Boozy maple bacon jam

Boozy maple bacon jam. Yes, you heard me right.

This is my second post this week in which I think the title says it all and if I didn't write another word about it but instead simply gave you the recipe, you'd be perfectly happy.

I'm an advocate of homecooking for healthier eating and, more importantly, eating real food rather than prepackaged, only-microwave-cooking-required crap that is full of chemicals (and yes, I'm not perfect and occasionally indulge in Nutella but I also haven't eaten a bite of fast food in five years).

Luckily, bacon is real food, as regular readers know that I have a weakness for it and tend to throw a bit of it into nearly everything (including bacon oatmeal cookies -- yes, I went there). And I refuse to jump on the bacon-is-so-last-year bandwagon (freakin' hipsters, raining on my parade).

Yet you may notice that I haven't been packing on the bacon recipes much in 2014 (there's actually only been one, can you believe it?). Time to rectify that.

Happily, Katie from Healthy Seasonal Recipes invited me to take part in her Pure Maple link party to celebrate maple season -- and we all know that nothing goes better with maple syrup than bacon (well, I hope you know this -- it's a fact). And, even though the sap is running here in Vermont, it's still freakin' cold and snowy, so why not throw in a little bourbon to warm us all up?

(Bacon is never made worse by the addition of bourbon. This is another fact.)

Oooh! I can't believe I haven't yet mentioned the best part: you can make this boozy maple bacon jam in the slow cooker.

Caramelized onion bisque

I hate to say it, but it's still soup weather here in Vermont. Not quite I'm-wearing-three-sweaters-and-still-freezing hearty chili weather -- more like I'm-wearing-one-heavy-sweater-and-a-fleece-scarf caramelized onion bisque weather. Or, in my case, we-got-20-inches-of-snow-and-I'm-the-only-one-home-to-shovel caramelized onion bisque weather.

Being snowed in so completely that it gave me time to make a big batch of this bisque was the only good thing about last week's storm. I am seriously ovah this winter, peeps.

So let's focus on the creamy, hot bisque, rather than the cold and snow. You know how rich, sweet and tangy caramelized onions are? Well, now envision that as a soup: yum. Now add a whole head of slow-roasted garlic and some fresh leeks and make it all smooth and creamy.

Yep, it's a ZOMG caramelized onion bisque.

And, as is the case with recipes from The Ninj, it's easy. A bit time-consuming, yes, but not hard. And, on a snow day or a weekend, you'll have all the time you need.

Smoked sausage pizza with arugula and caramelized onion and goat cheese sauce

This smoked sausage pizza is topped with fresh arugula and a creamy caramelized onion-goat cheese sauce.

I've got good news and bad news. Well, not bad -- more like disappointing. Let's start with that.

I entered this smoked sausage pizza in a contest recently. I didn't win. Now, I believe it was due in part to some seemingly suspicious last-minute rule-changing, but we won't go there. Because ninjas are gracious non-winners.

Now for the good news: Not winning the contest means I'm free to share all the how-to details of this pizza recipe with you!

So I may not have won but you certainly did.

Every Friday night is pizza night at Casa de Ninj. I know this is not very original but I can say that we have observed this tradition every Friday that we have been home for over 12 years.

Part of the fun of pizza night for me is that I don't plan it in advance, as I do with all our other weeknight meals. I simply make up the topping combination each week, based on what I have on hand. It's an end-of-the-week creative challenge I give to myself. One of my favorite tricks is taking some leftovers from the week and turning them into a pizza. Yep, almost anything you ate earlier in the week can be turned into a pizza (including salad!).

If you're skeptical about my leftovers, don't worry -- they aren't included in this smoked sausage pizza with caramelized onion sauce (although there is practically a salad sitting on top, with all the arugula that I add).

CSA Share Ninja Rescue 2013: Chives

It's Monday, which means it's time again for the CSA Share Ninja Rescue, a weekly feature in which you tell me on Fridays what veg you got in your CSA share box (or found at the farmers' market) that you don't know what to do with and I'll give you a whole bunch of recipe ideas on the following Monday.

This week: The Chive Five!

So far this summer, my readers have been looking for unusual ways to use some standard veg -- to add a little variety to their vegertoires, if you will (heh). Case in point: chives.

We're all familiar with the typical ways to use this member of the onion family: as a garnish, mixed into mashed potatoes,  as a topping with sour cream for a baked potato. And, of course, you can use them in any dish in which you want only mild onion flavor.

But if you want to be all ninja-like in the kitchen, how about trying something a little different with that fat bunch of chives?

The Chive Five 

1. Chive oil: An infused oil that is easy-peasy to make and gorgeous to behold (check out the color!!)
2. Creamy chive sauce: A nice sauce to serve with grilled chicken breasts
3. Chive biscuits: Ordinary biscuits? Not when you can chive 'em up
4. Five-herb pesto: Arugula, basil, chives, coriander and oregano -- certainly not ordinary pesto
5. Chive cheese: Easy to make and a great substitute for mozzarella in a summery caprese salad

Do you have any other suggestions for using chives? Or do you need help with another type of veg? Leave a comment: The Ninj wants to know.

CSA Share Ninja Rescue 2013: scallions, garlic scapes & strawberries (10 ways)

Welcome to another installment of the 2013 edition of CSA Share Ninja Rescue, a weekly feature in which you tell me on Fridays what veg you got in your CSA share box (or found at the farmers' market) that you don't know what to do with and I'll give you a whole slew of recipe ideas on the following Monday.

(Or Tuesday, just this one week, because I was on vacation.)

We've wound up with an interesting combination this week, based on reader requests: scallions (green onions), garlic scapes (the long, curling tops of garlic) and strawberries -- because you might, just might, get sick of eating them straight out of the basket (I certainly won't but you might).

Strawberries

• Strawberries with Brown Sugar and Balsamic Vinegar: an easy, elegant dessert
• Roasted Strawberries: once roasted, use them to make strawberry, brie and chocolate bruschetta, too!
• Strawberry Gazpacho: a cool summer dinner starter

Garlic Scapes

• Pickled Garlic Scapes: a twist on traditional pickles
• Arugula and Garlic Scape Pesto: Spicier than your average basil pesto -- and great on pizza
• Garlic Scape Hummus: A delicious dip for crunchy veggies

Scallions

• Skillet Hash Browns with Scallions: A crispy, more interesting potato and onion side dish
• Scallion Pancakes: Another side, a little like a vegetable fritter
• Pasta with Scallion Sauce: An onion-y take on pesto

Now, with what veg can I give you a little help next week? Leave a comment -- The Ninj wants to know.

Shallot dressing for spinach salad

Do you eat enough greens?

If you're like most people, including me, probably not. Which is why I have started keeping large containers of baby spinach on hand. (Once my spinach comes up in the garden, hopefully I can give the containers a bit of a rest!)

I have two favorite ways to use the spinach:

1) Green breakfast smoothies
2) Spinach salad

The spinach salad has become my go-to side dish when I need one (I'm a big fan of incorporating the veggies into the main dish for a one-dish dinner, like this one, but sometimes you just need to have separate sides). Often, I make a true spinach salad, with dried fruit, seeds and cheese. But more often, I just dump a bunch of spinach in a bowl and toss it with this shallot dressing: my half-assed spinach salad.

Fauxsotto: an original recipe

Fauxsotto!

It's not that often that I can say I'm sharing a fully original recipe with you.

I'm creative in the kitchen -- just not quite that creative. Yet.

But today, this one is all mine. And I'm really excited to share it with you because it meets my highest recipe criteria: wicked easy and wicked good.

Like many people, I love risotto but rarely ever make it because I can't be bothered with all that standing around and stirring. (I do have one baked risotto recipe up my sleeve that works like a dream -- it's on my to-do list to share with you, if I manage to get some photos of it the next time I make it.)

But I didn't set out to create my own risotto recipe or anything. I just reserve it as an order-in-a-restaurant-where-someone-gets-paid-to-stir treat.

But then I stumbled across a taste combination that got me thinking about making and easy risotto.

(Or fauxsotto, which I'm sure you figured out by now.)

It started innocently enough with a conversation with my sister-in-law, who was telling me about a bed-and-breakfast she stayed in in which the proprietors had created a Japanese inn-style ambience, including a traditional breakfast of raw eggs cracked into hot rice and mixed with some soy sauce. (According to Google, this is called tamago kake gohan in Japanese.) Using the same principle as spaghetti carbonara, the hot rice cooks the egg and gives it a nice creamy consistency.

Since I love a savory breakfast more than a sweet one, this really piqued my interest.

So one morning I gave it a try.

Bloody Mary tomato salad

Bloody Mary tomato salad

I wish I had some great story behind this salad.

But I don't.

It's just a salad that I happen to think is pretty bloody fantastic (Heh heh, see my little joke there? I'm hilarious. Really, I am.).

Currently I'm fortunate enough to be drowning in tomatoes from my garden. This is never a bad thing for a gardener. After three consecutive years of no tomato harvest due to bugs and blight, I'm happy as a clam.

So there are a lot of tomato salads being consumed in Ninjaville, which means I have to keep looking for fresh new ideas.

I've been making this salad as an accompaniment to steaks and burgers since I found the recipe last summer. As with its namesake, the olives give it an oomph of briney goodness that is just tangy enough to complement the sweet tomatoes. And it is simple enough to prepare that you can whip it up while your steaks are grilling.

CSA Share Ninja Rescue: arugula and other greens

Spring greens soup

Finally, finally, finally -- we're starting to see some fresh greens in our gardens here in Vermont!

I'm harvesting baby lettuce and arugula, and my mustard greens, bok choy and kale are cookin' right along.

This week readers requested recipe help for arugula. Since I have tackled arugula before, I thought this week I'd just share one really good recipe in which you can use arugula or any other interesting greens that your CSA might be offering right now.

(Administrative note: Please feel free to leave a comment and let me know what you've been getting in your CSA share with which you need help but be advised that there will be no CSA Share Ninja Rescue post next week, as I will be on vacation. The feature will resume on Monday, June 25.)

Spring Greens Soup (adapated from Better Homes and Gardens)
I've called out arugula and spinach in this recipe, but feel free to substitute equal amounts of whatever spring greens you have on hand.

1 onion, halved and sliced
3 cups sliced mushrooms
olive oil
3 cups chicken broth
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
12-14 ounces Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and quartered
3 cups arugula leaves
3 cups baby spinach
2 cups parsley (I used Italian)
sour cream or creme fraiche, for serving

In a soup pot, cook the onion and mushrooms in some olive oil over medium heat for about 5 minutes. Add the broth, salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Add the potatoes to the pot and return the mixture to boiling. Reduce heat and simmer, partially covered, for about 10 minutes.

Remove the pot from the heat. Use and immersion blender to blend the potato mixture until fairly smooth. Add the arugula, spinach and parsley and return the pot to the heat. Bring it to boiling again, then remove from the heat again. Use the immersion blender again and blend it all up until it is smooth and has turned a beautiful spring green color. Season to taste with additional salt and pepper, and serve with a dollop of sour cream or creme fraiche.

[Shared with the What's in the Box? link party]

Easy fried rice: a recipe

Fried rice with chicken and lots of good veggies

As I sat down to write this post, I realized that it's the third rice bowl dish recipe that I've posted in the past month.

If you don't like rice, sorry. Bear with me. There will be other things coming up soon. Like cheese.

If you do like rice, you're welcome. Now go like my Facebook page.

This is another recipe I've adapted from one found via Pinterest. It's becoming clearer and clearer to me each day, based on the memes I've seen popping up all over Facebook, that I'm one of the only people on the planet that actually makes the recipes I pin, rather than just creating food porn boards.

Anyone else out there? Anyone? Perhaps we can form a Facebook group.

But I digress. Back to the recipe at hand.

Onion bisque: a recipe

Onion bisque

Despite the lack of snow here in Vermont, it's cold enough to still qualify as soup season. 

And we have a real winner here.

Onion bisque: I think the best way to describe it would be that it's like fancy-shmancy pureed french onion soup.

Clearly "onion bisque" was a classier name choice.

This recipe comes from Bon Appetit. The magazine runs a column in each issue in which readers write in, seeking their favorite restaurant recipes, in order to try to re-create them at home. I love this feature because I get not only some great recipes but also some excellent ideas for where to eat when I travel.

The onion bisque recipe is one that Chef Justin Devillier makes at La Petite Grocery in New Orleans. (Pfft, like there is any bad place to eat in NOLA, really).