What’s Cooking in Kelli’s Kitchen – The Rewards of Saying Yes

Sometimes my life feels like a juggling act. There are my work obligations, maintaining the relationships that are important to me (friends, family), general community involvement (The Fallon Post, American Legion, golf tournaments), side hustles (cooking), and the icing on the proverbial cake (school and advocacy). Every time things start to slow down a bit, I say “yes” to something new. I suppose I enjoy being busy! There are times when all this work yields rewards, and last week was one of them.  

After two years of listening to small business owners, thinking about creative solutions to challenges limiting their ability to grow, advocating for change, negotiating with countless groups of stakeholders, and organizing supporters to show up and speak out at the legislature, our food systems bills were signed by Governor Lombardo and will become Nevada law. Senate Bill 373 appropriates $800,000 over the biennium to buy produce and other agricultural products for distribution through Feeding America-affiliated food bank networks from Nevada farmers and tasks the Governor’s Council for Food Security to formulate a sustainable funding plan for the program. Assembly Bill 251, sponsored by Fallon’s own Greg Koenig, opens the door for mobile meat harvesters and processors to be certified under the Nevada State Meat Inspection Program. Assembly Bill 352 modernizes Cottage & Craft Food programs, increases allowable farm-to-fork events, and creates the Cottage Cosmetics program. Taken together, these changes represent a significant reduction in the barriers to entry for value-added producers in our state. 

My weekend was chock-full of fun with a golf tournament to raise money for UNR scholarships and catering dinner for Dave Fenley and the Churchill Arts Council crew before the concert at Oats Park on Saturday. Small group gatherings are my favorite gigs, especially when there is plenty of room in the budget. Whether I am cooking for a client or for friends and family, I start by picking a theme. This weekend, we featured dishes from the Mediterranean. Our menu featured scratch-made hummus (with Rancho Gordo chickpeas), charred eggplant baba ghanoush, tabbouleh salad, jeweled rice, lamb & beef kebabs with tzatziki sauce, and vanilla honey panna cotta with lemon curd and raspberries.  Every dish was a banger, but I was particularly fond of what we did with the salad and the dessert. I hope you give these recipes a go for your next gathering! 

Tabbouleh Salad with Barley 

INGREDIENTS: 

1 cup barley 

4 bunches parsley, cleaned, destemmed and chopped 

1 bunch mint, cleaned, destemmed and chopped 

1 bunch scallions, thin sliced 

1 English cucumber, seeded and diced 

1 pkg grape tomatoes, quartered 

1 red onion, diced 

½ cup extra virgin olive oil 

1 ea lemon, juice and zest 

½ tsp. coriander 

½ tsp. cinnamon 

Salt and pepper 

DIRECTIONS: 

1. Cook barley according to package directions. Cool 
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together olive oil, lemon juice & zest, coriander, cinnamon, salt and pepper. Add in chopped parsley, mint, scallions, cucumber, red onion, and tomatoes. Add in barley once cool and stir to combine.  
3. Taste and adjust seasoning with more lemon juice, salt and pepper.  
4. Serve immediately or refrigerate overnight. 

Honey Vanilla Panna Cotta with Lemon Curd 

INGREDIENTS: 

1 ½ cups milk 

1 tbsp. gelatin 

2 ½ cups heavy cream 

1 vanilla bean, split and scraped 

⅔ cup honey 

¼ tsp. salt 

Lemon curd 

2 eggs 

2 egg yolks 

⅔ cups granulated sugar 

½ cup meyer lemon juice (or combination orange and lemon juice) 

2 ea lemon zest 

2 tbsp. heavy cream 

8 tbsp. unsalted butter, cubed 

DIRECTIONS: 

1. Make panna cotta: Pour milk into a small pot. Sprinkle gelatin across the top and let sit for 5 minutes. Heat over medium stirring regularly until the gelatin dissolves – do not let boil. Add the cream, vanilla, honey, and salt. Stir to dissolve the honey. Pour into four containers and refrigerate until set (at least 6 hours). 
2. Make the lemon curd: In a small saucepan, whisk together eggs, yolks, sugar, zest, juice, and cream. Put the cubed butter in a medium bowl and place a colander on top. 
3. Heat the lemon mix over medium-low stirring constantly with a whisk until the mixture thickens - you will feel it kick when the temperature hits around 165-170 degrees. Pour lemon mixture through the colander over the cubed butter. Stir until the butter is melted and combined. Pour the lemon curd into a small container, put a layer of plastic wrap directly on top and refrigerate until cool and set. 
4. Spoon lemon curd over the top of the honey panna cotta, top with fresh berries and enjoy.