Farmer's Market Finds: Rabbit Sausage and Sautéed Russian Kale

Living in California, I am never hard-up for fresh fruits and vegetables.  I sometimes forget that the majority of the country doesn't have this kind of access to the bounty that we have here.  Now, California does sometimes have to rely on other countries during the winter, we still have plenty of fresh vegetables to choose from during the winter and early spring.  Like many little towns and neighborhoods in the San Francisco Bay Area, Campbell has its own weekly Farmer's Market.  This market is always packed, rain or shine, and the vendors are always there.  The majority of farms who have booths are from the Salinas or San Jouquin Valleys.  There are also local artists, a local honey and beeswax seller, and plenty of great hot food booths (including my absolute favorite:  Oaxacan Kitchen).  I'm sad to say that I don't make it out to the Farmer's Market as I honestly should (it's only about a mile and a half from our home).  I did make a point to go this weekend, while Marshall was out.  I honestly think I have more fun at these things than he does, but I made good on my own promise and went Sunday morning.  I made the initial pass through the entire market and nothing really caught my eye.  It was getting into the early afternoon and I was hungry, so I got in line for the Oaxacan Kitchen and looked to my left.  It was the usual charcuterie booth (Fabrique Délices, out of Hayward) and I glanced at their menu.  Then, I spotted it:  Rabbit and Prune Sausage.  My mouth watered.  I had to have some.  After I placed my order for lunch and then made a beeline to buy the sausage.  I finally had a meal in mind:  Rabbit and Prune Sausage with Sautéed Bitter Greens.  My mom used to make a variation of this with red chard and chicken-apple sausage and it was a delicious, healthy, and quick weekday meal.  Before I left the market, I stopped at one of the first booths I walked past earlier and they had bunches of bitter greens.  I picked up 2 bunches of Russian Kale and 1 bunch of Mustard Greens (for later in the week).  I walked away from the market feeling fully satisfied and eager to eat!

I couldn't have made a better decision for dinner tonight.  I was a little worried about the sausage, since I didn't plan on grilling it, but pan-frying instead.  Luckily, the package had some easy cooking instructions:  cook in a pan over medium heat for 15-20 minutes.  Easy enough!  I already knew how to make the greens:  sauté with olive oil and lots of chopped garlic, until wilted and tender.  Since I didn't want to burn either dish, I had some chicken broth (only 1/4-1/2 Cup) on hand to provide a little steam to finish off the cooking.  I had never had Russian Kale before, but the lady selling it said it was great.  After I had the lid on the pan for a bit and uncovered the greens, I got a huge whiff of the forest:  earthy, dewy, and slightly sweet.  I love that smell.  I tasted the greens for doneness and they were perfect:  tender, not mushy, and just slightly sweet.  This is by far the most UN-bitter of bitter greens I have had.  The sausage was cooked perfectly.  The texture of the sausage was a little more chunky than your average mass-produced sausage; definitely more country-style sausage.  You could easily pick out the tender pieces of rabbit and there was just enough chopped prune to add a hint of dark sweetness.  Overall a fantastic dinner:  light, fresh, and fast!

Valentine's in North Africa: Sautéed Quail with Paprika Sauce and Moroccan-Spiced Vegetables

Yes, I do realize that we're in mid-April and I'm now JUST getting to the Valentine's Dinner I made for Marshall and I in mid-February.  I actually have recipes from meals and dishes I made toward the end of December of last year sitting in my "Food Blog" photo folder on my hard-drive.  We'll see just how quickly I'm able to catch up.  However, lately I've just been randomly selecting meals from my photos and going from there.  I've actually wanted to post the meal I made for Valentine's Day for a while now, but honestly at this point that's not saying a whole lot...

Anyway!

I've come to realize that the medium I have become most comfortable with for expressing my love (not to mention happiness, frustration, and all the other emotions of the spectrum) is food.  I love the food, of course, but being able to make a delicious meal and cook it for the people I love is something that's become quite apparent recently.  For Valentine's Day this year, I decided to do something a little special for Marshall (and me, of course).  Getting some slight inspiration from the episode of Friends where it shows what might've happened if Monica remained fat (and Ross never got divorced, Rachel married Barry, and so on), I decided to make an entire meal Marshall and I could eat with our hands.  If you know Friends as well as I do, you'll know the reference.  If not, no worries; just be content that I am a bigger nerd than you are.  I also wanted to cook something that I had never made before.  After some thinking and some searching through Epicurious.com, I came up with the following menu:

• Sautéed Quail with Paprika Sauce
• Moroccan-Spiced Vegetables
• Moroccan Couscous, and
• [Homemade] Cardamom Ice Cream

The ice cream, of course, was to be eaten with spoons, otherwise that would've been a much bigger mess than I wanted to clean up.  I found the quail and vegetables as a recipe duo and only later found the Moroccan couscous recipe on Food Network's website (thank you, Ina Garten!). 

Since Valentine's Day fell on a Monday and I didn't want to have to fight with the hordes of couples going out to dinner that night, I offered to make dinner the night before.  We would eat in, have a good home-cooked meal, and just stay relaxed.  On that Saturday, I went ahead and made the base for the Cardamom Ice Cream.  Sitting in the fridge overnight allowed the flavors to meld and really infuse the cream.  For some reason, I believe Marshall was out during the day on Sunday, so I had time to focus on preparing the meal.  The quail was the only worrisome part of the meal, as I had never cooked with it or even bought it from the store.  I found some at my favorite bankrupt Italian market, Cosentino's, and they turned out to be just fine.  They had already been cleaned and had their backs removed, which made my job a WHOLE lot easier.

The meal, and the night as a whole, was perfect.  I enjoyed eating with my hands, even though I don't think Marshall was as keen on the experience as I was.  The couscous was a delicious last-minute choice to round out the meal.  I loved the bright and smoky paprika sauce, which blended well with the vegetables and the couscous.  The quail was delicious, too, and not as gamy as I thought it might be.  I believe we almost forgot about the ice cream.  It was beautifully creamy, silky, and spicy, without being super sweet.  Definitely a perfect ending to our meal.

This is definitely a meal for a special occasion.  I could totally see turning this into a themed event:  a big group of friends over, lots of brightly-colored throw pillows and rugs on the floor, dimmed lighting, and everyone seated on the floor around a low table enjoying some delicious food and wine... 

Cooking for a Cause: Appetizers for Japan Earthquake Relief

This past weekend (hey look - it's a blog that's ON-TIME!), my bestest high school friend, Nicole, hosted a fundraiser for Japan Earthquake and Tsunami Relief.  Originally, it was going to be a birthday party and Humane Society fundraiser to celebrate the 1 year anniversary of adopting their adorable pup, Barney.  With the recent devastation in Japan, she changed gears and made it a full-on fundraiser for Japan.  She emailed me asking if I was interested in donating my cooking and make some light appetizers for the event.  I was only too happy to donate my time and cook for this great cause.  As soon as last Monday rolled around, I turned into total caterer-mode.  A few years ago, my mom was seriously considering starting her own catering company.  Unfortunately things fell through, but I learned quite a bit watching her cater birthday parties, Easter and Christmas feasts, and so many other events we had at our house.  So, I essentially turned into her:  I grabbed my pen and notepad and wrote down what I was going to make:

• Caprese Salad Bites
• Pizza Canapés
• Torta
• Artichoke and Feta Wontons
• Beef and Green Onion Skewers
• Grilled Caesar Salad

The only thing new on this menu was the Caprese Salad Bites, but I had watched my mom make them and, really, how hard is it to make an appetizer bite with tomatoes, mozzarella, and basil?  The rest on the list I had made over and over for past parties or at least one other time (in the case of the Beef and Green Onion Skewers), so I was comfortable with making those and I knew how much time I needed and how many I needed to make.  Nicole gave me an estimate of 30 people.  I made sure that I either made double-batches or scaled down the original recipe to make it stretch.  I was also worried about covering my vegetarian bases, but turns out that most vegetarians could eat the majority of what I was making (I sometimes confused vegan with vegetarian).  Anyway, after making the menu, I made the schedule.  I plotted out the rest of the week:  when I needed to go shopping, when I could premake certain items, etc.  I scheduled everything to the point of cooking Sunday afternoon.  Everything was planned just so (well, that is until I realized I didn't schedule time to shower on Sunday - oops!  Don't worry, I showered.).  Next was the master grocery list.  I jotted down exactly what I needed and how much I needed.  I informed Marshall of the schedule, since he is the master of the Artichoke and Feta Wontons, and he was aware of when he was needed.

During all of this planning and plotting, I had two papers to write for school.  Those, of course, take precedence so I made sure to keep an eye on both time I needed for food and time I needed to write my papers.  I finished my first paper Wednesday night and my second paper Saturday evening.  I was non-stop this past week and it's what I absolutely love.

Sunday couldn't have gone any better.  Marshall and I arrived in a flurry of Whole Foods bags, platters, bowls, and prepped dishes.  With my schedule burned into my brain, I had Nicole's husband fire up the grill and I put Marshall to work frying up the wontons.  The first appetizers out where the Caprese Salad Bites.  These are also the only appetizers that day which actually got its picture taken.  I just completely forgot to snap pictures of the final product.  I threw the Beef and Onion Skewers on the grill and they were hot and ready for people to eat.  The Torta followed and were towered just so on their deep blue platter.  Next up were Marshall's wontons and those were the fastest to fly off the plate.  I got to play waitress and walked around with the wontons, so people hanging out outside got to have a taste.  By the time I made the rounds, the platter was empty.  Marshall filled up the last platter and those just went as fast as the first (it's probably because this batch had bacon!).  Last up were the melty and cheesy Pizza Canapés.

So, because I failed to provide pictures (I have prep pictures, which will be after the cut with the recipe), I asked Nicole to send out a request for testimonials.  Here is what some people said about the appetizers:

Chandani, of the Caprese Salad Bites, wrote:
This dainty, yet fresh and rich appetizer will definitely have guests coming back for more!  I couldn't resist going back for seconds, thirds, fourths, and maybe more...oops!  These salad bites have so many distinct flavors that you can taste each specific ingredient (basil, mozerella, tomato and balsamic vinegar with garlic, I believe) and will not walk away without a moan or two of "YUM".

Charly, Nicole's sister, loved the Caprese Salad Bites, too:
...these little bites were as appetizing to the eyes as they were to the palate. Neatly skewered on toothpicks, it resembled in appearance a healthy hamburger of sorts; everything was fresh and bright. Basil and fresh mozzarella are always delicious, but what really blew me away were the tomatoes used: Sweet Treats, a little fruit that packs the flavor of its larger heirloom cousin, the beefsteak. Hell yeah. Pretty sure I could have eaten it all if I allowed myself to do it.

Nicole, of the Beef and Green Onion Skewers, said:
The beef was cooked juuuuusstt right. So tender and moist, and was uber delicious paired with the onion. A great bbq treat :)


For the Pizza Canapés, Chandani thought:
These little pizzas are a perfect bite-size snack.  They are not only delicious and vegetarian, but leave you feeling like you are eating something good and healthy, most probably because the crust is made up of toasted rye-bread.

Everytime we've made the Artichoke and Feta Wontons, they go fast.  As Jesse (Nicole's husband) said:
The wontons were awesome, especially the ones with bacon!  I'm glad I got to grab those in the first wave because they did not last long.  Crispy goodness.

Even the vegetarians liked the wontons (the batch without bacon, of course!).  Chandani said:
A true vegetarian appetizer option, these were a delight to have seeing that vegetarians like myself rarely have an opportunity to enjoy a meat-free wonton!  It was a wonderful treat and I definitely would have had more than one if I had found some!  They must have gone quickly!

I'm telling you - these wontons are a hit!  Charly said:
...despite the fact that they had just come off the stove, I bit into it eagerly. Mmm. The wrapper had the perfect amount of chew to it, and the filling was savory without being too salty (a problem I usually have with pickled artichokes). There was also a batch with bacon (how can you go wrong?). I really didn't care if I burned the corners of my mouth a tiny bit; totally worth it.

Nicole said, of the Grilled Caesar Salad:
Definitely the hit of the party, mostly because it was the most interesting on top of the fact that it was delicious. The grilled lettuce just tasted like summer. Enough said :)

There's nothing better than hearing the nice things people have said about the food I made.  My only goal for cooking is to make other people happy.  This is why I do it and why I keep doing it.  Cooking for the people I love is just so rewarding.  Now, cooking for the people I love and for a cause that I love, too?  I'm happy to announce that Nicole was able to raise over $600 at the party and through Adobe, who matched our donation, we were able to donate $1200 to the Red Cross in Japan.  Yatta!