Tasty Tuesday!

     From hence forth Tuesday will now be known as "Tasty Tuesday"!  Tuesday's posts will now be devoted to something I really enjoy, FOOD!  I'm not sure what direction this will go but as of right now the plan is to blog about a dish I recently made and hopefully give you some tips and ideas about cooking good meals at home.  I may post about the slow food movement, organic farming, antibiotic/hormone free meat and dairy, eating seasonally, vegetarianism, veganism, Tijuana Mama Pickled sausages, or whatever else food related I feel like blogging about, but I'll try to keep my opinions to myself (there are other outlets that I already use to voice my opinions quite often).

     There are a billion food blogs already out there (most of which I read) and A Beer with Brad will not become one.  I'm just sharing a hobby with you.  I'd like to start off by saying that I am not a vegetarian or vegan but I am very open to both types of cuisine.  The first post will actually be a vegetarian dish.  Hope you enjoy.

Risotto with Rutabaga and Mustard Greens

     I was wondering what to do with some leftover Mustard Greens I had from previously making a winter soup.  I scoured the Internets for food ideas (something I do too much) and I came across a recipe from the NY Times Recipes for Health column.  The recipe fit nicely with what I wanted to do and I already had a few of the necessary ingredients on hand so it was a no brainer.  Since I am a broke graduate student I left out the more expensive ingredients like white wine, saffron (which can cost as much as $5,000 a pound!) and the parsley (which isn't expensive but I didn't feel like buying a bunch of parsley only for it to go to waste).  I also used one of my favorite ingredients, rutabaga, and a few purple top turnips in place of the acorn squash.

• 1 medium sized rutabaga and 3 purple top turnips diced into 1/2 - 1 inch cubes
• Enough extra virgin olive oil to coat the pan (not too much, you're not frying)
• salt and pepper
• 1 bunch of mustard greens (make sure they are washed and free of dirt)
• 1 quart of vegetable stock with 1 quart of water
• 1 medium sized onion (diced)
• 2 large garlic cloves (diced) (feel free to use more....there's no such thing as too much)
• 1 1/2 cups arborio/risotto rice
• Parmesan cheese

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Use a glass dish or baking sheet and coat the diced rutabaga and purple top turnips in olive oil, toss in a little salt and pepper.  Try to have the rutabaga and turnips in an even layer but if not don't sweat it. Place in the preheated oven, and roast for about 35 minutes until slightly browned or until you can insert a fork into them and have it come out clean. Remove from the heat.

2. While the squash is roasting, blanch the mustard greens in a large pot of boiling water.  Blanching requires that you stop the cooking process immediately after removing the greens from the boiling water so have another bowl filled with ice water ready.  Salt the water, add the mustard greens, and let boil for about 4 to 5 minutes.  You'll know the greens are ready when the stems become very flexible and tender. After the blanching is done transfer the greens to your waiting bowl of ice water.  When the greens are cool to the touch try to squeeze out any excess water and then cut into ribbons or strips. 

3. Bring the vegetable stock and water to a simmer in a small to medium sized pot.  Heat the olive oil in a large non stick pan and add the onion.  Cook until the onions are soft and translucent and then add the garlic and 1/2 teaspoon of salt.  Cook for only about a minute and then add the rice.  Stir the rice around in the pan until the remaining olive oil had coated the grains.

4. Next add a ladle full (or two or three) of the vegetable stock and water (just enough to barely cover the rice). Stir constantly until almost all of the liquid has evaporated and then add the mustard greens and about a third of the rutabaga and turnips.  Add another ladle full (or two or three) of the vegetable stock and water and continue to cook until the rice is tender but creamy and chewy (add as much vegetable stock and water as you need until this consistency is reached).

5. Add the remaining roasted rutabaga and turnips and one ladle full of stock and water to the rice.  Stir in enough Parmesan cheese to thicken the risotto but not enough to make the whole dish dry (just be careful) and remove from the heat. Finished!

Adventures in blanching (I had never blanched before)

Second step in blanching: Stop the cooking process by submerging the greens in ice water (this keeps them nice and green too)

Cut the greens into strips using a badass santoku knife if you have one

The diced rutabaga and purple top turnips just out of the oven (I always drink Yuengling Lager from the can when I cook cuz I likes to keep it classy)

The creamy delicious finished product

Take care of each other!