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September 12, 2005
The Vegetable Challenge
On Saturday I finally shopped at the Farmer's Market again.
Grace can laugh at me derisively now. There's a Farmer's Market right around the corner on Wednesday and Saturday but I just never have time to go. I've been trying (and succeeding!) at eating more healthily and that means fresh fruits and vegetables. I've always liked them, so having them in my diet isn't unpleasant, but it does mean more shopping and cooking, and also slightly more expense. This week I am trying to expand my vegetable repertoire. I haven't yet eaten or cooked something completely new (in four decades, one has tried a lot of vegetables) but I've made a few things I haven't made in a long while, like ratatouille.
The Farmer's Market purchases were parsley (I'm trying to use it, not just for its flavor, but nutritive values. Green leaves are good) and a gorgeous leafy bunch of beets. The attendant asked me if I wanted the tops removed and I accidentally shouted "NO!" Much to my shock, many people do. Beet greens are delicious.
And yeah, a head of lettuce. Iceberg. I've loved crunchy, tasteless Iceberg lettuce since I was a kid. So sue me.
The beets were roasted last night and the greens soaked repeatedly (real food has dirt in it. . .) The beets will be dressed with a (parsley!) vinaigrette and combined at the last moment with diced celery for a salad that I read about first in one of Elizabeth David's books. I think I'll also save one or two to combine with roasted potatoes and carrots for a different salad - I first had that at a downtown food cafe, Barocco, in the early 90s.
The greens (about a pound and I did not use the stems here) were cut into chiffonade along with some surplus parsley and cilantro and combined with a pack of frozen spinach and a bit of frozen corn and cooked in an Indian manner. Saute 1 tsp cumin seed, 1 clove minced garlic and one finely chopped jalapeno pepper in around 2 Tb of oil in that order. Wilt greens in oil. Sprinkle about 1/2 tsp of ginger powder over. Add in thawed and squeezed out spinach (reserve liquid). When all greens are combined, add in liquid and about 1/3 cup frozen corn. Cook until liquid is mostly gone, add 2 tsp (or to taste) butter and 1 tsp garam masala. It's really good. The basic concept is from Julie Sahni's Classic Indian Cooking, but she uses potatoes. I had the same dish with corn at Kishti, an Indian restaurant in midtown.
So take the vegetable challenge. And if you've got a good recipe, let me know.
Posted by Leigh Witchel at September 12, 2005 2:50 PM
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Comments
Just read the male teenage progeny your page about the cat; always good to have a laugh with your kid.
A few minutes later, somebody snuck into the kitchen here and tried to very discreetly snarf the last of the ice cream. Said kid did a good cat-imitation; he heard that spoon on that carton bottom... But too late. It was mine. I asked him, What is it with the can opener deal anyway, and he cracked up.
Posted by: AlisonH at September 13, 2005 12:37 AM
My own problem with markets is that I often end up buying far too many vegetables for the size of my fridge (and for what I actually can cook or eat)... Those lovely fennels, broccolis, peppers or artichokes just seem to blink at me when I cross Villefranche's (wonderful) market on Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings...
Probably you already know the recipe, but just in case: if you like ratatouille, perhaps you could try caponata ? (Sicilian recipe with eggplants, onions, garlic, tomatoes, capers, vinegar, celery, a bit of sugar, and depending on the recipe, sometimes red sweet peppers, green olives, pine nuts, raisins...)
It tastes great either warm or cold (and freezes not too badly).
Also I have tons of vegetable soup recipes (yesterday I made some fennel soup, and plan to make another one with some yellow sweet papers soon), and more generally a lot of Italian vegetable recipes... (And pizzas with vegetables taste great).
Posted by: Estelle at September 14, 2005 10:47 AM
Laugh derisively? Hardly! More likely to totally ruin my keyboard by drooling on it... As I've said to you off-blog, I envy your Indian cooking abilities, and I'm right there with you on the beet greens (but oh! don't discard the stems! blanch them and then roast them with olive oil, garlic, and grated parmesan!)
I'm also, I fear, alongside you with not going to the farmers' market as often as I should. There's a fabulous market in Vista California, only ten minutes (maybe fifteen) from me, every Saturday morning. I don't get there nearly often enough.
Anyone got a good recipe for stuffed zucchini blossoms? One of the vendors there almost always has them. Also green tomatoes; I put up several jars of green tomato apple mince(not)meat last year!
Posted by: Grace at September 14, 2005 10:22 PM