Many years ago I had the good fortune to know the owners of Amy’s Kitchen;  and although I had no formal training or education they hired me to develop recipes.  Growing up my one and only hobby was cooking but I always knew I didn’t want to be a chef.  It just never occurred to me that there could be a job creating recipes, wow what fun!  Of course now I get to search out and create new recipes every week for the newsletter with the added bonus of using the most amazing ingredients!  Anyway, the first product I worked on at Amy’s Kitchen was the Broccoli and Cheese Pot Pie and today it is still my favorite.  Working with what is in this week’s box I have put together a variation using from the box the Romanesco, Leeks, Green Garlic and Sweet Potato.  Of course you could use the broccoli or cauliflower or a combination of any or all three.  Hope you enjoy it!  Lorraine Romanesco and Cheddar Pot Pie 1 lb. Romanesco broken apart into florets, washed, put into a pot, cover with water and add a good tsp or 2 of salt.  Bring to a boil and turn it off, letting it sit for no more than 5 minutes in the hot water. While the Romanesco is sitting in its hot bath clean and chop: 2 Leeks (most of the green tops removed) 1 Green Garlic (just the very top of the green removed) 1/2 lb. of Sweet potato - peeled and cubed (you will want this to be a fairly small cube) Remove the Romanesco (saving the cooking water) to a bowl and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking.  To the water add the sweet potato, leek and green garlic.  Bring back to a boil, then turn the heat off, cover and let it sit while you make the sauce and biscuit topping. Cheese Sauce 2 TB Butter 2 TB Oil (best to use an oil like organic Sunflower that doesn’t have much taste) 6 TB Flour 3 Cups of hot Vegetable Water 1/2 lb. grated Sharp Cheddar Cheese 1/2 tsp mustard powder 1/2 tsp paprika Pinch of Cayenne 1/2 tsp Salt Melt the butter in the oil. Stir in the flour and cook until it just begins to turn a little golden.  Slowly one cup at a time, add the vegetable water (you can also use a vegetable stock or chicken stock but for maximum Romanesco flavor use the water you cooked it in). Drain all the vegetables really well and then add the cheese sauce.  Put into either individual pot pie dishes or a larger deep dish casserole.  Cover with biscuit dough and bake at 425 F for 18 minutes. Biscuit Dough You can use whatever dough recipe you like but I used this one: 2 cups of Flour (I was lucky enough to get a little Eatwell Flour!)  Believe me, even I can’t get flour:) 1 1/2 tsp baking powder - with the whole wheat flour I used 2 tsp 1/2 tsp Baking Soda 1 tsp Salt 5 TB cold unsalted Butter, cubed 1/2 cup grated Sharp Cheddar Cheese 1/2 cup well shaken Buttermilk I cheat and use my Cuisineart.  Put all of the dry ingredients into the bowl and pulse a few seconds, then add the cubed butter and pulse until it is a coarse meal.  Add the cheese, pulse again for a couple of seconds, then add buttermilk and pulse until it is all mixed together.  It doesn’t have to mix to the point of forming a ball.  Take appropriate amounts of dough for your baking dish and either pat into disk or roll out.  Put on top of filling and bake.

Really Simple Spinach for Breakfast Our spinach is so delicious it really requires very little work, with the exception of the endless washing!  Thank goodness we haven’t had much rain so it isn’t muddy.  Last year when Nigel came home from the hospital packing each meal with the most nutrition possible was a little challenging.  One of my favorites from that time was to sauté our spinach in a little bit of our chicken stock, you can easily use a vegetable stock or plain water.  Once the spinach has sufficiently wilted crack a couple of eggs right on top, cover with a lid and let the eggs poach.  Skip the toast and still feel satisfied with a nutrient dense breakfast!

I hope you all realize the suffering I have to go through while Lorraine perfects these recipes. Luckily I have been able to control portion size and walk a lot around the farm to keep my weight in check. Have a wonderful week... Nigel