure out your loosely packed peels and juice and place in a large, wide pot. Add the same amount of water and the pectin bag. Bring to a boil and simmer softly for 20 minutes. Remove the pectin bag when it's cool enough to handle and squeeze it out into the pot before discarding it.

Step 3, Making the Marmalade: Measure out the same amount of white granulated sugar as the fruit in Step 2 (not the fruit plus the water). Add the sugar to the pot and bring to a boil. Cook over medium heat, stirring regularly to make sure it doesn't burn, until it reaches the jell point.

The jell point is about 220 degree F at sea level. You can check this with a jelly thermometer, or you can use a lower tech jell test by placing a teaspoon of the marmalade on a plate and putting in the freezer for a minute. Take the plate out of the freezer and push in one edge of the marmalade. If it wrinkles and folds, it's at the jell point.

Turn off the marmalade and pour it into glass jars with lids. Cool to room temperature before putting it in the fridge. This recipe yields approximately 3-4, 8-ounce jars.

If you'd like to can it so that it's shelf-stable, you'll need canning jars, new canning lids, rings, a jar lifter, and a pot with a lid, a rack at the bottom, and tall enough to cover the tops of the jars with at least an inch of water. You can buy a hot water bath canner that comes with a rack or you can improvise your own if you have a big enough pot.

Fill your canning pot with enough water to cover the jars and heat to nearly a boil. Wash the canning jars well. You may want to warm up the jars before pouring the hot marmalade into them, but they do not need to be pre-sterilized. You can do this by putting the jars in your canning pot filled with hot water. Also, place the lids in a separate pot of hot, but not boiling water.

When your marmalade is done. Remove the jars from the hot water and fill them to within 1/4 inch of the top with hot marmalade. Wipe the rims of the jars well. Place lids on the jars and screw on the rings until their just tightened, not too tight. Using a jar lifter, place the jars in your canner. Bring the water to a full boil and process, covered, for 10 minutes. When done, turn off the heat and uncover the pot. Allow the jars to stay in the pot for 5-10 minutes before removing them with a jar lifter. Place them on a kitchen towel and allow them to cool before labelling and storing. The marmalade may not set completely for 8-12 hours, so be patient.

Today's bounty included:

From Underwood Family Farms: White icicle radishes, red leaf lettuce, orange carrots, fennel, broccoli, bok choy, green kale, and Brussels sprouts;

From Weiser Family Farms: Watermelon radishes, parsnips, celery root, and Romanesco cauliflower;

From Sage Mountain Farm: Arugula, Russian green kale, broccoli raab, Swiss chard, and white carrots;

And from Rancho Santa Cecilia: Satsuma mandarins.

Enjoy!

Shelley

Carmelized Onion, Potato and Goat Cheese Tarts

Savory tarts are wonderful. You can make them in a wide range of sizes from bite-sized mini-tarts that make nice appetizers to large tarts that you cut in slices to serve. You can make them in any shape you like, and the topping combinations are endless.

The toppings I used for today's recipe include carmelized onions and potatoes. These ingredients require a little advance preparation, but once you have them (and your crust), it takes only a few minutes to assemble and bake the tarts.

Carmelized onions are super delicious and very versatile. In addition to these tarts, carmelized onions add great depth of flavor to many dishes. It takes an hour or so to properly carmelized onions, but you can do this step ahead. Cook up a big batch of carmelized onions and store them in your fridge. They'll keep for about a week. Mix them into mashed potatoes; add them to grilled cheese sandwiches; toss them into an omelet. You'll find myriad uses for them.

To carmelize onions: Peel and slice 2-5 onions thinly lengthwise. Melt 1-2 t butter per onion in a large, heavy skillet over low heat. Add the sliced onions and cook over low heat, stirring regularly, until the onions turn a deep brown color. Season with salt and pepper, if desired.

The potatoes I used in this tart were boiled ahead of time, chilled and sliced. It's easier to thinly slice a cold potato. You can cook up the potatoes when you're making this recipe, just allow them to cool before slicing them.

These tarts start with the same pie crust recipe I used last week. But you can use your favorite short pastry crust. I rolled out my crust to approximately 1/4" thickness and cut it with a round, fluted-edge form that's five inches in diameter. This size makes a great individual tart.

I like making flat tarts that I bake on cookie sheets, but you can make this recipe in a tart pan if you prefer. The flat tarts are a little easier, but be sure to let them cool before lifting them off the cookie sheet, as the pastry dough is delicate when it just comes out of the oven.

To make crust for six, five-inch diameter, round individual tarts: Take 7 T cold butter, cut into pieces, plus 1/2 T salt, and 1-1/3 C flour. Put all the ingredients in a large bowl. Using a pastry blender or a fork, cut the butter into the flour under it resembles coarse crumbs. Mix in a little ice water and continue to mix until the dough just comes together. Form into a flat disk and refrigerate for 10-30 minutes. You can refrigerate this dough longer, but it might be harder to roll if it's colder.

For six individual tarts:

Crust recipe above (or your favorite crust)
1-2 medium Russian Banana or Fingerling potatoes, boiled and cooled
1 C Carmelized onions, or more to taste
1/2 C crumbled goat cheese
1/2 C washed, dried, and finely sliced fresh arugula

1. Pre-heat oven to 400 degree F.

2. Roll out pastry dough 1/4" thick and cut six circles, each five inches in diameter.

3. Divide and spread the carmelized onions over each piece of dough.

4. Slice the potatoes thinly and arrange 2-3 slices over the onions on each tart.

5. Sprinkle a little crumbled goat cheese over each tart.

6. Bake in pre-heated, 400 degree oven for 10 minutes, or until the edges of the crust are golden.

7. Cool on cookie sheet for 5-10 minutes before lifting off with a metal spatula. Garnish with finely sliced arugula before serving.

Variations: Grated gruyere cheese is a nice alternative to goat cheese. Omnivores may like to add a little cooked and crumbled chorizo to these tarts.

Today's bounty included:

From Underwod Family Farms: Butter lettuce, rainbow chard, sugar snap peas, carrots, candy beets, mizuna, celery, and navel oranges.

From Weiser family Farms: Parsnips, mixed beets, and Russian Banana potatoes.

From Sage Mountain Farm: Salad mix, white and orange carrots, arugula, spaghetti squash, turnips, and Russian kale.

Urban farmer, Russell Wightman, provided the Fuerte avocados from Highland Park.

Happy New Year everyone!

Shelley