homemade horseradish

As if our gorgeous new kitchen weren't enough to make me swoon, one of our carpenters gifted us with a jar of homemade horseradish today. Oh my. Potent and unbelievably good. This, of course, got me to asking "how you make horseradish?!".

When I did my nutrition coursework, one of the most interesting modules was the one focusing on traditional diets (mainly the Weston Price Foundation), including fermentation. One of their culinary experts has a fermented recipe here. And here's a traditional vinegar recipe that sounds super simple-- if you can get our hands on some fresh horseradish. I am totally giving this a try after sampling how amazing homemade horseradish is!

inspired, pinned and made: whole wheat spaghetti with cauliflower, roasted red pepper pesto, greens, capers and almonds

Last week was brutal. Our little one was ill and out of school Monday-Wednesday, and then Friday was a half day in anticipation of a 4-day weekend, which meant he went to school, oh, about 8 hours in the course of 11 days. Don't get me wrong, I love spending time with my kids...but, I have reached that point in parenting when I've come to anticipate that my children will be in school at least from 8:15-noon each weekday. I'm not going to lie; that keeps me sane. I have a full plate (get it) between keeping the house in order, cooking 3 healthy meals a day, managing schedules, chauffeuring, attempting to get back in shape, maybe squeezing in an hour-long conversation with a friend on a walk once a week, large volunteer roles and writing this blog. And while I love my "job" and wouldn't trade it for anything, I also love the break in my day that school offers. The kids head off each morning gleeful to get to school, and I am grateful knowing they are engaged, happy and surrounded by people who nurture them. Three years ago, my children were younger and this 5 day/week school gig was a mirage. But  now I'm here, and so..... when the school's phone number showed up on caller id mid-morning I could hear the sound of screeching brakes in the distance. A sick child. Again. I quickly glanced up at the cieling and scanned the windows to make sure no one from candid camera was filming me. Surely this had to be a joke. I mean, after all the care and nourishment I provide, still they get sick? But this is not a post about sick kids. Or it is up til now, but that wasn't supposed to be the point. Clearly, that's not something I have expertise in, but figuring out a fabulous dinner after a less than fabulous day? Now that I can help with....

Whole Wheat Spaghetti with Roasted Cauliflower, Red Pepper Pesto, Wilted Greens, Capers and Almonds

inspired by this Cookin' Canuck recipe that I'd pinned

As mentioned above, I was perusing fellow blog posts this morning while drinking my tea when I came across this recipe from Cookin' Canuck. The recipe caught my eye because I had just purchased a tub of Roasted Red Pepper Pesto and some feathery mustard-like greens at our town's winter farmer's market yesterday, I happened to pick up a giant cauliflower at the market later that afternoon, and I knew I had capers in the fridge, and almonds and whole grain pasta in the pantry. Plus, it fit neatly into my goal of making more meatless, family-friendly meals. Fortuitous, hmmm? So anyway, without further adieu, here's my take on this simple pasta that came together to make a fabulous, meatless meal with minimal effort:

whole wheat spaghetti (or pasta of your choice)

cauliflower

olive oil

salt & pepper

roasted red pepper pesto*

mustard greens, washed and rough chopped*

capers

slivered almonds

water (optional)

Parmesan (optional)

Preheat oven to 425. While oven is preheating, put water on to boil and rough chop cauliflower. Place cauliflower on a rimmed baking sheet, drizzle with a bit of olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast cauliflower for 10 minutes, then stir and roast it for another 5 minutes. (Set cauliflower aside if it comes out of the oven before your pasta is cooked.) Cook pasta according to package. Drain the pasta, then return it to the warm pot along with the pesto, greens, a handful of capers and almonds. Stir to combine, until greens are wilted and everything is warmed through. You may add a bit of water if the sauce seems too thick. Serve warm, topped with a bit of grated Parmesan, if you'd like.

* I purchased a 7 oz tub of Riverbank Farm's Roasted Red Pepper Pesto at the farmer's market yesterday. Theirs is made with: kale, chard, parsley, basil, garlic, peppers, walnuts, sunflower seeds, extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice, salt & pepper. So, loaded with good stuff. But you could use any variety of pesto that is your favorite and available by you, or you could go back to Cookin' Canuck's original recipe where she makes her own red pepper sauce. Also, Gazy Brother's stand had these gorgeous little bunches of multi-colored and textured greens yesterday that Alexis Gazy said were similar in taste to a mustard green, and that's what I used. But use your favorite green.

two simple celery root sides: roasted and mashed

In anticipation of the New Canaan Farmer's Market meeting up again for winter offerings at the New Canaan Nature Center Tuesdays in February, from 1-3pm, I wanted to share two more simple recipes for something you might find there, or in your local farmer's market this time of year: roasted celery root and celery root puree. First, let's make sure we all know what we're looking for! Often overlooked because of its' gnarly appearance, I posted a quick visual of a celery root. You want to pick one that is firm and feels heavy for its' size. I buy large ones because I like to get two different sides out of cooking one batch...

Roasted Celery Root

celery root

your choice of oil

salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 425. While the oven is preheating, peel and chopped the celery root into 1" pieces. Toss the celery root with a drizzle of oil on a rimmed baking sheet, sprinkle with salt and pepper and roast for 20-30 minutes, until tender. Serve warm.

Then, you can transform any remaining roasted celery root into something akin to mashed potatoes...

Mashed Celery Root 

(using leftover roasted celery root)

roasted celery root (see above)

heavy cream, or your choice of milk or broth*

In a  blender, combine roasted celery root and your choice of liquid (cream, milk, broth or water), pouring it in slowly until you reach desired consistency. Can be made ahead and reheated in the oven (covered) or in the microwave.

*I did not cite liquid amounts, because the amount of liquid will depend upon how much celery root you are pureeing. The puree should resemble smooth mashed potatoes. I used heavy cream because I happened to have some leftover from another recipe that was nearing the end of its' useful life, but this recipe can be made with any desired dairy broth or plain water as the liquid. When I made it with the cream, it was actually too thick and decadent and I needed to thin it more, so I added some water until I reached the consistency I wanted. Because my roasted celery root was already seasoned with salt & pepper from when I cooked it the day before I did not need to add additional seasonings. If you do not have leftover roasted celery root, and want to make celery root puree the traditional way (boiling the celery root then pureeing it), here is a link to a recipe on Epicurious that combines celery root and potatoes, another farmer's market staple this time of year. 

new favorite green: sauteed mizuna

A visit to our town's first winter (indoor) farmer's market last week resulted in the discovery of what might be my new favorite green. When I purchased it, I thought I was going to be sauteing dandelion greens, another I had never tried. But, in fact, Gazy Brothers had this beautiful, feathery mizuna and some fresh leeks at their stand. Both caught my eye (even if I had no idea what I was eagerly purchasing). A simple saute of roughly chopped mizuna and leeks along with a dollop of Riverbank Farm's garlic scape pesto (also from the farmer's market) and a bit of olive oil and wow, I might have a new favorite green.

The mizuna was delicious as is, a perfect healthy side. I used the whole stalk...

The kids enjoyed it much more than sauteed spinach (which as you all know, morphed into spinach dip last time I served that up....).

And I added the leftover sauteed mizuna to a delicious veggie frittata towards the end up the week, which was a perfect make-ahead breakfast for busy school mornings, and an early departure to the ski mountain.