lemon meringue pie isn't actually hard to make!

i love lemon meringue pie. like it might even be my favorite pie now that i think about it. even so, i rarely get to enjoy this treat in my mouth. so i decided to make a pie the other day to bring to my friend katie's place because she had made dinner. i was feeling ambitious and lemony. okay i'll admit it, this recipe was LITERALLY the FIRST one that popped up on google (thank you emilie s. from allrecipes.com). but it was really simple and i decided to go for it! (you do need an electric mixer...i have a cheap handheld one).

lemon meringue pie.

ingredients

1 pie crust (i used frozen from trader joe's and loved it)

lemon filling:

1 c sugar

2 T flour

3 T cornstarch

1/4 t salt

1 1/2 c water

2 lemons, juiced and zested

2 T butter

4 egg yolks, beaten

meringue:

4 egg whites

6 T sugar

directions

1. bake the pie crust according to the directions on the box.

2. preheat the oven to 350F.

lemon filling:

3. in a medium saucepan, whisk together the sugar, flour, cornstarch, and salt. stir in water, lemon juice, and lemon zest and cook over medium-high heat until it comes to a boil.

4. stir in the butter.

5. slowly whisk 1/2 cup of hot sugar mixture into the bowl of egg yolks then whisk that back into the sugar mixture. i assume this helps things evenly mix without weird eggy chunks.

6. bring to a boil and stir until thick. remove from heat and pour into baked pie crust.

meringue:

7. in a large glass or metal bowl, whip egg whites until foamy.

8. gradually add sugar and continue to whip until stiff peaks form. basically, this is about 5-10 minutes (perhaps?) or until when you lift the beaters up out of the mixture, a peak sticks there that doesn't fold over (and isn't really glossy).

9. spread meringue over the pie and seal the edges at the crust.

10. bake at 350F for 10 minutes or until meringue is golden brown!

word of advice when making meringue. you cannot have any fat in the whites. so make sure the bowl is really clean and not greasy at all. ALSO do not get any yolk into the whites when you are separating them. my strategy (even though it uses an extra bowl): separate each egg over the extra bowl then if it is a clean break, transfer the whites into another bowl holding all the whites and the yolks into a third bowl hold all the yolks. that way if you are on your 4th egg and the yolk breaks into the whites, you can just throw that one out rather than contaminating all 4 whites!

how to turn nothing into something (using zucchini).

so the goal tonight: make delicious dinner using csa ingredients without having to buy any extra groceries. so since there is tons of squash i decide i want to use that. put some stuff in em and bake? okay!

zucchini boats.

ingredients

1 zucchini

1 squash

olive oil

1 cup of roasted bell peppers and onions (frozen from trader joes)

1 cup of frozen corn

1/4 t italian seasoning

1/4 t garlic salt

1 egg, beaten

1/4 c tomato sauce

1/2 c shredded mozzarella

sprinkle of parmesan

directions

1. boil the whole squashes for 3-5 minutes.

2. slice them in half lengthwise and then scoop out the middle part with a spoon to make a little boat. save the guts in a bowl.

3. heat some olive oil in a frying pan and add the peppers/onions and corn. add in the spices. saute for 5-10 minutes.

4. mix in the guts you saved from the zucchs, the tomato sauce, and the egg and cook for 1-2 more minutes.

5. place the zucchini boats in a baking dish and heap the filling onto them. drip a little more tomato sauce on top and sprinkle with mozzarella and parmesan cheese.

6. bake for 25-30 minutes at 350 degrees.

(SO sorry for the colors of this).

they came out pretty well! i seriously can't believe these materialized without a trip to the grocery store!!!

kale crispies.

i get home from work and i am STARVING. i gotta make something to eat while i am making something to eat. you know, dinner is gonna take too long so i need a quick snack while dinner happens. so i open the csa box....KALE IS ON TOP. okay THINK. steph mentioned baking them? OKAY GO.

kale crispies.

ingredients

6ish big kale leaves

drizzle of olive oil

a sprinkle of seasoning (i used garlic pepper, but even just salt would do)

a splash of soy sauce

directions

1. preheat the oven to 350.

2. tear the kale leaves off of the thick stems and into bite sized pieces.

3. wash and dry the kale really well.

4. toss with a bit of olive oil, seasoning, and soy sauce.

5. spread onto a baking sheet and bake at 350 for 6-10 minutes. i would suggest after 6 minutes checking back every minutes or so because it is a very fine line between when these guys are perfect and when they are burnt. they are done when the edges are getting a little brown.

also i'm really sorry but i ate them before it even crossed my mind to take a photo. i can't believe how delicious this was and how fast it happened.

oh and kale is super good for you!

csa week three.

this week's batch is GLORIOUS.

lettuce

forono beets

4 zucchinis

3 yellow summer squashes

kale

strawberries

blueberries

snap peas

HOLY CRAP. the box is packed full with so much glory! i love you stillman's farm.

pasta with kale and beet greens.

so kale is one of those ingredients i have heard of plenty of times and probably even consumed at one point without remembering. i know i have never cooked it, and if i have consumed it, i really couldn't recall what it was like. so, first order of service....let's try cooking kale! based on other ingredients i had at hand in the house and inspiration from the stillman's newsletter this week, pasta with kale and beet greens was born.

pasta with kale and beet greens.

ingredients

2-3 T olive oil

1 onion, finely chopped

about 3-4 cups total greens, coarsely chopped/torn

12-16 oz pasta (penne, rotini, shells, etc)

3/4 c ricotta

1/4 c mozzarella

1 T parmesan

salt and pepper

directions

1. heat the oil over medium heat in a large skillet or wok and saute the onions for 10 minutes.

2. get the pasta going in another pot.

3. add the greens and cook until they wilt (about 3 minutes for beet greens and 8-10 for kale). stir, cover, stir a lil' more, etc.

4. a minute before the pasta is done turn the heat on the greens to low and add the ricotta.

5. drain and add the pasta.

6. mix in the mozzarella and parmesan and top with freshly grated ground pepper and salt if you want it!

beeteedubz, any leafy green could be substituted here, depending on what you have on hand!

csa week two.

the second box from stillman's farm yields some goodies. some first-time goodies too.

things i have used before:

zucchini

summer squash

lettuce (the type of lettuce is something interesting but i can't identify it!)

new things for morgancooking:

kale

another type of beets...forono i believe

i am super excited! steph is back in town so we will have a mini adventure figuring out how to split things up!

the most glorious tofu.

i love tofu, i really do. not just sayin' that. people complain that it has no flavor and that you always have to do something to it, but i argue that chicken is the same. no one just puts a chicken breast on a baking sheet and cooks it with no seasoning, no nothing. i'll spare you, but you get the point.

want to know how to get the water out of your tofu? you gotta press it out. but think about it. you can't just put some heavy stuff on it and let it sit in its pool of tofu water. you gotta angle that baby. such a satisfying stream of water comes out. steady stream. real steady. short on time? no worries, two minutes of this should be enough. i put a heavy book on top to really smoosh it.

okay so then cut the tofu into conveniently sized pieces for whatever you are making. i did little cubes for a stir fry. now i shall tell you how to make tofu that is so delicious even the most close-minded meat-eaters would like it (until you told them what it was then they would probably backtrack). i do not wish to take credit, but rather spread the love. so i learned how to do this from Deborah Madison in her cookbook "how to cook everything vegetarian." she is a tofu goddess.

want to know how to get crispy fried tofu bites? so you have your cubes. put a tablespoon or two of peanut oil into a large skillet or wok. once it is hot add the tofu. THE SECRET IS DON'T STIR. i know it is really tempting to just stand there and absent-mindedly spread tofus around the pan, but DON'T DO IT. they won't brown. you gotta let em sit for like 5 minutes (maybe more) on one side before flipping pieces around. then go for another 4-5 minutes. repeat until you are pleased with your brown-ness level. obviously unless you are meticulously turning each piece individually, some sides will be much browner than others but that is totally fine. mine looked like THIS.

okay so now comes the part that makes it DELICIOUS. in a bowl, mix 2 tablespoons of soy sauce with 3 1/2 tablespoons of brown sugar. turn the heat to low-medium and add the mixture to the tofu. stir until all the cubes are coated. after a minute or two, turn up the heat, add 3 tablespoons of water, and simmer it off for 5-10 minutes.

NOW they are ready for whatever your heart desires. snack em or use em in a stir fry. i added a vegetable medley (thanks to Caroline for the beans and carrots) and some brown rice then stirred in some honey ginger teriyaki sauce (from the store, i'm not that ambitious). but yeah...here is the final product!

okay, so take home message: please make tofu like this. it will 100% change your stance on the matter.

(again, so sorry for the horrible colors of food photos).

gypsy the street lord.

gypsy's life has turned upside down. now that she is no longer a stray, she is probably actually more food deprived than she was on the streets. she's got a mamabelly that needs to get out of there so i have her on a small diet. real small...she still gets twice as much food as my other ladies.

so just to show how upset she is by the starvation i am imposing on her now that she has a roof over her head (and a cat fortress!!), she broke into the big food container and feasted. feasted feasted feasted. then got so so so mad at me when i didn't feed her dinner.

also i know she and beeb did it as a team and are secretly friends now.

lost my beets virginity.

so the csa this week contained beets. two types of beets. round red one and more elongated tann-ish redd-ish ones. no idea what they are called because i have LITERALLY never seen a beet in natural beet state. in fact, my only encounters with beets consisted of most likely canned chunks of them as a half hearted attempt at salad in ecuador.

i was real scared of beets...they just seemed like one of those vegetables no one likes to eat? but i'm all about trying new foods, so i decided i wanted to go all out. i made a little nest out of the green and put the beets right on there!

also i really just can't get over how gross homemade food photos are. i sincerely apologize.

beets nest.

ingredients

any kind of beets, including the greens

olive oil

garlic, minced

balsamic vinegar

salt and pepper

directions

1. trim off the beet greens, leaving an inch or so on the beets. wash the beets and wash the greens.

2. put the beets into a greased roasting pan, cover and cook for about 45 minutes or until they are tender (poke those babies with a fork).

3. when the beets are close to being done, start the greens (which only take 5-10 minutes tops). tear them into practically sized pieces for eating. saute the garlic (one clove) in the oil for about 30 seconds. add the greens and cook em til they wilt.

4. when the beets are done, let them cool a little then peel the ones that need peeling. honestly, i don't know how to use beets or which ones need peeling, but i peeled the round red ones and not the other ones. worked/tasted fine! the peel just slips right off once they are cooked.

5. make a little nest of greens then arrange the beets on there. drizzle those babies with vinegar and sprinkle with sea salt and pepper!

beets, you're okay by me.

strawberry rhubarb empanadas: the reason for summer.

okay, i know i am blowing my load here with all the posts and that i probs won't have anything else to say for like a week. but i'm excited!

i have been wanting to make strawberry rhubarb empanadas since last summer when i saw a recipe for them on this glorious website with tons of delicious ecuadorian recipes! holla: http://laylita.com/recipes/ (fun fact. safari thinks that website is porn almost every time i try to go to it. i think it is the girl's name as a url issue).

i tackled these babies a few nights ago. they turned out wonderfully, though i wish i could have fit a little more guts inside em. the recipe is largely based on the one by Laylita, but I am lame and didn't make my own dough...bought some from the refridg section of the grocery.

strawberry rhubarb empanadas.

ingredients

2 c rhubarb, chopped to bite-size

4 c strawbs, chopped to bite-size

1 c sugar

2 T orange juice

1 T cornstarch

box of sweet pastry dough (two pie circles)

1 egg, yolk and white separated

a little more sugar for sprinkling

directions

1. combine the fruit, sugar, juice, and cornstarch in a bowl and let rest for an hour.

2. drain the liquid out of there.

3. unroll the dough and cut out ~4-5 inch diameter circles (i used a cup as a cutter).

4. spoon a little bloob of fruit on there. coat the edges of the dough with egg white (think high school art class and putting slip on the clay). fold the dough over, being careful not to break it. press a fork around the edges to seal.

5. brush a little egg yolk on the tops and them sprinkle with sugar.

6. chill the empanadas for 30 minutes.

7. bake at 375F until golden (about 30 minutes).

(this actually made like 20 empanadas and a pie-like creation using another sheet of pie crust from a second box).

check it out!

oh and i am aware that:

1. these food photos are really dorky.

2. there is a piece of cat hair on that empanada?

first box of the summer!

the csa started this week and Christina picked it up on Sunday while I was at work!

things we got:

arugula

strawbs

swiss chard

two kinds of beets

lettuce

so lucky me, i have only ever used strawberries and lettuce in my life. and arugula once on a portabella burger i guess. so week number one of csa already requires some delicious new adventures.

the first thing that was born of this box was one of the fastest/healthiest/deliciousest/cheapest dinners ever to be created. this happens to be a completely blind attempt and a vaguely described recipe jeremy remembers having at a vaguely described uncle's house.

scrambled eggs and swiss chard.

ingredients

butter or olive oil

1 clove of garlic, minced

big handful of swiss chard

crushed red pepper

6 eggs (3 whole and 3 just whites), whisked with a fork

shredded cheese

directions

1. in a frying pan, saute the garlic in the oil for 30 seconds.

2. add the chard and a quick shake of red pepper. cook until the greens are wilted (about 3-5 minutes). my "cooking" involved stirring a bit, covering the pan for about a minute, then stirring some more.

3. add the egg mixture to the pan and cook just like making regular scrambled eggs. perhaps 2 minutes?

4. ploop onto plates and put some cheese on the top! also salt and peppa if you desire.

this was a good amount for two people. we used some cheddar and some gruyere, both of which were delicious choices.

oh and fun fact. swiss chard and beet greens are interchangeable!

so i started a blog?

SO. i have been debating doing this for a few months. my roommates and I bought a half-share of a CSA from Stillman's Farm and this has prompted me to share my cooking adventures with the world. now you can know all the things I make with my CSA box every week along with other fun things that happen in the kitchen.

I LOVE this farm: http://stillmansfarm.com/

OH. and I adopted a new cat (just to keep with the theme of thingsthataremorganslife). her name is gypsy and she was a stray mamacat.

surprisingly not a problem with my other cats?