Pat Eby

Kitchen Economies. Small Appliances, Gadgets, Pots and Pans for Less

I keep a running list in my purse of kitchen gadgets and small appliances I'd like to have. I look for new, in the box, never used or lightly used items at thrift stores to make my income stretch further. My stainless steel pots and pans came from thrift, all with lids, most under four dollars. I’ve found a Cuisinart ice-cream maker, a bread machine, a hand-held chopper, a popover pan and a Microplane grater, all under ten dollars, all never-used, still in the original packaging, with instruction books.

This fall, I looked for a yogurt maker. I love yogurt, especially plain, tart Greek yogurt, but I don’t like paying upwards of a dollar per half-cup at the store. In the 1980s, I used a Salton yogurt maker for three or four years.

I wasn’t particularly thrifty. The homemade yogurt tasted better to me than store-bought. It didn’t have unpronounceable additives, fillers or gelatin. The re-usable cups with the tight-fitting lids didn’t take up landfill space. The yogurt maker made the process nearly fool-proof and easy.

For some reason, I stopped making homemade yogurt. My yogurt maker went off to Goodwill. Yogurt was no longer a regular part of my diet.

Fast-forward thirty years. I’ve resolved to eat healthy foods and exercise to lose weight, build bone density, keep my heart healthy and lower my blood sugar. A daily yogurt fix is part of my diet. 'Yogurt maker' went on my thrift list. In October, I found a Salton Yogurt maker, new in the box, for six dollars. I love my new Salton, too.

So, make a list of things you need in the kitchen. Research brands, features and prices online. Keep it with you for thrift shopping and add up the savings.

To see how much I love my new Salton yogurt maker, visit my healthy eating blog, Pat Eby, a Food Writer Skinnies Up. Read how to make yogurt cheese, or try this fast and easy yogurt breakfast. Good shopping. Good eating.

 

 

 

Kohlrabi and Kielbasa

Keenly green kohlrabi comes to farmers’ markets in St. Louis mid-May and stays through early summer. Three bulbs lustrous and smooth, the supple stems pulled tight into an ersatz ponytail of leaves held tight in a jaunty red rubberband, the spring kohlrabi from Scharf’s Farm nearly leapt into my bag at Soulard Market in St. Louis.

I’d never cooked  or eaten kohlrabi until  I wrote about it for Sauce Magazine in 2009, so it’s relatively new in my diet. Raw, kohlrabi add crunch and an unexpected quiet spice note to salads. Kohlrabi mixed with the new super-crisp apples in equal parts sharpens the sweetness of a classic Waldorf salad. Cooked, it behaves like a cousin to potatoes. It creams, cooks in soups and mashes with butter. Very versatile. 

This year, a recipe from Bert Greene’s Greene on Greens cookbook for a warm kohlrabi and smoked sausage salad caught my attention. I’d been looking for an excuse to buy the artisan kielbasa from The Farmer’s Larder, a new local chaucuterie established by the Matoushek mother-and-son tag team in the summer of 2010. Grass fed beef, pasture raised pork, peppercorns and spices, hickory smoked, fully cooked and in a natural casing, too. What’s not to like? 

 Of course, I tweaked the recipe, but Bert led me in the right direction. The dish, similar to a vinegar-y German potato salad, crosses into the unexpected, courtesy of kohlrabi and the too-good-to-miss kielbasa from the Matoushek’s. For more on The Farmer’s Larder, check out Andrew Veety’s blog and this blog post at The Riverfront Times by Holly Fann.

Warm Kohlrabi, Kielbasa and Potato Salad

Yield: 6 servings

1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided

1 large Vidalia onion, cut in half and sliced in thin slivers

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, divided

3 kohlrabi bulbs, 3-inches or less in diameter, a little over a pound

6 red new potatoes, 2 to 3-inches in diameter

3 tablespoons dry white wine or vermouth

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

2 teaspoons smooth Dijon mustard

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1 pound kielbasa, sliced on the diagonal

Fresh coarsely ground black pepper

2 tablespoons fresh chives, snipped in half-inch pieces

1. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil and one tablespoon butter in an 8-inch skilled over medium heat until warm. Add the sliced onions and stir to coat. Sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt and stir. Allow the onions to cook over low heart, stirring occasionally, until the onions are brown and carmelized.
2. Trim kohlrabi of stems and leaves. Cut off the woody bottom and slice the top. Rest the bulb on the cutting board and peel with a sharp knife, paring off the green or purple outer skin from the top to halfway down the bulb. Turn the bulb over, and pare the remaining skin. Slice the bulbs in half lengthwise, then cut into half-moon slices about ¼-inch thick.
3. Place the kohlrabi in a 3-quart saucepan, cover with cold water to 2 inches over the slices, add the salt and cook, uncovered for 30 to 40 minutes.
4. Wash and dice red potatoes in ¾-inch cubes. Leave skin on. Add the diced red potatoes to the pot with the kohlrabi 15 minutes after the start of cooking. Cook until just tender. Drain kohlrabi and potatoes and set aside.
5. Whisk together the wine, vinegar, Dijon mustard and sea salt. Add 1/3 cup of olive oil, drizzling the oil in a steady stream into the wine mixture, whisking constantly.
6. Pour the mixed dressing over warm kohlrabi and potatoes and stir gently with a wooden spoon to coat.
7. Heat 1 tablespoon unsalted butter in a skillet. Add the kielbasa slices and brown on both sides.
8. Plate individual salads with the potato/kohlrabi mix on the bottom. Add carmelized onions to one side of the plate. Coarsely grind pepper over the top. Add the chopped chives. Top with sliced kielbasa and serve warm.

Note: This salad tastes great the next day, cold or warm.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Spinach at the Maplewood Farmers’ Market, mid-April 2011

Make This: Spinach Salad with Warm Bacon Dressing

The looks, smells, and tastes of locally grown leafy spinach makes for some great eating at the local markets. You’ll find baby spinach, tiny and mild, from YellowTree Farm. Owners Justin and Danielle Leszcz are new to the Maplewood market, but they’ve been rocking the food scene supplying local chefs with tasty product for the past two years.

 

 

Amy Cloud of Three Rivers Community Farm sold a hoop house grown spinach, tender and sweet. I chose her overwintered spinach, a crinkly, lush leaf with a sweet, assertive taste that delivers a heft and a bounce in your mouth. Try it in salads or plunk a few leaves on a sandwich. A friend overwintered spinach a few years back and I was delighted to discover the intense flavor and highly textured leaves.

I paired the overwintered spinach with dry-cured bacon from Lucien Matoushek of The Farmer’s Larder for Spinach Salad with Warm Bacon Dressing. I used this recipe from The Farmer’s Larder website. The only tweak: I made more dressing, increasing the bacon and the cider vinegar to 4 tablespoons and the sugar to ¾ teaspoon.

The bacon, thick and aromatic, fried up crisp in no time. The taste is complex, sweet and salty, the texture perfect, the cooked onions and garlic inspired. Plus, my house smelled great all evening.

Buy This:

• Dry-cured bacon from The Farmer’s Larder
• Fresh, darkly green spinach of your choice
• Farm-fresh eggs from Livesprings Farm
• Artisan bread from the bakery of your choice: Black Bear Bakery, Companion Bakery, 4 Seasons Bakery or the St. Louis University School of Nutrition

From Your Pantry:

• Cider vinegar
• Sugar
• Garlic
• Red onion
• Salt and pepper

In Your Fridge:

• Great butter for the bread

Asparagus Quiche. a Recipe Perfect for Spring Brunch, Lunch or Dinner

Sometimes even food writers have not-so-successful cooking experiences. Last weekend the quiche I made with Scharf Farm's great asparagus just didn’t quite work, so I bought more Scharf asparagus at Soulard Market on April 16th to try again.

Here’s another shortcoming I suffer in the cooking department. Tender, flaky pie crust eludes me. I use Pillsbury refrigerated pie crusts for my quiche and pie endeavors for now. Unrolling the crust into the 9” pie pan and crimping the edges works just fine, thank you.

This quiche is rich and flavorful, plus it's easy and painless to make. My first attempt at asparagus quiche produced a watery custard, so I tinkered with roasting the asparagus rather than parboiling it, adding a different mix of cheeses, and tinkering with proportions. I still ate the first quiche, it just wasn't good enough to share. In cooking, as in life, what we learn from our failures is often most instructive.

Asparagus should be at the markets until mid-May, but don’t wait. The taste is too delicious to miss.

Look for more on the gorgeous spinach and red bud garnish in my next post.

 

Asparagus and Roasted Red Pepper Quiche

Serves 8

• 12 fresh aspargus spears
• 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 2 shallots
• 1 roasted red pepper, peeled or jarred roasted red peppers
• 1 cup coarsely grated Gruyére cheese
• 1 cup shredded Swiss cheese
• 1 9” pie crust, unbaked
• 4 large eggs
• 2 cups half and half
• 1/2  teaspoon table salt
• 3/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg

•  
  1. Preheat the  broiler.
  2. Break or trim the woody stems off the asparagus. Lightly peel the stalks to within 1” of the tips. Run the spears under cold water, pat dry with a paper towel. Place the spears on a cookie sheet (without non-stick coating) and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon olive oil and toss to coat. Sprinkle sea salt on the oiled spears and toss again.
  3. Arrange the spears in a line down the center of the cookie sheet to fit under the broiler flame. Place under the broiler for 3 minutes. Remove the sheet, turn the spears and broil an additional 1 to 2 minutes. Remove spears from the sheet to cool. I put them on my cutting board. When cool, slice stalks diagonally in 1/2” pieces. Leave tips intact. Set aside.
  4. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
  5. Peel, then cut the shallots in quarters lenghthwise. Slice thinly. Pour the remaning olive oil in a 6” skillet over medium low heat. Add shallots and toss to coat. Cook until translucent, turning often.
  6. Cut the peppers into 1/2” pieces.
  7. Place the crust in a 9” pie pan. I use a glass pie pan and I keep the oven temp at 350.
  8. Arrange the shallots across the bottom of the crust. Next, add the peppers, evenly distributed followed by the asparagus pieces.
  9. In a small bowl, mix the two cheeses together, then distribute evenly over the vegetables.
  10. Break the eggs into a large mixing bowl and beat lightly with a fork. Next, stir in the half and half until well combined. Add salt, pepper and nutmeg.
  11. Pour half the egg and half & half mixture over the top and allow it to settle. Pour in the remaining mixture slowly. Don’t overfill.
  12. Bake 60 to 75 minutes until the quiche is firm and the top is lightly browned. The quiche puffs up in the oven, but as it cools, it settles into the pie crust.
  13. Cool on a wire rack 15 to 20 minutes before slicing. Serve warm.