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chia seed pudding

The longer I hang out in San Francisco, the more of a weirdo tech hippie I become. Today’s exhibit: I am writing to tell you all about chia seed pudding. “Pudding” that isn’t even dessert, but rather some quasi heath food, apparently full of vitamins, fiber, protein, omega-3s. Blah, blah, you’re bored already.

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Chia seed pudding looks terrifying. Swampy, gooey and black. I admit, it’s a texture that is more on the acquired side, but after getting over my initial trepidation, I’m super into it. It’s been a great breakfast to have at work, filling but not heavy, enough to keep me going until I rise from my keyboard and somehow it’s already 1 pm. The past few weeks of Back to School have been madness, in a good way, and we’re not totally out of the woods just yet, so I’m glad to have this ‘power breakfast’ to keep me going. That’s just the type of badass boss I am.

Are you ready for it? Ready to take the world by storm after eating some tiny, jelly seeds suspended in ‘milk’ made from nuts?!? You sure as hell are, you beautiful hippie.

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Chia Seed Pudding
They call it pudding, it seems a bit odd to call a health food pudding, but I don’t have a better idea soo …
3/4 cup chia seeds (use 1/4 cup chia seeds for each 1 cup of liquid)
3 cups almond or coconut milk (I’ve done both types, in plain and vanilla. Both were good. I’ve found better quality ‘milk’ = better flavor. Chia seeds are more of a texture thing, they don’t add any flavor)
bananas
strawberries (or any other berry, or stone-fruit, whatever you got)
slivered or sliced almonds (or pistachios, or pecans, or any other nut!)
honey (more or less depending on if your almond milk was sweetened)

In a large tupperware, whisk together the chia seeds and almond milk. Let stand for a few minutes, whisk again. Let stand for a few more, whisk again. You want to make sure there aren’t any big clumps as the chia seeds gel together. Put in the fridge for a few hours or overnight. I usually do this on Sunday night while prepping dinner to get ready for the week.

The next morning, scoop a few scoops of pudding into a bowl (or – real talk – an old ice cream container/tupperware since you’re probably eating this at work in front of your computer), slice a banana and a handfuls of strawberries, sprinkle those on top. Add a drizzle of honey and a sprinkle some almonds, and you’re set.

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Jordan’s getting into it too, though I believe he still prefers toast, cream cheese, and smoked fish.

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Recipes

spicy soba noodle salad

Despite the name of this fine blog, many of the meals we eat are vegetarian. This recipe also happens to be vegan and gluten-free—do you even recognize us!?  We are indeed pro-vegetable here at The Answer is Always Pork and this salad has become one of our weeknight favorites. You can throw it together in about 25 minutes, which is especially handy when you a) are trying to launch a new product at work, b) remember less than an hour before leaving for an event that it is a potluck, or c) that special combination of lazy and impatient that makes ordering take out impossible. It’s also really easy to scale this up for a group, just double or triple everything and it works out fine.

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What else? We’re gradually making progress planning our wedding, which somehow still feels like the most obvious and the most surprising thing to happen to us. Jordan is back at school for the spring semester, though he is never really *off* anymore these days, masters-shmasters. I’m online shopping for obscure textile art and pottery books from the 70s, purchases include “Far Beyond the Fringe”, undeniably an amazing title for any book. Willow is decapitating toys shaped like Star Wars characters, no wookie left unscathed. There’s a new bakery in the neighborhood that’s pretty mind-blowing. Life is moving right along, and I like that just fine.

Spicy Soba Noodle Salad
For the dressing

1 lemon, zested and juiced
1-1″ piece of ginger, peeled and grated
2 cloves of garlic, grated
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1 tablespoon honey (or agave syrup for you super vegans)
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
2 – 3 tablespoons olive oil
a small pinch of cayenne pepper or a squirt of siracha chili sauce
salt and pepper to taste

For the salad
1 head of romaine lettuce, chopped
1 cucumber, sliced
cilantro, mint or green onion, sliced thinly
2 bunches of soba noodles (japanese buckwheat noodles, they come wrapped in single-serving bunches)
4 oz of extra firm tofu (I like the Trader Joe’s sprouted tofu that comes in two 4oz packages)

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In a medium bowl, whisk together the dressing ingredients. Season with salt and pepper. Bring a medium pot of water to boil and season it with salt.

While you’re waiting for the water to boil, chop the lettuce, herbs and cucumber. Mix them together in two medium bowls. These will become your dinner bowls. Slice the tofu into 1.5″ x  0.5″ slices. Put a non-stick pan over medium heat. Pat the tofu dry with a paper towel and then brown the tofu, about 4 minutes per side. When your tofu is cooking on it’s last side, cook the soba. You can also serve the tofu raw, but I like

Cook the soba noodles according to the package directions, somewhere between 5 and 8 minutes. Drain the soba noodles and rinse with cold water. Put back into the pot and pour the dressing over the soba.

Top each salad bowl with soba and then sprinkle with tofu. Serve with siracha and sesame seeds.

-Emily

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Recipes

summer vegetable crumble

Growing up, eating with the seasons just happened to a bi-product of my mother’s obsessive gardening. She’d try planting just about anything once, but under that hot Sacramento sun things like squash and tomatoes really thrived. I remember harvesting zucchini the size of toddlers and tossing them back and forth in the swimming pool. Summer produce stands out most in my memory, though I’m sure we ate from her garden past August.

The Answer is Always Pork | Summer Vegetable Crumble

Eating from the garden was just how eating went in my family, and it wasn’t until my senior year of college when I became more interested in food politics and the complexities of our industrial food system, that I really understood the impact eating seasonally and locally has on our local economy, our environment and our health. The short answer is it’s a big one. And the long answer is much better explained by the folks who really know what they’re talking about, Michael Pollan and Marion Nestle to name a few.

Eating with respect to the seasons and spending our dollars in support local farms and food businesses has become a not-so-private mission of ours, and even in my mother’s eyes, we verge on militant. But if there is one thing to care about, the health of our family and our planet isn’t a bad one, especially if it also means eating wonderful food.

Living in middle of downtown San Francisco, we don’t grow much beyond a few pots of herbs, which is where our CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) Farm Share subscription from Eatwell Farm comes in. Eatwell Farm’s mission is to feed body and soul. They are committed stewards to the environment and constantly challenge industrial agricultural practices in favor of sustainable ones. They care about their land, their employees, and growing the healthiest and best food money can buy—and you can absolutely taste it.

We’ve had our CSA with Eatwell for over 3 years and could not be happier. We get perfect produce. We eat healthier. We stretch ourselves by cooking with ingredients we might not necessarily buy. We know our dollar is going to support a local farm and local families working hard to change our food system. And we spend the same amount as we would spend at the grocery store, where just pennies of your dollar make it back to the farmers. If we don’t support local farms, we’ll lose them—a tragedy with repercussions far beyond just taste—and a CSA is a simple, effective and delicious way to vote with your dollar.

If I haven’t convinced you, taste the difference for yourself! Eatwell Farm has been kind enough to offer our Northern California readers a discount to try their CSA Farm Share subscription. New Eatwell Farm subscribers can use the code: ALWAYSPORK to get their first 4 box subscription for just $99. Good ingredients make it easier to cook good food, and I honestly cannot recommend Eatwell enough. If you don’t live in Eatwell’s delivery radius, I urge you to check out Local Harvest to see if there are any farm share subscriptions in your area.

The Answer is Always Pork | Summer Vegetable Crumble

Now I’ll step down of my soapbox and move onto the recipe. This dish is made with all kinds of wonderful summer produce—zucchini, eggplant, tomatoes, peppers. It was inspired by ratatouille, with a little sprinkle of cheese and buttery pastry crumble added to jazz it up a bit. It’s great as a vegetarian main dish, but could also be served as a side. It takes just 30 minutes to throw together, but tastes like far more effort went into it.

Savory Summer Vegetable Crumble
1 onion, diced
1 cup tomatoes, diced
1 Japanese eggplant, cut into 1” chunks (or half of a globe eggplant)
1 – 2 zucchini, cut into 1” chunks
2 peppers, diced (we used bell pepper, but any mild pepper will do)
a good sprinkle of fresh thyme or oregano
1 – 2 tablespoons olive oil
chili flake, salt and pepper to taste
⅓ cup gruyere, mozzarella or parmesan cheese, shredded (use what you have)

For the crumble topping
4 tablespoons butter, cold and cut into small 1 tablespoon pieces
¾ cup whole wheat or all-purpose flour (we used Eatwell’s Sonora Wheat Flour, which was A+)
½ teaspoon kosher salt

Preheat your oven to 450° F and put one rack closest to the top.

The Answer is Always Pork | Summer Vegetable Crumble

First make the crumble topping. In a medium bowl, combine the flour and salt. Add the butter and work it into the flour with your fingers or a pastry blender, until the butter is in pea-sized pieces and the mixture just comes together if you squeeze it. It will still be pretty crumbly, which is just what you want. Put the crumble topping into the fridge until the veggies are ready.

The Answer is Always Pork | Summer Vegetable Crumble

In a cast iron skillet or other oven-safe pot, sauté the onion in a little olive oil over medium-low heat. When the onions are soft, add the tomatoes and sauté just a minute more. Season well with salt, pepper and chili flake. Add the other chopped vegetables and toss to combine. Sprinkle with the grated cheese and then with the crumble top.

Bake 20 minutes on the top rack, until the vegetables are just starting to get soft at the edges and the crumble top is browned. This will serve two to three people as a vegetarian main, or four to five people as a side dish. It would be delightful alongside a roast chicken or quickly sautéed pork chop. You could also top with a few eggs in the last few minutes of cooking if you’d like something a bit heartier. The beauty of good, simple food is it’s flexibility, so mix it up! I hope you enjoy!

The Answer is Always Pork | Summer Vegetable Crumble

The post was written in partnership with Eatwell Farm, but the opinions are always our own.

-Emily

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Recipes

bucatini with fava beans and creme fraiche

Last Tuesday, our friend Katie came to visit. Katie and I were roommates in college and it’s accurate to say that during our first year at Georgetown we subsisted on a diet of Thomas bagels, Zatarain’s instant red beans and rice and Haribo gummy bears, and usually all of them in one sitting. Thankfully, we’ve gotten past those horrifying dietary habits, and somehow I write a food blog and Katie cooks for a restaurant.

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These days, Katie lives up in Boonville, CA and cooks for the Boonville Hotel. Boonville is just two hours North of San Francisco in Medocino County, but we’re not able to get together as often as the short distance would suggest. And so it’s a real good thing when I get an out-of-the-blue text from Katie saying that she’ll be in San Francisco for the day and would I be around?

There is nothing I like more than having someone over for dinner, and even more someone who’s happy to just sit down, shell some beans and chat about all matter of things while I sauté up a shallot. Not everyone can dig into big and important life questions while the other person flits from stove to sink, stirring this and washing that, but Katie doesn’t seem to struggle. We’re a good match.

Which brings me to pasta. This pasta comes together gracefully. You can carry on a conversation and still put a meal on the table in about thirty minutes. There’s nothing fussy about it, but looks and tastes like you did a whole lot more work. In case your market doesn’t have fava beans, you also could swap them for spring peas or asparagus cut into bite-sized pieces. I’m planning to do just that later this week. This recipe makes enough for three people as a main course.

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Bucatini with Fava Beans and Creme Fraiche
12 oz fresh pasta, bucatini if you can find it, but any long noodley one will do
2 lbs fava beans, shelled
1 shallot, diced
2 tablespoons butter
3 oz creme fraiche
salt and pepper
parmesan, for grating on top

Put a pot of salted water to boil. Take the fava beans out of their pods. When the water is boiling, blanche the favas for a minute or two, until they turn bright green. Scoop them out of the hot water and into a bowl. Then peel off their outer skin. Keep the water boiling to cook the pasta in later.

In a large sauté pan, melt the butter over medium-low heat. Add the shallot and sauté for a few minutes to soften. When the shallot is soft, add the favas and sauté a minute or two more. Meanwhile, add the pasta to the boiling water. Cook the pasta 2 – 5 minutes, depending on its shape.

When the pasta is cooked al dente, scoop it from the water and add it to the sauté pan with the fava beans and shallot. Still over low heat, add the creme fraiche and stir to distribute. Easiest sauce ever. When it’s looking all saucy and delicious, scoop onto plates and garnish with a little grated parmesan.

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-Emily

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Recipes

curried butternut squash over farro

I don’t believe in diets. I think diets ruin food for you and for everyone you eat with. Instead I prefer to live by Julia Child’s philosophy—everything in moderation, including moderation. Life is just too short, and you only get one of ’em. But, I do believe that your body will tell you what it needs if you take the time to listen. After an epic weekend of eating with Jordan’s family (pizza at Pizzeria Delfina, followed up by cocktails at Hard Water, followed up by House of Prime Rib, topped off with brunch at Nopa), my body was screaming for some vegetables.

I love vegetables, and though it might be blasphemous to say so seeing as some folks around here consider bacon a food group, vegetables are probably the only food I could tolerate eating weeks on end. We have salad (or slaw or sautéed greens) with dinner every night, but salad as a meal just doesn’t cut it when you bike upwards of 20 miles a day like Jordan does. Plus, when you write a blog called The Answer is Always Pork, you can’t get away with hawking sissy vegetarian food. This dish is my compromise between the need to detox and the need to fuel my handsome nerdlover’s brain and body.

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So here we have a salad that does not mess around. Curry powder takes butternut squash to a wonderful warm and spicy place. Farro is one of the best grains out there—it blows quinoa out of the water; nutty and chewy, you don’t miss meat. Top it all with a lemony-yogurt sauce that adds just the right amount of brightness and you’ve got yourself a wining dinner.

It’s also all kinds of flexible. Instead of butternut, you could use whatever squash you’ve got lying around. Or heck, roast up some carrots or parsnips or celeriac. You can serve it hot, serve it at room temperature, serve it cold. Anything goes. This salad is your oyster. Now doesn’t my detox sound like fun?

Curried Butternut Squash & Farro with Lemon-Yogurt Sauce

For the squash
1 butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes
1 teaspoon – 1 tablespoon Indian curry powder (depending on how hot and fresh your curry is)
1 tablespoon olive oilFor the yogurt sauce
1/2 cup greek yogurt
1/2 lemon juiced
salt and pepper

1 cup farro (I like Trader Joe’s Quick Cook Farro – it cooks in 10 minutes and has great texture)
cilantro, for serving

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Preheat your oven to 400 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Peel and cut your butternut squash into cubes. Toss with some olive oil, salt and curry powder and spread evenly on a baking sheet. I’d taste your curry powder—mine was very mild and I needed to use quite a bit to actually taste it when it was put up against the flavor of the squash. You can taste a piece of squash part of the way through cooking and if it is too mild, sprinkle on some more curry. You want this squash to pack a punch. Bake 30 – 40 minutes, until the squash is tender.

Meanwhile, mix the yogurt with lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper.  While the squash is baking, bring a pot of salted water to boil. Cook the farro according to the package directions, drain and toss with a little olive oil.

To serve, mound some farro up on a plate. Scoop on a healthy helping of squash and top with the lemon yogurt. Or throw it all in a tupperware and eat it like a heathen with your hands in the park because you forgot a fork. Either way, enjoy!

-Emily

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Recipes

lentil stew with sesame rice

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We didn’t really eat lentils much until a dinner at our friend Ted‘s house almost two years ago. He made a delicious Indian-spiced lentil dish and we got hooked—Ted’s lentils were that good. On the whole, lentils are tasty, cheap and versatile. I’ve been trying different recipes here and there, and though I cannot seem to reproduce Ted’s, this has been one of my favorites that I’ve tried.

Like most stews, this one only gets better as it sits. The flavors meld and develop over time and it goes from pretty good to really good in about two days. If you have the foresight, make it a day or two ahead of serving it. Also, the lemon really makes this stew. It adds such a perfect brightness to the dish. It might seem weird to put lemon slices in a stew before you simmer the thing for 30 minutes, but it turns out great. Don’t skip it!

Lentil Stew with Sesame Rice, adapted from The Kinfolk Table 
1 cup red or yellow lentils
1 onion, diced
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 – 1.5″ piece of ginger, minced
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 – 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper, depending on how spicy you like it
1 – 15 oz can of diced tomatoes
1 lemon, sliced into rounds
3 cups chicken or vegetable stock
olive oil
salt & pepper, to taste
chopped cilantro, parsley or green onion for garnish

Rinse the lentils in cold water until the water runs clear.

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In a dutch oven, heat a tablespoon or two of olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and saute until translucent, about 7 minutes. Add the garlic, ginger, cumin and cayenne and saute a few minutes more. Add the tomatoes, stock, lentils and lemon slices. Turn the heat to low and let the stew simmer for 20 – 30 minutes, until the lentils are tender. If you’re eating your stew the next day, turn off the heat and stash your lentils in the fridge. If you’re eating that night, let the lentils simmer away until your rice is cooked.

For the rice
1 cup brown rice (or white rice, though the nuttiness of brown rice goes well with this stew)
2 cups water (or according to your rice cookers directions – rice cookers know all)
3 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
1 teaspoon salt

Now brown rice takes a long time to cook. Plan for double the cooking time of white rice so about an hour on the stove or two hours in a rice cooker. If your rice cooker has a self-timer, use it. If it doesn’t, start the rice before you start the stew or the second you walk in the door after work.

I’m mentioning this because you, like me, might not be familiar with the intricacies of brown rice. You might realize only after you get home from work ravenous at 8pm that brown rice has 2 hour (!) cooking time. This news might force you to lie in dismay on the floor while your knight in flannel and skinny jeans orders Japanese takeout. Are you sensing a theme?

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While your rice is cooking and stew is warming, toast the sesame seeds in a pan over low heat until they are fragrant. Once the rice is cooked, mix them into the rice, saving a few for garnish.

To serve, ladle the stew over the rice. Top with some cilantro, parsley, green onions or sesame seeds—whatever you’ve got in the fridge will do—and enjoy!

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-Emily

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Recipes

chickpea lavash wraps

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Chickpea Lavash Wraps
For the chickpea spread
1-15 oz can of chickpeas, drained
1 lemon, zested and juiced
1/2 red onion, chopped
a few tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
2/3 cup plain yogurt
salt and pepper

For the cucumber-yogurt dressing
1 medium cucumber, diced or sliced
2/3 cup plain yogurt
1/2 lemon, zest and juice
1 clove garlic, diced or grated
salt and pepper

To assemble 
2 cups spinach
1 bell pepper, sliced
sriracha
2 pieces lavash bread
1 tablespoon butter

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In a food processor, chop up two-thirds of the chickpeas. Put in a medium bowl and add the rest of the chickpeas, lemon zest and juice, onion, parsley, and yogurt. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Set aside. This spread can be made a day or more in advance. After sitting in the fridge for a day or so, the flavors melt together and it gets even better.

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In a small bowl, combine chopped cucumber, yogurt, lemon juice and zest,  garlic, salt and pepper. Stir to combine. This dressing can be made a day or more in advance as well.

To assemble, lay a lavash bread on the counter. Spoon some of the chickpea spread and some of the yogurt dressing onto the lavash. Add some sriracha for heat.  Add a handful of spinach and a few slices of bell pepper. Roll it all up like a burrito.

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In a saute pan, melt the butter over medium heat. When the butter is foaming, add the lavash wrap. Toast each side and serve.

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Recipes

vegetable ‘ceviche’ salad

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Jordan and I stumbled upon a recipe for vegetable “ceviche” when we were on a plane to Idaho a few weeks back. At first I thought it just sounded silly, like vegetarians trying too hard. For something to be ceviche, fish is a requirement. But, we let the thought marinate (ha), made the dish, and it was tough to come up with something else to call it. Diced raw vegetables with lime juice doesn’t quite have the same ring to it.

So here we are, eating ceviche sin pescado and liking it. Liking it a lot. Chop up a little of whatever summer produce you’ve got hanging around, mix that with a ton of lime juice, some cilantro and an onion. Let the mixture sit together for an hour or two and call it dinner. Ceviche bonus points if you’re into practicing your knife skills and everything you dice comes out perfectly uniform. Ladies and gentlemen, let it be known, my man can dice like the best of ’em.

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Vegetable ‘Ceviche’ Salad 
2 ears of corn, cut of the cob
2 cucumbers, diced
3 tomatoes, chopped
1 red onion, diced finely
3 sweet peppers, diced
2 avocados, cut into cubes
1 bunch cilantro, choped
3 limes, zest of 1 and juiced
salt

In a large bowl, mix together corn kernels, diced cucumber, chopped tomatoes, diced sweet peppers, diced red onion, chopped avocado and cilantro. Douse liberally with lime juice and season with salt. Let sit at room temperature for an hour or two. Stir again and serve.

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Because of all the lime juice, this salad survives quite well in the fridge for a few days.

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-Emily

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Recipes

fresh corn risotto

We’ve been on a serious corn kick lately. Summer corn is just so irresistible. Sweet, fresh, and crunchy—I want it on everything. This is our summer take on a winter favorite, leek and butternut squash risotto. I’ve swapped the butternut squash for corn and topped it with a fresh tomato ‘salsa’ to give it the extra acidy I crave in warmer months.  It was so easy to build off of this risotto base—it’s impossible to go wrong with rice, white wine, cream and parmesan—and this variation turned out beautifully. I’m brainstorming combinations for each season so stay tuned.

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Fresh Corn Risotto with Tomato Salsa 
2 medium spring onions, diced (or 1 large yellow onion or 3 leeks)
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups arborio rice
1/2 cup dry white wine
6 cups vegetable broth (chicken broth would also do just as well)
3 ears of corn, cut off the cob and cobs scraped of their juice
1/2 cup cream
1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated
salt and pepper
2 tomatoes, chopped
1 tablespoon chives, minced

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In a medium saucepan, bring the stock to a simmer. In a large, heavy bottomed pot, heat the butter and olive oil over medium heat. Saute the onion until translucent, about 10 minutes. Add the rice and stir until the outside of the kernels becomes translucent and a few are starting to brown, but the inside is still white. Add the wine and simmer until absorbed, stirring constantly.

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Add the stock, 1/2 cupful at a time,  stirring until it is absorbed. Continue to add stock by the 1/2 cupful until the rice is tender and the mixture has thickened, stirring frequently with each addition.

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While your risotto is cooking, chop the tomatoes into small chunks and mix with the minced chives. Add a little sprinkle of salt.

Once you’ve incorporated all the broth and the rice tender, add the corn, cream and parmesan. Cook for a few more minutes to cooke the corn. Season with salt and pepper. Serve warm with a spoonful of the tomato salsa on the top!

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-Emily

 

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pesto pasta salad

Last week I was lucky to attend an awesome blogging conference Alt Design Summit. It was fun and inspiring and I’m buried under a mountain of insanely cute business cards from all of my new bloggy friends. I’ll share more soon, but since I know you’re hungry, here is a recipe for a quick, easy and delicious pesto pasta salad.

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Pesto pasta is an old standby here. I make it about every other week in the summer when basil is in season and readily available. We usually have it for lunch over the course of a few days. It is fresh, flavorful and cheap. Plus you can through a little of whatever you’ve got lying around in it and it still turns out pretty good. I guess pesto just works miracles like that.

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Pesto Pasta Salad
For the pesto
1 bunch basil (we used a small bunch of basil and some arrugula which was a day or two past its prime)
1 lemon, zest and juice
1-2 cloves of garlic
1/4 cup nuts (pine nuts are the standard, but we’ve used pecans and walnuts also)
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
1/4 olive oil
salt and pepper

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In the bowl of a food processor combine basil, lemon zest, lemon juice, garlic nuts and parmesan. Pulse until you’ve got a coarse paste. Now turn the food processor on and drizzle olive oil in through the top hole until the pesto comes together and everything is chopped uniformly. Season with salt and pepper.

For the pasta salad
1 lb dry pasta
1 can whole pitted olives
8 oz mini mozzarella balls
1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes, cut in half
1 batch of pesto

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Bring a pot of water to boil. Salt it until it tastes like sea water. Cook the pasta according to the package directions. Drain and rinse for a minute or two with cold water. Combine pasta, olives, mozzarella, tomatoes and pesto in a large bowl. Stir to combine. Serve at room temperature or cold.

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This pasta salad recipe is super flexible. You can add more veggies—blanched green beans are great, kidney beans or chick peas are a good way to make it heartier, marinated artichokes would be lovely too! Just remember that more sauce is better when you’re making a pasta that you’ll refrigerate and eat over a few days. Without enough sauce, the pasta will seem dry, bland and rather sad.

-Emily