The Humble Kitchen

Roasted bell peppers, onions, mushrooms, spinach and slow roasted tomatoes on gluten-free french bread

You might not believe this, but my 5-year old said that this sandwich was “SO GOOD!” He even wanted the leftovers the next day. I was a little stunned myself.  I honestly thought this eat-most-things attitude would wear off, but it hasn’t. Despite their willingness now, I am still emotionally ready for the day they will only eat pizza.

This sandwich was made with Carol Fenster’s French Bread recipe and some fresh, green bell peppers from my Uncle’s garden. The peppers were wonderfully sweet, not having that weird, acidic edge I find in some supermarket peppers (what is that from? Is it because they are old?). I roasted them for a few minutes on each side and then combined them with some slow-roasted tomatoes and thinly sliced onions from the Berkeley Farmer’s Market. I threw in some mushrooms and spinach at the very end for additional texture and color. Seasoned with only salt and pepper, it made for a lovely weeknight dinner.

~Sarah

My daughter requested Sloppy Joes for dinner last night and I was happy to oblige because it’s one of those recipes you can get some veg into without any complaint. I briefly considered the addition of mushrooms, but she can smell a mushroom a mile away, so I thought I’d better not push it. I like to use Muir Glen tomato paste and sauce, and Heinz organic ketchup. When it comes to beef, Niman Ranch is my standard, but any grass fed will do.

2 Tblsp olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

1 carrot, peeled and diced

1 celery stalk, diced

1 zucchini, diced

6 garlic cloves, minced

½ cup tomato paste

1 can (15 oz) tomato sauce

¾ cup ketchup

3 Tblsp apple cider vinegar

⅓ cup brown sugar

3 Tblsp Worcestershire sauce

2 lbs ground beef

8 bakery burger buns

Heat a large skillet over med-high heat, once hot add olive oil. Add chopped onion, celery and carrot and stir to combine. Cook for a few minutes, stirring a bit here and there until everything starts to soften. Add zucchini and garlic, stirring to keep garlic from burning. Now add the tomato paste, press it into the veg and mix it all in together. Pour in the tomato sauce and ketchup and stir well. Add apple cider vinegar, brown sugar and Worcestershire sauce. Reduce heat and let simmer until sauce is thickened, stirring occasionally. Twenty minutes will do but up to an hour will make it that much thicker and richer.

Meanwhile heat a large skillet over high heat. Salt and pepper the ground beef well and throw it in the hot pan. Break it up with a wooden spoon, keep stirring and breaking it up until it’s no longer pink. (If the meat gives off a lot of grease, pour it off, but this doesn’t seem to happen with grass fed beef.)

When the sauce is reduced and thickened add salt and pepper to taste. If you feel it needs more vinegar or brown sugar, add a tablespoon, stir and taste again. Once it’s to your liking, combine with the meat and cook for just a moment to make sure it’s nice and hot. Toast your buns and dig in.

I served these with a green salad with lemon juice, balsamic and olive oil dressing, and some cut up fruit. Oh, and some good crunchy potato chips, Tim’s are my favorite.

-Jennifer

I had a brisket I’d picked up at the farmer’s market kicking around and I decided to give pastrami a try. Last year around this time I attempted to do a corned beef, and it was far too salty to be enjoyable. I wanted to try again but this time use a more trusted source for the recipe. Everything I have made from the book Charcuterie has been amazing, so I started there. This is for a brisket just over 2 lbs.

For the brine:

2 quarts water

¾ cup kosher salt

½ cup sugar

½ tbls pickling spice

¼ cup packed brown sugar

⅛ cup honey

Combine all the brine ingredients in a saucepan and heat gently until the salt and sugar are dissolved. Let cool to room temperature, then chill in a container large enough to fit the brisket. Once cold, place brisket in the brine, placing a plate on top to keep the meat fully submerged. Refrigerate for 3 days. Remove beef from brine and pat dry. Lightly toast and coarsely grind ½ tbls each coriander seed and black pepper corns. Rub onto brisket. Now it’s time to smoke the meat. I lit up a chimney full of charcoal while a few handfuls of wood chips soaked in water. Once the charcoal was glowing I placed it along one side of my lidded grill, and placed the drained chips on top of the glowing coals. The brisket goes on the cool side of the grill, lid on. The smokey fire lasts about half an hour, and I only wanted the pastrami lightly smoked, so I stopped there. You could certainly have another chimney of charcoal ready to go, and more soaked chips, and smoke it further. Once it’s as smokey as you’d like, place the brisket in an inch of water in an appropriately sized oven safe pan. Cover with foil and bake in a preheated 275º oven for about an hour and a half, or until it is fork-tender. We sliced it thin against the grain, served it on dark bread with hot mustard, emmenthaler and sauerkraut.

-Jennifer