Chives, chives and more chives.

We've been trying to find recipes that use a ton of chives because we have SO many this year! This recipe for Broccoli salad put them to good use.



Broccoli Salad with Bacon, Chives, and Tomato
Adapted from jamieoliver.com

2 heads of broccoli, about 1 1/2 pounds
4 slices thick-cut bacon, cut into matchsticks
2 roma tomatoes, halved, seeded and finely chopped
1 bunch fresh chives (15 to 20), finely chopped
1 clove garlic, peeled and minced or pressed
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste

Bring a large pot of salty water to boil. In the meantime, trim the woody end from the broccoli heads and break it up into small florets. Slice them into 1/4-inch thick pieces so they cook quickly and evenly. When the water comes to a boil, blanch the broccoli for 1-2 minutes, until they are starting to get tender but still have bite in the middle. Drain in a colander and spread out on a kitchen towel to steam dry, about 15 minutes.

In the meantime, cook the bacon in a large skillet with a splash of olive oil over medium-low heat until the fat renders into the pan and the bacon is crisp but still slightly chewy.

Drain the fat collected in the bacon pan into a bowl and add the garlic, dijon, and vinegar. Whisk well to combine into an emulsion, then add the olive oil slowly in a stream, whisking constantly. Season to taste with salt and pepper and taste also for acidity, adding more vinegar or oil if needed.

Toss the broccoli with the tomatos, bacon, and dressing. Top with chives and serve.

A few favorites

We made two of our favorites the past two days: chive spread and ramp risotto.

Chive Spread

We have a ridiculous amount of chives and one way to use quite a few of them is a simple chive spread. I've adapted a recipe I've found online: stir together a larger tub of whipped cream cheese, container of 2% greek yogurt, a bunch of chopped chives and some garlic powder. Delicious!




Ramp Risotto

Still my favorite way to enjoy ramps! Look back to 2009 for the original post on ramp risotto for the recipe.

Goat Cheese and Chive Gnocchi with Asparagus

Mike commented at dinner tonight that we find making a dish two years in a row redundant. It's true! We say things like, "should we make Ramp Risotto again? But we made it last year! Maybe we should try something new."

We rarely eat the same meal twice with the exception of beans and rice and friday night pizza but even that is always tweaked differently. There a few things we've had several times but our weekly menus are almost entirely always full of new recipes. That's strange, right? Maybe I should make a list of recipes that we have made more than once. That might be interesting.

Back to the gnocchi! We all gobbled this up (Owen was more impressed with the gnocchi than the asparagus but Jillian ate nearly an adult portion). We said this one made it to our "make again...some year!" list.


Goat Cheese and Chive Gnocchi with Asparagus
Recipe from the kitchn



4 ounces goat cheese
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2 cup fresh chives, chopped
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1/2 - 3/4 cup all purpose flour
1 lb. asparagus, washed and trimmed
3 tablespoons butter

In a small mixing bowl, combine goat cheese, Parmesan, egg, 1/4 cup chives and 1 teaspoon salt. Mix with a fork until smooth. Add flour a spoonful at a time until dough comes together but is still a little wet.

Lightly flour a work surface and line a jelly roll pan with wax paper. On the floured surface, knead dough for about a minute. If it's still a little sticky, add some flour as needed, a spoonful at a time.

Divide dough in half. Flour hands and roll into each piece back and forth until it becomes a rope about 1-inch thick. Cut each rope into 1-inch pieces. If desired, roll each piece against the back of a fork to add texture. Place gnocchi on wax paper-lined pan and refrigerate for 10 minutes.

Bring a pot of water to boil for the gnocchi.

Meanwhile, cut asparagus on the bias into 1/2-inch pieces. Steam for about 2 minutes, remove from heat and set aside.

When water is boiling, salt generously. Add gnocchi and cook for 2-3 minutes, or until they rise to the surface. Drain and set aside.

In a large sauce pan, heat butter over medium heat until it begins to brown. Add the asparagus, gnocchi, 1/4 teaspoon salt and remaining chives. Cook for 1 minute. Add black pepper to taste. Serve. Garnish with chive blossoms if desired.

serves 2-4

Box #2

Here's what box #2 contained:

Asparagus
Chives
Ramps
Sunchoke
Arugula
Spinach
Black radish
Salad mix
Sorrel

We're a little behind on box #2 because of our weekend of camping and some unexpected meals out this week. But, here's what we've done so far.

Asparagus on the campfire.



Spring Greens Salad with Goat Cheese and Dried Cranberries



BLT with Arugula instead of Lettuce (one of my favorite ways to have arugula!). I just noticed you can't see the bacon on the sandwich. I assure you there was bacon and plenty of it. It must be hiding under the tomato.



Bagel with Chive Spread and Arugula and another Spring Greens Salad



Chive Spread (adapted from all recipes)

3-5 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
A few dashes of garlic salt
12 ounce ontainer whipped cream cheese
8 ounce container Greek-style yogurt

Mix together. It's better the next day when the flavors blend together but who can wait that long? The second batch I made (yes, second), I used less cream cheese so it was about a 1:1 ratio of cream cheese and yogurt. I also tried 2% yogurt instead of whole. It's a little looser of a spread but still delicious.

Sorrel and Spinach Salad with Sunchoke and Chicken



Recipe coming soon...