Two dinners

Last night I made dinner and brought it over to Katherine's house. It was like a picnic, but inside for most of the time (we started outside but it got dark plus the mosquitoes were ferocious).

As appetizers, we had blanched wax beans and...homemade dolmades! I was so excited to make them...though they turned out a bit weird. K and I both agreed that the flavor was good, but my cooking technique needs work. Most of the recipes I found on Recipezaar called for cooking the rice for ten minutes, adding the spices/etc., then wrapping the rice mixture in grape leaves, submerging in water, and cooking for 30-45 minutes, until the rice is done.

Because I'd never made them before, and wasn't using a recipe for my seasoning, I decided not to undercook the rice - I wanted to be able to taste my filling for spices - so I cooked it until mostly done, and cooked the wrapped dolmades for about 15 minutes. The filling turned out decently tasty, though when I filled the grape leaves and submerged them, they got waterlogged and the rice was a little undercooked.

Also, an open note to everyone whose recipe for dolmades instructs the preparer to wrap it "like a burrito":
Have you ever made a burrito? Have you ever had a burrito? Making burritos is easy, because tortillas are not the shape of maple leaves, nor are they approximately as durable as wet paper. Wrapping dolmades is like wrapping tiny doll burritos for dolls made of ash and paste. Also, you're in the afterlife.

But regardless, K and I agreed that the filling had excellent flavor. The approximate recipe for said filling is below. Next time, I'm going to steam them.

Dolmades

3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup very-finely minced shallot (I used one gigantic one, probably 3-4 regular
sized)
1/2 cup rice (I used basmati, but I'll try arborio next time)
1/2 cup vegetable broth
1/2 cup water
juice of 1/2 lemon
1/4 tsp dried dill
1 tsp fresh mint, minced finely
pinch red pepper flakes
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Sautee shallot in half the olive oil until translucent. Add red pepper flakes and dill (crumbling dill in your fingers), and stir for a few seconds, until spices become aromatic. Add rice, and stir until grains become translucent; add vegetable broth and water. While rice is cooking, add lemon juice and mint. Cook until almost done, add remaining olive oil and salt and pepper to taste, roll your dolmades, and finish cooking.

Then we had a cheese-laden almost-lasagna whose only claim to good health was steamed kale mixed in with the ricotta, and zucchini slices layered among the many, many cheese layers (ricotta, fontina, and mozzarella, with parmesan on top, of course). It was very delicious.

And then K gave me some chard from her garden!! She just pulled the thing right out of the ground. It looked delicious. And when I was preparing it for dinner tonight alongside veggie sausage and couscous, it smelled very fresh - almost like just-mowed (mown?) grass - and it tasted even better than it looked. Definitely the best chard I've had all season - yum!! Nice work, Gardener K!

Are you ready for some stirfry?

Yes. Yes, I believe I am.

Move over, yellow peaches...

...because this year, nectarines and white peaches are more delicious than you.

I've always felt that nectarines were just less-flavorful peaches for people who can't stand skin fuzz, but the few nectarines I've had this year have proven me wrong. While the yellow peaches have been quite inconsistent, with about a 3:1 "okay" to "wow!" ratio, I haven't met a nectarine this season that hasn't been wonderful.

Much more surprising to me is that Terhune Orchard's white peaches, which I had assumed would be as pale in flavor as their flesh is in color, are juicy, sweet, and full of peach flavor - much better than most yellow peaches I've had this year. It's eerie that a post-Bunnicula-looking fruit is so loaded with sweet peachiness.

I'm still trying to figure out why they said that men prefer the white peaches. Maybe they're supposed to be less juicy? Or less sugary? Or they look more like footballs? I really like them, and I'm not a man...although I do like action movies, I guess, so maybe I'm not a good example.

UPDATE: this website explains that white peaches are actually sweeter than yellow - not because they have more sugar, but because they are lower in acid, which allows the sweetness to shine through. I don't know who this Produce Pete fellow is, but he seems to know from white peaches. However, neither Peter nor Google has come up with my answer as to why men would prefer them...but I do know that they're very good for breakfast.

Ho-hum (not the veggies, but me)

It was a tough week at work, which unfortunately translated into kind of a downer Saturday. While I had pledged that I would buy less at the USG this week since my photo assistant is going away for the week, and therefore I only need food for one, I didn't quite manage...and spent almost the same as any other week.

So much green, so little time:

1 bunch peppermint
1 bunch tarragon
1 bunch Italian parsley
1 bunch Russian kale
3 small heads bok choy
3 zucchini
1 bunch (3) white onions
1 bunch leeks
1 lb. shell peas
4 white peaches
3 nectarines
4 apricots
2 yellow ("low-acid") tomatoes
1 pint orange Sungold cherry tomatoes
Total spent: $35

The tarragon is an experiment - I'm trying to get myself out of my fresh herbs comfort zone, which is made up entirely of basil, oregano, and parsley, though I've yet to find my tarragon recipe. I bought the mint to make this facial scrub from Urban Vegan, which actually calls for dried mint, though it worked wonderfully with the fresh herb. (My face felt amazing, but it was annoying to have to prevent the oats from going down the drain. I will make it again, though.)

Tonight's dinner was risotto with leeks, chard, and peas; Tofurkey sausage; and sliced Sungold tomatoes with parsley. The tomatoes were perfect - little sweet globes of warmth and light. I'd been planning to make a green risotto with the chard for the past few days, but when I saw leeks at the greenmarket, I realized their more-vegetal oniony flavor would suit the chard better than the shallots I had originally bought for the purpose. It turned out terrific.

I don't have solid plans for anything else I've bought this week, though I did recently make a new pot of black beans (with the poblano and jalapeno chiles I bought last week and didn't write about because I was in Baltimore to see friends at Virgin Fest), so the kale will probably end up in burritos, or with the beans over rice. We'll see what happens with the tarragon...and I've also got a ton of fresh mind leftover to find a use for.

Delicious stir-fry sauce; plum updates

Last night I was craving spicy green beans a la San Francisco's amazing House Of Nanking, so I improvised. Of course, they didn't hold a candle to the originals, but they were certainly salty, spicy, and delicious. They were so good that I wrote down the stir-fry sauce recipe for once:

Spicy garlicky stir-fry sauce for green beans (and tofu)
Enough for two green-bean-loving people

4 tbsp. vegetable broth
2-3 tbsp. tamari soy sauce
1-2 tsp. chili garlic sauce (I used about 2 and they were on fire!)
2 cloves garlic
about 1/2 tsp. cornstarch

Mix everything up in a little bowl with a fork. Start sauteeing your beans whole on medium-high, then add half the sauce when they're halfway done. Add the rest just when they're tender enough, and stir until everything's coated and sauce is thickened, about 5 seconds (seriously). Serve over LOTS of rice with many iced drinks on the side. You can also use this sauce for tofu, but you can figure out how to do that on your own.

In plum news, the lovely big Shiro plums were...well...still plums. I am afraid I'm doomed to disappointment by most plums. The combination of super-tart skin and extremely mild, sweet interior flesh is just not for me. I wish I could find the Green Gage plums from last year! Sigh.

Also, in only tangentially-related news (because they are only tangentially vegetables), Snapea Crisps are now available at Trader Joe's, which basically means all my meals are going to be spoiled by snacking from here on out.

Green vs. purple plums

People with luxuriant amounts of counter space have big, lovely, ceramic fruit bowls, which display the season's bounty to maximum effect. However, were I to allot so much space (12"+ in diameter!) to fruit, we would have to consider it a third roommate and charge rent accordingly. Instead, my fruit bowl is a Texas commemorative plate, which is luckily just the right size to hold these lovely Shiro plums.


I had to stop when the bags got too full:
5 ears corn
1 lb. "golden nugget" potatoes
1 pint heirloom cherry tomatoes
1 bunch rainbow chard
4 zucchini
1 lb. shell peas
1.5 lbs. green and yellow beans
1.5 lbs. peaches
1 lb. nectarines
1 lb. Shiro plums
Total spent: $44

Tonight I'm planning a multi-course dinner to use up the most perishable of my purchases: first will be corn on the cob, then tomato and goat cheese salad with salt and pepper, then for the main course, a plain omelet (using local eggs), peas, and roasted potatoes. I can't wait!

Hopefully the pretty golden Shiro plums will be more satisfying than the purple variety have been. I've expressed my dissatisfaction with regular plums in the past, and last year the only plums I liked were Green Gage, which have been absent from USG thus far this season.

As I feared, this week cherries were, for my purposes, gone: a few stands still had a limited supply, but they were mostly mushy and mottled, not worth sorting through. Peaches are still gathering momentum, but apricots, too, seem to be waning, but luckily nectarines have just started showing up. However, I haven't found an east coast nectarine that can compare to a good peach...

Otherwise, my week's purchases are pretty standard: green beans for blanching and serving plain or for stir-frying, zucchini for dicing and steaming in pasta salad (and stir-frying, I suppose), chard for putting in everything possible. Next week I have to remember to buy two bunches, since the kale has been really tough lately, and spinach is nowhere to be seen. I should experiment with other greens, but I have had some unlucky results with collards that make me hesitant. Maybe I can get some baby bok choy or tat soi next week. The lovely legumes have distracted me from my greens so far this summer.

Love hurts

It seems that the cherry season this year has been terribly short; it seems like only a week or two ago I was enjoying my first summertime cherries, and now they're already obviously on the wane. Strawberries disappeared all at once, but cherries are slowly fading - fewer USG vendors this week than last, and fewer next week, and soon they'll be totally gone, along with sugar snap peas, which are also past their prime. I feel winter creeping into my bones already!...and yet, it's mid-July.

Today's nevertheless-lovely harvest:

1 lb. cherries
1/2 lb. apricots
1/2 lb. plums (little purple ones, not sure what variety)
4 peaches
1 lb. sugar snap peas
1 1/2 lbs. green and yellow beans
1 lb. shell peas
1 bunch rainbow chard
3 zucchini
2 cousa squash
5 ears bicolor corn
1 pint orange heirloom cherry tomatoes
Total spent: $42

The tomatoes are delicious - as my photo assistant said while enjoying them with goat cheese, salt, and pepper, they're "outrageous" - and the little cherry tomato size is somehow less intimidating than the big ones, which I'm afraid will go bad before I can use them. The tinies are easy to snack on during every trip to the kitchen, which is good since I won't refrigerate them and they'll only last a couple of days in our hot lair.

Corn on the cob is quite a good consolation for the loss of earlier-summer crops - it's getting sweeter every week. There are already two husked ears in the steamer for dinner tonight, along with my favorite cherry tomato preparation, named above, and some squash and tofu sauteed together with garlic and spices, over rice.

I couldn't resist the green and yellow beans; I bought them from the same organic vendor I got them from last week, and they were delicious, and so versatile. They'll be blanched and served cold and salted in lunches, chopped into 1" pieces and added to pasta salads, stir-fried, and probably other ways I haven't imagined yet.

My fingers are crossed that the peaches will turn out better than the last ones I had; these are from the orchard I bought most of my peaches from last year, so I'm hoping they'll be as flavorful. I've already tasted a few of the plums and I'm experiencing my usual "blah" feeling about them; perhaps the Shiro and green gage varieties will be more to my liking, as they were last year.

I also bought some non-produce: goat cheese from Lynnhaven Farm (wonderful!), and fantastic basil pesto from an herb vendor. It's the second time I've bought the pesto - you get about 1 cup for $5, which lasts through lots of pasta salad servings - and it's really wonderful. I haven't made my own because I don't have a food processor... and I'm happy to buy it from the cute young couple who run the herb stand.

This morning I went to the USG about half an hour earlier than usual, as I had to get home early to go to the Sunburn Siren Festival, and it seemed more crowded than when I'm normally there. I wonder if there are more people who show up for the market's 8 a.m. opening than are there at around 9:30 or 10...before it gets crazily-crowded with regular folks around 11 or noon. I'm thinking of trying to get there when it opens one of these Saturdays, to see if I can get it on any extremely special, sells-out-immediately, produce...or perhaps that's a myth?

Yellow and orange and sunny

USG was packed early this morning with folks who were loading up their weekender totes with ears of corn and berries. The morning was beautiful and sunny, and the fruits and veggies were orange and yellow, as if in homage. The bright yellow chard is breathtakingly lovely! (Also yellow, but not pictured: gold nugget potatoes, corn on the cob).

A perfect morning:
2 ears bicolor corn
1 lb. yellow Swiss chard
1 pt. orange heirloom cherry tomatoes
1 lb. green and yellow beans
1 lb. sugar snap peas
1 bunch red kale
1 lb. gold nugget potatoes
1 head Rocambole garlic
4 zucchini (2 green, 2 golden)
1 lb. apricots
1.5 lbs. peaches
1 lb. cherries
Total spent: $45

The peaches (tree-ripened) are lovely and juicy, but still working up to perfect flavor - it's still early in their season. Last week's apricots were so delicious that I got twice as many this time. If only I had taken that canning class at Brooklyn Kitchen last week...but it was a Sunday, and I had to work. They assured me they'd have another one soon, though...fingers crossed it's in time for me to put up some peaches, tomatoes, and apricots.

I've already got the whole head of Rocambole garlic on the stove in tomato sauce (with last week's basil - oops!). All the snap peas and most of the beans will end up blanched in lunches, but I will sautee some of the green beans with garlic and red pepper for dinner tonight - paired with the potatoes, and preceded by corn on the cob and a salad of sweet, juicy tomatoes with goat cheese and Italian parsley.

That chard! It's so lovely - the contrast of the fresh green with that bright yellow - that I want to come up with some way of showcasing it. Perhaps I can combine it in a recipe with some of the golden zucchini to highlight the sunniness of both vegetables.

Last week I had a bug for pasta salad, probably due in large part to the delicious pesto I bought at the USG, as well as the excruciating heat. Here are two variations I made, both great for packing in lunches, because the flavors blend in the fridge - they're not recipes as much as assembly suggestions:

Tortellini Pesto Salad
tortellini (I used Trader Joe's artichoke tortellini, but your cheese would work)
pesto (1-2 tbsp per serving)
kale
cherry tomatoes (as many as you want)
goat cheese (2 tbsp per serving)
salt and pepper to taste

Tear kale into approx 2" pieces, steam it, and set aside. Don't throw away the water you steamed it with - add more water and use that to cook the pasta (saves nutrients). Drain pasta and rinse gently with cold water until cool. Chop kale into thin strips; halve cherry tomatoes. Add pesto, pasta, kale, cherry tomatoes, and about 3/4 of the goat cheese to a bowl; season with salt and pepper and toss. Just before serving, crumble the rest of the goat cheese on top.

Penne Pasta Salad
penne
pesto (1-2 tbsp per serving)
summer squash (about 1 medium zucchini per serving)
Italian veggie sausage (Tofurky andField Roast are my favorites)
goat cheese (2 tbsp. per serving)
salt and pepper to taste

Dice zucchini, steam it until just barely tender (err on the side of crisp) and set aside. Again - use the steam water for the pasta. Drain pasta and rinse gently with cold water until cool. Dice and sautee veggie sausage. Add pesto, pasta, zucchini, sausage, and 3/4 of goat cheese to a bowl; season with salt and pepper and toss. Just before serving, crumble the rest of the goat cheese on top.

Going overboard...

...was my greenmarket m.o. today. Though strawberries are already gone, the amazing July selection at the USG today more than made up for it.

I love summer:
1 quart cherry tomatoes
1 lb. sugar snap peas
2 cousa squashes
1 bunch red Russian kale
1 bunch rainbow chard
1 bunch carrots
1 bunch Italian parsley
1 bunch basil
1.5 lbs. cherries
5 apricots
Total spent: $34

The plural of "squash" is giving me a headache. Does "squashes" mean only "multiple varieties of squash," or can I use it to mean "two fruits of the squash plant"? I think my point comes across regardless.

I'm very glad sugar snap peas are still here - they're our summer staple vegetable so far. I've been blanching them for 75 seconds, shocking them in ice water, then packing them in lunches with a few grinds of sea salt...and then, more often than not, we have them again (prepared the same way) with dinner.

I'm excited to have bought my first tomatoes of summer! One of my plans is to have them in a pesto pasta salad with cousa squash, goat cheese, and Italian parsley - with fresh basil to garnish. I bought some pesto at the greenmarket because I don't have a food processor to make my own. The basil will also go into some homemade tomato sauce.

Most of the other veggies are self-explanatory - greens for adding to burritos, pasta, and anywhere else I can fit them in, and the carrots for having raw or steamed with lunch. The cherries are from Terhune Orchards, which is also where I get my apples in fall - they have the best cherries at the greenmarket (they also had the best asparagus when it was around). I'm very happy that apricots are starting to show up; a few places even had peaches. Though these are two of the fruits I most want to can this summer, so that clock is ticking quickly. We'll see if I can fit in a class and get the gear in time to put up some fruit this summer.

Update

So, I obviously haven't posted in awhile, and I was thinking of giving up Produce Stories altogether. My main reason was that I started this blog (a year ago!) as a means to encourage myself to eat lots of fresh, seasonal fruits and vegetables, and to think of creative ways to prepare them. Since that's ingrained now, I thought that the blog had done its job. However, when I was home in California, multiple people told me how much they like it, including one of my mom's friends, who said that she has Produce Stories bookmarked on her work computer and goes to it to check out my veggie photos whenever she needs a pick-me-up...so as of this Saturday, I'm going to restart in earnest.

Thank you, strawberries

This morning I had one of those wonderful post-coffee sleep-deprived few hours where everything was right in the world. Last night I was at a show until after two, which was a wonderful experience full of people I know and love and people I know now who are amazing...so we went home with much elation, fell asleep, and I woke up to a cat's head-butting at 9 a.m., too hot to doze - so in spite of myself, I had an early greenmarket day. I was still bleary-eyed when I dropped off my compost scraps, but after an iced-coffee at Joe's, nearly did a double-take when I saw little green cartons filled with small round red...cherry tomatoes? No! Early season strawberries had arrived. And eight dollars later, a quart of them were mine.

How can one person deserve so much joy? I'm just lucky, I guess.

Thank you, greenmarket:
1 quart strawberries (half of them are gone at 5 p.m.)
1 lb. sugar snap peas
1 lb. asparagus
2 bags spinach
1 bunch red kale
3 zucchini
8 Winesap apples
Total spent: $37

No photo today. It was a whirlwind morning. Plus, you people know what strawberries look like.

Beyond berries (raspberries were also an option, though I passed them up), the other exciting new development today is sugar snap peas, which are also the season's first. I am excited to stir-fry these...and serve them just blanched in lunches as an alternative to carrot sticks, which have been keeping me going all winter, I'll admit, but it's time for a change.

I'm not sure what I want to do with the asparagus (other than eat it as soon as I can), but I'd like to try a new recipe. But I like it so much just sauteed that it's hard to commit to recipes when it comes time to make dinner. I'll keep you posted.

In non-greenmarket vegetable news, avocadoes: still delicious!

Everything's cuter in spring

After dropping off my week's worth of fruit and vegetable waste with the compost lady, I was immediately plunged into a newly bountiful greenmarket experience. Tables were piled with asparagus - sold loose or in bunches - as well as rhubarb, tender-leafed spring spinach, and sweet-looking baby lettuces. And more vendors I recognize from last year have returned.

The predominant color is still green, and there isn't much variety (except for the potted herbs and extraordinary-looking flowers); one stand had some greenhouse-grown organic tomatoes which looked lovely, but at $5/lb. I decided to hold off. Neverrtheless, I picked up a lot of staples and a few exotics that I'm excited about this week. (Excuse the dark photo - my photo assistant had an appointment this morning and so couldn't help.)



May vegetables are better than May flowers:
2 lbs. asparagus
2 bags spinach
1 bunch red Russian kale
5 Winesap apples
2 zucchini
1/4 lb. mixed baby lettuces
1 lb. baby golden fingerling potatoes
1 bunch ramps
1 basket fiddleheads
Total spent: $36

I have absolutely no idea what to do with the fiddleheads, but I'm looking forward to them. I've eaten them once before that I can remember, years ago at an upscale Portland restaurant named after them, and don't remember being impressed. But they're so seasonal and considered so special that I imagine there has to be a way to make them wonderful.

Though I'd love to make ramps risotto for a third week in a row, I am going to force myself to be more creative. I've read about asparagus/ramp soup, which sounds lovely - I'm hoping to find a recipe. (Though this recipe for soup made with just the ramps does sound nice.) And this time, I've ensured I'll have enough of the thicker asparagus spears to use for that pan-roasted asparagus recipe from Cook's Illustrated - and I'll sautee the thinner spears.

The greens I'll used as usual - steamed or sauteed, added to every meal possible...though perhaps someday I can wheedle someone into getting me a Vita-Mix blender as a gift, and then I can add them raw to green smoothies in the morning! A girl's got to have a dream.

Update: dinner!

While I had planned to make the pan-roasted asparagus recipe from Cook's Illustrated with the bunch I picked up at the greenmarket, my discovery that there were lots of tiny spears changed my mind. Instead, I divided the asparagus spears into three separate piles based on size, and sauteed them in a bit of olive oil - first the thick pile, then the medium pile a minute later, then the tinies a minute later. They turned out perfect! This (blurry) photo is of the three cute asparagus piles - I just liked the way they looked against my new red cutting board (it's the kind with grippers on the back so it doesn't slide while you're cutting):



I also took a photo of the delicious second incarnation of risotto with ramps - though it turned out a bit odd in the kitchen lighting. The only thing that could have made this dinner more perfect is fresh fruit for dessert...

Finally!

I dragged myself to USG this morning before 10, despite the hay fever that has made me not want to get out of bed EVER...and, luckily, I was duly rewarded by asparagus's spring debut at the market. No longer will I have to envy the asparagus meals I've seen pictured on so many other sites for a month now (or spend $8/lb. at Whole Foods) - tonight, I can grill my own!

Otherwise, a quite lovely morning. Lots of greens in addition to the aforementioned asparagus, more ramps - things are picking up. Though I have to admit, I would really love some local fresh fruit; the only option I found today was rhubarb, which requires more sugar to prepare than I'm currently allowing myself. How will I make it to the start of cherry season?

Last week's photos were lost because I kept forgetting to post them, and last night I had to take the camera to the record store to photograph Mountain Goats - and to free up room for the live shots, I was forced to delete the cute ramps/garlic chives tableau I had captured. Luckily, I wrote down the recipe for risotto with ramps that I concocted last week. It's going to be dinner again tonight.

The Greenening:
1 bunch ramps
1 lb. asparagus
1 lb. spinach
1 bunch green chard
1 bunch kale
2 small yellow onions
2 heads garlic
8 Winesap apples
Total spent: $24

Risotto with Ramps
3/4 c Arborio rice
3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 bunch ramps, chopped (you should have about 1/3 c stem pieces, 1 c leaf pieces)
3 c vegetable stock
1/2 c Parmigiano-Reggiano (or more to taste)
freshly ground black pepper and salt to taste

I didn't write down any directions, but basically just sautee the stem pieces of the ramps in the olive oil until soft, add the rice and leaf pieces, stir until rice is translucent and fragrant, then follow normal procedure for risotto. One shortcut I learned is that it's easy enough to heat your stock, cup by cup, in a Pyrex in the microwave before you add it each time, rather than keeping it constantly simmering on the stove and dirtying another saucepan. After your risotto is done (you should use up all 3 cups of stock for sure), turn off the heat and stir in the cheese, salt, and pepper. Serve with more spring vegetables, preferably grilled asparagus!!

Veggie envy

No greenmarket this week - I was low on funds (okay, totally broke), and uninspired by my last two trips. (Also, my search for recipes featuring ramps, the only new springtime vegetable I found last week, led to my understanding that they taste like onions. I may still try them, but that killed my motivation.) However, on the food blogs I read, everyone is talking about how delicious this season's a) asparagus and b) artichokes are. Neither of these are availably locally in the market. And I dearly love them both.

So I think I might take part of my food budget to Garden Of Eden and buy artichokes and asparagus to steam and roast, respectively, while my photo assistant is still out of town. That's the other reason I skipped the greenmarket - it's funny how much more inspiring I find it to make meals for another person. When it's just me, I generally come up with some concoction of brown rice and frozen vegetables (last night it was shelled edamame and corn), sauced with a combination of nutritional yeast, garlic, pepper sauce, and soy sauce. It's nothing to write home about, but it's reasonably healthy and can be thrown together with a minimum of effort and dishes.

Anyhow, tomorrow I should have more interesting vegetable news to report...I'm quite looking forward to trying the roasted asparagus technique from Cook's Illustrated, so I'll share the results. And let's not get into how much I love artichokes. Man. When I was a vegetarian teenager, I used to have an artichoke every year for Thanksgiving dinner instead of turkey. My grandmother would always scoff and say that artichokes seemed like nothing more than an excuse to eat the lemon butter dipping sauce, at which I would respond "so?"

Gravy!!

Last night I was feeling uninspired about dinner, so I read a couple of my favorite food blogs for ideas. Vegan Lunchcast was having leftover mashed potatoes and vegan gravy for lunch, and I decided that it was as good a time as any to tackle my fear of homemade veggie gravy. VL linked to this recipe from Bryanna Clark Grogan, and I thought it was worth a shot.

And it was! Though I accidentally doubled the soy sauce and salt (by halving the recipe and forgetting to halve them), the gravy turned out delicious. The toasted nutritional yeast/flour combination really does mimic the roasted flavor of the pan cracklings used to make brown meat gravy. I served the gravy over mashed potatoes (using the little yellow delights I bought at last week's greenmarket), and it was heaven. Since the gravy itself isn't tremendously unhealthy (especially when I make it with the correct amount of sodium!), I think it would be a nice accompaniment to plain boiled or baked potatoes - a flavorful variety, like I had this time - rather than the rich, buttery mashed potatoes, for an everyday-type side dish.

Last night, we had gravy, mashed potatoes, and faux-chicken nuggets from Trader Joe's - vegetarian comfort junk food at its finest! But I do think I can incorporate this gravy recipe into healthier meals as well.

Spring - so what??

Okay, I'm not quite that cynical, but despite the ridiculously gorgeous day, there was very little in the way of actual produce at the greenmarket this week. The food options are still mostly apples and potatoes, though I did find the same greens I had last week - including the fantastic chard - though there are, here and there, signs that bounty is just around the corner. The market was dominated by potted plants and flowers, which certainy looked lovely, and made the place smell fragrant (and highly allergenic).

Pretty much the same as last week:
1 lb. Bindje potatoes (pretty little yellow ones)
4 lbs. apples (Winesaps and Mutsus)
1/2 lb. rainbow chard
1 bunch red Russian kale
1 log goat cheese
1 loaf "San Francisco" sourdough
Total spent: $27

I made a lovely lunch snack of the sourdough smeared with goat cheese, topped with tart Mutsu slices, and popped under the broiler for a minute and a half. The goat cheese, from Lynndale Farms, is delicious, with a nice, pure, creamy flavor.

Onwards and upwards! I'll keep my fingers crossed for next week.

A semi-glorious and expensive return to USG

The past month or so has been impossible. Hence, no greenmarket trips. At this point, my body is fairly crying out for fresh vegetables...I think this USG trip came just in the nick of time. Though, unfortunately, most vendors are still replete with potatoes, apples, onions, and other fall/winter offerings - perhaps because our spring has been so cold thus far - I was able to find some really nice-looking (and pricey) greens.


Some of this isn't produce at all:
1/3 lb. mesclun mix
1/3 lb. rainbow chard
1 bunch kale
2 lbs. fancy red potatoes (I forgot what variety)
4 lbs. apples (Mutsu, Red Ida, and Winesap)
1 bag shallots
3 lbs. whole wheat flour
1 dozen eggs
Total spent: $36

The eggs were an impulse buy, chosen after I had walked around a bit and realized the spring greenmarket bounty I had been irresponsibly hoping for hadn't arrived. Though I don't eat eggs all that often (I have a bit of an inferiority complex regarding my inability/unwillingness to become totally vegan), farm-fresh ones are so lovely. I'm going to make omelets for dinner tonight, probably filled with greens and with roasted potatoes alongside. The greens vendor also had some "green garlic," which looked like the garlic equivalent of chives; he claimed that the roots of the stalks are delicious when scrambled with a fresh egg. I think I may have to try them next week.

I'm not sure what variety of kale this is, but I do hope that it turns out better than the usual tough, curly kind; the leaves seem quite tender and they're totally flat and shaped a bit like arugula. (A later Google search has shown that it is Red Russian kale.) Perhaps I'll use them with the chard in some garlicky mixed-green tacos one evening, with black beans on the side. I've been making big pots of beans all winter, but I haven't had fresh greenmarket peppers...I can't wait until lots of different types are available again, so I can experiment. Supermarket poblanos and jalapenos are waxy and tired (though, of course, better than nothing).

No applesauce this time - these will be sliced for lunches. Applesauce reminds me too much of winter - and since the winters temperatures are hanging around, I've got to avoid being stuck in the winter mindset. Maybe my early-onset hay fever will help...sigh.

A sidenote - sometimes I can't post because this happens:

A late USG morning

I slept in 'til 10 this morning, so I didn't end up making it to the greenmarket 'til 11. I wasn't surprised to find about the same selection as last week (read: not much), but I did find some inspiration for next week's vegetable dishes.

My short list:
1 butternut squash
1/2 lb. fancy organic spinach
1 bunch fancy organic chard
8 (or so) shallots
2 small yellow onions
1 head garlic
7 lbs. Mutsu apples
Total spent: $28

How did I spend $28 on such a small haul? The spinach alone was about $10 - it's $4 per 1/4 lb., which works out to about twice as much as the Trader Joe's bagged organice spinach. But this stuff has better flavor and hasn't spent a lot of time getting intimate with plastic...and my purchase supports local growers. Everything was a bit pricey - even the squash (which is quite nice-looking) was $3, which is a bargain considering its food value, but still high compared to $1 during peak season.

I had planned to have roasted squash, braised celery, and sauteed chard with Tofurky sausage for dinner, but my photo assistant was feeling sick so I made a version of my Ultra-Soup. This used 4 tbsp. Bragg's Liquid Aminos instead of 3 tbsp. soy sauce, potatoes instead of pasta (I had some left from last week's greenmarket excursion), and - most exciting of all - I used homemade seitan! The idea came from La Dolce Vegan, a book I ordered specifically for its faux-meat recipes; the seitan was very easy to make (I started with vital wheat gluten), and it turned out very well after simmering for an hour in the soup. This was probably my favorite batch yet.

Meanwhile, my beloved Mutsu apples are simmering away on the stove for applesauce, and I'm looking forward to when the greenmarket has produce pretty enough to photograph again.

Surprise! Return to USG

Dear Winter,

I know you were winning for awhile, and that instead of rushing out for fruits and veggies on Saturday mornings I have been staying in bed and sometimes even drinking hot chocolate, but those days are over. Get ready for Spring.

Regards,
Anna

Return to the greenmarket haul:
1/2 lb. baby spinach
1 bunch green chard
1/2 lb. baby bok choy
1/2 lb. shallots
1 1/2 lbs. yellow (Austrian?) crescent potatoes
1 small Stripetti squash
2 heads garlic
8 lbs. assorted apples
Total spent: $27

I was surprised when last night, I thought "perhaps I'll get up early and go to the greenmarket tomorrow" - and even more surprised when I woke up early this morning and did it! Pickings were sparse, but they were certainly better than when I last visited, and I found some lovely (albeit expensive) greens that I'm excited to use. No more bagged spinach for me!...or, at least, not until my half-pound of $16/lb. organic, biodynamic, greenhouse-grown baby spinach is gone, probably in two or three days.

Taking a cue from my favorite dish at Curly's Vegetarian Lunch and recent successes of my own, I'll sautee some of the spinach and chard with shallot, garlic, cumin, and crushed red pepper to make spicy greens tacos for dinner one night (Curly's uses kale in theirs also, which I might try eventually, though kale hasn't been a favorite around here, unfortunately). I'll stir-fry the baby bok choy with tofu, the chard stems, and perhaps some carrots or zucchini...it's so lovely to have greens options, rather than just spinach (no matter how much I love it). The remaining spinach will probably go raw into some tofu wraps for lunches, and the chard I'll sautee with veggie sausage and serve alongside the roasted potatoes.

The Stripetti squash is a bit of a left-field choice, especially since I recently read some food blogger's horror story of cutting into a fully-roasted spaghetti squash and finding it totally moldy and desiccated inside...but, as I said, pickings were sparse, and as the vendor where I bought the squash was otherwise entirely dedicated to potatoes and onions, I felt like I should take what I could get. I think I'll roast it like spaghetti squash and serve it with homemade sauce (or the Trader Joe's bruschetta in a jar, if I don't get around to making homemade this week) and cannellini beans.

And, of course, the (great-looking) bargain-basement apples, which I bought for $0.50/lb. from my favorite apple vendor, Terhune Orchards, will very shortly be made into applesauce.

I can't wait to cook all these vegetables! It feels like forever since I've had inspiring produce, and even though these choices are a bit pedestrian, I feel really great about them.

Vegetable update PLUS veg-friendly...London?

As far as updates go, it's pretty much been spinach, carrots, green beans, and the occasional zucchini around here lately. I can't get myself to eat salad in winter, so those are pretty much my only options. But now that January has been over for a couple of weeks, the winter despair is subsiding, and I'm looking forward to new greenmarket excursions in a month or so.

In other news, I spent a few days in the UK for work last week, and discovered that the slow-food/reducing food miles movement is quite prevalent over there. Greenmarket culture is huge there, mainstream food magazine I was reading seemed to assume its readers were food-mile-conscious, and some friends from New York acknowledged that the local produce/fresh food movement is much more prevalent in London than in NYC.

A Google search led to this article about a political party leader endorsing the Slow Food movement - he grows his own vegetables, and condemns giving sugar to children:

Perhaps the best quote: "I've said that we need to match concern for GDP with concern for GWB - general well being. That's why I want to talk about food." I wish I could imagine a US political leader making statements like these, but "Big Food"'s influence, plus the generalized unwillingness of the American people to be conscious of our food consumption prevent it.

Another evidence of the increasing concern for health and whole foods in the UK is the success of a bottled-smoothie company called Innocent.

Bottled smoothies are certainly not absent from the US marketplace, but Innocent's don't include sweeteners, sugar, water, or concentrates, nor do they overrely on base juices like grape or apple - they're 100% fruit, come in reasonable serving sizes (250 ml or about 8 oz), and are deliciously tart, like real fruit. The ingredients are listed as servings of real fruit, e.g. "19 pressed grapes, 1/2 mashed banana, 16 strawberries, dash orange juice, squeeze of lemon juice."

Their drinks come in versions for kids with "no bits", yogurt-enhanced "thickies" for breakfast/meals, and "juicy waters," which are soft drinks made of fruit juice and spring water. And to work toward their goal of being totally self-sustaining, Innocent are shifting their bottling from 50% recycled plastic bottles to "eco bottles," which are made of cornstarch and are totally biodegradable. Innocent also contribute to many other worthy causes (their website outlines their charitable contributions and activities).

What makes Innocent's place in the UK market is that its smoothies aren't a niche item, sold in health-food stores and the odd grocery. They are EVERYWHERE. The coffee/snack kiosks in train stations all stock at least a dozen flavors, and they can be found most places you'd think to buy a soda or a bottle of water. In my limited London experience, I found Innocent smoothies to be more readily available than e.g., Odwalla or Naked Juice drinks are here in the US...and they taste fresher and more like "real fruit" than the Odwallas of the world, which tend to be largely apple/grape-based for sweetness.

My London friends told me that over the last few years, Britain's political leadership has focused on local food as both a means to improve the notoriously-poor British diet, and a means to reduce food miles - this 2005 BBC article claims that 25% of all heavy-goods traffic miles in the UK are moving food: - and, most impressive of all, is that it's actually making a difference. I suppose that's the sort of positive change possible in a country not ruled by lobbyists from the meat and dairy industries.

Not that I'm defeatist; I believe that the US diet will change drastically over the next decade or so, but I am afraid that things will get a lot worse before they get better, and that when change occurs, it will be legislated, harsh, and fast-moving. The fact that the British, facing national diet/food culture with so much reliance on cheese/dairy, refined grains, and meat, have been able to effect such quick and far-reaching change, is quite a reason for optimism on our side of the pond.

Meanwhile, I've read several food blogs lately (especially last night, when I had to stay up to wait for the bread to finish), and I'm feeling a little inspired lately - my next experiment will be veggie spring/salad rolls. I imagine they'll have the wrappers at Garden Of Eden. I'm thinking I'll fill them with carrot, cabbage, spinach, and tofu. But spring rolls are all about the dipping sauce, and I've got to find a sauce recipe before I dive in.

Only one more month of winter!!

Spinach tacos. Roasted chickpeas. Work-at-home day is the BEST.

It's barely a recipe, but here's how I made the spinach tacos I had for lunch...this actually made enough spinach for 3-4 tacos, though I only had two. So this could be a "serves two" recipe.

6-oz. bag organic baby spinach
2 tsp. olive oil
1 tbsp. finely minced shallot
2 cloves garlic
1 big pinch cumin
1 pinch crushed red pepper flakes
salt to taste

4 corn tortillas
grated cheddar cheese to taste
chopped pickled jalapenos to taste

Heat olive oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet; add shallots and saute until softened, about five minutes (if they start browning, remove skillet from burner and turn down heat). Add garlic, cumin, and red pepper flakes; saute until aromatic, about 30 seconds. Add spinach and salt to taste; cook until wilted, about five minutes.

Heat tortillas over gas burners until softened and blackened in some spots. Divide spinach evenly among tortillas, top with cheese and jalapenos, and there you go.

My post-lunch snack was the roasted garbanzo beans "recipe" I got from watching some Rachael Ray holiday special while I was at home in California. I was skeptical, but these turned out really yummy, and somewhat healthy. Preheat the oven to 350. Drain and rinse one can of garbanzo beans in a colander; add them to an oven-safe skillet along with two tablespoons olive oil, salt and freshly-ground pepper, and a few pinches of crushed red pepper flakes. Roast in the oven for 50 minutes, let cool a few minutes, and you're done. They turn out with a crunchy exterior and creamy interior, and very much taste like the type of snack food that's awful for you. They definitely have a lot of oil, but at least it's olive oil...and they're packed with protein and vitamins, unlike Pirate's Booty!

Chili!

Though I never disguise my feelings about winter, my recent lingering cold/flu hybrid (newest development: lost voice!) has lately sharpened my denunciations of this terrible season. What is there to like? Winter is life without its best parts: get up, go to work, pay your credit card bills, clean the catbox, etc., without consolations like sunshine, fresh berries, spending the morning at the greenmarket, riding bikes, walking around the city, picnics in the park, etc. Instead, I've been huddling under my light-therapy lamp, drinking ginger tea and eating the same veggies every day (all from the grocery, none local: spinach, green beans, carrots), totally uninspired and demoralized.

However, I will grant winter one (and only one) advantage over other seasons: winter is the best time of year to make chili, and chili is one of the very best foods. Though its spiciness might make it seem appropriate for warmer seasons, it's far too hearty and cooked too slowly to fit anytime better than a winter's evening when conditions make leaving the house impossible; the three or so hours of cook time a pot of chili wants are best passed with a cozy occupation such as reading curled up on the sofa, enjoying the lovely smells as they overtake the house.

One such pot of chili is bubbling away on my stove at this moment; I'm debating whether to add some diced zucchini for the last few minutes of cooking, to add vegetable value...but regardless, here's the recipe. As chili is always different depending on what peppers and beans are available/everyone's favorites, I'm providing the recipe I used this time around, which is turning out quite well, and is on the spicy side.

Three-bean winter chili (makes about 8 servings)
3 poblano peppers
2 anaheim peppers
4 tbsp. olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
3-4 jalapeno peppers, diced finely
6 medium cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1 1/2 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. oregano (dried)
2 (28-oz.) cans diced tomatoes, drained, with liquid reserved
2 (15.5-oz) cans black beans, drained
2 (15.5-oz) cans red kidney beans, drained
2 (15.5-oz) cans pinto beans, drained

Roast poblano and anaheim peppers under the broiler (or over a gas flame); remove skins and dice when cool (this can be done far ahead of time; cooled, peeled peppers can be refrigerated for up to two days or so). Add olive oil to a big, heavy pot over medium-low heat (an enameled cast-iron Dutch oven is ideal); when hot, add onions and cook, stirring, until almost softened, about 10 minutes. Add jalapenos, and continue cooking, stirring, until onions are soft and peppers are beginning to soften, about 5 more minutes. Add garlic, cumin, and oregano, stir well, and cook until aromatic, about a minute. Add tomatoes roasted diced peppers, and beans, and stir until well-combined. Cover pan and let simmer, stirring every ten minutes or so, for about an hour (the longer, the better!), adding liquid from tomatoes if chili becomes too dry (this isn't very likely). Taste chili and adjust seasonings if needed; every time you adjust seasonings, stir chili and let it simmer, covered, for ten minutes. At this point, the chili will be very liquid; remove cover halfway and cook, uncovered, until chili has reached desired thickness, about another hour.

Serve in bowls with a dollop of sour cream, crumbled cheddar cheese, and/or cornbread. Leftovers should be frozen; they'll taste even better when you heat them up.

Ultra-soup

Perhaps my last post hinted that it would be my last trip to the greenmarket for awhile. I didn't plan it this way, just got sick, so when Saturday morning rolled around, I couldn't possibly brave the cold for what I knew would be slim pickings. So I'm on a greenmarket hiatus until things get a little less dismal. Meanwhile, I have to keep trying to remember where people who don't go to greenmarkets shop for their fruits and veggies...and the supermarket prices and supermarket quality are certainly not worth writing about.

Nevertheless, I did invent some soup! It's nothing too out of the ordinary, but it's the most satisfactory veggie-noodle soup I've had, and I'm quite happy with it. Usually I find vegetable soup to be lacking (probably in chickeniness), and I really only crave it when I have a cold, but this turned out really well (and served as an acceptable dinner, even to the non-sick).

Vegetable Noodle Soup (serves 3)
1 tbsp. vegetable oil
2 shallots (or about 1/2 medium onion)
3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
3 stalks celery, diced (about 3/4 cup)
1/8-1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
32 oz. vegetable stock (I like Trader Joe's brand the most)
2-3 tbsp. soy sauce
1 large or 2 small carrots, diced (about 1/2 cup)
4 oz. capellini, broken into thirds
Optional: about 1/2 cup diced prepared seitan

Heat vegetable oil over medium heat; add shallots and celery and cook, stirring, until softened, about five minutes. Add garlic and cayenne; stir until garlic is aromatic, about 30 seconds. Carefully pour in stock, stirring, and add soy sauce, carrots, and seitan (if using). Bring to boil, then turn down heat and simmer about 20 minutes. Bring to boil again, add pasta, then turn heat down and simmer about 10 minutes. It's ready! Serve in your cutest bowls to two friends with the sniffles.

Braised celery

It was all I could do not to reference The Celery Stalks At Midnight in the title of this post - I loved Bunnicula when I was a kid. Naturally white vegetables like turnips, daikon, and eggplants always remind me of those books, and I half-expect to turn them over and glimpse the pierce-marks of two little fangs, where the bunny-vampire sucked out all the veggie goodness and color...

But that's neither here nor there. This braised celery recipe, on the other hand, is both. I was inspired to braise celery by a Recipezaar search, but none of the recipes there or on Epicurious were satisfactory, so I improvised...and it turned out great! I love cream of celery soup, and this has that delicate cooked-celery flavor without being made of, y'know, cream. Note that the celery quantity was difficult for me to judge, because the stalk I used was very small and tender.

Braised Celery
(serves 2)

1/3-1/2 stalk celery, trimmed of leaves and tough outer ribs, and cut into about 2" long pieces (you'll end up with about 2 cups of celery pieces)
2 small shallots, diced finely
1/2 cup vegetable stock (Trader Joe's is by far my favorite)
1/2 tbsp butter
salt and pepper to taste

Melt the butter over medium heat in a heavy-bottomed saucepan (or a skillet that has a lid). Add shallots and cook, stirring frequently, until shallots are translucent but not brown, 4-6 minutes. Add celery pieces, and continute cooking until celery begins to get tender, 3-5 minutes. If shallots or celery begin to brown, turn down heat. Add stock and seasoning, bring to a boil, then turn down heat, cover, and simmer until celery is tender and liquid is almost totally absorbed, about 20-25 minutes. Serve immediately.

The good thing about selections being limited at the greenmarket, is that I'm being forced to come up with creative ways to use things like celery and carrots, which seem always to be available. Last night's dinner was grain sausage, braised celery, and some of the fingerling potatoes, roasted with olive oil, salt, pepper, and rosemary. They were good, but I think I'll slice them thinly and roast briefly next time, because the flavorful "crust" each piece developed in the oven was the best part - their flesh wasn't especially tasty.

USG: Not-quite-futile pursuit of spinach

The first Greenmarket of the New Year was dismally sparse, and I imagine that's how things will remain for the next few months. I left without peppers, sweet potatoes, celeriac, and came close to leaving without spinach, until I splurged and spent $8 on 1/2 lb. of biodynamic/organic/greenhouse/fancy baby spinach leaves. But in my family, 1/2 lb. is about one meal's worth of spinach. Sigh.

Happy New Year:
1 bunch celery
2 lbs. carrots
1 acorn squash
1 bag shallots
2 yellow onions
1/2 lb. baby spinach
1 lb. Loratte fingerling potatoes
8 lbs. apples (Mutsu, Winesap, Fuji)
Total spent: $33

Everything here is pretty self-explanatory, I guess. I also bought a bag of yellow cornmeal for my first stab at polenta, which I'll serve with the spinach, white beans, and maybe some sun-dried tomatoes; the potatoes I'll probably roast for a potato salad with goat cheese, and perhaps I'll throw in some green beans. The Mutsu apples (which I was so relieved to see are still available) will be applesauce, and the rest I'll slice for lunches. And the carrots I don't eat raw will end up in a puree along with the acorn squash...or just roasted in the oven, if I get lazy.

Offerings aren't too inspiring, but it is winter (despite what the weather tells us). I am going to have to start getting my veggies from far-off locales via the grocery store, but I'm trying to stave that off as long as possible. But green beans, zucchini, and spinach are such staples that I just don't think I'll be able to last that much longer. Maybe next week I can make do with bok choy and mache, but...how long will they last?

I'm back!...

...and not a minute too soon. I think a few more days on vacation and my body would have forgotten how to digest dietary fiber. Though I did try to keep myself from going crazy by making a couple of spinachy meals, eating salads wherever I could, and several giant platefuls of plain grated carrots, the order of the day (er, two weeks) was certainly refined starches, dairy, and too much sugar.

No greenmarket today (I'll make a quick trip tomorrow for necessities), so I scrounged for dinner in a massively crowded, extremely picked-over Trader Joe's. It was so picked over, in fact, that there were barely any bagged salads left, and no spinach (!!)...so I took the last bag of baby romaine leaves, since I've recently read that romaine can be cooked as a green. Inspired by my new favorite cookbook, Moosewood Restaurant Cooks At Home, which I got for Xmas (thanks big sis!), I also picked up some white beans and couscous in addition to green beans and some other staples.

So tonight's meal was a little experimental, but turned out well enough to share the recipe - Garlicky Greens with Cannellini Beans and Parmesan Couscous (we also had some of my favorite roasted green beans).

Ultimately, I bet this would have been yummier if I had used spinach or chard. I don't know if it was just a psychological thing, but I couldn't get over the romaine flavor in a cooked green. Not bad, just kinda weird. You know, like a 65-degrees-and-sunny day in New York in January.

Garlicky Greens with Cannellini Beans for Two
6 oz. romaine leaves, spinach, or chard (or a combination), washed and trimmed
1 can (15 oz.) cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
2-3 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
1-2 tsp. olive oil
pinch red pepper flakes
salt to taste

Heat about 1 tsp. olive oil in large frying pan over medium-high; add garlic and cook until garlic is aromatic and just turning pale gold in spots. Add greens and salt and cook until mostly wilted; set aside. Wipe out frying pan, add a splash more olive oil and red pepper flakes. Cook until fragrant and add white beans, mashing them against the bottom of the pan, until heated through; add greens, stir to combine, remove from heat, and serve immediately.

Parmesan Couscous
Make couscous according to package instructions (use butter), and add a bunch of finely-grated Parmesan and a LOT of black pepper. Figure out how to make couscous without it turning out really dry, and you've one-upped me.

This thing

I never told you about this thing, did I?
(This isn't exactly it...the one I have is from IKEA and looks just like this without the metal railing, but apparently they don't make it anymore, so there's no photo on their site.)

The long and short: I have wanted one of these rolly-butcher-block-shelf-island-cart things for years, but have never wanted to pay $129 new...I've even come close to buying one on Craigslist for like $70, knowing full well that no non-sofa IKEA item should be $70 secondhand. But I always talked myself out of it.

One night last month, I was grumpily walking home from the record store at night (the L train wasn't running), and one of these islands was sitting on the street, in fine condition, just needing some cleaning up and missing one shelf-slat. So I took it home, nearly broke my back getting it up the stairs, and, after a serious scrubbing...I doubled the usable food prep space in my kitchen. Yay!

Anyhow, I was thinking about that today while moving this thing out of the way to vaccuum, and thinking "what did I do before this thing?" Plus it's not like I have any vegetable news to report. Sigh.

Ha!

I guess winter isn't so bad when you have applesauce cooking on the stove...
Went to the Monday greenmarket and got a pound of spinach, two heads of garlic, and eight pounds of apples to tide us over. All the apples (in two pots) are going into the applesauce - it goes quickly around here.

Winter really is winning

No greenmarket today. Too cold. Too sniffly. Too achy. Instead I stayed home and napped and nibbled. However, I did find some excellent-sounding recipes from new food blogs. And I finished off the broccoli.

This means no more greenmarket 'til 2007...I'm going home for the holidays next Sunday morning, and won't be back until January 2, when the whole city will be covered in snow and I can't imagine what the greenmarket will have to offer (other than "seriously good bacon," that is)....

Winter is winning

Super-chocolatey hot cocoa for people who try not to eat any sugar usually but it is 20 degrees outside, people
2 tbsp. cocoa (Droste is nice)
2 tsp. granulated sugar
1 cup milk

Put cocoa and sugar in a mug, adding just enough milk to mix into a smooth paste. Warm the rest of the milk, pour into the mug, stir, and enjoy momentary respite from the dark cold sadness infiltrating your soul.

"3 Hurt in Greenmarket Melee" - NY Times

But not, as I would have guessed, fighting over the last jumbo head of Rocambole garlic (limit ten per customer at Keith's organics):
NY Times: 3 Hurt in Greenmarket Melee

Total anarchy

Broccoli for dinner!! Grilled cheese for breakfast!!!!

When the cat's away...

As I have probably mentioned before, my live-in photo assistant/ dining companion HATES broccoli - to the extent that if I cook it in the house, he gets grossed out. But he's going out of town next week, so like any hot-blooded American twentysomething gal with an out-of-town significant other would, I plan to party. And by "party," I mean "cook and eat lots of broccoli." Probably I am going to stir fry it with slices of garlic...

Today was a good day:
1 head broccoli (!!)
1 bunch baby rainbow chard
2 bags spinach
1 zucchini
1 small tomato
1 bunch basil
half a dozen shallots
2 jumbo heads Rocambole garlic
3 sweet potatoes
8 lbs. Mutsu apples
Total spent: $38

Nothing too out-of-the-ordinary today at the USG; I arrived quite late so it was already extremely busy. I bought the basil and shallots because I'm going to make tomato sauce; I guess the fresh basil must be grown in greenhouses or something, since it's a sunshine-loving plant, or maybe it's sticking around because of the unseasonal heat we've been having. Either way, it's likely the last hurrah for the year, so I'm going to make a huge batch of sauce to freeze and keep.

3/4 of the apples are already bubbling away on the stove for applesauce - the last batch I made went so quickly that I had to double the recipe this time around. Homemade applesauce can really take the edge off of winter-angst. (So can great coffee, like the cup I had at the Mud Truck across the street from the greenmarket).

Otherwise, we had grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch, made with whole-wheat artisanal bread, chopped-up garlicky sauteed spinach, and (gasp!) Kraft singles. I challenge the world to invent a better grilled cheese sandwich. I don't believe it can be done.

The spinach this week seems especially good. Lately the leaves have been quite large and full of stems (which I can't stand, so I trim them all off), but this week's batch, from the same vendor, was all tiny leaves still in bunches, which not only is more tender but easier to prepare.

What happens, I can't help but think, as the days get colder and shorter, when it freezes? Does that mean no more spinach? Can hardy root vegetables like carrots survive? Perhaps I'll ask some vendors next week...

Roasted squash and cumin soup

I made this soup from Lex Culinaria tonight, and it was excellent! Though I did make a few changes. My butternut squash was only 3.75 lbs, so I adjusted some seasonings accordingly, as well as using 1 cup shallots instead of the called-for 2 cups onions, and...this was perhaps the questionable decision...I had no ginger, so I used 1 tsp. coriander instead. It turned out very good (coriander and cumin are very compatible), but I think next time I'll use the ginger. And no fancy grilled-cheese croutons for me, though I did make some croutons out of the end of a great loaf of whole-wheat sourdough which turned out great. All in all, a very filling, healthy, and tasty soup - good thing, too, since I have tons leftover, which I'm freezing.

The food mill: Great kitchen tool, or the greatest kitchen tool?

Last night after the Turnip Incident, I made good on my applesauce promise, since we were both wanting dessert and I was hoping to drive the hideous turnip smell from my home. The applesauce turned out delicious, as the Mutsus are full-flavored apples; I added only a bit of cinnamon, a dash of nutmeg, and a little brown sugar.

But the process reminded me of how essential my food mill is to certain recipes, standing in for a food processor at times (for pureeing or ricing), and one-upping a food processor at other times (when, like with applesauce, it both purees and strains the mixture). With the mill, I can cook my apples with their skins on, which adds apple flavor and helps keep them from falling apart; doing so without it would require pressing apples through a sieve, which is much more work and mess.

Most other cooks I know, even those with particularly well-equipped kitchens, don't have food mills, and I, for one, think they don't know what they're missing. When I talked to my mom about this once, she said that they have a reputation (left over from the hippy-parenting '70s) for making homemade baby food and not much else. Too bad - the food mill is perfect for sauces, soups, and purees - and easier to clean up than a food processor.

Yay food mills! On that note, here's how to make homemade applesauce - less a recipe than a guideline:
apples (use a crisp and tart variety; Mutsu or Granny Smith are ideal)
cinnamon
nutmeg
brown sugar

Core apples and cut into wedges, leaving peels on. Place apple slices into a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan, making sure you have at least an inch of room between the top of the apples and the lid of the pan; add enough water just to cover apples. Add cinnamon to taste (I used about 1/2 tsp for 3 lbs. apples), and a dash of nutmeg; stir gently. Bring water to a boil; turn down, and simmer until apples are almost tender, about 20-30 minutes. At this point, taste an apple slice and adjust seasonings; stir gently. Continue cooking until apples are completely tender, drain, and run through a food mill (use the disk with the largest openings). While applesauce is still hot, add brown sugar to taste (I used about 1 tbsp. for 3 lbs., but this will vary with your preference as well as the sweetness of your apples). If you don't have a food mill, you'll have to peel the apples before cooking them; after draining the hot apples and adding sugar, mash with a potato masher.

Are you kidding me??!?

People LIKE turnips?!?!?!!

Oh, they are so disgusting. They're air out your apartment after cooking them, can't even get one bite down disgusting.

I have a new least favorite vegetable.

Thanksgiving recap + early morning USG visit

My photo assistant was still sleeping when I got home from the greenmarket at 9:15 (left at 8), so I have no photos of today's wintry bounty, but luckily, I have a shot of our Thanksgiving feast. We had delicious curry dip and cheesy toasts (the greatest use of cheese known to man, I think) for appetizers; Tofurky, squash puree, mashed potatoes, garlicky spinach, and homemade cornbread stuffing as our mains; and probably the best apple pie I've ever had (sorry Mom!), as well as pumpkin pie, for dessert. All in all, a bit of a crazy spread for just the three of us, but lots of fun.

Regarding the dishes I made, I thought the acorn squash puree was good, but a little over-nutmegged, the mashed potatoes (German butterballs) were terrific, and the stuffing was well-received by stuffing fans (recipe at the bottom of this post).

Today's USG cornucopia:
2 bags spinach
1 bag salad mix
1 bunch carrots
1 lb. turnips
1.5 lbs. ruby crescent potatoes
1 butternut squash
1/2 lb. shallots
4 lbs. Mutsu apples
2 "mother of Mutsu" apples
Total spent: $27

I went a bit overboard with the apples, so I think this week I will finally make good my promises of applesauce. And I do love using my food mill...

Other plans include carrot/turnip mash alongside sauteed tofu and spinach tonight, with the rest of the spinach being added to pasta, burritos, and anywhere else possible for lunches. Leftover turnip and carrot mash will hopefully work for fritters tomorrow.

I bought the ruby crescents because the sign describing their "hint of chestnut" flavor has tempted me every time I've walked by for a month; I'll probably make a potato puree with them (again with the food mill). Otherwise, I plan to try a recipe for squash and cumin soup I found on a site I "bloghopped" to from The Food Blog Blog and so can't remember its name. If it's good, I will find it again and post a link.

Vegetarian Cornbread Stuffing (Dressing?)
4 tbsp. butter
1 cup finely chopped shallots
2 cups diced celery
2 cups peeled, large-diced apples (tart and crisp - I used Mutsus)
1 cup seeded, diced zucchini
1-2 tbsp. fresh sage
1-2 tsp. dried rosemary (you could use fresh, but I only had dried)
1.5-2 cups vegetable stock
1 egg (optional)
4-5 cups slightly-stale cornbread, cut into 1" dice (to dry out fresh cornbread, cut into 1" slices and leave out overnight on a baking sheet, covered with a kitchen towel)
salt and freshly-ground black pepper to taste

All measurements are approximate.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt butter in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add shallots and celery, and cook, stirring frequently, until soft, about 8-10 minutes. Do not allow shallots to brown. Clear the middle of the frying pan, and add sage and rosemary; stir into rest of ingredients when spices become aromatic. Add zucchini and apples and cook, stirring, until zucchini is tender and apples have softened (they will not be completely soft).

Allow vegetable mixture to cool. Place diced cornbread in large bowl and add vegetable mixture, one cup of vegetable batter, and salt and pepper to taste; add egg after tasting for seasoning. Use your hands to mix thoroughly. Continue adding stock until all ingredients are moistened and stuffing is coherent but quite moist, like muffin batter. Spread stuffing out in a 9x13 baking dish (or stuff whatever you need to stuff with it), and bake at 350 degrees for about 40 minutes, or until browned all over and crusty around the edges. Or, stuffing can be made up to this point and refrigerated overnight to be baked the next day.

Jerusalem artichokes: attempt #1

At the last minute, I decided to use this recipe to prepare the Jerusalem artichokes, rather than pan-frying them - I think I wanted to hide behind the Parmesan. It seemed that I might have undercooked the artichoke chunks, but I couldn't quite tell - all the recipes I've read call for them to maintain "a bit of snap" or "a little crunch," so perhaps they turned out just right. At any rate, next time I'll try the pan-fry, cut into thin slices; we both enjoyed the potato-artichoke flavor, but the texture wasn't the best: dry and somewhat hard.

Reunited, and it feels so good!

Did I go overboard today at my beloved USG? Perhaps. But I did have the excuse of Thanksgiving preparations...


My shoulders still hurt:
2.5 lbs. German butterball potatoes
3 zucchini
1/3 lb baby rainbow chard
2 bags spinach
1 bunch carrots
1 bunch parsley
1 basket shallots
2 heads Rocambole garlic
7 assorted chiles - jalapeno, anaheim, and "inferno"
1 celeriac
3 Jerusalem artichokes
6 Macoun apples
4 Mutsu apples
total spent: $40

The Jerusalem artichokes are an experiment, heavily influenced by my recent purchase The Vegetable Bible, which was on double-sale at the bookstore and so ended up being around $10 (such a deal!!). It's terrific, effectively balancing the scientific names and associations of various edibles with their common names, what they taste like, and how to prepare them. Next week I want to try burdock root or salsify, but I thought the Jerusalem artichokes would be a not-too-scary first step into the world of semi-exotic root vegetables. Perhaps I will play it safe again, though, and go for turnips; there were some lovely-looking white ones available several places this week. Also on my winter schedule, thanks to the book, are kohlrabi and rutabaga.

Meanwhile, I couldn't be gladder to be back home and stocked with produce again; tonight I'm planning celeriac risotto (substituting shallots for the leek, which I forgot) and sauteed rainbow chard with garlic. On the dark green leafies front, good chard was difficult to find this week, which was a bit alarming; I'm not sure if it was my late start (and the pre-holiday crowd) or if there's just less of it around, but I had to hunt and eventually buy the expensive stuff from the biodynamic cart. Luckily spinach was readily available from the usual places, and I bought an extra bag to make for Thanksgiving.

It has been pointed out to me that I somehow forgot to mention the delicious-and-extremely-strange meal I experienced in San Francisco at the organic Japanese restaurant Miyako. This was, hands-down, the weirdest meal I had during my visit, but it was definitely delicious. I had an avocado tempura (!!) sushi roll and green beans, which were both incredible, as well as decent vegetable gyoza and some nibbles of a vegetarian eel roll. The service was incredibly strange - almost psychically attentive at times, lax at others, and earnest in a not-too-friendly way that vaguely made us feel like we were in trouble. Also, in the bento box one of my dining companions had, there was this sweet...thing. It was maybe tofu, but certainly didn't taste or feel like anything tofu I've ever had. It exuded this sweetened liquid when you pressed on it, but sucked it all back in when you let go - like a sponge. It was a rounded rectangular cube, and looked a bit like an art gum eraser. We didn't figure out what it was, and no internet menu searches have proven helpful in the matter.

At long last...

...I am home! And it's not CMJ! And things can settle down...somehow. Thank goodness butternut squash keeps so well at room temperature. I haven't had any cube-shaped roasted vegetables in far too long. And I couldn't satisfy my dark green leafies cravings in SF, either, though I did manage some chard here, some spinach there.

Culinary highlight - other than the amazing Golden Era, and the equally stunning House Of Nanking (their string beans, and pretty much everything else, are to die for) - I made an omelette for three Saturday morning, with perfect California avocadoes, chard that I had sauteed with shallots and garlic, kalamata olives, and feta cheese. On the side were a sweet Yukon Gold and a nice waxy red potato.

Good things are appearing on the horizon. Not only will I be able to get back to my dear greenmarket on Saturday, but once I start my new job, I'll have two days off per week instead of just one, which means...more time for vegetable shopping and trying new recipes. I am very excited.

CMJ = no vegetables; no fun

No greenmarket this week - CMJ has me running around like crazy and staying up way too late. Next week, things should be back to normal! Though I do have a butternut squash, a sweet potato, and a few other hardy root vegetables left, the days are going to be bleak without apples, greens, etc.

Standard fall fare

Tonight we had pan-fried glazed tofu sauteed with spinach, and spicy roasted butternut squash and sweet potatoes, which I made using this recipe, which I've used before and love. Dessert was sliced apples - Fujis, which, the fellow at the apple stand said, came off the tree this morning. I was a bit hesitant to post this photo, as it looks a bit too homogenous - and the shape of the tofu triangles give it a very stereotypical "boring vegetarian food" look. But it was actually quite tasty, and the root vegetables are a lovely color.

Nothing to see here...

It was pretty much same old, same old this week...and winter vegetables just aren't as lovely or varied as summer's crops. So I'll have to start taking photos of our meals instead, though it's tough to wait to eat them! Today I was on a budget, but still managed to get (almost) everything on my list.

This week's pickings:
1 butternut squash
1 bag spinach
1 bunch red chard
1 bunch carrots
3 sweet potatoes
2 zucchini
1 head Rocambole garlic
6 apples (Macoun, Empire, and Fuji)
total spent: $19

Last week, we had an assortment of what I have mentioned before has become the fall/winter standard meal: sauteed greens with tofu or grain sausage and roasted root vegetables. Though I am still making pots of black beans for burritos or with rice, which we also pair with spinach or chard...I'm thinking of making some chili next week, though. It should ease my transition into full-on winter's requisite soups and stews.

However, the celeriac risotto, which I made, as promised, from this Epicurious recipe, was fantastic. It was extremely rich and creamy, though I only used 1 tbsp. of butter, substituting olive oil for the other 2 tbsp. called for in the recipe. When I make it again, I'll use all olive oil. (One caveat: the celeriac doesn't get tender in 10 minutes, as the recipe claims - it takes 20-25, so the recipe is a bit more time-consuming than stated). I've got a leek and a celeriac leftover from last week, so I may just make it again. It's definitely not a low-fat recipe (lots of Parmesan), but it's extremely comforting on dark and rainy days like we've been having recently.

As I mentioned, I had a list today, and wasn't adventurous - but next week, I'm going to try spaghetti squash. Recipes are totally divided as to the best way to prepare it (in order to avoid mushiness), but I found one on Recipezaar that has lots of positive feedback, and seems rational. But for now, I'll stick with butternut - it's easy to roast, and tastes a lot like sweet potatoes.

Celeriac and friends

Nothing really photo-worthy today, other than this gorgeous monstrosity... I am still sick, and I was feeling a bit grumpy, so I made a list (!) and stuck to it.

Today's (small) greenmarket haul:
2 big celeriac (about 3 lbs.)
5 sweet potatoes
1 butternut squash
1 bag spinach
1 bunch green chard
1 bunch red chard
1 extremely expensive organic leek
4 Empire apples
total spent: $25

Plans include: celeriac risotto, finally, which will use the celeriac and leeks; spicy oven-roasted sweet potatoes from a Recipezaar recipe; oven-roasted butternut squash; and I'll have greens and white beans, tofu, or grain sausage alongside. It's going to be a good week, I think.

Frozen spinach: meh

Shocking news: frozen spinach sucks compared to fresh spinach.

Okay, I'm not surprised. But I had the Trader Joe's "organic flash-frozen" kind left over from the e.coli scare, and wanted a green with dinner...it was okay, but it was just so...blah. I sauteed it like usual, and it didn't take long - and when it cooked up, it certainly looked like regular cooked spinach - but the texture was a bit spongy, and the taste just bland. Meh.

Acorn squash: meh

I think acorn squash, the very mention of which sends my dear mother into raptures, is one of those things that needs piles of seasoning and butter in order to taste good. We had it baked last night, and it was fine, but just not...powerful. Then again, there's also the chance that nothing is quite tasting as much as it ought to me right now, since I'm sick.

Luckily, I realized that today before overseasoning my black beans into oblivion. Though I don't think I had quite enough peppers for this batch - four jalapenos, two roasted Anaheims and two roasted poblanos. I needed something with more punch.

But I do like baked things in fall, and as my veggie options are rapidly becoming limited, I will undoubtedly try acorn squash again. Butternut has been getting nothing but raves, so tomorrow I'll pick up another, and try the latest squash variety I've got my eye on: spaghetti. I'm also planning on getting more celeriac (a surprise hit!) to make the risotto recipe I found on epicurious, though it includes a weird-sounding "pesto" made of the celeriac tops...which I will eschew this time, not least because I have no food processor.

And sweet potatoes. I have about 20 delicious-sounding sweet potato recipes. I see my fall/winter meals shaping up to be basically all the same: starchy squash/root vegetable dish of some sort, dark green leafy, and a protein - tofu, other meat sub, or beans. Perhaps I'll be able to branch out into soups soon enough...

Too many guests, not enough time

We had multiple houseguests this weekend, which meant no room for photos on Saturday morning...and no time to describe the goods. However, here's a recap.

Monday evening, we had roasted winter vegetables, from guidelines I found on Recipezaar: butternut squash, sweet potatoes, and celeriac, all cut into 1"-ish cubes, drizzled with olive oil and tossed w/ salt and pepper. Accompanying were sauteed chard and pan-fried tofu. The vegetables turned out wonderful - and the celeriac was loved all around, so I'll have to get more next time. It was quite satisfying to peel off the hairy rooty outer layer and make a smoothly faceted orb.

Last night we had oven-roasted green beans with crispy, browned garlic slices and parmesan alongside our ravioli with tomato sauce; I'm so glad it's roasting season, so I can make my favorite green beans again! I roasted nearly two pounds, thinking we would have leftovers...but instead, we ate them all. For dessert, baked apples - I used the Mutsus, cored them, cut away a 1/2" strip around the middle to avoid splitting, rubbed the insides with cinnamon, stood them up in aluminum-foil cups in a baking dish, and filled the centers with brown sugar and a little butter.

Otherwise, we've had greenmarket baby lettuce salads for lunch, and greenmarket spinach everywhere possible...tomorrow night, I'll be trying out the Brussels sprouts recipe my friend Kris gave me, along with acorn squash, last week's tricolor fingerling potatoes, and some grain sausage.

More guests this weekend, but I'll try to do photos nonetheless.

World's greatest leftovers

Butternut squash risotto is terrific leftover, which is lucky because my recipe ended up making about 8 servings. I had some for lunch today, topped with cooked spinach, and it was perfect. This week has been hectic, but tonight I'm going to prep some lunch veggies and make plans for Thursday dinner...

Risotto & dinner success; deals; grapes

Last night's dinner was a smashing success. Our apartment was too dark for effective picture taking, but the butternut squash risotto alongside garlicky spinach with grain sausage plated quite prettily. The risotto was very good, but next time I'll change a few things - add a little squash, simmer the squash innards with the broth as the recipe instructs for flavor, and use 1/2 to 1/3 the lemon juice I used this time. The slightly too bright flavor imparted by the lemon juice isn't bad, or bitter, as I feard it might be, just a little too much.

And, speaking of spinach, I weighed the $2 bag of "tender young spinach leaves" I bought at the greenmarket, and found that it's about 17 oz - so I used 1/3 of it for last night's repast. But what a deal! Usually, a 6 oz. back of baby spinach leaves is around $2.50 at Trader Joe's, and $4 at most stores. And this spinach was really terrific, and even pre-washed (though I did rinse and spin it again). Not to mention, it's locally grown, so won't have come from one of the Salinas Valley farms that supplied the e.coli-contaminated bagged spinach. (Don't get me wrong; I love the Salinas Valley. But those are some big farms - anyone who's driven the 101 a few hundred times knows it.)

We brought some of the grapes to the movies last night, and this morning I remembered the name of the variety - Canadice - which have an odd woodiness or spiciness to them, but which are quite good nonetheless. Their insides are softer than ordinary table grapes, so they "peel themselves" when you bite down on them. Luckily their peel has a nice tart flavor. I need to investigate the grape season, to see how long we'll have this fresh fruit option. I don't want to think about what's going to happen when there's nothing left...

A chilly autumnal harvest at USG

It was a chilly morning, and I was sleepy and underdressed, hoping it would warm up (no dice). But once I had some coffee (at Max Brenner's Chocolate by the Bald Man choco-emporium), I felt better. And once I walked into USG and noticed all the new fall vegetables, I got excited, for the first time, about the prospect of squash, root vegetables, hearty greens, and - of course - more apples.

Today's cornucopia:
Dried oregano and rosemary
1 butternut squash
1 bunch carrots
1 lb. green beans
1 bag spinach
3 heirloom sweet potatoes
1 lb. mixed fingerling potatoes
1 basket shallots
1 lb. red seedless grapes
8 apples (Mutsu, Honeycrisp, Jonamac, Empire)
Total spent: about $37

I've got a Cook's Illustrated recipe for butternut squash risotto, so I'll try that - perhaps served with grain sausage and spinach. The green beans and apples are for lunches, and I'll roast the carrots. Sweet potatoes will be baked and mashed, while the adorable tiny tri-color fingerlings I'll just roast with olive oil, rosemary, and salt.

The proliferation of oven-ready vegetables is a good indication of my current mindset - I'm ready to hibernate, but since I can't, cozying up with a blanket on the couch while a low-maintenance dinner spends an hour or so in the oven is the next best thing.

Last week's promises proved empty: I didn't get any celeriac, because I was tempted by squash and sweet potatoes and didn't want to go overboard; and applesauce will have to wait another week. I just didn't have it in me to carry all those apples along with my already-heavy haul. Though I'm thinking a combination of Mutsu and Macintosh will make a lovely sauce, when I do get to it.

Items: spinning greens; brown rice

Item: I caved and bought a salad spinner. It's come in handy pretty much every day since I've had it, for salads and for greens. As I was spinning my de-stemmed tat soi dry this evening, I realized I haven't mentioned this yet. Even better, I bought it at the luxuriant Sur La Table; it's Oxo and terrific (see photo). There, are you happy? I have a salad spinner, and I'm not ashamed. Okay, I'm a little ashamed. But I'm working through it. [In related tat soi news, I have been scooped by Jack Bishop in A Year In A Vegetarian Kitchen, who recommends tat soi for all the reasons I'm trying it.]

UPDATE: Tat so and tofu stir-fry was perfect. Tat soi is delicious and mild, with a spiciness that complements the Asian flavors of soy sauce, garlic, and honey. I'm going to have to get more this week.

Item: Every cookbook/recipe seems to have its own method for cooking "troublesome" brown rice. I don't get it. Cooking brown rice is easy, so long as you don't cook too much at once, or try to cook it too quickly. Plus, since brown rice isn't just starch, you can stir it without fear of turning it mushy. Here's my brown rice method, which has never let me down, and which doesn't take the "at least 40 minutes" most folks claim it needs - just don't cook more than a cup (which will serve at least four people) at a time - and you'll be fine. I can't remember where I learned to saute the dry rice in oil before adding water, but it makes all the difference in the world as far as flavor and even cooking.
Foolproof brown rice:
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 cup brown rice
2+ cups water
salt to taste (1/4 tsp or so)
Heat oil at medium-high in straight-sided 10" saute pan (preferred) or heavy 3-quart saucepan. Add rice, stirring, until most grains are browned and rice smells nutty and delicious. Turn down heat to low and add water - be careful! The pan is still really hot, and water will steam. Add salt, stir, and cover pot. Simmer until water is nearly gone; test a few grains for doneness; if still crunchy, add a few tbsp. water and continue cooking until done, about 20-30 minutes total.

I love peppers! And dinners!

Saturday afternoon, I roasted peppers and called my mom. When I told her what I was doing while we were on the phone, she said "weren't you doing that last time we talked?" She was right - I roast peppers pretty much every week now, and I talk to my parents on the phone every week. They're easy things to do at the same time.

This time, I was roasting the three poblanos, two Anaheims, and three "El Diablero" peppers. The Anaheims were hotter than I expected - about the same as the El Diableros - so I ended up only using the poblanos, Anaheims, and one of the El Ds in my big pot of black beans (5 cans; I make extra to freeze), as well as three small, unroasted jalapenos. So I have two leftover roasted peppers for the next giant pot of black beans. This batch was especially great. The combination of all the different peppers made the beans spicy and smoky - just extremely flavorful. Otherwise, just shallots, garlic, cumin, and oregano - the chiles did most of the work.

So for dinner Saturday night, we had black bean tacos with garlicky chard and golden tomatoes. Wonderful! I suspected that the chard's hearty texture would work well with the black beans, and I was right. Usually I add spinach to my black bean tacos, but the chard was even better in this case; its natural bitterness was mostly masked by the flavorful beans. I would have taken photos of our colorful plates...but everything smelled too good to wait.

Sunday night we went to Diner in Williamsburg, where I hadn't been in a long time. Their menu is quite meat- and seafood-heavy, but can always be counted on for some excellent vegetable dishes. We shared a cheese plate, and I had a brilliant tomato salad with black olives and grilled haloumi, a Greek cheese I've wanted to try since reading about it in a cookbook, as well as a side of greens. The tomatoes were terrific on their own, but the salty/meaty olive tapenade and the smoky grilled cheese combined to make the salad spectacular. We were so pleased with ourselves for our healthy restaurant dinner (he had tomato-eggplant soup and a green salad) that we went a bit crazy and got the chocolate bread pudding for dessert. Of that, the less said the better - it was extremely delicious, what with the fresh whipped cream and all.

Thursday I'm planning the tofu and tat soi wraps, or maybe we'll just have a simple stir-fry over rice. I hear spinach is back some places, but I've been meaning to try new dark green leafies regardles...